Under the terms of the United Nations Charter, the UN Security Council is the member body that is charged with maintaining international peace and security. It does this by investigating situations that threaten international stability, making recommendations for a peaceful resolution, imposing economic sanctions, and enforcing its binding decisions. The Security Council has five permanent members that have the veto power – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States – and ten non-veto wielding members that rotate every two years.
From: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/index.htm
The U.S. and the other four permanent members of the Security Council may veto any Security Council resolution they oppose – including all peacekeeping missions, sanctions resolutions, or authorizations of military force. This right has been used very infrequently since the end of the Cold War.
UN Security Council Highlights
1949: Israel Admitted to the United Nations
The Security Council adopted a resolution deciding that Israel was a peace-loving state and recommended that the General Assembly grant membership to Israel.
1950: UN Command Counters Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea
With news that the DPRK attacked the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Security Council declared the attack to be a breach of peace and recommended that Member States make forces available to a UN Unified Command under the United States. In all, 16 nations supplied troops.
1960: Security Council asks government of South Africa to Abandon Apartheid
The Security Council responded to violence shown by the government of South Africa to peaceful protests against racial discrimination and desegregation, calling on the country to abandon apartheid.
1968: Safeguarding Non-Nuclear-Weapon States Parties to the NPT
The Security Council created a resolution to safeguard non-nuclear states that abide by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in the face of a nuclear armed aggressor.
1990: Saddam Hussein’s Invasion Opposed
When Iraq invaded Kuwait, U.S. President George H.W. Bush immediately went to the United Nations to form a multilateral coalition through the UN Security Council to combat the Iraqi aggressor.
2003: Sanctions on Libya Lifted
In September 2003, the Security Council agreed to lift sanctions on Libya, and by December, Libya had abandoned its nuclear ambitions.
2007: Security Council Authorizes Largest Number of Peacekeepers Ever
The demand for the number of peacekeepers deployed around the world to help stabilize conflict situations and uphold peace agreements has never been higher. Currently, more than 100,000 peacekeepers are deployed in 18 missions globally. |
