/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/larazon/7HWHFL4VDNDFHG7LVWDWATX5AI.jpg "Brazil among new members of the UN Security Council")
(AP). Brazil is one of five new members of the United Nations Security Council, who formally assumed their place on Tuesday after being elected in June.
The others are Albania, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates.
The respective ambassadors made brief speeches, placed the flags of their countries next to those of the other members and posed for a group photo, but with a mask and distanced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 15-member Council is the most powerful body in the UN. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are the only permanent members with veto power.
The other members are elected by the 193 members of the General Assembly for two-year terms, assigned by region.
Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam concluded their terms on Friday.
Countries often campaign for years for a job, giving them a voice on issues such as peacekeeping missions, conflict resolution strategies, and global peace and security issues.
Council members can also convene meetings on issues that are of particular interest to them, and by having a seat there, small countries have the opportunity to share a prominent platform with large ones.
This is the first time that Albania is a member of the Council, but the 11th for Brazil. For Gabon and Ghana it is the fourth and for the Emirates it is the second.
More than 50 of the 193 member countries of the UN have never been elected to the Security Council since it was created in 1946.
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