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{{Short description|Organ of the UN responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security}}
{{Redirect2|UNSC|Security Council|other uses|UNSC (disambiguation)|and|Security Council (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox organization
| image                    = {{box|[[File:Emblem of the United Nations.svg|120px]]|type=transparent}}
| name                     = {{UBL
 | United Nations Security Council
 | {{hr}}
 | [[Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|مجلس الأمن للأمم المتحدة|rtl=yes}}
 | [[Standard Chinese|Chinese]]: {{lang|zh|联合国安全理事会}}
 | [[French language|French]]: {{lang|fr|Conseil de Sécurité des Nations Unies|italic=unset}}
 | [[Russian language|Russian]]: {{lang|ru|Совет Безопасности Организации Объединённых Наций}}
 | [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: {{lang|es|Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas|italic=unset}}
 }}
| map                      = File:UN Security Council Nov 16 2023.jpg
| map_caption              = UN Security Council Chamber in New York
| type                     = [[United Nations System#Six principal organs|Principal organ]]
| abbreviation             = UNSC
| membership               = {{unbulleted list
|[[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|Permanent members]]:
|{{flaglist|China}}{{efn|name=roc|The People's Republic of China was [[Accession of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations|admitted]] to the UN and the Security Council in 1971, replacing the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. The [[Charter of the United Nations]] still lists the Republic of China as the member.}}
|{{flaglist|France}}
|{{flaglist|Russia}}{{efn|name=ussr|The Russian Federation succeeded the seat of the [[Soviet Union]], see [[Russia and the United Nations]]. The [[Charter of the United Nations]] still lists the Soviet Union as the member.}}
|{{flaglist|United Kingdom}}
|{{flaglist|United States}}
}}{{unbulleted list
|[[List of members of the United Nations Security Council#Non-permanent (1966–present)|Non-permanent members on rotation]]:
|{{flaglist|Bahrain}}
|{{flaglist|Colombia}}
|{{flaglist|DR Congo}}
|{{flaglist|Kingdom of Denmark|name=Denmark}}
|{{flaglist|Greece}}
|{{flaglist|Latvia}}
|{{flaglist|Liberia}}
|{{flaglist|Pakistan}}
|{{flaglist|Panama}}
|{{flaglist|Somalia}}
}}
| leader_title             = Presidency
| leader_name              = Rotates monthly among members
| headquarters             = [[New York City]], U.S.
| formation                = 24 October 1945
| website                  = http://un.org/securitycouncil
| parent_organization      = [[United Nations]]
| footnotes                = [[File:United Nations Security Council regional groups.svg|250px]]
{{leftlegend|#0000ff|African States (3)}}
{{leftlegend|#339900|Asia-Pacific States (3)}}
{{leftlegend|#cc0000|Eastern European States (2)}}
{{leftlegend|#cc3399|Latin American and Caribbean States (2)}}
{{leftlegend|#cc9900|Western European and Other States (5)}}
}}

{{United Nations series}}
The '''United Nations Security Council''' ('''UNSC''' or '''UN Security Council''') is one of the [[Organs of the United Nations|six principal organs]] of the [[United Nations System|United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|title=Article 7 (1) of Charter of the United Nations|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410130442/https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|url-status=live}}</ref> and has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.<ref name="Article24">{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|title=Article 24 (1) of Charter of the United Nations|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410130442/https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|url-status=live}}</ref> Its powers, outlined in the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], include establishing [[United Nations peacekeeping|peacekeeping]] operations, authorizing military action, and imposing international sanctions. Under [[Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter|Chapter VII]] of the UN Charter, the Council may identify threats to international peace, determine breaches of that peace, and authorize responses up to and including the [[Use of force in international law|use of force]]. It is the only UN body with the authority to adopt binding international law by issuing [[United Nations Security Council resolution|resolutions]] binding on all member states.<ref name="Article24" /> The Council also recommends the admission of new member states to the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Article 4 (2) of Charter of the United Nations |url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/ |publisher=United Nations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410130442/https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/ |archive-date=10 April 2019 |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> and approves changes to the Charter.<ref>{{cite web |title=Article 108 of Charter of the United Nations |url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/ |publisher=United Nations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410130442/https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/ |archive-date=10 April 2019 |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>

The Security Council consists of 15 members: five permanent members – Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France – and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|title=Article 23 (1) of the Charter of the United Nations|date=26 June 1945|website=www.un.org|publisher=[[United Nations]]|language=en|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410130442/https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/|url-status=live}}</ref> The five permanent members, who were the [[great power]]s among the [[Allies of World War II]] or their recognized successor states, each hold [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto power]] over substantive resolutions, enabling any one of them to block adoption of a draft resolution regardless of the level of support among other members. This veto right does not carry over into General Assembly matters or votes, which are non-binding. The [[Presidency of the United Nations Security Council|presidency]] rotates monthly among all fifteen members in English alphabetical order.

Created in 1945 after [[World War II]] to succeed the [[League of Nations]] in maintaining international order,<ref>McNeill, J. R.; Pomeranz, Kenneth, eds. (2015). ''Production, Destruction and Connection, 1750–Present, Part 1, Structures, Spaces, and Boundary Making''. The Cambridge World History. Vol. 7. p. 324. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139196079. {{ISBN|978-1-108-40775-5}}.</ref> the Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at [[Church House, Westminster]], in London. During the [[Cold War]], it was largely paralyzed by rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, though it authorized interventions in the [[Korean War]] and the [[Congo Crisis]] and deployed peacekeepers to [[Cyprus]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]]. Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, peacekeeping expanded dramatically: the Council authorized major operations in [[Gulf War|Kuwait]], [[United Nations Transition Assistance Group|Namibia]], [[United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia|Cambodia]], [[United Nations Protection Force|Bosnia]], and [[United Nations Operation in Somalia II|Somalia]], among others. In the 2020s, the Council has faced renewed paralysis, with repeated vetoes by Russia over the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|war in Ukraine]] and by the United States over the [[Gaza war|war in Gaza]], prompting fresh calls for structural reform.

[[United Nations resolution|Resolutions]] of the Security Council are enforced in part through [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping missions]], comprising military, police, and civilian personnel voluntarily provided by member states. {{As of|2024|December}}, there were 11 active peacekeeping missions with approximately 70,000 personnel from over 120 contributing countries, funded through an approved annual budget of approximately {{US$|5.6 billion}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fifth Committee Approves $5.59 Billion Budget for 14 Peacekeeping Operations |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/gaab4463.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Background and creation ===
{{Further|History of the United Nations}}
In the century prior to the United Nation's creation, several international treaty organisations and conferences had been formed to regulate conflicts between nations, such as the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] and the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=5}} Following the catastrophic loss of life in [[World War I]], the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] established the [[League of Nations]] to maintain harmony between nations.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=8}} The League successfully resolved some territorial disputes and created international structures for postal mail, aviation, and opium control, some of which were later absorbed into the UN.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=10}} However, it lacked representation for colonial peoples – then half the world's population – and significant participation from several major powers, including the United States, the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], Germany, and Japan. It failed to act against the 1931 [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]], the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] in 1935, the 1937 [[Japanese occupation of China]], and Nazi expansions under [[Adolf Hitler]] that escalated into World War II.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=13–24}}

[[File:Cairo conference.jpg|thumb|[[Chiang Kai-shek]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Winston Churchill]] at the [[Cairo Conference (1943)|Cairo Conference]] in 1943]]
[[File:Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) (B&W).jpg|thumb|[[Winston Churchill]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Joseph Stalin]] at the [[Yalta Conference]], February 1945]]

On New Year's Day 1942, President [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], [[Maxim Litvinov]] of the USSR, and [[T. V. Soong]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] signed a short document based on the [[Atlantic Charter]] and the [[Declaration of St James's Palace|London Declaration]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98U8YSrp1YUC&q=%22The+first+of+the+specific+steps+that+led+to+the+establishment+of+the+United+Nations+was+the+Inter-Allied+Declaration%22%22|title=Everyone's United Nations|date=1986|publisher=UN|isbn=978-92-1-100273-7|pages=5|language=en|access-date=5 December 2020|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115074545/https://books.google.com/books?id=98U8YSrp1YUC&q=%22The+first+of+the+specific+steps+that+led+to+the+establishment+of+the+United+Nations+was+the+Inter-Allied+Declaration%22%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tandon|first1=Mahesh Prasad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5g6AQAAIAAJ&q=%22(1)+London+Declaration%22|title=Public International Law|last2=Tandon|first2=Rajesh|date=1989|publisher=Allahabad Law Agency|language=en}}</ref> The next day, representatives of 22 other nations added their signatures, and the document came to be known as the [[United Nations Declaration]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/declaration.shtml |title=Declaration by United Nations |publisher=United Nations |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703023233/http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/declaration.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed.{{sfn|Osmańczyk|2004|p=2445}} The four major Allied countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China – were styled the "[[Four Policemen|Four Powers]]" and became the foundation of the Security Council's executive structure.<ref name="sheriff">{{cite journal |last=Urquhart |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Urquhart |title=Looking for the Sheriff |journal=The New York Review of Books |date=16 July 1998 |volume=45 |issue=12 |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/07/16/looking-for-the-sheriff/ |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309235120/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/07/16/looking-for-the-sheriff/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Gaddis|2000}}

