Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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United Nations/Eskinder DebebeUN Security Council
The Security Council is the United Nations' most powerful body. It has "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security." Five powerful countries sit as "permanent members" along with ten other member states, elected for two-year terms. Since 1990, the Council has dramatically increased its activity and it now meets in nearly continuous session. It dispatches military operations, imposes economic sanctions, mandates arms inspections, deploys human rights and election monitors and more. The materials available here provide analysis and documents about the Council and the sharp debate about Council reform, as well as information about the NGO Working Group on the Security Council.
Towards a Democratic Reform of the UN Security Council (July 13, 2005)
Basic Information
This section provides information on the membership of the Security Council, including terminology, elections, presidencies, and the organization of Council committees, as well as profiles of ambassadors serving on the Council.How the Council Works
Each month, the Council establishes a Program of Work that includes a daily schedule of meetings. The Council makes formal decisions (such as Resolutions, Presidential Press Statements, and Presidential Assessments) in public sessions but meets much of the time in closed "informal consultations." A glossary clarifies the Council's many ways of meeting. From time to time, the Council leaves UN headquarters and goes on missions to crisis areas. This page provides information on the methods of work and procedures of the Security Council. It also links to Council resolutions and documents.What's on the Agenda?
The Security Council has a very full agenda. It responds to crises and supervises sanctions and peacekeeping operations. It also considers broad thematic issues. See our main Index of Countries and Territories.Security Council Reform
Though many states favor reform of the Council, change in this conservative body moves very slowly. The five permanent members prefer a status quo that favors them, with only cosmetic changes. In 1965, Council membership expended from 11 to 15 members, but few find the body representative or accountable. This section assembles extensive information about Council reform, addressing issues of transparency and working methods, and membership expansion and representation.The Veto
The five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) enjoy the privilege of veto power. This power has been intensely controversial since the drafting of the UN Charter in 1945. The United States and Russia would probably not have accepted the creation of the United Nations without the veto privilege. Fifty years later, the debate on the existence and use of the veto continues, reinvigorated by many cases of veto-threat as well as actual veto use. This page follows the issue, and provides data and a comprehensive list of all the vetoes cast and the subjects vetoed in the Security Council since 1945.NGOs and the Council
Security Council members began an active dialogue with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the late 1990's. Many different kinds of Briefings and Formulas provide for meetings between NGOs and the Council. A key institution is the NGO Working Group on the Security Council, that meets regularly with Council ambassadors.Tables and Charts
Many original tables and charts on meetings, consultations, resolutions, presidential statements, vetoes, sanctions committees and peacekeeping.Resources on the Security Council
This page provides links to various organizations and websites on the UN Security Council and various aspects of its work.
