The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), charged with ensuring international peace and security, accepting new members to the United Nations and approving any changes to its charter. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions – it is the only body of the United Nations with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.
The United Nations member states are the 193 sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization.
The Maldives has remained an independent nation throughout its recorded history, save for a brief spell of Portuguese occupation in the mid-16th century. From 1887 to 1965, the country was a British protectorate while retaining full internal sovereignty. At its independence in 1965, the Maldives joined the United Nations on 20 September.
The United Nations Security Council "veto power" refers to the power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council to veto any "substantive" resolution. 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.
The United Nations Regional Groups are the geopolitical regional groups of the Member States of the United Nations. Originally, United Nations Member States were unofficially grouped into five geopolitical regional groups. However, what began as an informal means of sharing the distribution of posts for United Nations bodies quickly took on a much more expansive role. Depending on the context, the regional groups control elections to United Nations-related positions, on the basis of geographic representation, as well as coordinate substantive policy, and form common fronts for negotiations and voting.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the United Nations:
United Nations Security Council Resolution 216 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 12 November 1965, the day after the British Dependency of Southern Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the British Empire as the state of Rhodesia. The vote was ten to none, with one member, France, abstaining.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 193 was adopted on August 9, 1964. After a serious deterioration of the situation in Cyprus, the Council reaffirmed an appeal to Turkey, to cease bombarding the island, and to Cyprus, ordering all her armed forces to cease firing. The Council called upon all to co-operate fully with the Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and to refrain from any action that might exacerbate or broaden the hostilities.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 200, adopted unanimously on March 15, 1965, after examining the application of the Gambia for membership in the United Nations the Council recommended to the General Assembly that the Gambia be admitted.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 207, adopted unanimously on August 10, 1965, after a receiving report by the Secretary-General stating that recent developments in Cyprus had increased tension on the island, the Council reaffirmed its Resolution 186 and called upon all parties to avoid any action which would be likely to worsen the situation.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 213, adopted unanimously on September 20, 1965, after examining the application of Singapore for membership in the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Singapore be admitted.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 219, adopted unanimously on December 17, 1965, after reaffirming previous resolutions on the topic, the Council extended the stationing in Cyprus of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for an additional 3 months, now ending on March 26, 1966.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 263, adopted on January 24, 1969, after the General Assembly passed Resolution 2479 extolling the virtues of expanded working languages, the Council decided to include Russian and Spanish among the working languages of the Security Council.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 282, adopted on July 23, 1970, concerned by violations of the arms embargo passed against South Africa in Resolution 191, the Council reiterated its total opposition to the policies of apartheid and reaffirmed its previous resolutions on the topic. The Council called upon states to strengthen the arms embargo by ceasing the provision of military training to members of the South African armed forces and by taking appropriate action to give effective to the resolution's measures.
LGBT rights in the Maldives are still in development as the country continues to strongly oppose law reform and LGBT rights developments through the Universal Periodic Review and other recommendations. The Maldives was one of the initial 57 members to sign a document opposing LGBT rights in the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity in 2008. In 2011, the Maldives further rejected a landmark proposal for an LGBT rights resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council put forth by the Republic of South Africa. Since then, many other attempts to develop LGBT Rights in the country have been rejected by the Government. Homosexuality is a crime.
United Nations Security Council resolution 683, adopted on 22 December 1990, after recalling Resolution 21 (1947) which approved the Trusteeship Territory of the Japanese Mandated Islands as well as Chapter XII of the United Nations Charter which established the United Nations Trusteeship system, the Council determined that, in the light of entry into force of new status agreements for Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, the objectives of the Trusteeship Agreement had been completed and therefore ended the Trusteeship Agreement with those entities.
United Nations Security Council resolution 956, adopted unanimously on 10 November 1994, after recalling Chapter XII of the United Nations Charter which established the United Nations Trusteeship system and Resolution 21 (1947) which approved the Trusteeship Territory of the Japanese Mandated Islands, the Council determined that, in the light of entry into force of a new status agreement for the Republic of Palau, the objectives of the Trusteeship Agreement had been completed and therefore ended the status of Palau as a Trust Territory.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1290 was adopted on 17 February 2000. Resolution 1290 examined Tuvalu's application to become the 189th member of the United Nations (UN). Tuvalu achieved independence in 1978 after over eighty years of British colonial rule. The country has struggled economically, and it took the 2000 sale of Tuvalu's Internet country code top-level domain .tv for the nation to be able to afford UN membership. Resolution 1290 was adopted unopposed, although China abstained due to concerns over Tuvalu's relationship with Taiwan.
The Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States, or Asia-Pacific Group, is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 53 Member States from Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions.
