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Security Council Reform - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum
Security Council Reform
Picture Credit: Cartoon from The UN for Beginners by IanWilliamsThe Security Council reflects the global power structure of 1945, when most of today's nations were still under colonial rule. In 1965, under pressure from a growing membership, the UN added four new elected members to the Council, bringing its total membership to 15. But the five principal World War II allies clung to their privileged status. They remain "permanent" and have the power to veto any Council decision. This arrangement makes the Council both undemocratic and ineffective. The veto-wielding permanent members (P-5) prevent many issues from reaching the Council's agenda and they often selfishly bar widely-agreed and much-needed initiatives. Despite the ten elected members, the Security Council remains geographicaly unbalanced and seriously unrepresentative.
For more than a decade, the UN General Assembly has debated Council reform but has been unable to reach agreement. At the heart of this stalemate lies a conflict over claims to new permanent Council seats. Germany, Japan, Brazil, India, South Africa, Nigeria and others have demanded this special status and they have won some support for their bid. But the P-5 prefer to keep their own monopoly. And many other states firmly oppose the creation of new permanent seats, insisting that the Council should only be enlarged with new elected members. Other critics -- including GPF -- are concerned that enlargement would make the Council unwieldy and ineffective. They propose regionally-based seats as a future-oriented and more democratic reform.
Beyond the vexed issue of membership, reform proposals include changes in the Council's procedures and working methods, such as regular rules of procedure, more public meetings, and other steps to make the Council more transparent and accountable. These reforms are more attainable. Unlike membership changes, they do not require changes in the UN Charter and they can be implemented by a decision of the Council itself. But the P-5 are jealous of their prerogatives and often oppose procedural changes that lessen (however slightly) their special powers.
Towards a Democratic Reform of the UN Security Council (July 13, 2005)
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Also see: Basic Information | How the Council Works | Agenda: Crises, Sanctions and Peacekeeping | Veto
NGOs and the Council | Resources
Membership including Expansion and Representation
This page examines proposals for changes in the Council’s membership, including additional permanent and/or additional elected members. The membership issue includes discussions about how to make the Council more representative and more legitimate. Membership change requires a difficult process of changing the UN Charter.Transparency including Working Methods and Decision-Making Process
The Council has taken some steps to increase its efficiency and transparency in recent years. However, reform of the Council’s working methods remains a work in progress. These reforms do not require Charter amendment, so in theory they are easy to implement. But the P-5 usually oppose them. This page contains articles about proposed reforms to the Council’s working methods, as well as efforts to increase its transparency and improve its relationship with other UN organs.Documents and Statements
This page contains important UN documents, reports, draft resolutions and government statements from years of debate on Security Council reform.General Articles
This page collects general articles on Security Council reform.Veto
In the Council debates, many governments express their opposition to the veto and call for its restriction or elimination. This section presents extensive information about the veto including data, articles and analyses of veto power, including the often-used but little-known “hidden veto.”UN Reform
Also see GPF’s section on UN Reform, which follows different initiatives, such as the Millennium Summit and Its Follow-Up, the work of different Panels and Working Groups, as well as the reform proposals of Secretary General Kofi Annan. The site also covers the various topics of UN Reform beyond the Security Council, including reform of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Human Rights Commission.
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