Following the 1943 [[Moscow Conference (1943)|Moscow Conference]] and [[Tehran Conference]], delegations from the Big Four met in mid-1944 at the [[Dumbarton Oaks Conference]] in Washington, D.C., to negotiate the UN's structure.<ref>{{cite video |year=1944 |title=Video: Allies Study Post-War Security Etc. (1944) |url= https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39024 |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |access-date=28 November 2014}}</ref> The composition of the Security Council quickly became the dominant issue. France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States were selected as permanent members; the United States attempted to add [[Brazil]] as a sixth member but was opposed by the Soviet and British delegations.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=9}} The most contentious question at Dumbarton Oaks and in successive talks was the veto rights of permanent members. The Soviet delegation argued that each permanent member should have an absolute veto that could block matters from even being discussed, whilst the British argued that nations should not be able to veto resolutions on disputes to which they were a party. At the [[Yalta Conference]] of February 1945, the US, UK, and Russian delegations agreed that each of the Big Five could veto any action by the Council, but not procedural resolutions.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=10–13}}

On 25 April 1945, the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|UN Conference on International Organization]] began in San Francisco, attended by 50 governments and a number of non-governmental organizations involved in drafting the [[United Nations Charter]].<ref name="unmilestones">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/aboutun/milestones.htm |title=Milestones in United Nations History |publisher=Department of Public Information, United Nations |access-date=22 November 2013 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111074909/https://www.un.org/aboutun/milestones.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> At the conference, [[H. V. Evatt]] of the Australian delegation pushed to further restrict the veto power of permanent members, but his proposal was defeated twenty votes to ten, owing to fears that rejecting the strong veto would cause the conference to fail.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|Schlesinger|2003|p=196}}

The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the UN Charter by the five permanent members and a majority of the other 46 signatories.<ref name="unmilestones"/> The Security Council met for the first time on 17 January 1946 at [[Church House, Westminster]], in London.<ref name="about">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/what-security-council |title=What is the Security Council? |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 January 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901050345/https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/what-security-council |url-status=live}}</ref> During the 1946–1951 period, it conducted sessions at the United Nations' interim headquarters in [[Lake Success, New York]], which were televised live on [[CBS]] by the journalist [[Edmund Chester]] in 1949.<ref name="nyt-1951-05-19">{{cite news |last=Rosenthal |first=A. M. |date=19 May 1951 |title=U.N. Vacates Site at Lake Success; Peace Building Back to War Output |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/19/archives/un-vacates-site-at-lake-success-peace-building-back-to-war-output.html |access-date=26 July 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=26 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726230531/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/19/archives/un-vacates-site-at-lake-success-peace-building-back-to-war-output.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://untappedcities.com/2021/05/19/united-nations-lake-success/ |title=The United Nations Headquarters in Long Island's Lake Success |date=19 May 2021 |access-date=16 January 2023 |archive-date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519170543/https://untappedcities.com/2021/05/19/united-nations-lake-success/ |url-status=live }}<!-- Untapped Cities is a non-specialist source; consider replacing with scholarly or archival source --></ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/television-broadcast-of-a-new-series-reporting-the-sessions-news-photo/647173796?adppopup=true |title=United Nations in Action: Photograph of Edmund Chester, Larry LaSueur, Lyman Bryson at the interim headquarters of the UN General Assembly Lake Success, NY, March 8, 1949 |date=2 March 2017 |access-date=16 January 2023 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113182015/https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/television-broadcast-of-a-new-series-reporting-the-sessions-news-photo/647173796?adppopup=true |url-status=live }}<!-- Getty Images caption, not an independent source; consider replacing with primary archival documentation or secondary scholarly source --></ref>

=== Cold War ===
[[File:Church House Westminster London 2016 (02).jpg|thumb|[[Church House, Westminster|Church House]] in London, where the first Security Council meeting took place on 17 January 1946]]

The Security Council was largely paralyzed in its early decades by the [[Cold War]] between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies; the Council was generally able to intervene only in conflicts unrelated to the superpower rivalry.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=35}} A notable exception was the 1950 Security Council resolution authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the [[Korean War|North Korean invasion of South Korea]], passed during a [[Soviet Union boycott of the United Nations|Soviet boycott]] of the Council.<ref name="unmilestones"/>{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=58–59}} In 1956, the [[United Nations Emergency Force|first UN peacekeeping force]] was established to end the [[Suez Crisis]],<ref name="unmilestones"/> but the UN was unable to intervene against the simultaneous Soviet [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|invasion of Hungary]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=114}} Cold War divisions also paralyzed the Security Council's [[Military Staff Committee]], which had been created by Articles 45–47 of the Charter to oversee UN forces and create UN military bases. The committee continued to exist on paper but largely abandoned its work in the mid-1950s.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=38, 55–56}}<ref name="Chapter7">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter7.shtml |title=Charter of the United Nations: Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505055751/https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter7.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1960, the UN deployed the [[United Nations Operation in the Congo|UN Operation in the Congo]] (UNOC) – the largest military force of its early decades – to restore order to the breakaway [[State of Katanga]], returning it to the control of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] by 1964.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=115–134}} The Security Council found itself bypassed in favour of direct superpower negotiations during some of the decade's larger conflicts, such as the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and the [[Vietnam War]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=61–62}} It focused instead on smaller conflicts without an immediate Cold War dimension, deploying the [[United Nations Temporary Executive Authority|UN Temporary Executive Authority]] in [[West New Guinea]] in 1962 and the [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus|UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus]] in 1964, the latter of which became one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=156–157}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=59}}

On 25 October 1971, over US opposition but with the support of many [[Third World]] nations, the mainland [[People's Republic of China]] replaced the [[Republic of China]] in the Security Council seat; the vote was widely seen as a sign of waning US influence in the organization.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=195–197}} With an increasing Third World presence and failures of UN mediation in the [[Six-Day War|Middle East]], [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Kashmir]], the UN increasingly shifted its attention toward economic development and cultural exchange. By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development far exceeded its budget for peacekeeping.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=167–168, 224–225}}

=== Post-Cold War ===
[[File:Colin Powell anthrax vial. 5 Feb 2003 at the UN.jpg|thumb|US Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]] holds a model vial of [[anthrax]] while presenting to the Security Council in February 2003]]

After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in ten years than it had in the previous four decades.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=286}} Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased more than tenfold.<ref>{{harvnb|Fasulo|2004|p=43}}; {{harvnb|Meisler|1995|p=334}}.</ref> The UN negotiated an end to the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], launched a successful [[United Nations Transition Assistance Group|peacekeeping mission in Namibia]], and oversaw democratic elections in post-[[Apartheid in South Africa|apartheid]] South Africa and post-[[Khmer Rouge]] Cambodia.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=252–256}} In 1991, the Security Council condemned the Iraqi [[invasion of Kuwait]] on the same day of the attack and later authorized a [[Gulf War|US-led coalition]] that successfully repulsed the Iraqi forces.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=264–277}} Undersecretary-General [[Brian Urquhart]] later described the hopes raised by these successes as a "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=334}}

Though the Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in the early 1990s the UN faced a number of simultaneous serious crises within states, including Haiti, Mozambique, and the former Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=66–67}} The [[United Nations Protection Force|UN mission to Bosnia]] faced "worldwide ridicule" for its indecisive and confused response to ethnic cleansing.<ref>For quotation "worldwide ridicule", see {{harvnb|Meisler|1995|p=293}}; for description of UN missions in Bosnia, see {{harvnb|Meisler|1995|pp=312–329}}.</ref> In 1994, the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda|UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] failed to intervene in the [[Rwandan genocide]] amid Security Council indecision.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=104}}

In the late 1990s, UN-authorized international interventions took a wider variety of forms. The [[United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone|UN mission]] during the 1991–2002 [[Sierra Leone Civil War]] was supplemented by British [[Royal Marines]], and the UN-authorized [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|2001 invasion of Afghanistan]] was overseen by [[NATO]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=110–111}} In 2003, the United States [[Iraq War|invaded Iraq]] without a UN Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force, prompting renewed questioning of the Council's effectiveness.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=111}} In the same decade, the Security Council deployed peacekeepers to address the [[War in Darfur]] in Sudan and the [[Kivu conflict]] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2013, [[Secretary-General's Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka|an internal review]] of UN actions in [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|the final battles]] of the [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]] in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered "systemic failure".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html |title=UN failed during final days of Lankan ethnic war: Ban Ki-moon |agency=Press Trust of India |date=25 September 2013 |work=FirstPost |access-date=5 November 2013 |archive-date=30 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030080724/http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===

In 2011, the Security Council authorized a [[2011 military intervention in Libya|no-fly zone over Libya]] during the [[2011 Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]], under [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973|Resolution 1973]], which was adopted with ten votes in favour and five abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India, and Russia).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |title=Security Council Approves 'No-Fly Zone' Over Libya, Authorizing 'All Necessary Measures' to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions |date=17 March 2011 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=19 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319093321/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Russia and China subsequently argued that the NATO-led intervention exceeded the resolution's mandate, and this experience shaped their approach to later crises: both vetoed multiple draft resolutions on the [[Syrian civil war]] from 2011 onward, blocking efforts to impose sanctions or authorize force against the government of [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council reform a must, to end 'paralysis' |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143677 |publisher=UN News |date=21 November 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

