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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.

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Topic 1: Consensus Building in the War on Terror

The War on Terror is indisputably the global conflict of our age. In order to seek justice, security, and peace within and between sovereignties, it is the highest duty of the United Nations, it is power projected through the Security Council, to seek an end to terrorist violence. Many nations are currently forced to seek unilateral means to maintain their security and the security of all nations at large; this is due to UN inaction and is unacceptable. No nation has the capability to defeat terrorism alone, nor should the responsibility of preserving world order fall on the shoulders of so few brave men and women. Clearly, the Security Council must take decisive action to build collective consensus in the War and Terror and pursue all means to further the forces of good and support and foster nations already involved in counter-terrorist operations.

Terrorism is not a matter of regional politics. Though many terrorists and terrorist-harboring nations are based in the geographic area of the Middle East, their operations and works of evil transcend conventional nation boundaries, reaching as near as Israel and as far as Great Britain, France, Russia, the United States, and many others. This War on Terror is not like former conflicts between nations, in so much as it doesn’t always involve war on specific countries; rather, it requires a concerted struggle against groups and organizations which are often undefined and ephemeral. In many cases, nations harbor these groups and offer them funding, support, and bases from which to launch their attacks. Thus, there must be consensus in the execution of this war in order to effectively root out enemy combatants. In some cases this has meant regime change, as was seen in the Second Gulf War; other times, this has involved peace talks and even concessions to terrorist groups, as was seen in Israeli-Palestinian negations; and, finally, this has also meant economic sanctions levied by this body, the Security Council. Though our means are not always certain—perhaps this uncertainty is what makes the War on Terror so difficult—the global community must never falter in the fight to preserve the free world.

It is exigent that the Security Council build strong consensus and act with even more vigorous resolve when dealing with terrorism. There is no higher calling for the United Nations or any human being than the preservation of peace, life, and moderation, especially when faced with such an insidious enemy that wishes to subjugate democratic civilization and destroy the western tradition at its very core. In the pursuit of these ends, the Security Council must be unyielding.

Questions:

• How can the Security Council foster strong alliances between nations to hunt down terrorist and bring them to justice?
• Should the United Nations broaden support for Coalition forces in Iraq, rescinding its earlier rebuke of Coalition efforts?
• What actions should be taken against nations like Iran and Syria suspected of harboring terrorist groups?

Works Cited:
US Airforce Counter Proliferation Center
Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)/Center for Terrorism Studies
http://cpc.au.af.mil/terrorism.htm

Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All
Geopolitics, The War on Terror
http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/WarOnTerror.asp

Znet Terror Wars Watch
Articles on panoply of related topics
http://www.zmag.org/terrorwar/TerrorWars/TerrorWars.cfm

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Topic 2: Rogue Nuclear/Oil States

In the modern age, there aren’t many better ways to project power than to command a large nuclear arsenal or be in control of natural oil deposits. Clearly, fossil fuels are the backbone of industry, and industry is essential for economic growth. However, due to natural concerns, not all nations are endowed with equal resources. Though no nation has an entitlement to the resources of another, goods and materials, especially oil, must be secured to guarantee the interests of nations; with the Middle East embroiled in a massive conflict and oil-producing nexus Venezuela foreshadowing future struggle with the western world, it is important that the globe’s oil supply be secured.

Furthermore, rogue nuclear states are menacing the world order. If Iran’s sinister intentions were not clear before, they have certainly now been revealed by its piracy and hostage taking of innocent British sailors patrolling the Persian Gulf clearly outside of Iranian waters operating under a United Nations mandate. Iran has been attempting to gain nuclear capability for the unambiguous purpose of creating nuclear arms. Moreover, Iran has been illicitly supporting many terrorist groups, many of which are aiming to create chaos in neighboring Iraq to defeat Coalition forces and prevent the ideals of freedom and liberty from gaining traction in the Middle East. This problem is compounded, as denoted by the topic title, by the fact that Iran is one of the world’s largest oil producers. The Security Council must handle this issue with much care but no lack of forcefulness.

North Korea and Venezuela are also two nations that must be dealt with concisely and completely under this topic. Both nations are ruled by dangerous dictators with ambitions—with weapons or without—to harm the western world in whatever way possible. DPR Korea must be brought in line by Security Council resolutions condemning its practice in attempting to acquire centrifuges and nuclear missiles; accordingly, Venezuela must also be given a stern message that any attempt to tamper with the economic well being of America specifically and all oil consuming nations generally will be not be tolerable. Furthermore, the military alliance between Venezuela and Iran must be considered in depth.

Questions:

• What actions can the Security Council take to ensure the stability of global oil markets? How can this be done while avoiding issues related to free market integrity and national sovereignty?
• How can the Security Council gauge the threat put forth by nations such as Iran, DPR Korea, and Venezuela? Does the issue of oil make any one country more or less dangerous? Why or why not?
• Would it be in the best interest of developed countries to redouble their efforts in creating alternative fuel sources, especially with the future of fossil fuels in question and unpredictable nations controlling the largest deposits?
• How can the Security Council ensure the success of future sanctions and negotiations despite the failure of previous such measures?

Works Cited:
United Nations Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/WMD/treaty/

“Nuclear Weapons: Challenge and Response”
John R. Bolton
US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/26786.htm

Iran Expert
Energy/Defense News
http://www.iranexpert.com/

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Topic 3: Role and Reform of the Security Council in the 21st Century

When the Security Council was founded with the United Nations in 1945, its primary function became that of a forum, within which the major Cold War powers of the East and West could talk and work out their issues. The Security Council was the location of historical confrontations like the famed debate between the American and Soviet Ambassadors during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961. During these times of tension, the Security Council stood in between the feuding powers and helped to keep the world safe for nearly half a century.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the Security Council has wandered almost aimlessly from topic to topic. It has lost sight of its goal of world security. It has let catastrophes like the Rwandan genocide in 1994 take place on its watch. It has failed to step in, as of yet, to put an immediate end to the ongoing Darfur debacle. It has even failed to present a united front in the global war on terrorism.

As currently defined by Chapter Six of the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945 in San Francisco, the role of the Security Council is to “investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute.” The Council may then "recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment" if it determines that the situation might endanger international peace and security. While such an ambiguous mission statement provided the Security Council ample room to work in during the Cold War, the modern decentralization of international threats requires a stricter guideline in which the Security Council may work. When war is no longer fought by nations, disputes become meaningless; incentives, sanctions, and other methods of adjustment no longer function to prevent war as there is no singular nation that they may be imposed upon. Furthermore, the instantaneous access of information permitted by the Technological Revolution allows terrorists to establish secure bases of operation worldwide without worry of communication difficulties.

Thus, the Security Council has lost focus and aim, and is in effect drifting from one crisis to the next, with no clear mandate or modern, flexible structure to deal with an entire new era of global policy and security in the twenty first century.

Questions:

• What changes should be made to the United Nations Charter to better equip the Security Council to deal with modern threats?
• Should the Security Council reform its structure to become more flexible in dealing with emergencies?
• What is the definition of a crisis that would require Security Council involvement?
• Should the Security Council set a broad agenda to combat humanitarian abuses? Terrorist threats? Rogue states?

Works Cited:
"Security Council." United Nations. United Nations. <http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/>.

"UN Security Council." Global Policy Forum. <http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/index.htm>.

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