Presidency of the United Nations Security Council

The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of the United Nations Security Council. The presidency has rotated every month since its establishment in 1946, and the president serves to coordinate actions of the council, decide policy disputes, and sometimes functions as a diplomat or intermediary between conflicting groups.

Role

The presidency derives responsibility from the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Security Council as well as the council's practice. The role of the president involves calling the meetings of the Security Council, approving the provisional agenda (proposed by the secretary-general), presiding at its meetings, deciding questions relating to policy and overseeing any crisis. The president is authorized to issue both Presidential Statements (subject to consensus among Council members) and notes, which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue. The president is also responsible for reading statements of the Security Council to the press. The holder of the presidency is considered to be the 'face' and spokesperson of the UNSC. The holder of the presidency may appeal to parties in a conflict to "exercise restraint".

The president represents the Security Council before other United Nations organs and member states. They also call upon members to speak, send applicants for United Nations membership to a committee of the UNSC and decide voting order. Particularly after the end of the Cold War, the president has worked to coordinate the UNSC with other organs. The president has authority to rule upon points of order, which can be put to a vote if a member of the council challenges it. They also name members of various subsidiary organs, and are generally responsible for maintaining order. Since November 2000, the president has generally prepared background papers for the topic being discussed.

The president also continues to represent their state. If their nation is involved in a conflict the UNSC is discussing, they are expected to temporarily step down. Conversely, because the presidency rotates monthly, all nations on the UNSC can evenly emphasize issues important to them. Most non-permanent states hold the presidency once or twice during their two-year terms; Burkina Faso changed its name from Upper Volta in August 1984 during its term, and held it three times. The president often makes a distinction between when they are speaking as the president and as the representative of their state.

Davidson Nicol, an academic, writes that:

Identity

The Permanent Representative (ambassador) of the state to the security council is usually the president of the council, but the presidency is technically given to a state and not a person. For example, in January 2000, a month in which the United States held the presidency of the Security Council, U.S. vice president Al Gore headed the United States delegation to the United Nations for a few days. As a result, Gore was the president of the Security Council during this time. Heads of state have met six times at the UNSC. All members of the council, including the president, must present credentials issued by either the head of state, the head of government, or the minister of foreign affairs of their respective states to the secretary-general, except if the representative is also the head of government or minister of foreign affairs.

Origins

The United Nations Charter mentions the presidency once, stating that the Security Council is empowered to establish rules of procedure, "including the method of selecting its president" in Article 30. At its first meeting on 17 January 1946, the UNSC adopted provisional rule 18 and established the following method of selecting the president: the presidency rotates monthly among the fifteen (1946: eleven) members of the Security Council. The rotation takes place in alphabetical order of the member states' official names in English. As such, Australia was the first nation to hold the presidency. Such rotation makes the presidency unique among all United Nations organs. Terms began and ended on the 17 of every month until a suggestion by Australia in December 1946 to change led to the term being extended so the presidency would rotate on the first of every month. The president is the only non-elected head of a United Nations organ.