Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Indonesia will launch its campaign next week for a fifth term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), seeking to represent the priorities of developing countries at the UN's most powerful body, the Foreign Ministry said.

Jakarta is seeking a seat for the 2029-2030 term, with its campaign centered on peacekeeping, preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and civilian protection, the ministry said, as the council faces renewed scrutiny over its ability to respond to global conflicts.

"Indonesia aims to act as a bridge-builder, establishing common ground, maintaining dialogue within the Council and seeking practical solutions. We will also bring the voice and priorities of the Global South," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang told reporters on Thursday.

"Indonesia [also] wants a Security Council that delivers results. It might sound overly ambitious, but why not? That is precisely what Indonesia aims to bring: an effective and responsive Security Council," she continued.

Representatives from nearly 200 countries are due to convene in Manhattan, New York, the United States, from Tuesday for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, where they will discuss pressing geopolitical issues amid continuing global tensions and economic uncertainty.

Beyond the formal debates and meetings, the week-long gathering will provide a major diplomatic arena for countries to advance their priorities, rally support for candidacies to UN bodies and hold hundreds of bilateral meetings with counterparts.

Indonesia's UNSC candidacy will be contested within the Asia-Pacific Group for one of the five non-permanent seats allocated to the regional group. Jakarta has previously served on the council four times, in 1973-74, 1995-96, 2007-08 and 2019-20.

Jakarta's latest bid comes amid a particularly challenging period for the UN's most powerful body, which has faced mounting criticism over its inability to respond promptly and decisively to major global crises.

The council's divisions among its five permanent members – the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France and Russia, all of which wield veto power – became particularly apparent following Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed as of June 21, as recorded by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Despite repeated calls from the international community for an immediate, legally binding ceasefire, the UNSC took more than five months after the outbreak of the conflict to adopt its first resolution demanding one.

Frustration persisted after the resolution was adopted, with the US, a major Israeli ally, maintaining that the measure was non-binding, while the situation on the ground in Gaza continued to deteriorate.

Another round of exasperation came later in 2026, when the council was again paralyzed following the launching of the US-Israel war against Iran on Feb. 28. It took 11 days for the council to adopt a resolution that condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf states and Jordan, while making no mention of the initial US-Israeli strikes that triggered the conflict.

On Wednesday, a week before the Manhattan circuit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cited the council's repeated paralysis as a major contributor to deteriorating global security, calling for urgent reform as current "power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world".

"We have geopolitical divides, and in these geopolitical divides, we have powers that themselves violate international law and sit in the Security Council [...] and that has been paralyzing the Security Council," Guterres said.

"That is why the reform of the Security Council must be an absolute priority."

Other countries that have announced their candidacy for the 2029-2030 non-permanent UNSC seats include Australia, Uganda and Iran, with the latter registering its candidacy through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Elections for said terms are scheduled for 2028, with competing countries required to secure a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in the General Assembly.

Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-seeks-fifth-un-security-council-term-pledges-global-south-voice