The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. Under the United Nations Charter, it has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Its powers include investigating disputes, recommending settlements, imposing sanctions, and authorizing measures involving armed force. The Council consists of fifteen member states: five permanent members and ten elected members. Each has one vote, but permanent members possess a special power to block substantive decisions, commonly called the veto. (un.org)
Establishment and development
The Charter establishing the United Nations entered into force on 24 October 1945, following World War II. The Security Council held its first meeting on 17 January 1946 at Church House in London. Its institutional structure combined a small decision-making body with permanent membership and special voting powers for China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (un.org)
Originally, the Council had eleven members: five permanent and six non-permanent. Charter amendments adopted in December 1963 entered into force on 31 August 1965, enlarging it to fifteen members and raising the number of affirmative votes required for decisions from seven to nine. The enlargement increased elected membership without changing the number of permanent seats. (un.org)
Membership and presidency
The five permanent members are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The ten non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Elections require a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, and retiring members are not eligible for immediate re-election. The Charter directs the Assembly to consider both contributions to international peace and security and equitable geographical distribution. (main.un.org)
The elected seats are distributed in practice among regional groups:
- Three for African states.
- Two for Asia-Pacific states.
- One for Eastern European states.
- Two for Latin American and Caribbean states.
- Two for Western European and other states.
Five seats are filled each year, producing overlapping terms. These arrangements concern elected seats, not permanent membership. (securitycouncilreport.org)
The presidency rotates among all Council members in the English alphabetical order of their names, with each serving for one calendar month. Permanent members have no special entitlement to the presidency. (main.un.org)
States outside the Council may participate in its discussions without voting when the Council considers their interests affected. Parties to a dispute may also be invited to participate, including states that are not UN members, subject to conditions established by the Council. (main.un.org)
Voting and the veto
The Charter distinguishes between procedural decisions and other decisions:
- Procedural matters require at least nine affirmative votes.
- Substantive matters require at least nine affirmative votes and no negative vote by a permanent member.
A permanent member’s negative vote on a substantive proposal is a veto, preventing its adoption even if all other members support it. A negative vote on a procedural matter does not have that effect. A permanent member may abstain without blocking adoption, provided the proposal receives nine affirmative votes. (main.un.org)
The Charter also requires a Council member that is a party to a dispute to abstain from decisions under Chapter VI and Article 52(3). This provision is not a general prohibition on voting whenever a member is involved in a situation before the Council; its stated scope concerns particular categories of peaceful-settlement decisions. (main.un.org)
Responsibilities and powers
Peaceful settlement of disputes
Under Chapter VI, the Council may investigate disputes or situations that could threaten international peace and recommend procedures or terms of settlement. Relevant methods include negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and recourse to regional arrangements. These powers form part of the Charter’s framework for resolving disputes peacefully. (main.un.org)
Enforcement measures
Chapter VII provides a framework for responding to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression. Article 39 authorizes the Council to determine that such a situation exists and to recommend or decide upon a response. Article 41 concerns measures not involving armed force; Article 42 permits military measures where non-military measures would be inadequate or have proved inadequate. (un.org)
Sanctions may include arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes, and economic or diplomatic restrictions. They can target states, organizations, or designated individuals. Sanctions committees and expert mechanisms support the administration and monitoring of these measures. (main.un.org)
Peacekeeping
The Council determines when and where a UN peacekeeping operation should be deployed and establishes its mandate through a resolution. It may subsequently extend, amend, or terminate that mandate. Its consideration includes the political objective, security conditions, cooperation of the parties, and prospects for a viable operation. (peacekeeping.un.org)
The United Nations has no standing military force. Military personnel serving in UN peacekeeping operations are contributed by member states; the adoption of a mandate does not itself supply the personnel and resources needed to implement it. (apnews.com)
Other institutional functions
The Council recommends the admission of new UN members and the appointment of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly. Together with the Assembly, it elects judges of the International Court of Justice. Its Charter responsibilities also include formulating plans for regulating armaments, connecting its security mandate with disarmament. (main.un.org)
Decisions and working methods
Article 25 establishes UN members’ obligation to accept and carry out Security Council decisions in accordance with the Charter. The Council also makes recommendations, so its binding decisions must be distinguished from its recommendatory actions. Its authority operates within the purposes and principles of the Charter and the broader framework of international law. (main.un.org)
The Council’s working methods include public meetings, private meetings, informal consultations, resolutions, presidential statements, and press statements. Its procedural framework rests on provisional rules adopted in 1946 and subsequent practices documented in its working-methods handbook. (main.un.org)
Subsidiary bodies assist with particular tasks. These include sanctions committees, counter-terrorism and non-proliferation committees, and working groups on peacekeeping, children and armed conflict, and procedural questions. Council committees and working groups are composed of representatives of all fifteen members. (main.un.org)
Institutional limits and reform
The veto places a defined limit on collective decision-making: sufficient support among elected members cannot secure adoption of a substantive proposal opposed by a permanent member. Implementation presents a separate constraint, particularly where an operation depends on personnel contributed by states. (main.un.org)
Security Council reform discussions in the General Assembly address five established subjects: categories of membership, the veto, regional representation, the size and working methods of an enlarged Council, and its relationship with the Assembly. These discussions distinguish changes to institutional composition from changes to working practices. (un.org)
On 26 April 2022, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 76/262, establishing a standing procedure for an Assembly debate following a veto. It provides for a meeting within ten working days, unless the Assembly meets in an emergency special session on the same situation. This creates an additional forum for scrutiny but does not reverse the Council vote. (digitallibrary.un.org)
Changes requiring Charter amendment face a separate legal threshold. Under Article 108, an amendment must be adopted by two-thirds of General Assembly members and ratified by two-thirds of UN members, including every permanent member of the Security Council. (un.org)
References
- Main Bodiesun.org
- UN Charterun.org
- United Nations Charter (full text)un.org
- Explore Every Word: Full-Text Search for Security Council Resolutions Is Here!un.org
- Current Membersmain.un.org
- Voting Systemmain.un.org
- Functions and Powersmain.un.org
- Functions and Powers of the Security Council (Chapter V of UN Charter)main.un.org
- Working Methods UN Chartermain.un.org
- Special Research Report No. 1: Security Council Elections 2007securitycouncilreport.org
- Security Council Presidencymain.un.org