Malaysia has secured itself a coveted non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
After a round of voting intended to fill five vacancies on the council’s non-permanent roster, Malaysia came away with 187 out of a possible 192 votes, far surpassing the 130 required to get elected.
This will be the fourth time Malaysia has won a seat on the Securiy Council; the first time it gained a seat was in 1965, and the last time was in 1999.
Malaysia’s seat on the Security Council is allocated for the Asia Pacific region. The other four non-permanent seats were won by Angola (Africa), Venezuela (Latin America and the Caribbean), and New Zealand (Western European and Others) – with Lithuania holding on to its seat for Eastern Europe.
Bernama‘s Nani Rahayu Yusof reports that Malaysia along with the other new non-permanent members will take their seats on the council on January 1 2015, and will continue to serve until December 31 2016.
The UN Security Council’s permanent members are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. Each permanent member state has veto powers in Security Council deliberations.
The UN Charter tasks the Security Council with the maintenance of international peace and security.Under the Charter, all UN member states are obligated to comply with the decisions of the Security Council.
The Security Council also recommends to the UN General Assembly candidates for the post of Secretary-General and nominates new member states for inculusion into the UN.
