The U.N. Security Council’s five new non-permanent members including Gabon, Ghana, Albania, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates have formally taken up the posts they won in an election in June.
The 15-member council is the U.N.’s most powerful body. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members, with veto power.
Albania is in the Council for the first time, Brazil for the 11th time, Gabon and Ghana for the third time, and the UAE for the first time.
Other members are elected by the 193-member General Assembly for staggered, two-year terms that are allocated by global regions.
Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam finished their terms Friday.
More than 50 of the 193 UN member states have never been elected non-permanent members of the Security Council since the organization was founded in 1946.