Zimbabwe elected to key United Nations body

ZIMBABWE has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) cluster which has 17 other member states drawn from several continents.

ECOSOC is the coordinating body for funds and the economic and social work of UN agencies.
Nigerian diplomat Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the outgoing president of the UN General Assembly, announced the results after voting by secret ballot in the assembly on Wednesday.

Mr Muhammad-Bande will be replaced as president of the General Assembly by Ambassador Volkan Bozkir of Turkey.

Among other elected members were the African countries of Liberia, Libya, Madagascar and Nigeria.
From the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Japan and Solomon Islands were elected as well as Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico in Central and South America.

Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Bulgaria and Portugal were the European countries elected for a three-year term beginning next January.

ECOSOC membership is drawn from 54 countries, which are elected each year by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

Seats on the council are allocated on the basis of geographical representation with 14 seats to African states, 11 to Asia-Pacific states, six to Eastern European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states, and 13 to Western Europe and other states.

The election of Zimbabwe into the Economic and Social Council means that the country will participate in the day to day management of specified UN agencies, bodies, and commissions that fall under ECOSOC’s oversight purview.

The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member States and the United Nations system.

It is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation and encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

It has the power to make or initiate studies and reports on these issues. The Council also has the power to assist the preparation and organisation of major international conferences in the economic and social and related fields and to facilitate a coordinated follow-up to these conferences.

With its broad mandate the Council’s purview extends to over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system.

The elections were held at the UN Headquarters to fill the posts of the President of the General Assembly, non-Permanent members of the UN Security Council and members of the of the ECOSOC.
ECOSOC links a diverse family of UN entities dedicated to overall guidance and coordination.

It is also charged with following up the outcomes of UN summits and conferences and translating declaration commitments and resolutions into action.