Slovenia was elected to take a seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Tuesday, June 6, after overwhelmingly defeating Russia-aligned Belarus.
In a 153-38 vote, the European Union member state will take its seat at the UN's most powerful body alongside Guyana, Sierra Leone, Algeria, and South Korea beginning in January 2024.
The five new member nations would replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates upon the end of their terms on December 31.
Ten of the council's 15 seats are voted upon by member nations for a two-year term, while the remaining five are permanently filled by representatives of the United States, the UK, France, China, and Russia, representing the victors of World War II.
The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are allotted to regional groups, who usually select candidates, but sometimes cannot agree on an uncontested slate.
Slovenia's Win A Blow to Russian Hegemony in UN
Belarus has been an unopposed candidate since 2007, but the brutal crackdown of Belorussian authorities on protesters opposing its 2020 presidential election prompted Slovenia to contest the seat in 2021. Moscow also used Belarus to stage its failed attack on Kyiv during the opening phases of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Last month, Russia initiated the mobilization of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. This was the Kremlin's first deployment of such weapons outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
"The Russians have always argued that a lot of states support Ukraine in public at the UN, but sympathize with Russia in private," UN International Crisis Group Director Richard Gowan said. "But this secret ballot does not support that claim at all."
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