Which among the following statements regarding the election of non-permanent members to the United Nations Security Council is/are correct ? 1. Five members coming from Africa and Asia, one from Eastern Europe, two from Latin America and two from Western Europe and other states 2. Six members are elected each year by the General Assembly for two year term Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — A, 1 only. Statement 1 reproduces the standing regional formula for the ten elected seats — five for the African and Asian states, one for Eastern Europe, two for Latin America and the Caribbean, and two for Western Europe and other states. In today's group arithmetic that five splits into three African seats and two Asia-Pacific seats, and one of the five rotates as an Arab seat between the two groups, but the totals are exactly as printed. Statement 2 gets the term right and the number wrong. Half the non-permanent seats turn over every year, so it is five members who are elected annually, not six — five seats are contested in even years and five in odd years, each for a two-year term. One wrong number sinks the whole statement, which leaves statement 1 standing alone.
- (b)2 only — This throws away the one statement that is accurate and keeps the one with the arithmetic error. Six members a year would empty and refill the ten elected seats in under two years, which cannot work with a two-year term.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Tempting because statement 2 sounds right in every other respect — the General Assembly does elect them, and the term is two years. The single figure six is the planted error; the correct number elected each year is five.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Statement 1 is the allocation actually in force, so rejecting both is wrong. Candidates land here when they misremember the Eastern European share as two and conclude the whole distribution is off.
The Security Council has fifteen members: five permanent, with the veto, and ten elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The ten are distributed by region so that no part of the world is shut out, and the seats are staggered — five come up for election every year — so the Council never turns over completely at one time. A retiring member is not eligible for immediate re-election, which keeps the elected seats circulating among the membership.
Questions on this topic almost always turn on a single number, so the safe way to hold it is as a set of small figures that must add up. Fifteen members equals five permanent plus ten elected. The ten split as five, one, two and two by region. The ten split again as five and five by year of election, with a two-year term. If a statement gives you a number that breaks one of those sums, it is the planted error, however plausible the rest of the sentence reads. Note that statement 1 uses the older phrasing that groups Africa and Asia together into five seats; the Asian group is now formally the Asia-Pacific group and the seats are shared three to Africa and two to Asia-Pacific, so the statement is correct in substance even though the group names have moved on since the formula was written.
- The Security Council has fifteen members — five permanent and ten non-permanent elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
- Five of the ten elected seats are contested each year, five in even years and five in odd years, so half the elected membership changes annually.
- The current group allocation is three African, two Asia-Pacific, one Eastern European, two Latin American and Caribbean, and two Western European and Others.
- An outgoing non-permanent member cannot be immediately re-elected, and one of the African and Asian seats rotates as an Arab seat between the two groups.
- Confusing the number elected each year, which is five, with the total elected membership, which is ten.
- Giving Eastern Europe two seats instead of one, which is the commonest misremembering of the formula.
- Assuming a retiring non-permanent member can stand again at once; it cannot.
Asked as a two-statement item where one statement carries the regional formula and the other hides a single wrong number.
The Security Council of UN consists of 5 permanent members, and the remaining 10 members are elected by the General Assembly for a term of
- (a) 1 year
- (b) 2 years
- (c) 3 years
- (d) 5 years
Answer(b) 2 years
The term of office asked on its own. It is the half of statement 2 that this paper gets right, which is what makes the wrong number in the other half so easy to miss.
Which of the following statements about the non-permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations is/are correct? 1. Their total number is now 10, but was originally only 6. 2. They are elected for a term of two years only. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
The same topic two years earlier, and the number six turns up there as well — but as the original count of elected seats, which is correct. Here six is attached to the annual election and is wrong, so read what the number is counting.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How many non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are elected by the General Assembly each year ?
- (a)Three
- (b)Five
- (c)Six
- (d)Ten
Answer(b) Five — the ten elected seats are staggered, five being contested each year for a two-year term.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the regional allocation of the ten elected seats on the United Nations Security Council, how many go to Eastern European states ?
- (a)One
- (b)Two
- (c)Three
- (d)Four
Answer(a) One — the split is five for Africa and Asia, one for Eastern Europe, two for Latin America and the Caribbean and two for Western Europe and other states.