France, Jan. 2 -- A third of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council change hands each year - and from January 2026, Algeria, South Korea, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Slovenia will be replaced by Bahrain, Latvia, Colombia, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Elected in June 2025 as a non-permanent member for the 2026-2027 term, the DRC won 183 votes out of 187 at the UN headquarters in New York.

DRC's seat at the table coincides with Somalia's rotating presidency and marks itsthird term on the council, following two mandates in 1982-83 and 1990-91.

"We will carry the voice of the DRC, but also that of Africa," said the country's foreign minister Therese Wagner.

Its return comes as Kinshasa described the securit...