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The United Nations Security Council
The
Security Council is the most powerful of the organisation’s principal organs.
According to the UN Charter
(Article
24), it bears main responsibility for the fulfilment of the central task of the
organisation [see Basic
Course 1],
that of
securing world peace and international security. The powers bestowed on it for
this purpose transform the Security Council into a unique committee in
international politics.
As the
diagram shows, the UN Security Council consists of 15 Member States, in which
five members - China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the USA - take up a
prominent position as permanent members. The ten non-permanent members are
elected for a period of two years by the UN
General
Assembly. The
procedure here is that five non-permanent members are elected each year, so that
the composition of Security Council changes each year.
A
regional key has been developed for these elections, which is designed to
ensure that all regions (and interests) of the world are represented in
the Security Council.
It can
meet at any time and the members are permanently on site at the UN
headquarters in New York. The Presidency changes every month and can
convene sessions at any time. These can take place at the request of a
Council member or member state, the General Assembly or the UN
Secretary-General. It is prescribed that the Security Council meet at
least fortnightly, but in practice it meets nearly every day, and
frequently even several times a day. |
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Regional Key
for the Occupancy of Non-Permanent Seats in the Security Council:
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3
African
states |
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2
Asian
states |
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2
Latin
American states |
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2
West
European and other states |
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1
East
European state
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A
resolution in procedural questions comes to stand when nine members vote in
favour of it. The additional hurdle of all permanent members having to agree
exists for all other questions. Therefore giving China, France, Great Britain,
Russia and the USA a veto right. The prominent position held by the five
permanent members comprises a central feature of the UN system, which unifies
various fundamental principles. On the one hand, the equality of sovereign
states in the General Assembly ("One country - one vote"), and on the
other, five states that make up a leading 'directorium' modelled on the European
concert of major powers in the 19th Century.
As in
the case of the principal organs, the Security Council can also form ancillary
organs. Besides various committees, numerous peace missions count among these [see
the historical summary in Basic Course 2],
and the
two criminal tribunals formed to-date for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
Wide-Reaching
Functions and Powers
In
Article
24 of the UN Charter,
the
first sections states that, "In order to ensure prompt and effective action
by the United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and
agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility, the Security
Council acts on their behalf." The following text excerpt describes the
essence of each of these functions and powers individually:
The
Security Council " can ... within the framework of the pacific settlement
of disputes (Chapter VI of the UN Charter), investigate any situation (Article
34) and recommend appropriate procedures or methods of pacific settlement in
each state (Article 36ff.). Under the banner of Chapter VI, the role of the
Security Council remains consultative or moderatory. In contrast, Chapter VII of
the UN Charter regulates the use of force by the Security Council. Here, the
Security Council must determine whether a situation represents a threat to
peace, breach of the peace, or an act of aggression.
If the
Security Council determines this to be the case, it can recommend suitable
measures to end this situation. It can also resort to measures to force the
implementation of its resolutions. According to Article 41, this can involve the
step-by-step institution of non-military, and above all economic sanctions, or,
according to Article 42, military measures for maintaining peace can be ordered (...).
According
to Article 25, all members of the United Nations must accept and implement the
resolutions of the Security Council. The specific authority of the Security
Council is also expressed by its jurisdiction within the organisation, through
which a series of important decisions are linked to a preceding vote by the
Council, and particularly those of the General Assembly. This above all concerns
the admission and exclusion of members, and the election of the
Secretary-General and the judges presiding over the International Court of
Justice."
[taken from: Sven Gareis/Johannes Varwick, Die Vereinten Nationen. Aufgaben, Instrumente und Reformen;
Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung Schriftenreihe Band 403, Bonn 2003, P.
51-52]
More pages on UN Bodies:
[Author: Ragnar Müller]
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