The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. Its powers as outlined in the United Nations Charter include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
A United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) is a United Nations resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council (UNSC); the United Nations (UN) body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".
In March 2003 the United States government announced that "diplomacy has failed" and that it would proceed with a "coalition of the willing" to rid Iraq under Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction the US and UK claimed it possessed. The 2003 invasion of Iraq began a few days later. Prior to this decision, there had been much diplomacy and debate amongst the members of the United Nations Security Council over how to deal with the situation. This article examines the positions of these states as they changed during 2002–2003.
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement Plan, which had paved way for a cease-fire in the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the contested territory of Western Sahara.
The United Nations Security Council veto power is the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to veto any "substantive" resolution. They also happen to be the nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. However, 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.
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 377 A, the "Uniting for Peace" resolution, states that in any cases where the Security Council, because of a lack of unanimity among its five permanent members (P5), fails to act as required to maintain international security and peace, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately and may issue appropriate recommendations to UN members for collective measures, including the use of armed force when necessary, in order to maintain or restore international security and peace. It was adopted 3 November 1950, after fourteen days of Assembly discussions, by a vote of 52 to 5, with 2 abstentions. The resolution was designed to provide the UN with an alternative avenue for action when at least one P5 member uses its veto to obstruct the Security Council from carrying out its functions mandated by the UN Charter.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695, adopted unanimously on July 15, 2006, after recalling resolutions 825 (1993) and 1540 (2004) concerning North Korea and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction respectively, the Council banned the selling of material that would further the ability of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to bolster its ballistic missiles programme.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 119 was proposed by the United States on 31 October 1956. Considering the grave situation created by action undertaken against Egypt and the lack of unanimity of its permanent members at previous meetings, the Council felt it had been prevented from exercising its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. As a solution, the Council decided to call an emergency special session of the General Assembly in order to make appropriate recommendations.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 134, adopted on April 1, 1960, was passed after a complaint by twenty-nine Member States regarding "the situation arising out of the large-scale killings of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators against racial discrimination and segregation in the Union of South Africa". The Council recognized that the situation was brought about by the policies of the government of the Union of South Africa and that if these policies continued they could endanger international peace and security.
United Nations Security Council resolution 611, adopted on 25 April 1988, after recalling Resolution 573 (1985) and noting a complaint from Tunisia against Israel, the Council condemned an attack on Tunisia on 16 April 1988, in which Khalil al-Wazir, an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization and founder of the Fatah political party, was assassinated.
United Nations Security Council resolution 955, adopted on 8 November 1994, after recalling all resolutions on Rwanda, the Council noted that serious violations of international humanitarian law had taken place in the country and, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
United Nations Security Council resolution 1093, adopted unanimously on 14 January 1997, after recalling previous resolutions on Croatia including resolutions 779 (1992), 981 (1995), 1025 (1995), 1038 (1996) and 1066 (1996), the Council authorised the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) to continue monitoring the demilitarisation in the Prevlaka peninsula area of Croatia until 15 July 1997.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1923 was adopted unanimously on 25 May 2010, after recalling resolutions 1769 (2007), 1778 (2007), 1834 (2008), 1861 (2009), 1913 (2010) and 1922 (2010). The Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) for a final time until 31 December 2010, with a complete withdrawal by that date.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1930, adopted on June 15, 2010, after reaffirming all resolutions on the situation in Cyprus, particularly Resolution 1251 (1999), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a further six months until December 15, 2010 while negotiations towards a settlement of the dispute on the island were underway.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1964, adopted unanimously on December 22, 2010, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Somalia, the Council authorised the continuation of the mandate of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) until September 30, 2011, and increased its size from 8,000 to 12,000 personnel.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1596, adopted unanimously on 18 April 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including resolutions 1493 (2003), 1533 (2004), 1552 (2004), 1565 (2004) and 1592 (2005), the council expanded the arms embargo to include all recipients of weapons in the country, and imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on those violating the embargo.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 was a measure adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 26 February 2011. It condemned the use of lethal force by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against protesters participating in the Libyan Civil War, and imposed a series of international sanctions in response.
Resolution 1973 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 March 2011 in response to the First Libyan Civil War. The resolution formed the legal basis for military intervention in the Libyan Civil War, demanding "an immediate ceasefire" and authorizing the international community to establish a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary short of foreign occupation to protect civilians.
The eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 28 February 2022 at the United Nations headquarters. It addresses the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Maldivian politician Abdulla Shahid served as President of the body during this time.
