South Africa, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Germany and Belgium elected non-permanent UNSC members

United Nations: The UN General Assembly on Friday elected South Africa, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Germany and Belgium as non-permanent members of the powerful Security Council for a two-year term, beginning 1 January, 2019.[caption id="attachment_4304577" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of the United Nations Security Council. AFP[/caption]Voting was held on Friday in the 193-member General Assembly to fill the seats that will be vacated by Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sweden this year.The five non-permanent members were elected according to the following pattern: Two seats for the Group of African states and the Group of Asia-Pacific states, one for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean states, and two seats for Western European and other states.The Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent ones. The five permanent members, each with the power of veto, are China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. The 10 non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms each.The most powerful UN organ, the Security Council is responsible for determining the existence of a threat against peace and to respond to an act of aggression. It is also responsible for finding peaceful means to settle a conflict or a dispute between states. In some cases, the Council can resort to sanctions or even authorise the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the UN Secretary General and the admission of new members to the UN.