Timor-Leste backs PH bid for UN Security Council seat

JOINT STATEMENT. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (right) and Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta are about to deliver their joint statements after their bilateral meeting at the Malacañang Palace in Manila on Friday (Nov. 10, 2023). The Department of Foreign Affairs said Timor-Leste has reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ bid to secure a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for the term 2027-2028. (PNA photo by Rey Baniquet)

MANILA – Timor-Leste has reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ bid to secure a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2027-2028.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a joint press statement on Friday said the assurance was made during the state visit of Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta.

In his bilateral meeting with Marcos at Malacañang Palace in Manila, Ramos-Horta recognized the Philippines’ continuing interest to help Timor-Leste improve its economy while recalling the country’s contribution in “defining Timor-Leste’s existence as a separate specific entity.”

“The Philippines has been in the forefront before (Timor-Leste’s) independence and in the critical years of 1999,” he said.

The Philippines was last elected to the UNSC in 2004 where it also pushed for continued support for assistance that were tailored to the needs of the young state.

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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. first announced the country’s UNSC bid during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2022, saying the Philippines’ peace-building efforts make it qualified to be part of the security council.

The DFA earlier said some states have formally committed in writing that they will support Manila’s candidature either unilaterally or through some kind of mutual arrangement but many “have not yet made a formal decision.”

The elections will be held during the 81st UN General Assembly in 2026.

The UNSC consists of 15 member-states, with China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States serving as permanent members.

Under the UN Charter, all member-states are obligated to comply with Council decisions.