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Canada announces bid to return to UN Security Council table

Xinhua, March 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canada will actively run for a seat at the Security Council for a two-year term starting from 2021, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said here on Wednesday.

"Canada is ready to take a seat at the Security Council ... It's time for Canada to step up once again," said Trudeau at the UN headquarters, adding that his country is looking forward to "a renewed role" at the United Nations in the years ahead.

To win the 2021-2022 term at the 15-nation Council, Canada will have to gather a two-thirds majority of votes in the 193-member UN General Assembly in fall of 2020. Canada's last term at the UN most powerful body ended in 2000.

The Security Council consists of five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members elected. Every year, five non-permanent members are elected to join the five veto-wielding members of China, Britain, Russia, France and the United States.

According to the rules, non-permanent seats should be distributed as five from African and Asian states; one from Eastern European states; two from Latin American states and two from Western European and other states.

The North American country also vowed to increase its engagement with UN peace operations, one of the major UN mandates monitored by Security Council, by contributing military and police as well as supporting civilian institutions and civil society to help prevent conflict.

"We are determined to revitalize Canada's historic role as a key contributor to United Nations peacekeeping, in addition to advancing current reform efforts," Trudeau said.

Currently, Canada is contributing 84 police officers, 9 military experts, and 20 military personnel to peace operations worldwide which possess 106,245 uniformed personnel. The number dwindled sharply in the past years compared with the number of 3,000 blue helmets in February 1993.

Historically, the country had a strong role in peacekeeping missions. It was former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson who first proposed the notion of a UN-led Peacekeeping Force, during the 1956 Suez Crisis. The following year, Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

In 2010, Canada, for the first time in its history, failed to get the required number of votes to secure a rotating seat on the Security Council. The Stephen Harper government has been criticized at the time for failing to make a strong bid for the seat. Enditem