Editing United Nations Security Council (section)

== Members ==

=== Permanent members ===
{{Main|Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council}}
{{See also|China and the United Nations|France and the United Nations|Russia and the United Nations|Soviet Union and the United Nations|United Kingdom and the United Nations|United States and the United Nations}}

The Security Council's five permanent members, below, have the power to [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto]] any substantive resolution; this allows a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, but not to prevent or end debate.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}}

{| class="wikitable"
|- "
! width=14% | Country
! width=18% | Regional group
! width=34% | Current state representation
! width=34% | Former state representation
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"| {{flag|China}}
|[[Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States|Asia-Pacific]]
|{{flagicon|China}} [[China|People's Republic of China]]
|{{flagicon|Taiwan}} [[China and the United Nations#Republic of China in the United Nations (1945–1971)|Republic of China]]{{efn|name=China|On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, the [[People's Republic of China]] on the [[Mainland China|mainland]] was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the [[Republic of China]] on the [[Taiwan (island)|island of Taiwan]]. The [[Charter of the United Nations]] still lists the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] as the member.}} ([[Republic of China (1912-1949)|1945–1949]],<br/>[[Taiwan|1949–1971]])
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|France}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{flagicon|France}} [[French Fifth Republic|French Republic]]
|{{flagicon|France|1794}} [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|Provisional Govt.]] (1945–1946)<br/>[[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]] (1946–1958)
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|Russia}}
|[[Eastern European Group|Eastern Europe]]
|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia|Russian Federation]]
|{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (1945–1991){{efn|name=ussr}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{nowrap|{{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]]}}
|{{N/A}}
|-
|style="background:#EAECF0"|{{flag|United States}}
|[[Western European and Others Group|Western Europe and Others]]
|{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States|United States of America]]
|{{N/A}}
|}

At the UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], [[France]] (represented by the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]]), the [[Soviet Union]], the United Kingdom, and the United States. There have been two major seat changes since then. [[China and the United Nations|China's seat]] was originally held by [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s [[Nationalist Government]], the Republic of China. However, the Nationalists were forced to retreat to the [[Geography of Taiwan|island of Taiwan]] in 1949, during the [[Chinese Civil War]]. The [[Chinese Communist Party]] assumed control of [[mainland China]], thenceforth known as the People's Republic of China. In 1971, [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|General Assembly Resolution 2758]] recognized the People's Republic as the [[One-China policy|rightful representative of China]] in the UN and gave it the seat on the Security Council that had been held by the Republic of China, which was expelled from the UN altogether with [[Taiwan and the United Nations|no opportunity for membership as a separate nation]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=195–197}} After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the Russian Federation was recognized as the [[succession of states|legal successor state]] of the Soviet Union and maintained the latter's position on the Security Council.{{sfn|Blum|1992}}

The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in World War II{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=70}} and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces ever since. They annually topped the [[List of countries by military expenditures|list of countries with the highest military expenditures]].<ref name=SIPRI>{{cite web |url=http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex |title=SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-date=24 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524130032/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, they spent over US$1&nbsp;trillion combined on defence, accounting for over 55% of global military expenditures (the US alone accounting for over 35%).<ref name=SIPRI/> They are also amongst the world's [[Arms industry#World's largest arms exporters|largest arms exporters]]<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-arms-treaty-idUSBRE86Q1MW20120727 | title= United Nations fails to agree landmark arms-trade treaty | first= Michelle | last= Nichols | date= 27 July 2012 | work= Reuters | access-date= 26 November 2013 | archive-date= 16 March 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160316212137/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arms-treaty-idUSBRE86Q1MW20120727 | url-status= live}}</ref> and are the only nations officially recognized as "[[List of states with nuclear weapons|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.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

The block of Western democratic and generally aligned permanent members (France, the UK and the US) is styled as the "P3".

==== Veto power ====
{{Main|United Nations Security Council veto power}}
{{See also|List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions}}

Under [[United Nations Security Council veto power#UN Charter|Article 27]] of the UN Charter, Security Council decisions on all substantive matters require the affirmative votes of nine (i.e. three-fifths) of the members. A negative vote or a "veto" by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal, even if it has received the required votes.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}} Abstention is not regarded as a veto in most cases, though all five permanent members must vote for adopting any amendment of the UN Charter.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=287}} Procedural matters cannot be vetoed, so the veto right cannot be used to avoid discussion of an issue. The same holds for certain non-binding decisions that directly regard permanent members.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}} Most vetoes have been used for blocking a candidate for Secretary-General or the admission of a member state, not in critical international security situations.<ref name=Veto/>

In the negotiations leading up to the creation of the UN, the veto power was opposed by many small countries and was in fact forced on them by the veto nations—the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and the Soviet Union—by threatening that the UN would otherwise not be founded. [[Francis O. Wilcox]], an adviser to the US delegation to the 1945 conference, described the situation:

