Gabon, Gabon and three other countries have been announced as the newest members of the U.N. Security Council.
Albania, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates also joined.
The 15-member Council is the U.N.’s most powerful body, with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members who hold veto power. The five permanent members were in the wake of World War II. Any of the “P5” veto resolutions. Russia has been the most regular user of the veto. Since the founding of the Council, it has vetoed more than 100 resolutions.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, France and the United Kingdom have not exercised their veto power since 1989. They have also called for the remaining members to use theirs less frequently.
If a permanent member does not fully agree with a proposed resolution but does not wish to cast a veto, it may choose to abstain.
Other non-permanent members include India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway.
Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam finished their terms Friday.
What does the Security Council do?
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and calls upon the parties to a dispute to resolve it by peaceful means and advises methods of adjustment or terms of the settlement.
In some cases, the Security Council can resort to levying sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
