Context

India has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) for a two-year period starting next year.

About

What is ECOSOC?

• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the 6 principal organs of the United Nations System established by the UN Charter in 1945.
• It consists of 54 Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
• ECOSOC coordinates economic, social, and related work of the fourteen United Nations specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions.
• The Council's 54 member Governments are elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
• Seats on the Council are allotted based on geographical representation with 14 allocated to African states, 11 to Asian states, six to eastern European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to western European and other states.

Other New members

• Asia-Pacific: India, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Oman.
• African states: Côte d'Ivoire, Eswatini, Mauritius, Tunisia and the United Republic of Tanzania.
• Eastern European states: Croatia and the Czech Republic.
• Latin American and Caribbean states: Belize, Chile and Peru.
• In the Economic and Social Council by-election, Greece, New Zealand and Denmark were elected for a term of office from January to December 2022 and Israel was elected for a term of office beginning January 1, 2022 and until December 31, 2023.