AU endorses Somalia for 2025-2026 UN Security Council Seat

The African Union Executive Council has officially endorsed Somalia as the sole candidate from the Eastern Africa region for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for the term 2025-2026.

This announcement was made by Somalia's acting Foreign Minister, Ali Omar, on Thursday evening.

"Thrilled to announce at the AU Executive Council meeting the endorsement of Somalia as a sole candidate for the Eastern region for the UNSC non-permanent seat for 2025-2026," posted the minister on his X handle.

He added that this was a "historic step forward" for Somalia.

Mogadishu is bidding for this position, with only one seat available for Africa in this term, to be filled by a country from the Eastern Africa region.

The endorsement by the AU Executive Council signifies consensus from the entire Eastern region bloc and the continent that Somalia will represent Africa at the UNSC next year.

The 2024 United Nations Security Council election is scheduled to take place in mid-2024 during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, to be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The elections are to fill five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, each with a two-year mandate beginning on 1 January 2025.

Mozambique is the incumbent elected member representing the continent at the global security body.

According to campaign material distributed by the Somali mission at the UN and reviewed by The Eastleigh Voice, Somalia asserts itself as a reliable advocate capable of championing Africa's peace and security agenda in the UNSC.

Mogadishu pledges to uphold the principles and mandates of the UN Charter, working towards a peaceful, stable, and prosperous global order.

In November 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced that his government would launch a "total war" against the al-Qaida-affiliated militant group al-Shabab, after the group staged a deadly hotel siege in Mogadishu, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 100.

Mohamud will leverage renewed efforts against terror to rally member states to vote for Mogadishu in September, despite ongoing attacks by al-Shabab, including the recent incident where four Emirati troops and a Bahrain military officer were killed in an attack on a military base in the Somali capital.