The UN elected Bahrain, Colombia, DRC, Latvia, and Liberia to the Security Council for 2026–2027. Latvia joins for the first time. Members pledged to support peace and address global conflicts.

A total of 188 United Nations Member States voted on Tuesday to elect Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The election required only one round of balloting.

These five nations will begin their two-year term on the Security Council—the UN body tasked with maintaining international peace and security—in January 2026, with their service running through the end of 2027.

In the African and Asia-Pacific group, Bahrain secured 186 votes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received 183 votes, and Liberia garnered 181 votes. One country abstained from voting in this group.

Latvia, representing the Eastern European group, received 178 votes, with 10 countries abstaining. In the Latin America and Caribbean group, Colombia obtained 180 votes, while 8 countries abstained.

Among the newly elected members, Latvia will serve on the Security Council for the first time in its history. The other four countries have previously held non-permanent seats: Colombia has served seven times, the DRC twice, and both Bahrain and Liberia once each.

Following the vote, representatives of the five incoming Council members addressed the media, expressing their commitment to global peace and identifying ongoing conflicts they aim to contribute to resolving, including crises in the Middle East, Africa, and Ukraine.

Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie, said her country will bring valuable insight shaped by decades of conflict. “We will most certainly come to the Security Council bearing the experience of a country that knows what it is like to have decades of conflict, that has a thorough understanding of the challenges of peacekeeping operations and protection of civilians issues, as well as the convergence between conflict, natural resources and environmental changes," she told reporters. "And this is the experience and expertise we wish to bring to the table, not to serve our own interests, but to serve the interests of humanity because we know that the situation in the DRC is not an individual or isolated one. We have a lot of crises around the world.”

Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, delivered a unifying message, stating, “We have gathered here as representatives of diverse cultures and perspectives, but we are united in our shared purpose to forge a more just and equitable world.”