United Nations System
There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time.
Kazakhstan's membership in the United Nations Security Council
On June 28, 2016, at a vote at UN headquarters in New York, Kazakhstan, having won 138 votes out of 193 UN member states, for the first time was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017–2018. Kazakhstan's work in the UN Security Council began on January 1, 2017. Kazakhstan is the first state of Central Asia region that was elected to UN Security Council. As a non-permanent member of UN Security Council Kazakhstan pays a great attention to the regional challenges and the issue of Afghanistan, in particular such threats like terrorism growth, illegal drugs production, human trafficking, and also the presence of "Islamic State" and Al-Qaida.
The UN Security Council is a standing body of the United Nations, which is entrusted with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council consists of 15 members, 5 of which are permanent (United Kingdom, China, Russia, United States, France), and 10 are non-permanent, elected by the UN General Assembly for a two-year period for 5 countries each year. In 2017, non-permanent members of the UN Security Council include Bolivia, Egypt, Italy, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Ukraine, Uruguay, Sweden, Ethiopia, Japan.
Kazakhstan became a member of the UN on March 2, 1992. On April 15, 1992 Ms Akmaral Arystanbekova was appointed as the first Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan. On June 5, 1992 was signed the Presidential Decree on the establishment of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN. On February 16, 1993, the UN Office in Kazakhstan was opened. Mr Norimasa Shimamura is the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Kazakhstan since December 2015, and Mr Kairat Umarov is a Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations.