India, Mexico, Norway, Ireland and Kenya join polarized United Nations Security Council

Five new countries — India, Mexico, Norway, Ireland and Kenya — formally joined the UN Security Council on Monday at a time of growing polarization in the body charged with keeping world peace and security.

They took part in a first meeting aimed at approving an agenda proposed by the current chair of the council, Tunisia.

The new countries will hold non-permanent seats on the 15-member council for two years. The permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France, and Britain — hold veto power.

Divisions within the council have sharpened in recent years as the US under President Donald Trump took a unilateral approach to diplomacy.