The [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in February 2022 precipitated a series of vetoes. Russia vetoed a draft resolution deploring the invasion on 25 February 2022, with eleven members voting in favour and China, India, and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.<ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution on Ending Ukraine Crisis, as Russian Federation Wields Veto |url=https://press.un.org/en/2022/sc14808.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=25 February 2022 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> In September 2022, Russia again vetoed a resolution condemning its attempted annexation of four Ukrainian regions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russia vetoes Security Council resolution condemning attempted annexation of Ukraine regions |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1129102 |publisher=UN News |date=30 September 2022 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> These vetoes contributed to the adoption of [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1|General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1]], which deplored the invasion, and prompted the General Assembly to adopt Resolution 76/262 in April 2022, creating a standing mandate for a General Assembly debate whenever a veto is cast in the Security Council.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Holds First-Ever Debate on Historic Veto Resolution |url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/ga12500.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=26 April 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

The [[Gaza war]], which began in October 2023, produced further deadlock. The United States vetoed draft resolutions calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023, December 2023, and February 2024, arguing that they would undercut ongoing diplomatic negotiations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council Fails to Adopt Resolution Demanding Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza on Account of Veto by United States |url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15519.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=8 December 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council Again Fails to Adopt Resolution Demanding Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza on Account of Veto by United States |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15595.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=20 February 2024 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> In 2024, seven draft resolutions were vetoed – the highest annual total since 1986 – including four by Russia, three by the United States, and one by China.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Hindsight: The Security Council in 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025 |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2025-01/in-hindsight-the-security-council-in-2024-and-looking-ahead-to-2025.php |publisher=Security Council Report |date=January 2025 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

== Role ==
{{UNSCR}}
The UN's role in international [[collective security]] is defined by the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], which authorizes the Security Council to investigate any situation threatening international peace; recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute; call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt economic relations as well as sea, air, postal and radio communications, or to sever diplomatic relations; and enforce its decisions militarily, or by any means necessary. The Council also recommends the new [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] to the General Assembly and recommends new states for admission as [[Member states of the United Nations|member states]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter2.shtml |title=Charter of the United Nations: Chapter II: Membership |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208031716/https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter2.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="chapter5">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter5.shtml |title=Charter of the United Nations: Chapter V: The Security Council |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001102526/http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter5.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> The Security Council has traditionally interpreted its mandate as covering military security, though US Ambassador [[Richard Holbrooke]] persuaded the body to pass a resolution on [[HIV/AIDS in Africa]] in 2000, broadening the definition of threats to peace and security.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=46}}

=== Chapter VI: Pacific settlement of disputes ===

Under [[Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter|Chapter VI]] of the Charter, "Pacific Settlement of Disputes", the Security Council "may investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute". The Council may "recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment" if it determines that the situation might endanger international peace and security.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter6.shtml |title=Charter of the United Nations: Chapter VI: Pacific Settlement of Disputes |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208032239/https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter6.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> These recommendations are generally considered non-binding, as they lack an enforcement mechanism.<ref>See {{harvnb|Fomerand|2009|p=287}}; {{harvnb|Hillier|1998|p=568}}; {{harvnb|Köchler|2001|p=21}}; {{harvnb|Matthews|1993|p=130}}; {{harvnb|Neuhold|2001|p=66}}. For lack of enforcement mechanism, see {{harvnb|Magliveras|1999|p=113}}.</ref> A minority of scholars, including [[Stephen Zunes]], have argued that resolutions under Chapter VI are "still directives by the Security Council and differ only in that they do not have the same stringent enforcement options, such as the use of military force".{{sfn|Zunes|2004|p=291}}

=== Chapter VII: Threats to peace ===

[[Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter|Chapter VII]] of the Charter gives the Security Council the power to identify threats to international peace and security, and to authorize responses, including the use of force. Security Council resolutions adopted under Chapter VII, such as [[economic sanctions]], are binding on all UN members. The Security Council is the only UN body with authority to issue binding resolutions.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=287}}{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=39}}

Under Chapter VII, the Security Council is specifically authorized to respond to "threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression".<ref name="Chapter7" /> In such situations, the Security Council has authority to take "such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.” Thus the Security Council is not limited to recommendations but may take action, including the use of armed force "to maintain or restore international peace and security".<ref name="Chapter7" /> This was the legal basis for UN armed action in [[Korean War|Korea]] in 1950 (led by the US under the auspices of the [[United Nations Command|UN Command]]), the use of coalition forces in [[Gulf War|Iraq and Kuwait]] in 1991, and the [[Intervention (international law)|intervention]] in [[Libyan civil war (2011)|Libya]] in 2011.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=56–57}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |title=Security Council Approves 'No-Fly Zone' Over Libya |date=17 March 2011 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=19 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319093321/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ICC referrals ===

The [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court]] (ICC) recognizes that the Security Council has authority to refer cases to the [[International Criminal Court|ICC]] in situations where the Court could not otherwise exercise jurisdiction.<ref>[http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/99_corr/cstatute.htm Article 13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019222421/http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/99_corr/cstatute.htm |date=19 October 2013}} of the Rome Statute. United Nations. Retrieved 26 November 2013.</ref> The Council first exercised this power in March 2005, when it referred the situation in [[Darfur]] since 1 July 2002 to the Court; because Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute, the Court could not otherwise have exercised jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite press release |publisher=United Nations Security Council |date=31 March 2006 |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8351.doc.htm |title=Security Council Refers Situation in Darfur, Sudan, To Prosecutor of International Criminal Court |access-date=14 March 2007 |archive-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011221020/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8351.doc.htm/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Bush-relents-to-allow-UN-vote-on-Sudan-war-crimes/2005/04/01/1112302241979.html |title=Bush relents to allow UN vote on Sudan war crimes |author=Wadhams, Nick |date=2 April 2005 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=27 November 2013 |archive-date=19 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119052456/http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Bush-relents-to-allow-UN-vote-on-Sudan-war-crimes/2005/04/01/1112302241979.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The second such referral came in February 2011, when the Council asked the ICC to investigate the Libyan government's response to the [[2011 Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-libya-icc-idUSTRE71Q1DB20110227 |title=Q+A: How will the world's war crimes court act on Libya? |author=Gray-Block, Aaron and Greg Roumeliotis |date=27 February 2011 |work=Reuters |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=26 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226220819/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-libya-icc-idUSTRE71Q1DB20110227 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Responsibility to protect ===

[[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1674|Security Council Resolution 1674]], adopted on 28 April 2006, reaffirmed the provisions of the 2005 [[World Summit Outcome Document]] regarding the [[responsibility to protect]] populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=4459bed60 |title=Resolution 1674 (2006) |publisher=UN Security Council via Refworld |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202231721/http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=4459bed60 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Security Council reaffirmed this commitment in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706|Resolution 1706]] on 31 August 2006.{{sfn|Mikulaschek|2010|p=20}} These resolutions commit the Security Council to taking action to protect civilians in armed conflict, including against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.{{sfn|Mikulaschek|2010|p=49}}

== Members ==

=== Permanent members ===
{{Main|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|United States and the United Nations}}

The five permanent members of the Security Council have the power to [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto]] any substantive resolution, enabling a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution but not to prevent or end debate.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width=24% | Country
! width=18% | Regional group
! width=26% | Current state representation
! width=34% | Former state representation
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"| {{flag|China}}
|[[Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States|Asia-Pacific]]
|{{flagicon|China}} [[China|People's Republic of China]]
|{{flagicon|Taiwan}} [[China and the United Nations#Republic of China in the United Nations (1945–1971)|Republic of China]]{{efn|name=China|On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, the [[People's Republic of China]] on the [[Mainland China|mainland]] was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the [[Republic of China]] on the [[Taiwan (island)|island of Taiwan]]. The [[Charter of the United Nations]] still lists the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] as the member.}} ([[Republic of China (1912-1949)|1945–1949]],<br/>[[Taiwan|1949–1971]])
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|France}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{flagicon|France}} [[French Fifth Republic|French Republic]]
|{{flagicon|France|1794}} [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|Provisional Govt.]] (1945–1946)<br/>[[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] (1946–1958)
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|Russia}}
|[[Eastern European Group|Eastern Europe]]
|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia|Russian Federation]]
|{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (1945–1991){{efn|name=ussr|The Russian Federation succeeded the seat of the [[Soviet Union]], see [[Russia and the United Nations]]. The [[Charter of the United Nations]] still lists the Soviet Union as the member.}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom of Great Britain<br>and Northern Ireland]]}}
|{{N/A}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|United States}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States|United States of America]]
|{{N/A}}
|}

