Ireland wins seat on UN Security Council

The Republic of Ireland has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2021/22.

It secured the 128 votes needed in the 191-nation General Assembly in New York to win a two year non-permanent seat.

Norway has also secured a seat after a vote by the UN General Assembly.

The 15-member council has five permanent members - the US, UK, France, Russia and China - and 10 non-permanent seats, filled on a rotating basis.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minster) Leo Varadkar said Ireland's return to the council "is a recognition of our work on the world stage over many decades".

The UN Security Council sits in the UN's headquarters in New York

He said Ireland "will use our presence to advance the causes we've championed, peace and security, conflict resolution, reconciliation, climate action, sustainable development, and gender equality".

Ireland has previously won a non-permanent seat on the Security Council in 1962, 1981 and 2001.

The UN Security Council is composed of 15 members.

Irish President Michael D Higgins welcomed the result of the vote, saying that Ireland ran a campaign which did not avoid urgent global issues.

Mr Higgins said that the campaign engaged with issues "such as peace-building and peacekeeping, the elimination of global poverty, the strengthening of multilateralism, and reform of the United Nations".