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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the organ of the United Nations charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. While other organs of the United Nations only make recommendations to member governments, the Security Council has the power to make decisions which member governments must carry out under the United Nations Charter. The decisions of the Council are known as United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The Security Council is made up of 15 member states, consisting of five permanent seats and ten temporary seats. The permanent five are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. These members hold veto power over substantive but not procedural resolutions. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms with member states voted in by the UN General Assembly on a regional basis. The Presidency of the Security Council is rotated alphabetically each month.
History The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, London. Since its first meeting, the Council, which exists in continuous session, has travelled widely, holding meetings in many cities, such as Paris and Addis Ababa. For the most part, however, it has remained located at UN Headquarters — first at Lake Success in New York and then at its current home in New York City. Significant changes in the Council’s composition have occurred on three occasions. In 1965, amendments to articles 23 and 27 of the Charter came into effect, increasing the number of elected members from six to ten. In 1971 the General Assembly voted to remove the representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and seat the delegate from the People's Republic of China as the legitimate representative of China. Because the issue was presented as one involving which delegation would properly represent China rather than that of an admission or explusion of a member, this issue required only action by the General Assembly and circumvented the inability of the Assembly to expel a member of the Council without the Council’s endorsement (subject to veto), or the lack of an amendment to article 23 specifying the identity of the permanent members Similarly, there was no amendment to article 23 following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. In much less contentious circumstances the Russian Federation acceded to the former Soviet seat. Members A Security Council member must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time. This requirement of the United Nations Charter was adopted to address a weakness of the League of Nations since that organization was often unable to respond quickly to crises. The role of president of the Security Council involves setting the agenda, presiding at its meetings and overseeing any crisis. It rotates in alphabetical order of the members' names in English. There are two categories of membership in the UN Security Council: Permanent Members and Elected Members. Permanent members The Council seated five permanent members who were originally drawn from the victorious powers after World War II: Two of the original members, the Republic of China and Soviet Union, were later replaced by recognized successor states, even though Article 23 of the Charter of the United Nations has not been accordingly amended: In 1971, the People's Republic of China was awarded China's seat in the United Nations by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, and the Republic of China (which had lost mainland China and was limited to Taiwan since 1949) soon lost membership in all UN organs. In 1991, Russia acquired the seat originally held by the Soviet Union, including the Soviet Union's former representation in the Security Council. The current five permanent members of the Security Council are the only nations recognised as possessing nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, although it lacks universal validity, as some nuclear nations have not signed the treaty. This nuclear status is not the result of their Security Council membership, though it is sometimes used as a modern-day justification for their continued presence on the body. India, Pakistan, North Korea, and possibly Israel (though Israel has never itself admitted to nuclear weapons possession) possess nuclear weapons outside of the anti-proliferation framework established by the Treaty. In 2004, four of the five permanent members were also the world's top four weapons exporters when measured by arms value; China was seventh. Each permanent member state has veto powers, which can be used to void any resolution. A single veto from a permanent member outweighs any majority. This is not technically a veto, rather just a "nay" vote; however any "nay" vote from a permanent member would block the passage of the resolution in question. The current Permanent Representatives of the U.N. Security Council permanent members are Wang Guangya, Jean-Marc de La Sablière, Vitaly I. Churkin, Emyr Jones Parry and John R. Bolton.* Elected members Ten other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five replaced each year. The members are chosen by regional groups and confirmed by the United Nations General Assembly. The African bloc chooses three members; the Latin America and the Caribbean, Asian, and Western European and Others blocs choose two members each; and the Eastern European bloc chooses one member. Also, one of these members is an Arab country, alternately from the Asian or African bloc. The current (2006) elected members, with the region they were elected to represent and their UN Permanent Representative, are: 2006 appointments On 16 October 2006, the General Assembly elected Belgium, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa to two-year terms commencing 1 January 2007; a fifth seat, allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, remained undecided between Guatemala and Venezuela. The race, which continued over 47 rounds of deadlocked voting until Panama emerged as a consensus candidate on 1 November, was called by BBC News the most dramatic since the 155-round vote between Cuba and Colombia in 1979. Membership reform
Veto power Under article 27 of the UN Charter decisions in the 15-member Security Council on all substantive matters—for example, a decision calling for direct measures related to the settlement of a dispute—require the affirmative votes of nine members. A negative vote—a veto—by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal, even if it has received the required number of affirmative votes. Abstention is not regarded as a veto despite the wording of the Charter. Since the Security Council's inception, China (ROC/PRC) has used 5 vetoes; France, 18; Russia/USSR, 122; the United Kingdom, 32; and the United States, 81. The majority of Russian/Soviet vetoes were in the first ten years of the Council's existence. Since 1984, the numbers have been: China, 2; France, 3; Russia/USSR, 4; the United Kingdom, 10; and the United States, 43. Procedural matters are not subject to a Security Council veto. This provision is important because it prevents the veto from being used to avoid discussion of an issue. Status of non-members A state that is a member of the UN, but not of the Security Council, may participate in Security Council discussions in which the Council agrees that the country's interests are particularly affected. In recent years, the Council has interpreted this loosely, enabling many countries to take part in its discussions or not depending on how they interpret the validity of the country's interest. Non-members are routinely invited to take part when they are parties to disputes being considered by the Council. Role of the Security Council
Resolutions The legally binding nature of Security Council Resolutions has been the subject of some controversy. It is generally agreed that resolutions are legally binding if they are made under Chapter VII (Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression) of the Charter. The Council is also empowered to make resolutions under Chapter VI (Pacific Settlement of Disputes); most authorities do not consider these to be legally binding. The International Court of Justice suggested in the Namibia case that resolutions other than those made under Chapter VI can also be binding, a view that some Member States have questioned. Others have asserted that Chapter VI resolutions are non-binding, but may contain binding sections It is beyond doubt however that those resolutions made outside these two Chapters dealing with the internal governance of the organization (such as the admission of new Member States) are legally binding, where the Charter gives the Security Council power to make them. If the council cannot reach consensus or a passing vote on a resolution, they may choose to produce a non-binding Presidential Statement instead of a Resolution. They are adopted by consensus but often require similar behind closed doors wrangling. They are meant to apply political pressure, a warning that the council is paying attention and further action may follow. Press statements typically accompany both resolutions and Presidential Statements, carrying the text of the document adopted by the body and also some explanatory text. They may also be released independently, after a significant meeting. Criticisms of the Security Council There have been criticisms that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (who are all nuclear powers) have created an exclusive nuclear club whose powers are unchecked. The lack of true international representation in the United Nations Security Council, as exists in the General Assembly, has led to accusations that the UNSC only addresses the interests and political motives of the permanent members. Non-nuclear countries can be elected to serve a temporary term on the Security Council, but critics have suggested this is inadequate. Critics have suggested that expanding the number of permanent members to include non-nuclear powers would democratize the organization.*. Another criticism of the Security Council involves the veto power of the 5 permanent nations. As it stands, one veto from any of the "Big Five" (Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France) can halt any possible action the Council may take. One nation's objection, rather than a democratic majority, may cripple any possible UN armed or diplomatic response to a crisis. In popular culture The Interpreter is a 2005 film featuring a fictional African head of state, apparently based on Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, seeking to avoid being indicted by the UN Security Council for trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity. Australia, New Zealand, and international human rights organizations have backed the call for Mugabe's indictment. As Zimbabwe is a non-signatory of the ICC statute, an ICC trial requires either a UN Security Council indictment, or for Zimbabwe to accept the ICC’s jurisdiction. See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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