Nigeria assumes rotating UNSC presidency for August

Nigeria on Saturday assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for August.

Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Uche Joy Ogwu, took over the rotating council presidency from New Zealand's permanent representative to the UN Gerard van Bohemen, who held the council presidency for July.

On Aug. 4, Joy Ogwu will brief reporters on the Council's program of work at the UN headquarters. Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security in the world at large.

The Council is composed of five permanent members -- China, the United States, Britain, 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.