How many permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are there?
United Nations Security Council
Along with the five permanent members, the Security Council of the United Nations has temporary members that hold their seats on a rotating basis by geographic region. Non-permanent members may be involved in global security briefings. 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.
United Nations System
The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, 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, as well as at its current permanent home at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
United Nations Security Council election, 2015
The 2015 United Nations Security Council election was held on 15 October 2015 during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections are for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2016.
In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:The five members will serve on the Security Council for the 2016–17 period. The countries elected were Egypt, Senegal, Uruguay, Japan, and Ukraine. In each vote there were as many vacancies as there were candidates on the ballot.
1 for 7 Billion campaign
In practice, one candidate is chosen in private by the Security Council without discussing with member states or publishing a list of candidates. It is UN Security Council practice that the five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China – have an effective veto over the selection during this stage of the process, though this is not explicitly mentioned in the United Nations Charter. The final candidate is then submitted to the General Assembly for ratification. No candidate has ever been rejected by the General Assembly.
Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
In 2013, the P5 and G4 members of the UN Security Council accounted for eight of the world's ten largest defence budgets, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The following are the heads of state and government that represent the permanent members of the UN Security Council :
European Union and the United Nations
The European Union (EU) has had permanent observer status at the United Nations (UN) since 1974, and has had enhanced participation rights since 2011. The EU itself does not have voting rights but it is represented alongside its 28 members, two of which (France and the United Kingdom) are permanent members of the Security Council.
1968 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
List of members of the United Nations Security Council
"Years on the Security Council, as of 2018, including current year where relevant" :
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Council has 54 member states out of the 193 UN member states, which are elected each year by the United Nations General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are based on geographical representation with 14 allocated to African states, 11 to Asia-Pacific states, 6 to East European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to West European and other states.
United Nations Human Rights Council
The UNHRC has 47 members, selected each year by the UN General Assembly for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. No member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive three-year terms. The seats are distributed among the UN's regional groups as follows: 13 for Africa, 13 for Asia, six for Eastern Europe, eight for Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and seven for the Western European and Others Group (WEOG).
Aftermath of World War II
The five major Allied powers were given permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. The permanent members can veto any United Nations Security Council resolution, the only UN decisions that are binding according to international law. The five powers at the time of founding were: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China. The Republic of China lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to the island of Taiwan by 1950 but continued to be a permanent member of the Council even though the "de facto" state in control of mainland China was the People's Republic of China (PRC). This was changed in 1971 when the PRC was given the permanent membership previously held by the Republic of China. Russia inherited the permanent membership of the Soviet Union in 1991 after the dissolution of that state.
List of members of the United Nations Security Council
Each year the UN General Assembly elects five new members for a two-year term; these elections always begin in October of the year, and continue until the two-thirds majority for the number of countries for each region has been reached. Re-election is allowed, but the term must not be consecutive.* The representative of Arab nations alternates between these two elected spaces.
United Nations Security Council
The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. On 17 January 1946, the Security Council met for the first time at Church House, Westminster, in London, United Kingdom.
Criticism of the United Nations
Some have questioned whether the UN might be relevant in the 21st century.
While the UN’s first and second Charter mandates require the UN: “To maintain international peace and security... (and if necessary to enforce the peace by) taking preventive or enforcement action,”
due to its restrictive administrative structure, the permanent members of the Security Council themselves have sometimes prevented the UN from fully carrying out its first two mandates.
Without the unanimous approval, support (or minimally abstention) of all 5 of the permanent members of the UN's Security Council, the UN's charter only enables it to "observe", report on, and make recommendations regarding international conflicts . Such unanimity on the Security Council regarding the authorization of armed UN enforcement actions has not always been reached in time to prevent the outbreak of international wars.
List of members of the United Nations Security Council
This list contains the 130 United Nations member states so far elected to the United Nations Security Council, including the five permanent members, all listed by number of years each country has so far spent on the UNSC. Of all the members, 6 have so far ceased to exist, leaving the list with 124 modern nations. These, combined with the 69 modern nations that have never been elected to the UNSC to date (see Non-members, below), make up the entirety of the 193 current members of the UN.
