Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia on Monday assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for August.

Ambassador Dato' Ramlan Ibrahim, the permanent representative of Malaysia to the United Nations, took over the rotating council presidency from Koro Bessho, the permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations, who held the council presidency for July.

Among the priorities of the Security Council for the month of August, there will be discussions on Syria regarding the political and humanitarian situations on the ground as well as issues related to chemical weapons, Ibrahim told reporters here.

Also in this month, the council will hold its second straw poll on candidates vying for the next UN chief on Friday. And council members are expected to modify the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan due to a renewed fighting in the country's capital of Juba, according to Ibrahim.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the world at large. It also bears the responsibility to work on the mandate of UN peacekeeping operations.

The Council is composed of five permanent members -- China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Federation -- and 10 non-permanent members that are elected in groups of five, with a tenure of two years on the council.

The presidency of the council rotates among its 15 member states based on the English-language alphabetical order of the countries' names on a monthly basis.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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