Russia will hold the monthly presidency of the UN Security Council in September, which this year coincides with the opening of the 74th session of the General Assembly on September 17.
“From September 1, Russia will become the president of the UN Security Council,” Spokesman for Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN Fedor Strzhizhovsky told TASS.
During its presidency in the UN Security Council, Russia intends to bring attention of the global organization to the settlement of problems on the African continent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier last month.
The presidency of the UN Security Council rotates monthly among its members according to the alphabetical order of the names of the countries in English.
The UN Security Council brings together 15 member states, including five permanent members – the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States and France. Each of them has a veto power, which allows them to block resolutions. Half of non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms each year. Currently, the non-permanent members are Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Peru, Poland and South Africa.
According to Strzhizhovsky, a large number of events at the Security Council are scheduled for September.
The UN Security Council’s president is tasked with drawing up the program of the organization, which under Article 24 of the UN Charter holds the responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, while other UN members must observe these resolutions. The president also makes decisions regarding the requests for holding emergency meetings.