At the UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members were the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], France (represented by the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]]), the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There have been two major seat changes since then. [[China and the United Nations|China's seat]] was originally held by [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s Nationalist government. After the Nationalists were forced to retreat to [[Taiwan]] during the [[Chinese Civil War]] in 1949, the [[Chinese Communist Party]] assumed control of the mainland as the People's Republic of China. In 1971, [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|General Assembly Resolution 2758]] recognized the People's Republic as the [[One-China policy|rightful representative of China]] in the UN and transferred the Security Council seat accordingly; the [[Taiwan and the United Nations|Republic of China was expelled from the UN altogether with no opportunity for membership as a separate nation]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=195–197}} After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the Russian Federation was recognised as the [[succession of states|legal successor state]] and maintained the Soviet seat.{{sfn|Blum|1992}}

The five permanent members were the victorious great powers in World War II{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=70}} and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces. They annually top the [[List of countries by military expenditures|list of countries with the highest military expenditures]].<ref name="SIPRI">{{cite web |url=http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex |title=SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=24 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524130032/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- NOTE: 2013 military expenditure data is outdated; update with current SIPRI figures --> In 2013, they spent over US $1&nbsp;trillion combined on defence, accounting for over 55% of global military expenditures (the US alone accounting for over 35%).<ref name="SIPRI"/> They are also amongst the world's [[Arms industry#World's largest arms exporters|largest arms exporters]]<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-arms-treaty-idUSBRE86Q1MW20120727 | title= United Nations fails to agree landmark arms-trade treaty | first= Michelle | last= Nichols | date= 27 July 2012 | work= Reuters | access-date= 26 November 2013 | archive-date= 16 March 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160316212137/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arms-treaty-idUSBRE86Q1MW20120727 | url-status= live}}</ref> and are the only nations officially recognized as "[[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapon states]]" under the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] (NPT), though other states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons.

The bloc of Western democratic permanent members – France, the United Kingdom, and the United States – is informally styled the "P3".

==== Veto power ====
{{Main|United Nations Security Council veto power}}

{{See also|List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions}}

Under [[United Nations Security Council veto power#UN Charter|Article 27]] of the UN Charter, Security Council decisions on all substantive matters require the affirmative votes of nine members. A negative vote – or "veto" – by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal, even if it has received the required number of votes.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}} Abstention is not regarded as a veto in most cases, though all five permanent members must actively concur to adopt any amendment to the Charter.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=287}} Procedural matters cannot be vetoed, nor can the veto be used to prevent discussion of an issue. The same holds for certain non-binding decisions that directly regard permanent members.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}} Most vetoes have been used for blocking a candidate for Secretary-General or the admission of a member state, not in critical international security situations.<ref name="Veto"/>

In the negotiations leading to the creation of the UN, the veto power was opposed by many smaller countries and was in effect imposed by the five sponsoring powers, who made clear that the UN would not be founded without it. [[Francis O. Wilcox]], an adviser to the US delegation at the 1945 San Francisco conference, described the situation:

{{blockquote|At San Francisco, the issue was made crystal clear by the leaders of the Big Five: it was either the Charter with the veto or no Charter at all. Senator Connally [from the U.S. delegation] dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same act if they opposed the unanimity principle. "You may, if you wish," he said, "go home from this Conference and say that you have defeated the veto. But what will be your answer when you are asked: 'Where is the Charter?{{'"}}{{sfn|Wilcox|1945}}}}

An early veto by Soviet commissar [[Andrey Vyshinsky|Andrei Vyshinsky]] blocked a resolution on the withdrawal of French forces from Syria and Lebanon in February 1946, establishing the precedent that permanent members could use the veto on matters outside immediate concerns of war and peace. The Soviet Union went on to veto the admission of Austria, Cambodia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Libya, Nepal,<ref>{{cite news |author=A. M. Rosenthal |date=8 September 1949 |title=Russia's 31st Veto in U.N. Bars Nepal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/08/archives/russias-31st-veto-in-u-n-bars-nepal-nine-nations-in-the-security.html |access-date=18 January 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118234356/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/08/archives/russias-31st-veto-in-u-n-bars-nepal-nine-nations-in-the-security.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Portugal, South Vietnam, and Transjordan as member states, delaying their admission by several years. The United Kingdom and France used the veto to avoid condemnation of their actions in the 1956 Suez Crisis. The first US veto came in 1970, blocking General Assembly action on [[Southern Rhodesia]]. From 1985 to 1990, the United States vetoed 27 resolutions, primarily to block resolutions perceived as critical of Israel but also to protect its interests in Panama and Korea. The Soviet Union, the United States, and China have all vetoed candidates for Secretary-General, with the United States blocking the re-election of [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] in 1996.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=52–54}}

Through the end of 2024, Russia and the Soviet Union had cast approximately 120 vetoes, the United States 89, the United Kingdom 29, and France and China 16 each.{{efn|These figures exclude vetoes cast to block candidates for Secretary-General, as these occur in closed session.}}<ref name="Veto">{{cite web |url= http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Changing_Patterns_in_the_Use_of_the_Veto_as_of_August_2012.pdf |title=Changing Patterns in the Use of the Veto in The Security Council |publisher=Global Policy Forum |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114211630/https://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Changing_Patterns_in_the_Use_of_the_Veto_as_of_August_2012.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vetoes since 1946 |url=https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/vetoes-since-1946 |publisher=United Nations Security Council |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> Roughly two-thirds of Soviet and Russian combined vetoes were in the first ten years of the Security Council's existence.

In April 2022, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 76/262, the "veto initiative", which requires a General Assembly debate within ten working days whenever a Security Council veto is cast, allowing the vetoing member to explain itself and giving all member states an opportunity to respond.<ref>{{cite web |title=The U.N. General Assembly's Veto Initiative Turns One. Is it Working? |url=https://www.justsecurity.org/86140/the-u-n-general-assemblys-veto-initiative-turns-one-is-it-working/ |publisher=Just Security |date=26 April 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> The first General Assembly debate under this resolution occurred on 26 April 2023, following Russia's veto of a draft resolution condemning its attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Holds First-Ever Debate on Historic Veto Resolution |url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/ga12500.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=26 April 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

=== Non-permanent members ===
{{See also|List of members of the United Nations Security Council|United Nations Security Council elections|2023 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2023|2024 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2024|2025 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2025}}

Along with the five permanent members, the Security Council has ten non-permanent members that hold their seats on a rotating basis by geographic region. Non-permanent members may be involved in global security briefings.<ref>{{YouTube|id=FgthI1fdRYA|title=U.N. Security Council Briefing on the U.S. Air Strike in Syria}} [[Time (magazine)|Time]]</ref> In its first two decades, the Security Council had six non-permanent members, the first of which were Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Poland. In 1965, the number of non-permanent members was expanded to ten.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The UN Security Council |url= http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html |publisher= United Nations Foundation |access-date=15 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120620101548/http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html |archive-date=20 June 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

These ten non-permanent members are [[United Nations Security Council elections|elected]] by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five replaced each year.<ref name="Current">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/members/ |title=Current Members |publisher=United Nations |access-date=4 January 2016 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219111509/http://www.un.org/en/sc/members/ |url-status=live}}</ref> To be approved, a candidate must receive at least two-thirds of all votes cast for that seat, which can result in deadlock if there are two roughly evenly matched candidates. In 1979, a standoff between Cuba and Colombia only ended after three months and a record 154 rounds of voting; both eventually withdrew in favour of Mexico as a compromise candidate.<ref name="SCR">{{cite web |title=Special Research Report No. 4: Security Council Elections 2011 |publisher=Security Council Report |date=21 September 2011 |access-date=8 June 2012 |url= http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.7741609/k.778/Special_Research_Report_No_4brSecurity_Council_Elections_2011br21_September_2011.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120608042121/http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.7741609/k.778/Special_Research_Report_No_4brSecurity_Council_Elections_2011br21_September_2011.htm |archive-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> A retiring member is not eligible for immediate re-election.<ref name="chapter5"/>

The African Group is represented by three members; the [[Latin America and the Caribbean]], Asia-Pacific, and [[Western European and Others Group|Western European and Others]] groups by two apiece; and the [[Eastern European Group]] by one. Traditionally, one of the seats assigned to either the Asia-Pacific Group or the African Group is filled by a nation from the [[Arab world]], alternating between the groups.<ref>{{cite news |last=Malone |first=David |title=Reforming the Security Council: Where Are the Arabs? |date=25 October 2003 |newspaper=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]] |location=Beirut |url=http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1694.cfm |access-date=3 January 2011 |archive-date=11 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611142412/https://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1694.cfm |url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, elections for terms beginning in even-numbered years select two African members, and one each within Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean; the traditional "Arab seat" is elected for this term. Terms beginning in odd-numbered years consist of two Western European and Other members, and one each from Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.<ref name="SCR"/>

During the [[2016 United Nations Security Council election]], neither Italy nor the Netherlands met the required two-thirds majority for election. They subsequently agreed to split the term of the Western European and Others Group. It was the first time in over five decades that two members agreed to do so.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Elects 4 New Non-permanent Members to Security Council, as Western and Others Group Fails to Fill Final Vacancy |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/ga11796.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=5 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805225007/http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/ga11796.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Usually, intractable deadlocks are resolved by the candidate countries withdrawing in favour of a third member state.

