Kyrgyzstan was on June 3 elected to the United Nations Security Council for the 2027-2028 term.

The small Central Asian country of 7.4mn was awarded a non-permanent seat after what was a closely watched contest for the Asia-Pacific Group vacancy that went to four rounds of voting before Kyrgyzstan got a two-thirds majority of cast ballots. Kyrgyzstan defeated the Philippines for the seat, awarded by the UN General Assembly.

Kyrgyzstan has never before served on the Security Council, the top UN body for matters of international peace and security.

The last time Central Asia had representation on the Council was nearly a decade ago, when Kazakhstan served as a member for the 2017-2018 term.

Kyrgyzstan’s term will run from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2028.

Kyrgyz officials have indicated that they will use the Security Council seat to bring up difficulties faced by landlocked and mountainous countries who face security, development, climate and connectivity challenges.

As well as the potentially devastating impacts on water and food security that could be caused by melting glaciers as a consequence of climate change, Central Asia is involved in important issues such as the development and stabilising of Afghanistan, counterterrorism, transnational crime and regional stability.

The Security Council has 15 members. Five permanent members have veto power. They are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for staggered two-year terms.

As well as Kyrgyzstan, the General Assembly vote gave non-permanent seats on the Council to Austria, Portugal, Trinidad ​and Tobago and Zimbabwe. Germany pushed hard for a seat, but was unsuccessful.

Under President Sadyr Japarov, who will come to the end of his first term in power at the end of this year but is expected to stand for re-election in January, Kyrgyzstan has become increasingly authoritarian and has weakened much of what was once a thriving independent media scene, say critics.