United Nations Security Council

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC or UN Security Council) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It is mainly responsible for keeping peace and security around the world. The Council has special powers given by the UN Charter, such as starting peacekeeping missions, allowing military actions, and setting up international rules that all countries must follow. It is the only part of the United Nations that can make decisions that every country has to obey.

The Security Council has 15 members. Five of these are permanent members: Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. These five countries can stop any decision they do not like, which is called having a veto. The other ten members change every two years and are chosen by the UN General Assembly. Each month, a different member leads the Council.

The Security Council was created in 1945 after World War II to help keep order, replacing the League of Nations. It first met on January 17, 1946, in London. Over time, it has helped with many conflicts and peace efforts around the world. Today, it still works to keep peace, although sometimes it faces challenges when members disagree.

History

Background and creation

Further information: History of the United Nations

Before the United Nations was created, there were many groups and meetings to help keep peace between countries. One famous group was the International Committee of the Red Cross, and there were rules made in Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. After the terrible World War I, leaders met in the Paris Peace Conference and created the League of Nations to help keep peace. The League did some good work, like solving land arguments and setting up ways for sending mail and flying planes. But it had big problems—it didn’t include many countries that were ruled by others, and big countries like the United States, the USSR, Germany, and Japan didn’t join. The League couldn’t stop fights like the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 or the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in 1935.

In 1942, leaders from several countries signed a document called the United Nations Declaration, which was based on ideas from the Atlantic Charter and the London Declaration. More countries joined over time. In 1945, representatives from many nations met in San Francisco to create the United Nations Charter, which officially started the United Nations on 24 October 1945. The Security Council met for the first time in January 1946 in London.

Cold War

During the Cold War, the Security Council had trouble working because of arguments between the United States and the Soviet Union. It could only help in fights that didn’t involve these two big powers. One time, in 1950, the Council let a group led by the United States stop North Korea from attacking South Korea. In 1956, the UN created its first peacekeeping group to help end a fight called the Suez Crisis. But the UN couldn’t stop the Soviet Union from invading Hungary the same year. The Security Council tried to help in other places too, like the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1960s and Cyprus in 1964.

In 1971, the People’s Republic of China took the place of the Republic of China on the Security Council. This showed that the United States wasn’t as powerful in the UN as before. The UN started focusing more on helping people develop and share cultures instead of just keeping peace.

Post-Cold War

After the Cold War ended, the UN took on many more jobs to keep peace. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of decisions the Security Council made more than doubled, and the money for peacekeeping grew a lot. The UN helped end a big fight in El Salvador, started peacekeeping in Namibia, and watched elections in South Africa after ending apartheit and in Cambodia after a very bad time there. In 1991, the Security Council said it was wrong when Iraq invaded Kuwait and later allowed a group led by the United States to push Iraqi forces out.

In the 1990s, the UN had to deal with many serious problems inside countries, like in Haiti, Mozambique, and the former Yugoslavia. The UN’s work in Bosnia was criticized for being slow and unclear. In 1994, the UN couldn’t stop a terrible violence in Rwanda. In the late 1990s, the UN helped in places like Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, but in 2003, the United States went into Iraq without the Security Council’s okay. The Security Council also sent peacekeepers to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

21st century

In 2011, the Security Council said aircraft couldn’t fly over Libya during a big fight there. But Russia and China thought the actions that followed went too far. Because of this, they later stopped many plans to help in the Syrian civil war.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia used its power to stop decisions about the fight. This led other countries to make their own decisions about how to respond. The fighting that started in Gaza in October 2023 also made it hard for the Security Council to agree on what to do.

Role

The United Nations Security Council helps keep peace around the world. Its job is described in the UN Charter. The Council can look into problems between countries, suggest ways to solve them peacefully, and ask countries to stop trading or talking with each other if needed. It can also decide to use military force to keep peace.

The Council can also choose the next Secretary-General and suggest new countries to join the United Nations. Normally, the Council focuses on military security, but it has also talked about health issues like HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Chapter VII of the Charter lets the Council decide when there is a danger to peace and what to do about it, including using force. This is why the Council could support actions in places like Korea in 1950, Iraq and Kuwait in 1991, and Libya in 2011.

The Council can also send situations to the ICC for investigation if needed, like what happened in Darfur and during the Libyan Civil War.

The Council has promised to protect people from serious crimes during wars, such as genocide and war crimes, as stated in Resolution 1674 and Resolution 1706.

Members

Permanent members

Main article: Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council

See also: China and the United Nations, France and the United Nations, Russia and the United Nations, Soviet Union and the United Nations, United Kingdom and the United Nations, and United States and the United Nations

The five permanent members of the Security Council have the power to veto any important decision. This means that one of these countries can stop a decision from being made, even if most others agree.

When the UN started in 1945, the permanent members were the Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since then, there have been some changes. China's place was first held by Taiwan, but in 1971, it was given to mainland China. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Russia took over its place.

These five countries were the main winners of World War II and still have very strong armies. They spend a lot of money on their militaries and are allowed to have nuclear weapons under international agreements.

