NEWYORK — The UN Security Council got five new members Tuesday, as Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates formally took up the posts they won in an election in June.

Ambassadors made brief remarks, installed their countries’ flags alongside those of other members outside the council chambers, and posed for a group photo — wearing face masks and standing apart, in an acknowledgment of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The flag ceremony is a tradition that Kazakhstant started when on the council in 2018.

The 15-member council is the U.N.’s most powerful body. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members, with veto power.

Other members are elected by the 193-member General Assembly for staggered, two-year terms that are allocated by global regions.

Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam finished their terms Friday. — Agencies