Panama Takes Seat on U.N. Security Council

UNITED NATIONS – Panama this week took its seat as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, a rotating post it will occupy for the next two years.

The Central American country replaces Argentina and, along with Peru, will represent Latin America on the world organization’s top decision-making body.

The other four countries taking non-permanent seats on the Council at this time are South Africa, Indonesia, Belgium and Italy, who – respectively – will replace Tanzania, Japan, Denmark and Greece.

Panama was elected to the Council amid the logjam in the voting in the General Assembly last November over whether Venezuela or Guatemala would succeed Argentina on the Security Council.

Neither of those countries obtained the necessary votes to join the Council after multiple ballots, as a result of which Panama was put forward as a compromise candidate by the Latin American regional bloc of states.