European Union and the United Nations
The EU holds its observer membership alongside the full memberships of all its 28 member states, two of whom (France and the United Kingdom) are permanent veto-holding members of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Furthermore, where the EU has a defined position on a UNSC agenda item, those states shall request the High Representative to be invited to present the EU's position. This however does not impact on the right of those states to form their foreign policy (stated in ).
Supermajority
The United Nations Security Council requires a supermajority of the fixed membership on substantive matters (procedural matters require a simple majority of those present and voting). According to Article 27 of the United Nations Charter, at least nine of the Security Council's 15 members (i.e., a three-fifths supermajority) must vote in favor of a draft resolution in order to achieve passage. Specifying the fixed membership has the effect of making abstentions count as votes against—absences are not normal but would be treated the same way.
1993 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
1977 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
2019 United Nations Security Council election
In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:The five members will serve on the Security Council for the 2020–21 period.
1981 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council
Italy, the third main defeated power in WWII and now the UN's sixth-largest funder, leads a movement known as the Uniting for Consensus in opposition to the possible expansion of permanent seats. Core members of the group include Canada, South Korea, Spain, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey, Argentina and Colombia. Their proposal is to create a new category of seats, still non-permanent, but elected for an extended duration (semi-permanent seats). 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 size states among groups eligible for regular seats. This proposal includes even the question of veto, giving a range of options that goes from abolition to limitation of the application of the veto only to Chapter VII matters.
United Nations Security Council
In mid-1944, the delegations from the Allied "Big Four", the Soviet Union, the UK, the US and China, met for the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, D.C. to negotiate the UN's structure, and the composition of the UN Security Council quickly became the dominant issue. France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK, and US were selected as permanent members of the Security Council; the US attempted to add Brazil as a sixth member, but was opposed by the heads of the Soviet and British delegations. The most contentious issue at Dumbarton and in successive talks proved to be the veto rights of permanent members. The Soviet delegation argued that each nation should have an absolute veto that could block matters from even being discussed, while 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 American, British, and Russian delegations agreed that each of the "Big Five" could veto any action by the council, but not procedural resolutions, meaning that the permanent members could not prevent debate on a resolution.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
, which joined the UN in 1956, is the second-largest contributor to the UN's regular budget. Its payments had surpassed the sum of those of the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia combined for nearly two decades before 2010. Japan has been one of the largest Official development assistance donor countries. Thus, Japan, along with India, are considered the most likely candidates for two of the new permanent seats. China has stated that it was ready to support India's move for a permanent seat on the UNSC if India did not associate its bid with Japan. This may be contrary to the Indian stand since Japan and India are both members of the G4 and support each other's candidature. Japan has been elected to the Security Council for eleven terms as a non-permanent member.
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter
Chapter VII also gives the Military Staff Committee responsibility for strategic coordination of forces placed at the disposal of the UN Security Council. It is made up of the chiefs of staff of the five permanent members of the Council.
Poland and the United Nations
In addition, Poland sat on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member five times (1946-1947, 1960, 1970-1971, 1982-1983, 1996-1997) and its currently serving its sixth term from 2018-2019.
United Nations Security Council
Unlike the General Assembly, the Security Council meets year-round. Each Security Council member must have a representative available at UN Headquarters at all times in case an emergency meeting becomes necessary.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1645
The resolution then set out the composition of the commission, to include seven members of the Security Council, seven members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the top five providers to the United Nations budget, the top five providers to United Nations peacekeeping missions, with representation from all regional groups. It also discussed country-specific meetings of the commission, where representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, among others, could participate. The Peacebuilding Commission was encouraged to co-operate with international organisations as appropriate, and provide advice to the Council in matter with which it is seized.
United Nations Security Council election, 2001
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: two from Africa, one from Asia, one from Latin American and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC), and one from the Eastern European Group.
1990 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council resolution
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".
Eastern European Group
The Eastern European Group has two seats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); the permanent seat of Russia, and one elected seat, currently held by Ukraine. The Group further has 6 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council and 6 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is also eligible for having its nationals elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly in years ending with 2 and 7; most recently, Vuk Jeremić of Serbia was elected to this position in June 2012 and was the office holder of the Sixty-seventh session.
1967 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions
This is a list of United Nations Security Council Resolutions that have been vetoed by one of the five permanent members of the security council between 16 February 1946 to the present day.
1994 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council election, 2000
The 2000 United Nations Security Council election was held on 10 October 2000 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2001.
Chapter V of the United Nations Charter
Article 23 establishes the composition of the Security Council, with five permanent members (the Republic of China, ("currently" People's Republic of China), France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and 10 non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly. The non-permanent members serve two year terms and cannot be immediately re-elected. In the selection process for these non-permanent members, the treaty calls for "due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical distribution."
Maleeha Lodhi
On 10 March 2016, Lodhi opposed adding new permanent members to the United Nations Security Council with or without a veto, adding that Pakistan supports expansion of the Security Council only in the non-permanent category in order to make the Council more democratic, accountable, effective and transparent.
1988 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Currently, no country in Africa has a permanent seat on the Security Council. Although no one nation from Africa has formally been put forward as a candidate for membership on the Security Council, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are seen as the strongest choices. Algeria has gained a great deal of respect for its neutrality over the years and its great commitment to African development; Egypt has the second-largest economy in Africa and the biggest military on the continent, was one of the founding members of the United Nations, enjoys great influence in Africa and in the Arab world, and hosts the headquarters of the Arab League; Ethiopia was also one of the founding members of the United Nations and holds the seat of the African Union Commission; South Africa has the third-largest economy on the continent; and Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, has the continent's largest economy, and is one of the largest contributors of military and civilian personnel to UN peacekeeping missions.
1983 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council election, 2013
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council
The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in World War II and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces ever since. They annually topped the list of countries with the highest military expenditures. In 2013, they spent over US$1 trillion combined on defence, accounting for over 55% of global military expenditures (the US alone accounting for over 35%). They are also among the world's largest arms exporters and are the only nations officially recognized as "nuclear-weapon states" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), though there are other states known or believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Brazil has received backing from 3 of the current permanent members, namely France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Brazilian elevation to permanent membership is also supported by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and Brazil and the other G4 nations mutually support each other in their bids. Other countries that advocate permanent Brazilian membership of the UNSC include Australia, Chile, Finland, Guatemala, Indonesia, the Philippines, Slovenia, South Africa, and Vietnam
1972 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973
Ten Security Council members voted in the affirmative (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Gabon, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, and permanent members France, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Five (Brazil, Germany, and India, and permanent members China and Russia) abstained, with none opposed.
Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
Most of the leading candidates for permanent membership are regularly elected onto the Security Council by their respective groups. Japan was elected for eleven two-year terms, Brazil for ten terms, and Germany for three terms. India has been elected to the council seven times in total, with the most recent successful bid being in 2010 after a gap of almost twenty years since 1991–92.
1999 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
1982 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
is the third largest contributor to the U.N. regular budgets next to Japan, and as such, argues for a permanent Security Council seat. Germany has been elected to the Security Council as a non-permanent member three times as a unified state, as well as three times when it was divided (twice for the West, once for the East).
United Nations Security Council election, 1998
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: one from Africa, one from Asia, one from Latin American and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC), and two from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 968
The Security Council then established UNMOT, consisting of 40 military observers, and 18 international and 26 local staff, with the following mandate:
United Nations Security Council election, 1996
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: one from Africa, one from Asia, one from Latin American and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC), and two from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG).
G4 nations
The UN currently has five permanent members with veto power in the Security Council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States- comprising the victors of World War II. The G4 nations are regularly elected to two-year terms on the Security Council as non-permanent members by their respective regional groups: in the 24-year period from 1987 to 2010, Brazil and Japan were elected for five terms each, Germany for four terms (one term as West Germany and three terms as unified Germany) and India for four terms. Cumulatively, the G4 has spent 64 years on the Security Council since the UN's inception, with each country serving at least a decade. By comparison, the three permanent members of the Security Council who have maintained their seats since the UN's founding (France, the UK, and the US) have each accrued years of membership. The People's Republic of China has held its permanent seat for years, since it replaced the Republic of China in 1971, and Russia has held its permanent seat for years, since it replaced the Soviet Union in 1991.
