Belarus was denied a seat on the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday as five other nations joined the rotating ranks, giving them voting rights for the next two years.
Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and South Korea won the top spots after running unopposed and scheduled to begin their terms on January 1, 2024.
Slovenia, which took on Belarus, prevailed with a resounding defeat at the hands of the Russia-allied country, securing 153 votes in the UN General Assembly versus Belarus’ 38 votes.
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Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, holds a press conference after the UN Security Council elections, June 6, 2023 in New York, the United States. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Belarus had run unopposed for the Eastern European seat in 2024 since 2007, before violently cracking down on demonstrators after the 2020 presidential election.
Western nations and human rights groups have accused Minsk of falsifying the election results to secure another presidential victory for Alexander Lukashenko – who has been president since 1994.
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Security Council meeting on “Maintaining Peace and Security in Ukraine” at UN Headquarters. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Slovenia entered the UN Security Council race against Belarus in December 2021, according to Portal.
Since then, Belarus has been one of the few countries to have aided Russia in its deadly invasion of Ukraine, and last month allowed Russia to advance a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons within its borders.
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But opposition to Belarus’ nomination by the General Assembly was no guarantee after the country elected Iran – which has also been a key backer of Russia in its war effort in Ukraine – as vice president of the General Committee for the forthcoming 78th session in September.
In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speak during the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (Vyacheslav Viktorov, Roscongress Foundation via AP)
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In addition, Iran was also elected rapporteur of the General Assembly’s Committee on Disarmament and International Security despite Iran’s past violations of ballistic and nuclear regulations under the UN Charter.
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The newly elected member states will replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates and join the five permanent members with veto powers, including Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Portal contributed to this report.