Venezuela took center stage again at the United Nations this week as the oil-rich nation found itself in a deadlock vote against U.S.-backed Guatemala for a seat on the 15-member Security Council.
The 192-member General Assembly held 10 rounds of voting on Monday and 12 more on Tuesday, none securing the 2/3 majority necessary to take the Latin American seat. Guatemala has maintained the lead in all but one voting round, the exception being the 6th round tie between the two countries. Tuesday’s final vote resulted in 77 votes for Venezuela and 102 votes for Guatemala.
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela launched a full-fledged public campaign for Security Council membership earlier this year, using the open seat as a podium for criticism of the Bush Administration. Venezuela’s loss could prove to be a major blow to the populist leader, who has spent considerable time and money on the campaign.
The United States openly supports Guatemala as Argentina’s replacement in the Council, while Argentina has voiced its backing of Venezuela and Chile has remained neutral. The lack of unity amongst Latin American nations is disconcerting to Guatemalan delegates, who view U.S. support for their candidacy as a mixed blessing.
“We are an independent voice, as independent as one can be in an interdependent world”, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal told reporters. “And frankly, we resent it that we are being told that we are going to tow the line of the United States. We make our own decisions.”
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the General Assembly, announced that voting will resume on Thursday, giving diplomats a 24-hour time period to pursue negotiations with member states.
The day ended with many diplomats calling for a compromise candidate. Other potential candidates include Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. But thus far neither party has indicated that it will step down if the stalemate continues.
“The bottom line is we’re still not prepared to step down, given the lead we have,” said Rosenthal. “And hopefully on Thursday we can have another go at it.”
United States Ambassador John Bolton declared U.S. support for Guatemala’s decision to stay in the race. “You can draw one conclusion from the results”, said Bolton. “And that is Venezuela is not going to win.”
Drawn-out elections are not a foreign concept to the United Nations. In 1979, delegates endured a 3-month-long election process when Colombia and Cuba vied over the Latin American seat. The General Assembly held 154 unsuccessful voting rounds before Mexico was selected as a compromise candidate, in January of 1980.
“There are other elections that have gone 100 ballots or more, and I am prepared for the long haul”, said Bolton.
There are 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members on the Security Council, each with 2-year terms. The permanent members consist of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France. Only five seats were up for reelection this year; Peru, Congo Republic, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia have one year left on the Council.
South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium all earned seats on the Security Council this Monday. They will replace Tanzania, Japan, Denmark and Greece on January 1, 2007. It will be the first time that South Africa has held a seat on the Security Council.
But the winner of the Latin American seat remains undetermined. Whether or not Guatemala will be able to secure a majority vote is unclear, but Venezuela is determined to use Security Council membership as a vehicle to wield its influence on a global scale.
“We [Guatemala] believe the General Assembly should not be held hostage to the position of one country”, said Rosenthal.
Melorine Mokri
Please also see:
Chavez: Venezuela on the ground but still fighting for Security Council seat
http://www.vheadline.net/readnews.asp?id=70073
Amnesty: U.S. Inspiring Torture and ‘Killing Fields’,
a report by Brenda Norrell
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout4.php&id=2710&blz=1
The 192-member General Assembly held 10 rounds of voting on Monday and 12 more on Tuesday, none securing the 2/3 majority necessary to take the Latin American seat. Guatemala has maintained the lead in all but one voting round, the exception being the 6th round tie between the two countries. Tuesday’s final vote resulted in 77 votes for Venezuela and 102 votes for Guatemala.
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela launched a full-fledged public campaign for Security Council membership earlier this year, using the open seat as a podium for criticism of the Bush Administration. Venezuela’s loss could prove to be a major blow to the populist leader, who has spent considerable time and money on the campaign.
The United States openly supports Guatemala as Argentina’s replacement in the Council, while Argentina has voiced its backing of Venezuela and Chile has remained neutral. The lack of unity amongst Latin American nations is disconcerting to Guatemalan delegates, who view U.S. support for their candidacy as a mixed blessing.
“We are an independent voice, as independent as one can be in an interdependent world”, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal told reporters. “And frankly, we resent it that we are being told that we are going to tow the line of the United States. We make our own decisions.”
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the General Assembly, announced that voting will resume on Thursday, giving diplomats a 24-hour time period to pursue negotiations with member states.
The day ended with many diplomats calling for a compromise candidate. Other potential candidates include Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. But thus far neither party has indicated that it will step down if the stalemate continues.
“The bottom line is we’re still not prepared to step down, given the lead we have,” said Rosenthal. “And hopefully on Thursday we can have another go at it.”
United States Ambassador John Bolton declared U.S. support for Guatemala’s decision to stay in the race. “You can draw one conclusion from the results”, said Bolton. “And that is Venezuela is not going to win.”
Drawn-out elections are not a foreign concept to the United Nations. In 1979, delegates endured a 3-month-long election process when Colombia and Cuba vied over the Latin American seat. The General Assembly held 154 unsuccessful voting rounds before Mexico was selected as a compromise candidate, in January of 1980.
“There are other elections that have gone 100 ballots or more, and I am prepared for the long haul”, said Bolton.
There are 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members on the Security Council, each with 2-year terms. The permanent members consist of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France. Only five seats were up for reelection this year; Peru, Congo Republic, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia have one year left on the Council.
South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium all earned seats on the Security Council this Monday. They will replace Tanzania, Japan, Denmark and Greece on January 1, 2007. It will be the first time that South Africa has held a seat on the Security Council.
But the winner of the Latin American seat remains undetermined. Whether or not Guatemala will be able to secure a majority vote is unclear, but Venezuela is determined to use Security Council membership as a vehicle to wield its influence on a global scale.
“We [Guatemala] believe the General Assembly should not be held hostage to the position of one country”, said Rosenthal.
Melorine Mokri
Please also see:
Chavez: Venezuela on the ground but still fighting for Security Council seat
http://www.vheadline.net/readnews.asp?id=70073
Amnesty: U.S. Inspiring Torture and ‘Killing Fields’,
a report by Brenda Norrell
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout4.php&id=2710&blz=1