MH17: Malaysia to be joined by new non-permanent members in UNSC next year

Malaysia will be joined by new non-permanent members in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2016.

In a single round of voting Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly elected Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay to serve as UNSC non-permanent members for a two-year term effective Jan 1, 2016, till Dec 31, 2017.

Malaysia's two-year term as a UNSC non-permanent member will expire at the end of 2016.

The five new non-permanent seats available for election in 2015, distributed on a regional geographic basis, are: two seats for the African Group (the two current members Chad and Nigeria will be vacated from 2016); one seat for the Asia-Pacific Group (to be vacated by Jordan); one seat for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (to be vacated by Chile); and one seat for the Eastern European Group (currently held by Lithuania).

The 'Western European and Others' group is not contesting any seats this year, as its two seats (currently held by New Zealand and Spain) are up for election every even calendar year.

The five permanent Council members, each of whom wield the power of veto, are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The non-permanent members that will remain on the Council until the end of 2016 are Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.

The arrival of Ukraine as a non-permanent member will see active cooperation between it and Malaysia which, along with Australia, Belgium, and Netherlands, can expect active support in pursuing 'MH-17' which was also the subject of a recently released report by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB).

Both the U.S. administration and U.N. Secretary General have welcomed the DSBs conclusive findings in regard to the downing of the MH-17 aircraft, attributed to pro-Russian rebel fighters in Eastern Ukraine.

I believe Ukraine will be actively coordinating with Malaysia to further pursue the case of investigating this crime, one Asian diplomat familiar with both countries told Bernama on condition of anonymity.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Each of the Councils members has one vote.

Under the Charter, all UN Member States are obligated to comply with UNSC resolutions.

The Security Council has continued to take the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It traditionally calls upon parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement.

In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorise the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

It also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations.

The UNSC, together with the General Assembly, elects the judges of the International Court of Justice.