5 new non-permanent members elected to Security Council

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The UN General Assembly elected Friday five new non-permanent members to join the ranks of the Security Council, including two nations who had never before served.

Estonia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean island nation, were reportedly elected alongside Niger, Tunisia and Vietnam.

Each has been elected to a two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2020 after acquiring the required two-thirds majority from the General Assembly.

While China, Russia, the U.S., U.K. and France serve as the council's five permanent members who wield veto power, the rest of the 15-member council is elected to staggered two-year terms and is drawn from global regions.

Belgium, Cote d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, Poland and South Africa currently comprise the 10 non-permanent member states.