{{blockquote|At San Francisco, the issue was made crystal clear by the leaders of the Big Five: it was either the Charter with the veto or no Charter at all. Senator Connally [from the U.S. delegation] dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same act if they opposed the unanimity principle. "You may, if you wish," he said, "go home from this Conference and say that you have defeated the veto. But what will be your answer when you are asked: 'Where is the Charter?{{'"}}{{sfn|Wilcox|1945}}}}

{{As of|2012}}, 269 vetoes had been cast since the Security Council's inception.{{efn|This figure and the figures that follow exclude vetoes cast to block candidates for Secretary-General, as these occur in closed session; 43 such vetoes have occurred.<ref name=Veto/>}} In this period, China used the veto 9 times, France 18, the Soviet Union or Russia 128, the United Kingdom 32, and the United States 89. Roughly two-thirds of Soviet and Russian combined vetoes were in the first ten years of the Security Council's existence. Between 1996 and 2012,
the United States vetoed 13 resolutions, Russia 7, and China 5, whilst France and the United Kingdom did not use the veto.<ref name=Veto>{{cite web |url= http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Changing_Patterns_in_the_Use_of_the_Veto_as_of_August_2012.pdf |title=Changing Patterns in the Use of the Veto in The Security Council |publisher=Global Policy Forum |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114211630/https://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Changing_Patterns_in_the_Use_of_the_Veto_as_of_August_2012.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

An early veto by Soviet Commissar [[Andrei Vishinsky]] blocked a resolution on the withdrawal of French forces from Syria and Lebanon which were under [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French mandate]] in February 1946; this veto established the precedent that permanent members could use the veto on matters outside of immediate concerns of war and peace. The Soviet Union went on to veto matters including the admission of Austria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Libya, Nepal,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=A. M. Rosenthalspecial To the New York |date=1949-09-08 |title=RUSSIA'S 31ST VETO IN U. N. BARS NEPAL; Nine Nations in the Security Council Vote for Admitting Country to Membership |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/08/archives/russias-31st-veto-in-u-n-bars-nepal-nine-nations-in-the-security.html |access-date=2023-01-18 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118234356/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/09/08/archives/russias-31st-veto-in-u-n-bars-nepal-nine-nations-in-the-security.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Portugal, South Vietnam and Transjordan as UN member states, delaying their joining by several years. The United Kingdom and France used the veto to avoid Security Council condemnation of their actions in the 1956 Suez Crisis. The first veto by the United States came in 1970, blocking General Assembly action in [[Southern Rhodesia]]. From 1985 to 1990, the US vetoed 27 resolutions, primarily to block resolutions perceived as anti-Israel but also to protect its interests in Panama and Korea. The Soviet Union, the United States and China have all vetoed candidates for Secretary-General, with the US using the veto to block the re-election of [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] in 1996.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=52–54}}

=== Non-permanent members ===
{{See also|List of members of the United Nations Security Council|United Nations Security Council elections|2023 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2023|2024 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2024|2025 United Nations Security Council election{{!}}2025}}

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.<ref>{{YouTube|id=FgthI1fdRYA|title=U.N. Security Council Briefing on the U.S. Air Strike in Syria}} [[Time (magazine)|Time]]</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The UN Security Council |url= http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html |publisher= United Nations Foundation |access-date=15 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120620101548/http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/united-nations/the-un-security-council.html |archive-date=20 June 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

These ten non-permanent members are [[United Nations Security Council elections|elected]] by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five replaced each year.<ref name="Current">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/members/ |title=Current Members |publisher=United Nations |access-date=4 January 2016 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219111509/http://www.un.org/en/sc/members/ |url-status=live}}</ref> To be approved, a candidate must receive at least two-thirds of all votes cast for that seat, which can result in deadlock if there are two roughly evenly matched candidates. In 1979, a standoff between Cuba and Colombia only ended after three months and a record 154 rounds of voting; both eventually withdrew in favour of Mexico as a compromise candidate.<ref name="SCR">{{cite web |title=Special Research Report No. 4Security Council Elections 201121 September 2011 |publisher=Security Council Report |access-date=8 June 2012 |url= http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.7741609/k.778/Special_Research_Report_No_4brSecurity_Council_Elections_2011br21_September_2011.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120608042121/http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.7741609/k.778/Special_Research_Report_No_4brSecurity_Council_Elections_2011br21_September_2011.htm |archive-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> A retiring member is not eligible for immediate re-election.<ref name="chapter5"/>

The African Group is represented by three members; the [[Latin America and the Caribbean]], Asia-Pacific, and [[Western European and Others Group|Western European and Others]] groups by two apiece; and the [[Eastern European Group]] by one. Traditionally, one of the seats assigned to either the Asia-Pacific Group or the African Group is filled by a nation from the [[Arab world]], alternating between the groups.<ref>{{cite news |last=Malone |first=David |title=Reforming the Security Council: Where Are the Arabs? |date=25 October 2003 |newspaper=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]] |location=Beirut |url=http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1694.cfm |access-date=3 January 2011 |archive-date=11 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611142412/https://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1694.cfm |url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, elections for terms beginning in even-numbered years select two African members, and one each within Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean; the traditional "Arab seat" is elected for this term. Terms beginning in odd-numbered years consist of two Western European and Other members, and one each from Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.<ref name="SCR"/>

During the [[2016 United Nations Security Council election]], neither Italy nor the Netherlands met the required two-thirds majority for election. They subsequently agreed to split the term of the Western European and Others Group. It was the first time in over five decades that two members agreed to do so.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Elects 4 New Non-permanent Members to Security Council, as Western and Others Group Fails to Fill Final Vacancy |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/ga11796.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=5 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805225007/http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/ga11796.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Usually, intractable deadlocks are resolved by the candidate countries withdrawing in favour of a third member state.

