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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · International Organisations

Security Council

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/sɪˈkjʊərəti ˌkaʊnsəl/nounCore term

In international relations & diplomacy, Security Council means: The UN organ with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It has 15 members and can take decisions, such as sanctions, that all UN member states must carry out.

In Turkish: Güvenlik Konseyi, BM Güvenlik Konseyi

How it is used

Five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), often called the P5, hold a veto; ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. News uses 'the Council' for short and 'UNSC' in headlines.

Example sentences

  1. The Security Council will hold an emergency meeting tonight.

  2. The draft failed after a permanent member of the Security Council used its veto.

  3. The country was elected to a non-permanent seat on the Security Council.

Common collocations

  • UN Security Council
  • Security Council resolution
  • permanent member
  • non-permanent seat
  • emergency meeting
  • United NationsThe global organisation set up in 1945 to keep international peace and security, build friendly relations between nations and encourage cooperation; almost every state is a member.
  • vetoThe power of one member to block a decision even when the others support it; at the UN, the right of the five permanent Security Council members to stop a draft resolution.
  • resolutionA formal decision or statement adopted by vote or consensus in a body such as the UN Security Council or General Assembly, expressing a position or requiring action.
  • General AssemblyThe main body of the United Nations in which all 193 member states are represented, each with one vote; it discusses global issues and adopts resolutions and the UN budget.
  • collective securityAn arrangement in which states agree that an attack or threat against one of them concerns all of them and will be answered jointly.

More terms: International Organisations

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