The current elected members, with the regions they were elected to represent, are as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=Current Members |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members |publisher=United Nations |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-03 |title=Five countries elected to serve on UN Security Council |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1163971 |access-date=2025-06-03 |website=UN News |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Term
! colspan="3"| Africa
! colspan="2"| Asia-Pacific
! Eastern Europe
! colspan="2"| Latin America<br/>and Caribbean
! colspan="2"| Western Europe<br/>and Other
|-
!2025
!
!
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Somalia}} [[Somalia]]}}
!
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan]]}}
!
!
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Panama}} [[Panama]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Denmark}} [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Greece}} [[Greece]]}}
|-
!2026
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Liberia}} [[Liberia]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DR Congo]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Bahrain}} [[Bahrain]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Latvia}} [[Latvia]]}}
| rowspan="2"|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Colombia}} [[Colombia]]}}
|-
!2027
!
!
!
!
!
|}

=== President ===
{{Main|President of the United Nations Security Council}}

The role of [[President of the United Nations Security Council|president of the Security Council]] involves setting the agenda, presiding at its meetings and overseeing any crisis. The president is authorized to issue both [[Presidential Statement|presidential statements]] (subject to consensus amongst Council members) and notes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/sc/notes/PresidentialNotesEng.htm |title=Notes by the president of the Security Council |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330212749/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/notes/PresidentialNotesEng.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="un.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_pres_statements08.htm |title=UN Security Council: Presidential Statements 2008 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811210203/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_pres_statements08.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue.<ref name="un.org"/> The presidency of the council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states' names.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sc/presidency.asp |title=Security Council Presidency in 2011 – United Nations Security Council |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=3 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603183638/http://www.un.org/sc/presidency.asp |url-status=live}}</ref> No distinction is made between permanent and non-permanent members in the rotation.

The list of nations that will hold the presidency in 2026 is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=Security Council Presidency|url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/presidency|website=United Nations Security Council|publisher=United Nations|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322133448/https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/presidency|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidency in 2026
|- style="background:#ccc"
! Month
! Country
|-
| January
| {{flag|Somalia}}
|-
| February
| {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| March
| {{flag|United States}}
|-
| April
| {{flag|Bahrain}}
|-
| May
| {{flag|China}}
|-
| June
| {{flag|Colombia}}
|-
| July
| {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
|-
| August
| {{flag|Kingdom of Denmark|name=Denmark}}
|-
| September
| {{flag|France}}
|-
| October
| {{flag|Greece}}
|-
| November
| {{flag|Latvia}}
|-
| December
| {{flag|Liberia}}
|}

=== Penholders ===
{{Transcluded section|source=Penholder (United Nations)}}
{{#section-h:Penholder (United Nations)}}

== Meeting locations<!--'United Nations Security Council Chamber', 'UN Security Council Chamber', 'Security Council Chamber' redirect here--> ==
[[File:Barack Obama chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting.jpg|thumb|US President [[Barack Obama]] chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting.]]
[[File:United Nations Security Council in New York City 2.JPG|thumb|The meeting room exhibits ''Untitled (Mural for Peace)'', the [[United Nations Security Council mural]] by [[Per Krohg]] (1952).]]

Unlike the General Assembly, the Security Council is not bound to [[Meeting (parliamentary procedure)#Session|sessions]]. Each Security Council member must have a representative available at UN Headquarters at all times in case an emergency meeting becomes necessary.<ref name="Whatis"/>

The Security Council generally meets in a designated chamber in the [[United Nations Headquarters|UN Conference Building]] in New York City. The chamber was designed by the Norwegian architect [[Arnstein Arneberg]] and was a gift from Norway. The [[United Nations Security Council mural|UN Security Council mural]] by Norwegian artist [[Per Krohg]] (1952) depicts a [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] rising from its ashes, symbolic of the world's rebirth after World War II.<ref>[https://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/untour/subsec.htm "The Security Council"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926063024/http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/untour/subsec.htm |date=26 September 2013}}. ''United Nations Cyberschoolbus''. United Nations. Retrieved 14 September 2012.</ref>

The Security Council has also held meetings in cities including [[Nairobi]], Kenya; [[Addis Ababa]], Ethiopia; [[Panama City]], Panama; and [[Geneva]], Switzerland.<ref name="Whatis">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/about/ |title=What is the Security Council? |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=17 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117065348/http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2010, the Security Council moved into a temporary facility in the [[United Nations General Assembly Building|General Assembly Building]] as its chamber underwent renovations as part of the UN Capital Master Plan.<ref>{{cite web|title=UN Capital Master Plan Timeline|url=https://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/cmp/home/about/pid/22303|publisher=United Nations|access-date=29 September 2013|archive-date=4 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904102130/http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/cmp/home/about/pid/22303|url-status=live}}</ref> The renovations were funded by Norway, the chamber's original donor, for a total cost of US $5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|title=An unrecognizable Security Council Chamber|url=http://www.norway-un.org/NorwayandUN/UNBodies/The-Security-Council/An-unrecognizable-Security-Council-Chamber/|publisher=Norway Mission to the UN|date=28 August 2012|access-date=29 September 2013|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226054954/http://www.norway-un.org/NorwayandUN/UNBodies/The-Security-Council/An-unrecognizable-Security-Council-Chamber/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The chamber reopened on 16 April 2013.<ref>{{cite web|date=16 April 2013|title=Secretary-General, at inauguration of renovated Security Council Chamber, says room speaks 'language of dignity and seriousness'|publisher=United Nations|access-date=26 November 2013|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm14951.doc.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419111003/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm14951.doc.htm |archive-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> The representatives of the member states are seated on a horseshoe-shaped table, with the president in the very middle flanked by the Secretary on the right and the Undersecretary on the left. The other representatives are placed in clockwise order alphabetically from the president leaving two seats at the ends of the table for guest speakers. The seating order of the members is then rotated each month as the presidency changes.

Because of the public nature of meetings in the Security Council Chamber, delegations use the chamber to voice their positions in different ways, such as with [[walkout]]s.<ref name="haidar2015">{{cite news|last1=Haidar|first1=Suhasini|title=India's walkout from UNSC was a turning point: Natwar|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-walkout-from-unsc-was-a-turning-point-natwar/article7601027.ece|work=The Hindu|date=1 September 2015|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=29 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929214950/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-walkout-from-unsc-was-a-turning-point-natwar/article7601027.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodwin |first=Allegra |date=2023-04-06 |title=Russian accused of war crimes triggers walkout at UN Security Council |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/europe/un-security-council-walk-out-intl |access-date=2025-10-15 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

=== Consultation room ===
Due to the public scrutiny of the Security Council Chamber,<ref name="hovell2016">{{cite book|last1=Hovell|first1=Devika|title=The Power of Process: The Value of Due Process in Security Council Sanctions Decision-making|date=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-871767-6|page=145}}</ref> much of the work of the Security Council is conducted behind closed doors in "informal consultations".<ref name="dewet2003">{{cite book|editor-last1=De Wet|editor-first1=Erika|editor-last2=Nollkaemper|editor-first2=André|editor-last3=Dijkstra|editor-first3=Petra|title=Review of the Security Council by member states|date=2003|publisher=Intersentia|location=Antwerp|isbn=978-90-5095-307-8|pages=31–32}}</ref><ref name="bosco2009">{{cite book|last1=Bosco|first1=David L.|title=Five to Rule Them All: the UN Security Council and the Making of the Modern World|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-532876-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fivetorulethemal00bosc/page/138 138–139]|url=https://archive.org/details/fivetorulethemal00bosc/page/138}}</ref>

In 1978, West Germany funded the construction of a conference room next to the Security Council Chamber. The room was used for "informal consultations", which soon became the primary meeting format for the Security Council. In 1994, the French ambassador complained to the Secretary-General that "informal consultations have become the Council's characteristic working method, whilst public meetings, originally the norm, are increasingly rare and increasingly devoid of content: everyone knows that when the Council goes into public meeting everything has been decided in advance".<ref name="elgebeily2017">{{cite book|last1=Elgebeily|first1=Sherif|title=The Rule of Law in the United Nations Security Council Decision-Making Process: Turning the Focus Inwards|date=2017|isbn=978-1-315-41344-0|pages=54–55|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> When Russia funded the renovation of the consultation room in 2013, the Russian ambassador called it "quite simply, the most fascinating place in the entire diplomatic universe".<ref name="sievers2014">{{cite book|last1=Sievers|first1=Loraine|last2=Daws|first2=Sam|title=The Procedure of the UN Security Council|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-150843-1|edition=4}}</ref>