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Of these 16 members, eight are nominated by the member governments and eight directly nominated by indigenous organizations. Those nominated by the governments are then elected to office by the Economic and Social Council based on the five regional groupings of the United Nations. Whereas those nominated by indigenous organisations are appointed by the President of the Economic and Social Council and represent the seven socio-cultural regions for broad representation of the world's indigenous peoples.
United States and the United Nations
The United States of America is a charter member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
India's bid for permanent member of UNSC is now backed by four of the five permanent members, namely France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. On 15 April 2011, China officially expressed its support for an increased Indian role at the United Nations, without explicitly endorsing India's Security Council ambitions. A few months later, China endorsed Indian candidacy as a permanent UNSC member provided that India revokes its support for Japanese candidacy.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 129
United Nations Security Council resolution 129, adopted unanimously on August 7, 1958, called an emergency special session of the General Assembly. The resolution states that this was as a result of the lack of unanimity of its permanent members at the council's 834th and 837th meetings which prevented it from exercising its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
United Nations Security Council election, 2003
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: two from Africa, one from Asia, one from Eastern Europe, and one from Latin American and the Caribbean.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 219
The resolution was the last to be adopted by 11 member states. The following year, membership of the Security Council increased to 15 members.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 629
Resolution 629, with the breakdown of the bi-polar system in the Council, was drafted by the five permanent members of the Security Council, illustrating a shift in governance which allowed the permanent members to consult informally outside the Council chambers on a wide range of issues.
Charter of the United Nations
2. The non-permanent members of the Security Council shall be elected for a term of two years. In the first election of the non-permanent members after the increase of the membership of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen, two of the four additional members shall be chosen for a term of one year. A retiring member shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.
1991 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
Military Staff Committee
The MSC consists of army, naval and air force representatives from the Security Council's five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the U.S.) who meet every 14 days at the headquarters building of the UN in New York City. Additional United Nation members are included in meetings regarding peacekeeping operations in which their country's forces are deployed.
1974 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council election, 2011
The 2011 United Nations Security Council election was held on 21 and 24 October 2011 during the Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan, and Togo, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2012. Azerbaijan was elected after 17 rounds on 24 October, while the other four new members were chosen on 21 October.
1985 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
China and the United Nations
China is one of the charter members of the United Nations and is one of five permanent members of its Security Council. It has used its veto the least of any of the permanent members.
1966 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
P5+1
The P5+1 refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members (the P5); namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany. The P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 by European countries. It is a group of six world powers which, in 2006, joined together in diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program.
2020 United Nations Security Council election
In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:The five members will serve on the Security Council for the 2021–22 period.
Military Staff Committee
Though the Military Staff Committee is referred to in the Charter prior to its formal establishment, including in Article 26 and earlier Articles in Chapter 7, it is actually established by Article 47, which defines the membership of the Committee as "the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives". It is also referred to in the first United Nations Security Council resolution. The MSC is the only subsidiary body of the Security Council named in the Charter, and by far the longest-standing subsidiary council of the UN. The MSC remains active in the UN as a cadre of military advisors to their government's diplomats and peacekeeping.
United Nations
The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states, consisting of five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with end of term date)—Bolivia (term ends 2018), Côte d'Ivoire (2019), Equatorial Guinea (2019), Ethiopia (2018), Kazakhstan (2018), Kuwait (2019), Netherlands (2018), Peru (2019), Poland (2019), and Sweden (2018). The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions, allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with five member states per year voted in by the General Assembly on a regional basis. The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month.
United Nations Security Council election, 1995
The 1995 United Nations Security Council election was held on 8 November 1995 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 50th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 1996.
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; , ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. The ECOSOC has 54 members. The General Assembly selects 18 new members for ECOSOC each year for the term of 3 years with a provision that a retiring member can be re-elected. It holds one seven-week session each year in July, and since 1998, it has also held an annual meeting in April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
1992 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1646
The Security Council decided that the five permanent members of the Security Council–China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States–and two non-permanent members were to participate in the Organisational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission. Furthermore, the resolution stated that the annual report of the Peacebuilding Commission would also be submitted to the Council for debate.