The current elected members, with the regions they were elected to represent, are as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=Current Members |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members |publisher=United Nations |access-date=1 January 2020 |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322232811/https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Elects Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Tunisia, Viet Nam as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council for 2020–2021 |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12152.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |access-date=1 January 2020 |date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625072237/https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12152.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kenya wins final contested seat on Security Council |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066632 |access-date=19 June 2020 |website=UN News |date=18 June 2020 |archive-date=21 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621054759/https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066632 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kenya defeats Djibouti to win a seat at the UN Security Council |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/kenya-defeats-djibouti-win-seat-security-council-200618194420819.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=Aljazeera |date=18 June 2020 |archive-date=18 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618222028/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/kenya-defeats-djibouti-win-seat-security-council-200618194420819.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hamill|first=James|title=South Africa returns to UN Security Council: here's the role it should play|url=http://theconversation.com/south-africa-returns-to-un-security-council-heres-the-role-it-should-play-111371|access-date=2020-11-25|website=The Conversation|date=19 February 2019 |language=en|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024111635/https://theconversation.com/south-africa-returns-to-un-security-council-heres-the-role-it-should-play-111371|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Term
! colspan="3"| Africa
! colspan="2"| Asia-Pacific
!Eastern Europe
! colspan="2"| Latin America<br/>and Caribbean
! colspan="2"| Western Europe<br/>and Other<!-- THE REGIONS ARE THE UN REGIONS - PLEASE DO_NOT CHANGE "WESTERN EUROPE AND OTHER" TO "EUROPE" ETC. -->
|-
!2022
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Gabon}} [[Gabon]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Ghana}} [[Ghana]]}}
| {{flag|Kenya}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|United Arab Emirates}} [[United Arab Emirates]]}}
| {{flag|India}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Albania}} [[Albania]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Brazil}} [[Brazil]]}}
| {{flag|Mexico}}
| {{flag|Ireland}}
| {{flag|Norway}}
|-
!2023
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Mozambique}} [[Mozambique]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Japan}} [[Japan]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Ecuador}} [[Ecuador]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Malta}} [[Malta]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]}}
|-
!2024
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Algeria }} [[Algeria ]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Sierra Leone}} [[Sierra Leone]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Republic of Korea}} [[Republic of Korea]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Slovenia}} [[Slovenia]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{nobr|{{flagdeco|Guyana}} [[Guyana]]}}
|-
!2025
|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Somalia}} [[Somalia]]}}
|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan]]}}
|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Panama}} [[Panama]]}}
|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Denmark}} [[Denmark]]}}
|{{Nobr|{{flagdeco|Greece}} [[Greece]]}}
|}

=== President ===
{{Main|President of the United Nations Security Council}}

The role of [[President of the United Nations Security Council|president of the Security Council]] involves setting the agenda, presiding at its meetings and overseeing any crisis. The president is authorized to issue both [[Presidential Statement]]s (subject to consensus amongst Council members) and notes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/sc/notes/PresidentialNotesEng.htm |title=Notes by the president of the Security Council |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330212749/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/notes/PresidentialNotesEng.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="un.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_pres_statements08.htm |title=UN Security Council: Presidential Statements 2008 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811210203/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_pres_statements08.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue.<ref name="un.org"/> The presidency of the council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states' names.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sc/presidency.asp |title=Security Council Presidency in 2011 – United Nations Security Council |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=3 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603183638/http://www.un.org/sc/presidency.asp |url-status=live}}</ref>

The list of nations that will hold the Presidency in 2025 is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=Security Council Presidency|url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/presidency|website=United Nations Security Council|publisher=United Nations|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322133448/https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/presidency|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidency in 2025
|- style="background:#ccc"
! Month
! Country
|-
| January
| {{flag|Algeria}}
|-
| February
| {{flag|China}}
|-
| March
| {{flag|Denmark}}
|-
| April
| {{flag|France}}
|-
| May
| {{flag|Greece}}
|-
| June
| {{flag|Guyana}}
|-
| July
| {{flag|Pakistan}}
|-
| August
| {{flag|Panama}}
|-
| September
| {{flag|South Korea}}
|-
| October
| {{flag|Russia}}
|-
| November
| {{flag|Sierra Leone}}
|-
| December
| {{flag|Slovenia}}
|}