The United Nations General Assembly’s 73^rd session on June 7 began to cast votes to choose five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 tenure.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, head of the Vietnamese delegation, casts vote to choose five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 on June 7 (Photo: VNA)

Among the six candidates, two are from Africa, one from Latin America, one from Eastern Europe, and one from Asia-Pacific.

As the only candidate representing Asia-Pacific, Vietnam will replace Kuwait at the UNSC from January 1, 2020 if it wins at least 70 percent of votes, or 129 ballots.

As one of the six major UN organs, the UN Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent and the remaining 10 ones with two-year tenures. It is the only UN organ to have the right to assess threats to peace and propose or decide on measures to restore global peace and security.

The Asia-Pacific countries’ nomination of Vietnam to the position reflects their recognition of its active, substantial and responsible contributions to the world’s largest multilateral organisation over the past 42 years, especially in the UN’s pillar fields such as peace maintenance and building, protection of human rights and development promotion.

(Source: VNA)