2017 United Nations Security Council election
The 2017 United Nations Security Council election was held on 2 June 2017 during the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In addition to the regular elections for five of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, there was by-election for a sixth seat held by Italy who relinquished its seat at the end of the year as part of a term splitting agreement with the Netherlands. The regular elections are for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2018; the by-election is for the remainder of Italy's term.
In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five regularly available seats are allocated as follows:The six elected members began their two-year terms on the 1st of January, 2018 , and will continue to serve on the Security Council until the end of 2019.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
The existing permanent members, each holding the right of veto on Security Council reform, announced their positions reluctantly. The United States supported the permanent membership of Japan and India, and a small number of additional non-permanent members. The United Kingdom and France 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 more African countries on the Council. China supported the stronger representation of developing countries, voicing support for India. Russia has also endorsed India's candidature for a permanent seat on the Security Council.
United Nations Security Council election, 2002
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: one from Africa, one from Asia, one from Latin American and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and two from Western Europe and Other States.
1980 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
1989 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
With the enlargement of the United Nations membership and increasing self-confidence among the new members, going hand in hand with processes of decolonization, old structures and procedures were increasingly challenged. The imbalance between the number of seats in the Security Council and the total number of member States became evident, and the only significant reform of the Security Council occurred in 1965: this included an increase in the non-permanent membership from six to 10 members. With Boutros Boutros-Ghali elected as Secretary-General in 1992, the reform discussions of the UN Security Council were launched again as he started his new term with the first-ever summit of the Security Council and then published "An Agenda for Peace". His motivation was to restructure the composition and arguably anachronistic procedures of the UN organ to recognize the changed world. In the twenty-first century, the mismatch between the structure of the UN Security Council and the global reality the former is supposed to reflect became even more glaring. So much so that demands were raised by many politicians, diplomats and scholars to reform the Council at the earliest so that it reflects the reality of the present times and not the time of its establishment. For example, Indian scholar of diplomacy Rejaul Karim Laskar argues, "for the continued existence and relevance of the UN, it is necessary to ensure that it represents as nearly as possible the reality of the power equation of the twenty-first century world".
1969 United Nations Security Council election
The 1969 United Nations Security Council election was held on 20 October 1969 during the Twenty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected the Burundi, Nicaragua, Poland, Sierra Leone, and Syria, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1970.
United Nations Security Council election, 2002
The 2002 United Nations Security Council election was held on 27 September 2002 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 57th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2003.
United Nations Regional Groups
The Western European and Others Group (WEOG for short) has 28 members (15% of all UN members). It has a territory dispersed on all of the continents, but mostly centred in Western Europe and North America. In addition, the United States is an observer (see below). Including the United States, WEOG has 5 seats on the Security Council: three permanent seats (France, United Kingdom, United States), and two non-permanent seats. The Group also has 13 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council and 7 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. In the rotation of the post of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the group is eligible for having its nationals elected to this post in years ending with 0 and 5; most recently, Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark was elected to this position in 2015.
United Nations Security Council
In 2017, it was reported that the G4 nations were willing to temporarily forgo veto power if granted permanent UNSC seats. In September 2017, U.S. Representatives Ami Bera and Frank Pallone introduced a resolution (H.Res.535) in the US House of Representatives (115th United States Congress), seeking support for India for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
United Nations Security Council election, 1997
The 1997 United Nations Security Council election was held on 14 October 1997 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 1998.
United Nations Security Council election, 2001
The 2001 United Nations Security Council election was held on 8 October 2001 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 56th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2002.
Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
There have been proposals suggesting the introduction of new permanent members. The candidates usually mentioned are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan. They comprise the group of four countries known as the G4 nations, which mutually support one another's bids for permanent seats.
Russia and the United Nations
Chapter V, Article 23 of the UN Charter, adopted in 1945, provides that "The Security Council should consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The Republic of China, The French Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall be permanent members of the Security Council."
United Nations Security Council election, 1997
In accordance with the General Assembly's rules for the geographic distribution of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and established practice, the members were to be elected as follows: two from Africa, one from Asia, one from Latin American and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC), and one from the Eastern European Group. By unofficial custom, the seat from Asia was to be filled by a member of the Arab League, as the previous holder of the "Arab seat" was African Egypt.
