Uzbekistan has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) for the first time in history, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The election of council members for the 2025−2027 term was held at the UN headquarters in New York on 7 June.
According to the secret ballot results, Uzbekistan received 185 votes from the 193 UN member states. Starting 1 January 2025, the country will occupy one of the four vacated seats from the Asia-Pacific group.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were elected to two seats from Eastern Europe.
ECOSOC is the main UN body responsible for coordinating the economic and social activities of the organization. The council holds a key position in the UN system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social, and environmental.
ECOSOC is composed of 54 states elected for a three-year term. Decisions in the council are made by simple majority vote, with each member having one vote.
The council holds several short sessions each year to organize its work, often attended by representatives of civil society. Additionally,it conducts an annual four-week substantive session in July, alternating between Geneva and New York.
ECOSOC oversees numerous commissions addressing a wide range of issues within its competence. These include the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Commission for Social Development, the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Statistical Commission, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, and the UN Forum on Forests.
Moreover, five regional commissions report to the council: the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
