On 15 October 2015, Egypt was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), with an impressive 179 votes. Egypt ran uncontested for one of the two African seats up for elections this year.

This will be the fifth term for the country on the UNSC, with the previous terms being in 1949-1950, 1961-1962, 1984-1985 and 1996-1997.  Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay will also be joining the UN Security Council for this term, replacing Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania and Nigeria. The newly elected members will join the other five non-permanent council members: Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.

Egypt’s new two-year term is set to begin on 1 January 2016, at a time of unprecedented turmoil in the Middle East and as Africa faces longstanding, but also new and emerging threats, challenges and risks to peace and security. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry highlighted Egypt’s commitment to work on behalf of the full membership of the UN, and in cooperation with other members of the UNSC, in pursuit of lasting and sustainable peace.

Egypt has also indicated its intention to use its membership to pursue meaningful reforms to how the UN engages in a number of critical issues, including peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Egypt, through the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA), has already played a significant role in the review processes of UN peacekeeping missions and the global peacebuilding architecture, conducted this year.

In March 2015, the Cairo Center hosted the Middle East and North Africa Consultations of the High-Level Independent Panel on UN Peacekeeping Operations (HIPPO). In November 2014, CCCPA also hosted an international workshop on “Regional Aspects of Peacebuilding”, in cooperation with the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO). Both events have informed the deliberations of the panels conducting the reviews and contributed greatly to the recommendations that came out in June 2015.

In addition, Egypt has extensively contributed to the training of African experts involved in peace operations through CCCPA, established by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994. CCCPA is an African Union training center of excellence and has been mandated since 2010 to train the North Africa Brigade of the African Standby Force (ASF), in addition to other training courses provided to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Building on its long term commitment to the realization of global peace and security, and its substantive contribution to the cause of regional stability and prosperity in Africa and the Middle East, Egypt seeks to actively pursue these objectives as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the term 2016-2017. In cooperation with other Member States, Egypt is committed to achieving the principles enshrined in the Charter towards a future based on the ideals of peace, justice and security.