United Nations Security Council

Description

The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and its main body for keeping international peace and security.

It has 15 members, five permanent and ten elected for two-year terms, and each member has one vote. It can call on parties to a dispute to settle it peacefully, and it can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force to restore peace. Under the UN Charter every member state must comply with its decisions, and it is the only UN body that can pass binding resolutions. The five permanent members each hold a veto over substantive resolutions.

The Council also runs sanctions committees on specific countries, groups and individuals, covering measures such as asset freezes, travel bans and arms embargoes. It created international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and it can refer situations to the International Criminal Court. It approves and oversees United Nations peacekeeping missions, sending military, police and civilian personnel from member states to areas where conflict has recently stopped.

The Council was created in 1945 after the Second World War, succeeding the League of Nations, and held its first meeting in London in January 1946. It meets at United Nations headquarters in New York, in a chamber gifted by Norway, and its presidency rotates monthly among the members in alphabetical order. It also recommends new member states for admission to the General Assembly and proposes candidates for Secretary-General.