Kyrgyzstan was elected on Wednesday as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the first time since gaining its independence in 1991.
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Kyrgyzstan won the Asia-Pacific Group vacancy, defeating the Philippines for one of the 2027-2028 seats.
It marks the first Central Asian country’s election to the 15-member UNSC in more than a decade, following Kazakhstan’s seat in the 2017-2018 term.
It also represents a major victory for Kyrgyz diplomacy, after President Sadyr Japarov urged world leaders to support Bishkek’s bid and give greater voice to countries that have never held a seat on the UNSC — especially landlocked or mountainous countries with specific security, climate or development challenges.
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev earlier this week called on the UN to reform the Council by expanding the representation of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America among its permanent members, an issue that has been raised repeatedly by other Central Asian countries.
He reaffirmed his country’s general stance that, while the UN Charter has remained the foundation of international order for nearly eight decades, the world today faces new threats, from armed conflicts and violations of international law to climate risks and food and energy insecurity.
“No single state can address modern-day threats alone, that is why multilateral diplomacy is critical,” Kulubaev said.
The current five permanent members — the US, UK, France, Russia and China — hold veto powers dating back to post-World War II agreements. The 10 non-permanent members are elected for staggered two-year mandates.
Africa and Latin America hold no permanent seats on the Council, despite Africa comprising roughly 25% of the UN’s 193 member states.
The vote on Wednesday filled five seats on the Council: one each for Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and two for the Western European and Others group.
The five countries elected on Wednesday — Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, Trinidad and Tobago, Portugal and Austria — will replace Pakistan, Somalia, Greece, Denmark, and Panama starting 1 January 2027.
