IRNA � The General Assembly of the United Nations has elected 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2019, UN Information Center (UNIC) in Tehran wrote on Wednesday.


Those elected were Angola, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mali, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the United States. The 18 outgoing members were Afghanistan, Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Guyana, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, United States and Viet Nam, according to a UNIC press release received by IRNA on Wednesday.

The new members were elected according to the following pattern: Five from African States; four from Asia-Pacific States; two from Eastern European States; three from Latin American and Caribbean States; and four from Western European and other States.

The Assembly also elected Cambodia, Malta and Yemen to complete the remaining terms of three current Council members who had decided to relinquish their seats before the end of their respective terms. In doing so, Assembly President Miroslav Laj?�k (Slovakia) announced that Tajikistan would relinquish its seat on the Council on 31 December 2018 for the remainder of the term, in favor of Cambodia; the United Arab Emirates would relinquish its seat in favor of Yemen; and Spain would relinquish its seat in favor of Malta. The new members would fill those seats from 1 January until 31 December 2019, in the cases of Cambodia and Yemen, and in the case of Malta, expiring on 31 December 2020.

As of 1 January 2019, the remaining States making up the 54-member organ will be Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Japan, Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yemen.