Since 1946, all five permanent members – widely referred to as the ‘P5’ – have exercised the right of veto at one time or another on a variety of issues. In other words, a negative vote by any of the permanent five (China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom or the United States) can prevent the adoption by the Council of any draft resolution relating to substantive matters. On all other matters an affirmative vote of nine members “including the concurring votes of the permanent members” is necessary. When deciding on “procedural matters”, nine members need to vote in favour for a decision to be adopted. The voting procedure in the Security Council is guided by Article 27 of the UN Charter which establishes that each member of the Council has one vote. What is the ‘veto power’ and how can it be used? The UN Security Council meets on the situation in Ukraine, 27 February 2022. The first time the Council authorized the use of force was in 1950 under what was referred to as a military enforcement action, to secure the withdrawal of North Korean forces from the Republic of Korea.

Importantly, the action required to carry out the decisions of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security shall be taken by all the Members of the United Nations or by some of them, as the Security Council may determine pursuant to Chapter VII. In some cases, the Security Council may act under Chapter VII of the Charter and resort to imposing sanctions or can even authorize, as a last resort, when peaceful means of settling a dispute are exhausted, the use of force, by Member States, coalitions of Member States or UN-authorized peace operations to maintain or restore international peace and security. It can also recommend the referral of disputes to the International Court of Justice ( ICJ), which is widely known as the ‘World Court’ and is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, seated at The Hague in the Netherlands. When dealing with crises, the Council, guided by the UN Charter, the Security Council can take several steps.Īcting under Chapter VI of the Charter, t he Council can call upon parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommend methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In other words, actions taken by the Council are binding on all UN member countries. The expansion to 15 members occurred after the amendment of Article 23(1) of the Charter through the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution ( A/RES/1991(XVIII)).Īlthough there are still some 60 UN Member States that have never sat on the Security Council, all members of the UN, however, agree under Article 25 of the Charter, to accept and carry out decisions adopted by the Council. What you might not know is that before 1965, the Security Council was composed of 11 members, six of which were non-permanent. It takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or an act of aggression.

The Security Council, made up of 15 members – five permanent seats belong to China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with 10 non-permanent seats that rotate by election among other UN member countries – is the body that was granted the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

It was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization s and came into force on 24 October 1945. The functions and powers of the Security Council are set out in the UN Charter, the Organization's founding document.

Here at UN News, we’ve taken a deep dive into the UN Charter to try and give you the answers you might be looking for.

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