Only members of the Security Council are permitted in the conference room for consultations. The press is not admitted, and other members of the United Nations cannot be invited into the consultations.<ref name="unsc_glossary">{{cite web|title=Security Council Handbook Glossary|url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/about/methods/glossary.shtml|website=United Nations Security Council|access-date=29 June 2017|archive-date=12 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612005148/http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/methods/glossary.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> No formal record is kept of the informal consultations.<ref name="unsc_meetings">{{cite web|title=United Nations Security Council Meeting records|url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/meetings/|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-date=31 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131194210/http://www.un.org/en/sc/meetings/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="unsc_faq">{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/about/faq.shtml|website=United Nations Security Council|access-date=29 June 2017|archive-date=5 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905205244/http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/faq.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, the delegations can negotiate with each other in secret, striking deals and compromises without having their every word transcribed into the permanent record. The privacy of the conference room also makes it possible for the delegates to deal with each other in a friendly manner. In one early consultation, a new delegate from a Communist nation began a propaganda attack on the United States, only to be told by the Soviet delegate, "We don't talk that way in here."<ref name="bosco2009"/>

A permanent member can cast a "pocket veto" during the informal consultation by declaring its opposition to a measure. Since a veto would prevent the resolution from being passed, the sponsor will usually refrain from putting the resolution to a vote. Resolutions are vetoed only if the sponsor feels so strongly about a measure that it wishes to force the permanent member to cast a formal veto.<ref name="dewet2003"/><ref name="scr2015">{{cite journal|title=The Veto|journal=Security Council Report|date=19 October 2015|volume=2015|issue=3|url=http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/research_report_3_the_veto_2015.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305003908/http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/research_report_3_the_veto_2015.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> By the time a resolution reaches the Security Council Chamber, it has already been discussed, debated and amended in the consultations. The open meeting of the Security Council is merely a public ratification of a decision that has already been reached in private.<ref name="reid1999">{{cite web|last1=Reid|first1=Natalie|title=Informal Consultations|url=https://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/32941-informal-consultations-natalie-reid-january-1999.html|website=Global Policy Forum|date=January 1999|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428084917/https://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/32941-informal-consultations-natalie-reid-january-1999.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dewet2003"/> For example, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373|Resolution 1373]] was adopted without public debate in a meeting that lasted just five minutes.<ref name="dewet2003"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Meeting record, Security Council, 4385th meeting|url=https://undocs.org/S/PV.4385|id=S/PV.4385|website=United Nations Repository|publisher=United Nations|date=28 September 2001|access-date=9 October 2017|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010145738/https://undocs.org/S/PV.4385|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Security Council holds far more consultations than public meetings. In 2012, the Security Council held 160 consultations, 16 private meetings and 9 public meetings. In times of crisis, the Security Council still meets primarily in consultations, but it also holds more public meetings. After the outbreak of the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] in 2014, the Security Council returned to the patterns of the Cold War, as Russia and the Western countries engaged in verbal duels in front of the television cameras. In 2016, the Security Council held 150 consultations, 19 private meetings and 68 public meetings.<ref name="unite2016">{{cite web|title=Highlights of Security Council Practice 2016|url=https://unite.un.org/sites/unite.un.org/files/app-schighlights/index.html|website=Unite|publisher=United Nations|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080514/https://unite.un.org/sites/unite.un.org/files/app-schighlights/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Subsidiary bodies ==
{{See also|List of United Nations Security Council subsidiary bodies}}

Article 29 of the Charter provides that the Security Council can establish subsidiary bodies in order to perform its functions. This authority is also reflected in Rule 28 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure. The subsidiary bodies established by the Security Council are heterogeneous, ranging from the Security Council Committee on Admission of New Members to the international criminal tribunals and the numerous sanctions committees established to oversee implementation of various sanctions regimes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council Subsidiary Bodies: An Overview |url=https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/security-council-subsidiary-bodies-overview |publisher=United Nations Security Council |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

=== Sanctions committees ===

The Council has created sanctions committees to oversee the implementation of sanctions regimes imposed on specific countries, entities, or individuals. {{As of|2024}}, there were 15 active sanctions regimes, with 685 individuals and 193 entities subject to measures such as asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sanctions Committees |url=https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/sanctions/information |publisher=United Nations Security Council |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> Each sanctions committee typically consists of all fifteen Council members and is assisted by a panel or group of experts.

=== Counter-Terrorism Committee ===

The [[Counter-Terrorism Committee]] (CTC) was established by [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373|Security Council Resolution 1373]], adopted on 28 September 2001 in response to the [[11 September attacks]]. The CTC works to strengthen the capacity of UN member states to prevent terrorist acts within their borders and across regions. It is assisted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), which carries out the Committee's policy decisions and conducts expert assessments of member states' counter-terrorism measures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Counter-Terrorism Committee |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/ctc/ |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

=== International tribunals ===

The Security Council established two ad hoc [[international criminal tribunal]]s under Chapter VII: the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) in 1993 and the [[International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda]] (ICTR) in 1994. Both tribunals completed their mandates and were succeeded by the [[International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals]], which handles remaining functions including appeals and fugitive tracking.

== United Nations peacekeepers ==
{{Main|United Nations peacekeeping|List of United Nations peacekeeping missions}}

After approval by the Security Council, the UN may send [[peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states. These soldiers are sometimes nicknamed "Blue Helmets" for their distinctive gear.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=52}}{{sfn|Coulon|1998|p=ix}} The peacekeeping force as a whole received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1988/|author=Nobel Prize|title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1988|access-date=3 April 2011|archive-date=2 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402191526/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1988/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Female combat troops of South African Contingent in MONUSCO on robust foot and moblile patrols 62.jpg|thumb|South African soldiers patrolling as part of [[MONUSCO]] in 2018]]

{{As of|2024|December}}, the UN maintained 11 active peacekeeping operations with approximately 70,000 personnel from over 120 contributing countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fifth Committee Approves $5.59 Billion Budget for 14 Peacekeeping Operations |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/gaab4463.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> Active missions included those in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] ([[MONUSCO]]), [[South Sudan]] ([[UNMISS]]), the [[Central African Republic]] ([[MINUSCA]]), [[Lebanon]] ([[UNIFIL]]), [[Cyprus]] ([[UNFICYP]]), and the [[Golan Heights]] ([[UNDOF]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Where We Operate |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/where-we-operate |publisher=United Nations Peacekeeping |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> The smallest mission, the [[United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan]] (UNMOGIP), included 42 uniformed personnel responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. Peacekeepers with the [[United Nations Truce Supervision Organization]] (UNTSO) have been stationed in the Middle East since 1948, the longest-running active peacekeeping mission.<ref name="UNPO">{{cite web |date=30 September 2013 |title=United Nations Peacekeeping Operations |url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/factsheet.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323162900/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/factsheet.shtml |archive-date=23 March 2016 |access-date=9 November 2013 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

Total UN peacekeeping personnel declined from 161,509 in 2015 to 94,451 in 2024, a reduction of more than 40%, reflecting the closure of several large missions and shifting geopolitical priorities.<ref name="SIPRI-PK">{{cite web |title=Deployments fall more than 40% in a decade |url=https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/peace-operation-deployments-fall-40-per-cent |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |date=2025 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> As of 2024, approximately 74% of UN peacekeepers were deployed in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="SIPRI-PK"/> The top troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations are Nepal, Bangladesh, and India, all from the [[Global South]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Troop and police contributors |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/troop-and-police-contributors |publisher=United Nations Peacekeeping |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

UN peacekeepers have also drawn criticism in several postings. Peacekeepers have been accused of child rape, soliciting prostitutes, or sexual abuse during various peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3145-2004Dec15.html|title=U.N.&nbsp;Sexual Abuse Alleged in Congo|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Colum|last=Lynch|date=16 December 2004|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111062103/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3145-2004Dec15.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6195830.stm|title=UN troops face child abuse claims|work=BBC News|date=30 November 2006|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=9 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209171221/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6195830.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Liberia,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/world/africa/08iht-abuse.html|title=Aid workers in Liberia accused of sex abuse|work=The New York Times|date=8 May 2006|access-date=22 November 2013|archive-date=3 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003214726/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/world/africa/08iht-abuse.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Sudan and what is now South Sudan,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1538476/UN-staff-accused-of-raping-children-in-Sudan.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1538476/UN-staff-accused-of-raping-children-in-Sudan.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title= UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan|work=The Telegraph|date=4 January 2007| first=Kate | last=Holt |access-date=21 November 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Burundi and Ivory Coast.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm|title=Peacekeepers 'abusing children'|publisher=BBC|date=28 May 2007|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=9 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209173237/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Scientists cited UN peacekeepers from Nepal as the likely source of the [[2010–2013 Haiti cholera outbreak]], which killed more than 8,000 Haitians following the [[2010 Haiti earthquake]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/americas/haiti-un-cholera-lawsuit/ |title=U.N. sued for 'bringing cholera to Haiti', causing outbreak that killed thousands |author=Watson, Ivan and Joe Vaccarello |date=10 October 2013 |publisher=CNN |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002147/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/americas/haiti-un-cholera-lawsuit/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The budget for peacekeeping is assessed separately from the main UN organizational budget; in the fiscal year 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024, the approved peacekeeping budget was approximately {{US$|5.6 billion}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fifth Committee Approves $5.59 Billion Budget for 14 Peacekeeping Operations |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/gaab4463.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=115}} UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular funding scale, but including a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members. This surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less-developed countries.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=How we are funded |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=United Nations Peacekeeping |language=en |archive-date=26 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226155653/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/how-we-are-funded |url-status=live }}</ref>