India and the United Nations
According to the G4 proposal, the UN Security Council should be expanded beyond the current fifteen members to include twenty-five members. If this actually happens, it would be the first time permanent Security Council status is extended to a South Asian nation and supporters of the G4 plan suggest that this will lead to greater representation of developing nations rather than the current major powers.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 984
The permanent members of the Council (all of which possessed nuclear weapons) had given security assurances to non-nuclear countries that were part of the NPT, the first time this had occurred. The Security Council recognised the need to give assurances to non-nuclear weapons states, and that the permanent members of the Council will act, according to relevant provisions in the Charter of the United Nations, in the event that a country is threatened or attacked with nuclear weapons. It also recognised that the permanent member states would bring such incidents to the attention of the Security Council. Assistance would be given in any case, with investigations and appropriate measures to settle disputes and restore international peace and security. Measures would also be taken to provide technical, medical, scientific or humanitarian assistance in response to any requests from an affected country. Additionally, appropriate measures would be recommended with regard to compensation after instances of aggression and the intention of some countries to provide immediate assistance to an affected country was welcomed by the Council.
Kazakhstan's membership in the United Nations Security Council
On June 28, 2016, at a vote at UN headquarters in New York, Kazakhstan, having won 138 votes out of 193 UN member states, for the first time was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017–2018. Kazakhstan's work in the UN Security Council began on January 1, 2017. Kazakhstan is the first state of Central Asia region that was elected to UN Security Council. As a non-permanent member of UN Security Council Kazakhstan pays a great attention to the regional challenges and the issue of Afghanistan, in particular such threats like terrorism growth, illegal drugs production, human trafficking, and also the presence of "Islamic State" and Al-Qaida.
The UN Security Council is a standing body of the United Nations, which is entrusted with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council consists of 15 members, 5 of which are permanent (United Kingdom, China, Russia, United States, France), and 10 are non-permanent, elected by the UN General Assembly for a two-year period for 5 countries each year. In 2017, non-permanent members of the UN Security Council include Bolivia, Egypt, Italy, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Ukraine, Uruguay, Sweden, Ethiopia, Japan.
Kazakhstan became a member of the UN on March 2, 1992. On April 15, 1992 Ms Akmaral Arystanbekova was appointed as the first Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan. On June 5, 1992 was signed the Presidential Decree on the establishment of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN. On February 16, 1993, the UN Office in Kazakhstan was opened. Mr Norimasa Shimamura is the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Kazakhstan since December 2015, and Mr Kairat Umarov is a Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations.
United Nations Security Council veto power
The United Nations Security Council "veto power" refers to the power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) to veto any "substantive" resolution. A permanent member's abstention or absence does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted. This veto power does not apply to "procedural" votes, as determined by the permanent members themselves. A permanent member can also block the selection of a Secretary-General, although a formal veto is unnecessary since the vote is taken behind closed doors.
Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
The "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the permanent members, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft. The veto does not apply to procedural votes, which is significant in that the Security Council's permanent membership can vote against a "procedural" draft resolution, without necessarily blocking its adoption by the Council.
United Nations Security Council election, 2013
The five members are expected to serve on the Security Council for the 2014–15 period.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2270 on March 2, 2016, with approval of all the five permanent members and the ten non-permanent members in response to North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on January 6, 2016, and its launch of a long-range missile carrying what it said was a satellite on February 7, 2016.
1971 United Nations Security Council election
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.
United Nations Security Council election, 2014
The 2014 United Nations Security Council election was held on 16 October 2014 during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2015.
In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats were allocated as follows:The five members will serve on the Security Council for the 2015–16 period. The countries elected were Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela.
Malaysian Permanent Representative to the UN Datuk Hussein Haniff said: "I have been participating in all the open debates. The Malaysian mission is actively engaged in lobbying to get elected. We are the only candidate from Asia, so far, for a UNSC non-permanent seat, and need to get a two-third majority in the General Assembly for a non-permanent membership". Additionally, he asserted that while Malaysia was the sole candidate as of the end of 2013 for the seat, he hopes that "this will remain so until the electoral process is finalised". Foreign Minister Dato' Seri Anifah Aman also said that "We must not take it for granted. We have to work very hard and we have to engage and meet leaders from various countries to secure the seat, but I am quite confident that Malaysia has a very good name globally".