DR Congo launches campaign for seat at UN Security Council

KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday launched its campaign for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for 2026-2027 in an official ceremony in Kinshasa.

Considered to be the most powerful body of the United Nations (UN), the Security Council is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It can take legally binding decisions, authorise the use of force, and impose sanctions.

It is made up of five permanent members, China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members that are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly and do not have the power of veto.

The central African country has twice been elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, in 1982-1983, and 1991-1992 during the Gulf War, Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told diplomats and Congolese officials at the event Wednesday.

"Our country played a key role in condemning Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait," she said of the DRC's role in the first Gulf War.

The foreign minister hailed the experience of the DRC, which hosts one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world with 15,000 blue helmet forces.

Elections for non-permanent member seats at the Security Council are slated for June 2025.

If elected, the DRC would get to "influence the debate on peacekeeping and peacebuilding reform, as well as the reform of the UN's collective security system", Kayikwamba Wagner said.

The DRC, whose mineral-rich east has been plagued by armed conflict for three decades, vowed to bring "experience in strengthening conflict resolution mechanisms... to prevent wars and international tensions", she said.