For the 2020–2021 budget, the top 10 providers of assessed financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations were the US (27.89%), China (15.21%), Japan (8.56%), Germany (6.09%), the United Kingdom (5.79%), France (5.61%), Italy (3.30%), Russian Federation (3.04%), Canada (2.73%) and South Korea (2.26%).<ref name=":0" />

== Criticism and evaluation ==
{{Main|Criticism of the United Nations}}

In examining the first sixty years of the Security Council's existence, British historian [[Paul Kennedy]] concludes that "glaring failures had not only accompanied the UN's many achievements, they overshadowed them", identifying as particular failures the lack of will to prevent ethnic massacres in Bosnia and Rwanda.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=101–103, 110}} Kennedy attributes the failures to the UN's lack of reliable military resources, writing that "above all, one can conclude that the practice of announcing (through a Security Council resolution) a new peacekeeping mission without ensuring that sufficient armed forces will be available has usually proven to be a recipe for humiliation and disaster."{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=110}}

The veto power has attracted sustained criticism. Detractors argue that it renders the Council incapable of acting on the most consequential threats to international peace, particularly when a permanent member is itself a party to a conflict or has close ties to one. The Council's inability to prevent or respond effectively to the [[Rwandan genocide]], the [[Bosnian War]], the [[Syrian civil war]], and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza has been cited as evidence of structural dysfunction.<ref>{{cite web |title=Three Troubling Trends at the UN Security Council |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/three-troubling-trends-un-security-council |publisher=International Crisis Group |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

Critics also point to the unrepresentative composition of the permanent membership, which reflects the power structure of 1945. No African, Latin American, or South Asian country holds a permanent seat, despite these regions comprising a large share of the world's population and featuring prominently on the Council's agenda.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=70}} Scholar Sudhir Chella Rajan argued in 2006 that the five permanent members had created an exclusive [[nuclear club]] that predominantly addresses the strategic interests and political motives of the permanent members – for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in 1991 but poorly protecting the resource-poor Rwandans in 1994.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rajan |first=Sudhir Chella |title=Global Politics and Institutions |url=http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/3Politics.pdf |journal=GTI Paper Series: Frontiers of a Great Transition |volume=3 |publisher=Tellus Institute |year=2006 |access-date=11 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028135640/http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/3Politics.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> Since three of the five permanent members are European, and four are predominantly white developed nations, the Security Council has been described as a pillar of [[global apartheid]] by Titus Alexander, former Chair of the Westminster United Nations Association.{{sfn|Alexander|1996|pp=158–160}}

Several studies have examined the Security Council's responsiveness to armed conflict. Findings suggest that the Council is more likely to meet and deliberate on conflicts that are more intense and have led to more humanitarian suffering, but that its responsiveness is also shaped by the political interests of member states and in particular of the permanent members.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lundgren |first1= Magnus|last2= Klamberg |first2= Mark|date= 2022 |title=Selective Attention: The United Security Council and Armed Conflict |journal= British Journal of Political Science |volume= 53|issue= 3|doi= 10.1017/S0007123422000461 |doi-access= free}}</ref>

The Security Council's effectiveness and relevance are questioned because, in most high-profile cases, there are essentially no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution. During the [[Darfur crisis]], [[Janjaweed]] militias, allowed by elements of the Sudanese government, committed violence against an indigenous population, killing thousands of civilians. In the [[Srebrenica massacre]], Serbian troops committed genocide against [[Bosniaks]], although [[Srebrenica]] had been declared a UN [[safe area (Bosnian War)|safe area]], protected by 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers.{{sfn|Deni|2007|p=71|ps=: "As Serbian forces attacked Srebrenica in July 1995, the [400] Dutch soldiers escorted women and children out of the city, leaving behind roughly 7,500 Muslim men who were subsequently massacred by the attacking Serbs."}}

The Security Council has also been criticized for failure in resolving many conflicts – including [[Cyprus problem|Cyprus]], [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lanka]], [[Syrian civil war|Syria]], [[Kosovo War|Kosovo]], and the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] – reflecting the wider shortcomings of the UN.<ref>[http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-compromises-on-UN-Syria-deal/tabid/1607/articleID/315021/Default.aspx Key compromises on UN Syria deal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930183756/http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-compromises-on-UN-Syria-deal/tabid/1607/articleID/315021/Default.aspx |date=30 September 2013}}. ''3 News NZ''. 28 September 2013.</ref>

A 2005 [[RAND Corporation]] study found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts. It compared UN nation-building efforts to those of the United States, and found that 88% of UN cases had led to lasting peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG304.sum.pdf|author=RAND Corporation|title=The UN's Role in Nation Building: From the Congo to Iraq|access-date=30 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050220232620/https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG304.sum.pdf|archive-date=20 February 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 2005, the [[Human Security Report 2005|Human Security Report]] documented a decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, that international activism – mostly spearheaded by the UN – had been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict since the end of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humansecurityreport.info/|author=Human Security Centre|title=The Human Security Report 2005|access-date=8 February 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20090728163300/http%3A//www.humansecurityreport.info/|archive-date=28 July 2009}}</ref>

Supporters counter that the Council, for all its limitations, provides a framework within which the great powers can negotiate and that the veto, while frustrating, reflects the reality that enforcement action cannot succeed without the cooperation of the most powerful states.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=52–54}} The expansion of peacekeeping operations since 1990 and the development of sanctions regimes and international tribunals are cited as significant achievements.

The [[UN Charter]] gives all three powers of the [[legislative]], executive and [[judiciary]] branches to the Security Council.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Creery |first=Janet |title=Read the fine print first |year=2004 |url=http://peacemagazine.org/archive/v10n1p20.htm |journal=[[Peace Magazine]] |issue=Jan–Feb 1994 |page=20 |access-date=11 December 2011 |archive-date=7 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207044853/http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/v10n1p20.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

There is evidence of [[bribery]] in the Security Council. Countries that are elected to the Security Council see a large increase in foreign aid from the US, averaging 59%. They also see an 8% increase in aid from the UN, mainly from [[UNICEF]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kuziemko|first=Ilyana|date=2006-08-01|title=How Much Is a Seat on the Security Council Worth? Foreign Aid and Bribery at the United Nations|journal=Journal of Political Economy|language=en|volume=114|issue=5|pages=905–930|doi=10.1086/507155| doi-access=free|issn=0022-3808}}</ref> The increase most strongly correlates to years in which the Security Council addresses issues relevant to the US. There is also evidence of increased foreign aid to elected countries from Japan and Germany. One study found membership on the Security Council correlates with reduced economic growth for a given country over the course of its two-year term – 3.5% growth during membership compared to 8.7% over four years of non-membership – although the effect is mainly driven by African authoritarian countries. Elected members also experience a reduction in democracy and [[freedom of the press]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vreeland|first=James Raymond|date=2019-05-11|title=Corrupting International Organizations|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|language=en|volume=22|issue=1|pages=205–222|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-071031| doi-access=free|issn=1094-2939}}</ref>

== Reform ==
{{Main|Reform of the United Nations Security Council}}

[[File:G4 Nations.svg|thumb|The [[G4 nations]]: [[Brazil]], [[Germany]], [[India]], [[Japan]]]]
[[File:Uniting for Consensus core.png|thumb|left|200px|The [[Uniting for Consensus]]: [[Italy]], [[Pakistan]], [[Spain]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Argentina]], [[Turkey]], [[South Korea]] and others]]

Proposals to reform the Security Council began with the conference that wrote the UN Charter and have continued to the present day. As British historian Paul Kennedy writes, "Everyone agrees that the present structure is flawed. But consensus on how to fix it remains out of reach."{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=76}} The Council's membership has been expanded only once, in 1965, when the number of non-permanent members was increased from six to ten. Proposals for further reform have faced resistance from the permanent members, each of whom holds a veto over any Charter amendment.

=== G4 proposal ===

The [[G4 nations]] (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) have campaigned for [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent seats]] on the Security Council, arguing that the body's composition reflects the geopolitical realities of 1945 rather than the contemporary world. Their core proposal calls for expanding the Council from 15 to 25 or 26 members, with six new permanent seats: two for Africa, two for the Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean, and one for Western Europe and Others. Per the G4 proposal, the new permanent members would not immediately gain [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto power]]; instead, that matter would be reviewed after a transitionary period of 10 to 15 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Security Council Reform: When and How It Can Be Done |url=https://passblue.com/2025/01/14/security-council-reform-when-and-how-it-can-be-done/ |publisher=PassBlue |date=14 January 2025 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> Japan and Germany had been the UN's second- and third-largest funders, respectively, before China took over as the second-largest funder in recent years, whilst Brazil and India are two of the largest contributors of troops to UN-mandated peacekeeping missions.

