United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

The United Nations Security Council, or UNSC, is the most powerful body of the United Nations. Its main job is to keep international peace and security. Unlike most other UN bodies, its decisions on serious matters, called "resolutions", are legally binding on all UN member countries, not just suggestions.

Why does it exist?

After the Second World War, world leaders wanted a body that could act fast and firmly to stop future wars, unlike the League of Nations, which failed to prevent that war. So when the United Nations was created in 1945, its founding members gave the Security Council special powers, including the power to authorise the use of force and to impose sanctions.

Where did it come from?

The UNSC was set up under the UN Charter, signed in San Francisco in 1945. It started with 11 members: 5 permanent and 6 non-permanent. On 17 December 1963, the General Assembly adopted an amendment to Article 23 of the Charter (General Assembly resolution 1991 (XVIII)). It came into force on 31 August 1965. It increased the non-permanent seats from 6 to 10, taking the total membership from 11 to 15, where it stands today.

The same package changed Article 27, so a decision now needs 9 "yes" votes instead of 7. This is the only time the Council's size has changed.

How does it work?

The Council has 15 members in total:

• 5 permanent members (the "P5"): the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China. They hold their seats permanently and each one can block any substantive resolution using a veto.
• 10 non-permanent members: elected by the UN General Assembly for a two-year term, with 5 new members elected each year. To win a seat, a country needs a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, in a secret ballot. This is because Article 18 of the Charter lists the election of non-permanent members as an "important question", and important questions need two-thirds. Seats are distributed by region (for example, Africa gets 3, Asia-Pacific gets 2, Latin America and the Caribbean get 2, Western Europe gets 2, and Eastern Europe gets 1) to keep some geographic balance.

The Council's membership is set by Article 23 of the UN Charter, and its voting rules, including the veto, by Article 27. For a resolution on a substantive (important) matter to pass, at least 9 of the 15 members must vote in favour, and none of the P5 must vote against it. If even one P5 member votes "no", the resolution fails, no matter how many others support it: this is the veto power. On procedural matters (like deciding the agenda), the veto does not apply, and any 9 votes are enough.

The exact rule is in Article 27(3). It asks for 9 votes "including the concurring votes" (the agreeing votes) of the permanent members. Yet by long practice, a P5 member that abstains (stays present but does not vote either way) is not treated as using a veto, so the resolution can still pass. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's top court, accepted this practice in its 1971 advisory opinion on Namibia.

In real use, France and the United Kingdom have not cast a veto since 23 December 1989, so most vetoes since then have come from the United States, Russia and China.

Where do its powers to act come from?

They come mainly from Chapter VII of the UN Charter (Articles 39 to 51). First, the Council decides whether there is a threat to peace, a breach of peace or an act of aggression. Then it can choose its tools, step by step:

• Article 41: measures that do not use armed force. These are sanctions, such as trade bans, arms embargoes, asset freezes or cutting transport and communication links.
• Article 42: if those measures are not enough, the Council can authorise military action by air, sea or land forces.

Why must countries obey? Under Article 25, every UN member has agreed to accept and carry out the Council's decisions. That is what makes its Chapter VII resolutions binding on all members.

The key parts and facts

India has been a non-permanent member of the UNSC eight times: 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92, 2011-12 and 2021-22. In the June 2020 election for the 2021-22 term, India won 184 of the 192 valid votes. As a non-permanent member, India can vote and speak but cannot use a veto. Article 23 of the Charter also says a member that has just finished its term cannot be re-elected straight away, so it must wait before serving again.

As of October 2026, India is a candidate for the 2028-29 term. It formally launched its campaign at the UN in July 2026, and the election is due in the General Assembly in June 2027. This time the seat is contested: India and Tajikistan are both candidates for the single Asia-Pacific seat for 2028-29. In most of its earlier bids, India was the agreed choice of its region and faced no rival. The UNSC also has subsidiary bodies, such as sanctions committees and peacekeeping oversight committees.

Inside the sanctions committees, such as the 1267 committee that lists terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIL, decisions are taken by consensus. That means a decision passes only if no member objects. So any one of the 15 members, permanent or not, can place a "technical hold" on a proposal to list a person, which keeps it pending for months.

India calls this a "de facto veto" (a veto in practice, though not in the Charter). For example, China's holds delayed the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar until 1 May 2019.

Each major sanctions regime has its own committee. For example, the 1718 Committee oversees the sanctions on North Korea, first imposed by Resolution 1718 (2006) after its first nuclear test. Some committees are helped by a Panel of Experts, a small team of independent investigators who check whether countries are obeying the sanctions. The veto can reach these panels too.

On 28 March 2024, Russia vetoed the renewal of the North Korea panel (13 voted in favour and China abstained), so the panel ended on 30 April 2024. The sanctions themselves remain in force.

India's position and Indian examples

India has long argued that the UNSC, designed in 1945, does not reflect the world of today. India points out that it is the world's most populous country and a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, yet has no permanent seat, while some far smaller countries do (through the P5). India is part of the "G4" group (India, Brazil, Germany and Japan), which supports each other's bids for permanent seats, and also part of the larger "L.69 group" of developing countries pushing for UNSC reform.

Commonly confused concepts

• Permanent member vs non-permanent member: Permanent members (P5) hold their seat forever and can veto; non-permanent members are elected for 2 years and cannot veto.
• UNSC resolution vs UNGA resolution: UNSC resolutions on serious matters are legally binding on all UN members. UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions are usually only recommendations, and not legally binding (except for a few internal UN matters, like the UN budget).
• Veto vs majority vote: A veto by even one P5 member blocks a resolution regardless of how the other 14 members vote; this is different from a normal majority vote, where more "yes" votes than "no" votes are enough.
• Veto vs abstention: A P5 "no" vote blocks a resolution. A P5 abstention does not: the resolution still passes if it has 9 "yes" votes.
• Article 41 vs Article 42: Article 41 covers measures without armed force, like sanctions. Article 42 covers the use of military force, used only when Article 41 measures are not enough.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

Critics argue the UNSC's structure is outdated because it fixes power in the five countries that won the Second World War, none of which is from Africa or Latin America, and it gives no permanent voice to India despite India's size and role in global affairs. Reform proposals, discussed for decades under the UN's "Intergovernmental Negotiations" on Security Council reform, have suggested adding new permanent seats (with or without veto power) for countries such as India, Brazil, Germany, Japan and one or more African nations.

However, reform requires amending the UN Charter under Article 108, which needs a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of member states, including all five current permanent members. Since granting new permanent seats or vetoes would reduce the relative power of the existing P5, reform has moved very slowly, and no formal amendment has been adopted so far.

Concepts to Know

• UN Charter: The founding treaty of the United Nations, signed in 1945, that sets out its structure, powers and rules; amending it is a very high bar.
• Sanctions: Penalties, such as trade restrictions or asset freezes, that the UNSC can impose on a country or group to pressure it to change behaviour, without using military force.
• Peacekeeping mission: UN-authorised forces sent to a conflict area, usually with the host country's consent, to help maintain a ceasefire or protect civilians.
• Advisory opinion: A legal answer the ICJ gives when a UN body asks it a question. It is not a judgment between two countries, but it carries great legal weight.
• Arms embargo: A ban on selling or sending weapons to a country or group.