6 New Countries Entered to the United Nations Security Council

Six new countries joined the UN Security Council as non-permanent members.

These countries comprise Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Peru, Poland and the Netherlands.
The UN Security Council has 15 members including 5 permanent members (China, Russia, Britain, France and the United States) who have powers to veto resolutions.
Equatorial Guinea and Poland had abstained on a General Assembly vote condemning USA’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The six countries which left the UN Security Council on 31st December 2017 are Japan, Italy, Egypt, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Poland returns to the Security Council after 20 years

Poland had joined the United Nations Security Council after a time span of 20 years. It is all set to head the council in May 2018 and again in the second half of 2019. Now it will sit in the council with the five permanent members and the other nine non-permanent members which include Sweden, Peru, the Netherlands, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan and Kuwait.

What is United Nations Security Council?

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations that maintains the international peace and security, accepts new members to the United Nations and approvs any changes to its United Nations Charter. The first session of Security Council was on 17 January 1946. Kairat Umarov of Kazakhstan is serving as the head of UNSC. The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names

Permanent Members of UNSC

Russia
United Kingdom
France
China
United States

Non-Permanent Members

Security Council has temporary members that hold their seats on a rotating basis by geographic region. These ten non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five replaced each year.

Expected Questions

Which of the following countries has not been given entry to the United Nations Security Council in January 2018?

a. Guinea

b. Bahrain

c. Kuwait

d. Ivory Coast

In which year was the first session of Security Council held?

a. 1948

b. 1947

c. 1946

d. 1945