Security Council A & B

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Security Council

Security Council A & B

Committee description

The primary responsibility of the Security Council is to maintain international peace and security. The organization of this body allows it to function continuously; therefore a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at the United Nations headquarters. The Security Council is comprised of five permanent members: France, the People's Republic of China, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States. These five nations have what is referred to as "veto power". This means that when voting on issues, the five permanent members must be in concurrence. If even one of the members is not in concurrence, the voting is stopped and the resolution is failed. If one of the permanent members does not wish to prevent a resolution from passing, but does not agree with the resolution itself, that member may abstain. Abstentions do not count as nay votes. There are thirteen other nonpermanent members of the Security Council. They are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, and are not eligible for immediate re-election. There must be a total of twelve out of the eighteen members voting “aye”, without dissention from one of the permanent five, in order to pass resolutions or decisions on procedural matters as well as substantive matters.

While the committees of the United Nations other than the Security Council may make recommendations to the world governments, the Security Council alone has the power to make decisions, which the member states of the world community must obey, accept, and carry out. The council may also investigate any dispute or situation that may lead to international friction, recommend methods of adjusting disputes or terms of settlement, formulate plans for the establishment of a threat to peace or act of aggression, call on members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression, to recommend the admission of new Members and the terms on which they may become members, exercise the trusteeship functions of the United nations in "strategic areas", and to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary General and elect the Judges of the International Court along with the Assembly.

When voting, each member of the Council has one vote. A state, which is a member of the UN, but not a member of the Security Council, may participate without vote in its discussions when and if the council thinks that country’s interests are at stake.

The Security Council carries out its authority by adopting Resolutions. Sometimes the resolution of a situation does not easily fit into a resolution format. In this case the President of the Security Council may, if he/she perceives a consensus and sees no resolution, wish to consult with Members concerning the substance of a formal statement. The President will read the statement in a formal session, and if there is no objection, the statement is made an official decision of the Security Council. The other form of decision-making available to the Security Council is the Communications of the President of the Consensus of the Body. This is the subtlest form of decision making available to the Security Council. This form is like the Presidential Statement of Consensus except that it is less public. This technique is used when the Security Council wishes to minimize damaging debate.