List of members of the United Nations Security Council
Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the five permanent members and ten elected, non-permanent members. Prior to 1966, there were six elected members, while the permanent members have in essence not changed since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, apart from the representation of China. Elected members hold their place on the Council for a two-year term, and half of these places are contested each year. To ensure geographical continuity, a certain number of members is allocated for each of the five UN regional groupings.In addition, one of the non-permanent members of the council is an Arab country, alternately from the African or Asia-Pacific groups. This rule was added to the system in 1967 for it to be applied beginning with 1968.
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.