Lithuania assumes rotating Security Council presidency

Lithuania on Friday assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for May.

Raimonda Murmokaite, the permanent representative of Lithuania to the UN, took over the rotating council presidency from Dina Kawar, the permanent representative of Jordan to the UN, who held the council presidency for April, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the month of presidency, Lithuania intends to focus on protection of civilians, including safety of journalists in conflict situations, threat posed by small arms and light weapons to the civilian population, as well as ways to combat the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, according to the Lithuanian UN permanent mission.

In May, an open debate is planned on the human cost of illicit transfer and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

In addition, the Security Council will also discuss security implications of the illegal immigration in the Mediterranean, progress of chemical weapons destruction in Syria, the humanitarian situation in Syria and Iraq, the situation in the Middle East, South Sudan and Somalia.

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

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.