Veto power

See also: List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions

For the Security Council to make an important decision, at least nine of the fifteen members must agree. However, if any one of the five permanent members votes "no," that decision cannot be made. This is called a "veto." The veto can be used to block new members or other decisions, but not to stop discussions.

When the UN was being created, the five permanent members insisted on having this veto power. Without it, they said, the UN would not exist.

Non-permanent members

See also: List of members of the United Nations Security Council, United Nations Security Council elections, 2023, 2024, and 2025

In addition to the five permanent members, the Security Council has ten non-permanent members. These change every two years, with five new members joining each year. They are chosen by a vote from all UN members, and each part of the world has a certain number of seats.

President

Main article: President of the United Nations Security Council

The Security Council has a president who changes each month. The president sets the meeting schedule and helps organize discussions. Each member takes a turn in alphabetical order.

Penholders

This section is from Penholder (United Nations).

In the Security Council, a penholder is a member who takes care of a specific issue. Penholders write drafts of decisions and arrange meetings. They are usually from the permanent members or the three big democracies among them.

Meeting locations

The Security Council meets mainly in a special room in the UN Conference Building in New York City. This room was a gift from Norway and has a special painting that shows a phoenix rising, which means new beginnings after a big war.

Sometimes, the Security Council meets in other cities like Nairobi, Kenya, or Geneva, Switzerland. When the main room was being fixed up, they met in another building for a while.

Most of the real work happens in private meetings where only the Security Council members can go. These private talks let them discuss things without anyone watching or recording everything they say. This helps them make agreements more easily.

Subsidiary bodies

The Security Council can create groups to help it do its work. These groups are different and can be for many purposes, like deciding which new countries can join the United Nations, or watching over rules that limit what certain countries can do.

The Council has made groups to watch over these special rules. As of 2024, there were 15 such rules affecting many people and groups.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee was created after big attacks happened on 11 September 2001. This group helps countries work together to stop terrorist acts. It has a team that helps make decisions and check how well countries are doing this.

The Security Council also set up two special courts for serious crimes. These courts were for events in the early 1990s and have finished their work. Now, another group takes care of any remaining tasks.

United Nations peacekeepers

Main articles: United Nations peacekeeping and List of United Nations peacekeeping missions

After the United Nations Security Council approves, the UN can send peacekeepers to areas where fighting has stopped. These peacekeepers help keep the peace and make sure the agreements are followed. They are called “Blue Helmets” because of their special helmets. In 1988, all peacekeepers together won the Nobel Peace Prize.

As of December 2024, the UN had 11 active peacekeeping missions with about 70,000 people from over 120 countries. Some of these missions were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Lebanon. The smallest mission had just 42 people watching over a ceasefire in a place called Jammu and Kashmir. Peacekeepers have been in the Middle East since 1948, which is the longest mission.

The number of peacekeepers has gone down from about 161,509 in 2015 to 94,451 in 2024. Most of them, about 74%, work in Africa. The countries that send the most peacekeepers are Nepal, Bangladesh, and India.

The budget for peacekeepers in 2023–2024 was about US$5.6 billion. The United States gave the most money, followed by China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Criticism and evaluation

Main article: Criticism of the United Nations

Some people think the United Nations Security Council has done both good and bad things. They say it has helped in some ways but failed in big moments, like when it couldn't stop sad events in places such as Bosnia and Rwanda. One reason for these failures is that the Council sometimes says it will help but doesn't have enough soldiers or police ready to go.

Another problem is that five big countries have special power to stop any decision they don't like. This makes it hard for the Council to act when these countries are involved in a problem or have strong ties to one side. Some say this power means the Council doesn't work well for everyone, especially countries in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, which don't have this special power even though many people live there.

Some studies show the Council talks more about big fights that cause a lot of suffering, but its actions often depend on what the big countries want. Even when the Council makes rules, sometimes nothing happens if people don't follow them. For example, during hard times in places like Darfur and Srebrenica, many people were hurt even though the Council had promised to protect them.

On the other hand, supporters say the Council helps big countries talk to each other and has made progress with peacekeepers and rules to stop fighting. They say that without the Council, it would be even harder to keep peace around the world.

Reform

Main article: Reform of the United Nations Security Council

Many ideas have been suggested to change how the Security Council works, starting from when the United Nations was created. The group of countries with permanent seats can stop any changes to the rules, which makes it hard to agree on reforms.

Some countries, like Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan, want to become permanent members. They think the current setup looks more like the world in 1945 than today. They suggest adding more members, including some from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Europe. These new permanent members would not have the power to stop decisions right away, but might get that power later.

Africa wants at least two permanent seats for its countries. They feel it is unfair that no African country has a permanent seat, even though many of the Council's work involves Africa.

Some other countries prefer longer-term seats that can be renewed, so more regions can have a say without creating new permanent seats.

In 2024, leaders agreed on a plan to make the Security Council better represent all countries and to work on changing how decisions are made. In 2025, leaders from Brazil and India said making these changes will be very important for them.