The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
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Security Council Programme of Work
Discover the Security Council's lineup of events scheduled for this month.
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.
9 October 2026 — Escalating violence and human rights violations in the four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war are in the spotlight in the Security Council on Friday following a spate of Russian attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in recent days.
There are 15 ongoing sanctions regimes which focus on supporting the political settlement of conflicts, nuclear non-proliferation, and counter-terrorism.
