Canada withdraws from race for UN Security Council membership

Dec 29, 2011, 11:15 GMT

New York - Canada will not launch a new campaign for membership in the United Nations Security Council after losing the bid in 2010 to Portugal for the seat reserved for a Western nation, according to the Toronto Star on Wednesday.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said that his government will not seek another term in the 15-nation council at UN headquarters in New York, but will remain vocal on issues like human rights.

The UN General Assembly each year in October elects five new members to fill the seats of five outgoing countries. Portugal's two-year term will expire end of 2012.

Canada had served several terms in the council and never lost an election. But its stunning defeat to Portugal in 2010 was the first in six decades it has been a member of the world organization.

Canada recently made another surprising move in international affairs, withdrawing prematurely from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, making it the first country to officially abandon the international environmental agreement even before it expires in 2012.

Canada signed on to the Kyoto accords in 1998 under former prime minister Jean Chretien. But successive governments have not taken action to meet the targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts said that by withdrawing before year's end, Canada will avoid paying penalties for not meeting its binding pledges for greenhouse gas reductions.