In 2017, the G4 nations indicated willingness temporarily to forgo veto power if granted permanent seats.<ref>{{cite web|title=India Offers To Temporarily Forgo Veto Power If Granted Permanent UNSC Seat|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/08/india-offers-to-temporarily-forgo-veto-power-if-granted-permanen/|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-date=8 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308181726/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/08/india-offers-to-temporarily-forgo-veto-power-if-granted-permanen/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The permanent members have announced their positions on Security Council reform reluctantly. The United States has supported the permanent membership of Japan and lent its support to India and a small number of additional non-permanent members. The United Kingdom and France have essentially supported the G4 position, with the expansion of permanent and non-permanent members and the accession of Germany, Brazil, India, and Japan to permanent member status, as well as an increase in the presence of African countries on the Council. China has supported stronger representation of developing countries and has firmly opposed Japan's membership.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/204917 |title=US embassy cables: China reiterates 'red lines' |work=The Guardian |date=29 November 2010 |access-date=11 December 2011 |archive-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204034559/http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/204917 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== African Union proposal ===

The [[African Union]] has called for at least two permanent seats with full veto power and two additional non-permanent seats for African states, as outlined in the [[Ezulwini Consensus]] of 2005. Africa's position emphasizes the need to redress what it terms the "historic injustice" of having no permanent representation on the Council, despite African issues constituting a substantial portion of the Council's agenda.<ref>{{cite web |title=Africa's Design for a Reformed UN Security Council |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/africas-design-reformed-un-security-council |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

=== Uniting for Consensus ===

The [[Uniting for Consensus]] group, generally led by Italy and including countries such as Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, and Indonesia, opposes the creation of new permanent seats, arguing this would expand an existing oligarchy. The group instead proposes longer-term elected seats with the possibility of re-election, thereby providing more equitable regional representation without entrenching additional permanent privileges.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pact for the Future ... of Multilateralism? |url=https://multilateralism.sipa.columbia.edu/news/pact-future-multilateralism-long-road-ahead-global-governance-reform |publisher=Columbia University SIPA |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref> As far as traditional categories of seats are concerned, the UfC proposal does not imply any change, but only the introduction of small and medium-sized states amongst groups eligible for regular seats. This proposal includes the question of veto, giving a range of options from abolition to limitation of the application of the veto to Chapter VII matters only.

=== Veto restraint proposals ===

In April 2023, France called for the five permanent members to collectively suspend the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities, echoing earlier proposals for veto restraint in situations involving genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The proposal has not been formally adopted by the other permanent members.<ref>{{cite web |title=France renews call for UN Security Council to limit veto in mass atrocity cases |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/04/1135912 |publisher=UN News |date=24 April 2023 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

=== Pact for the Future (2024) ===

At the [[Summit of the Future]] in September 2024, world leaders adopted the [[Pact for the Future]], which contained the most concrete commitment to Security Council reform since the 1960s. The Pact called for the Council to be made "more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, democratic and accountable" and affirmed that any enlargement should "redress the historic injustice against Africa" and other underrepresented regions. It empowered the co-chairs of the intergovernmental negotiations to draft a consolidated model for Council enlargement based on the various proposals put forward by member states, and called for agreement on categories of membership and on the future scope and limits of the veto.<ref>{{cite web |title=United Nations Adopts Ground-Breaking Pact for the Future to Transform Global Governance |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/ga12641.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=22 September 2024 |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

In 2025, at the [[17th BRICS summit]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's outgoing BRICS president, President [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], and India's prime minister [[Narendra Modi]] emphasized their shared ambition to secure permanent membership on the UNSC. Modi highlighted the need for reforming the UNSC to enhance its credibility and effectiveness by better representing the Global South, noting that many key economies remain excluded from decision-making. Both leaders affirmed that reforming the UNSC would be a priority for India during its upcoming [[BRICS]] presidency in 2026.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Iglesias |first1=Simone |last2=Carvalho |first2=Daniel |date=2025-07-08 |title=Brazil's Lula Hosts Modi in Bid to Turn India Into a Major Trade Partner |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-08/lula-pushes-to-turn-brics-buddy-modi-into-major-trade-partner |access-date=2025-07-10 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-07 |title=BRICS leaders condemn April 22 Pahalgam attack: On terror, zero tolerance |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/brics-leaders-condemn-jk-pahalgam-attack-on-terror-zero-tolerance-10110505/ |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Politics|Law|United Nations}}
* [[United Nations Security Council resolution]]
* [[List of United Nations Security Council resolutions]]
* [[United Nations Security Council veto power]]
* [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council]]
* [[Reform of the United Nations Security Council]]
* [[Presidency of the United Nations Security Council]]
* [[United Nations peacekeeping]]
* [[United Nations General Assembly]]
* [[Charter of the United Nations]]
* [[Use of force]]
* [[Use of force in international law]]
* [[United Nations Command]]
* [[Law of war|Law of war (international humanitarian law)]]
* [[Reform of the United Nations]]
* [[Small Five Group]], a group formed to improve the working methods of the Security Council
* [[United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs]], provides secretarial support to the Security Council
* [[Counter-Terrorism Committee|United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee]], a standing committee of the Security Council
* [[Passblue|PassBlue]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

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{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|35em}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=Sydney D. |last2=Daws |first2=Sam |year=1998 |title=The Procedure of the UN Security Council |edition=3rd |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-828073-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bosco |first=David L. |author-link=David Bosco |year=2009 |title=Five to Rule Them All: The UN Security Council and the Making of the Modern World |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-532876-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/fivetorulethemal00bosc}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cockayne |first1=James |last2=Mikulaschek |first2=Christoph |last3=Perry |first3=Chris |year=2010 |title=The United Nations Security Council and Civil War: First Insights from a New Dataset |url=http://www.ipinst.org/publication/policy-papers/detail/298-the-united-nations-security-council-and-civil-war-first-insights-from-a-new-dataset.html |location=New York |publisher=International Peace Institute |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-date=18 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418051722/http://ipinst.org/publication/policy-papers/detail/298-the-united-nations-security-council-and-civil-war-first-insights-from-a-new-dataset.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Grieger |first=Gisela |title=Reform of the UN Security Council |year=2013 |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/130451/LDM_BRI(2013)130451_REV1_EN.pdf |publisher=Library of the European Parliament |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-date=15 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615203132/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/130451/LDM_BRI(2013)130451_REV1_EN.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hannay |first=David |author-link=David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick |year=2008 |title=New World Disorder: The UN after the Cold War – An Insider's View |location=London |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-84511-719-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hurd |first=Ian |year=2007 |title=After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the United Nations Security Council |location=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12866-5}}
* {{cite book |last1=Köchler |first1=Hans |author-link1=Hans Köchler |year=1991 |title=The Voting Procedure in the United Nations Security Council: Examining a Normative Contradiction in the UN Charter and its Consequences on International Relations |url=http://i-p-o.org/Koechler-Voting_Procedure-UN_Security_Council.pdf |series=Studies in International Relations |volume=17 |location=Vienna |publisher=International Progress Organization |isbn=978-3-900704-10-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906014909/http://i-p-o.org/Koechler-Voting_Procedure-UN_Security_Council.pdf |archive-date=6 September 2006 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |year=2008 |editor-last1=Lowe |editor-first1=Vaughan |editor-link1=Vaughan Lowe |editor-last2=Roberts |editor-first2=Adam |editor-link2=Adam Roberts (scholar) |editor-last3=Welsh |editor-first3=Jennifer |editor-link3=Jennifer Welsh |editor-last4=Zaum |editor-first4=Dominik |title=The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-953343-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Malone |first=David |author-link=David M. Malone |year=1998 |title=Decision-Making in the UN Security Council: The Case of Haiti, 1990–1997 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-829483-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/decisionmakingin0000malo}}
* {{Cite book |last=Matheson |first=Michael J. |year=2006 |title=Council Unbound: The Growth of UN Decision Making on Conflict and Postconflict Issues after the Cold War |location=Washington |publisher=US Institute of Peace Press |isbn=978-1-929223-78-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Adam |author-link=Adam Roberts (scholar) |last2=Zaum |first2=Dominik |year=2008 |title=Selective Security: War and the United Nations Security Council since 1945 |journal=Strategic Survey: The Annual Review of World Affairs |series=Adelphi Paper |volume=395 |location=Abingdon, England |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-47472-6 |issn=0567-932X}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Vreeland |first1=James |author-link=James Vreeland |last2=Dreher |first2=Axel |author-link2=Axel Dreher |year=2014 |title=The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council: Money and Influence |location=Cambridge, England |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51841-3}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|United Nations Security Council}}
* {{Official website|https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/}} {{in lang|en|fr|es|ar|ru|zh}}
* [https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/voting-system Voting System] – United Nations Security Council
* [https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/vetoes-since-1946 Vetoes since 1946] – United Nations Security Council
* [http://research.un.org/en/docs/sc UN Security Council Research Guide]
* [http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/index.htm Global Policy Forum – UN Security Council]
* [http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/ Security Council Report] – information and analysis on the council's activities
** [https://www.whatsinblue.org/ What's In Blue] – a series of insights on evolving Security Council actions
* [http://www.centerforunreform.org/ Center for UN Reform Education – information on current reform issues at the United Nations]

{{UN Security Council}}
{{United Nations}}
{{United Nations Security Council elections}}
{{UN Charter}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United Nations Security Council| ]]
[[Category:International security]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1945]]
[[Category:1945 in international relations]]