Preparing for a Twenty-Four-Month Sprint: A Primer for Prospective and New Elected Members of the United Nations Security Council
Authors: Ossoff Will , Modirzadeh Naz , Lewis Dustin 
Published: May 2022

Under the United Nations Charter, the U.N. Security Council has several important functions and powers, not least with regard to taking binding actions to maintain international peace and security. The ten elected members have the opportunity to influence this area and others during their two-year terms on the Council. In this paper, we aim to illustrate some of these opportunities, identify potential guidance from prior elected members’ experiences, and outline the key procedures that incoming elected members should be aware of as they prepare to join the Council. In doing so, we seek in part to summarize the current state of scholarship and policy analysis in an effort to make this material more accessible to States and, particularly, to States’ legal advisers. We drafted this paper with a view towards States that have been elected and are preparing to join the Council, as well as for those States that are considering bidding for a seat on the Council. As a starting point, it may be warranted to dedicate resources for personnel at home in the capital and at the Mission in New York to become deeply familiar with the language, structure, and content of the relevant provisions of the U.N. Charter. That is because it is through those provisions that Council members engage in the diverse forms of political contestation and cooperation at the center of the Council’s work. In both the Charter itself and the Council’s practices and procedures, there are structural impediments that may hinder the influence of elected members on the Security Council. These include the permanent members’ veto power over decisions on matters not characterized as procedural and the short preparation time for newly elected members. Nevertheless, elected members have found creative ways to have an impact. Many of the Council’s “procedures” — such as the “penholder” system for drafting resolutions — are informal practices that can be navigated by resourceful and well-prepared elected members. Mechanisms through which elected members can exert influence include the following: Drafting resolutions; Drafting Presidential Statements, which might serve as a prelude to future resolutions; Drafting Notes by the President, which can be used, among other things, to change Council working methods; Chairing subsidiary bodies, such as sanctions committees; Chairing the Presidency; Introducing new substantive topics onto the Council’s agenda; and Undertaking “Arria-formula” meetings, which allow for broader participation from outside the Council. Case studies help illustrate the types and degrees of impact that elected members can have through their own initiative. Examples include the following undertakings: Canada’s emphasis in 1999–2000 on civilian protection, which led to numerous resolutions and the establishment of civilian protection as a topic on which the Council remains “seized” and continues to have regular debates; Belgium’s effort in 2007 to clarify the Council’s strategy around addressing natural resources and armed conflict, which resulted in a Presidential Statement; Australia’s efforts in 2014 resulting in the placing of the North Korean human rights situation on the Council’s agenda for the first time; and Brazil’s “Responsibility while Protecting” 2011 concept note, which helped shape debate around the Responsibility to Protect concept. Elected members have also influenced Council processes by working together in diverse coalitions. Examples include the following instances: Egypt, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and Uruguay drafted a resolution that was adopted in 2016 on the protection of health-care workers in armed conflict; Cote d’Ivoire, Kuwait, the Netherlands, and Sweden drafted a resolution that was adopted in 2018 condemning the use of famine as an instrument of warfare; Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela tabled a 2016 resolution, which was ultimately adopted, condemning Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory; and A group of successive elected members helped reform the process around the imposition of sanctions against al-Qaeda and associated entities (later including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), including by establishing an Ombudsperson. Past elected members’ experiences may offer some specific pieces of guidance for new members preparing to take their seats on the Council. For example, prospective, new, and current members might seek to take the following measures: Increase the size of and support for the staff of the Mission to the U.N., both in New York and in home capitals; Deploy high-level officials to help gain support for initiatives; Partner with members of the P5 who are the informal “penholder” on certain topics, as this may offer more opportunities to draft resolutions; Build support for initiatives from U.N. Member States that do not currently sit on the Council; and Leave enough time to see initiatives through to completion and continue to follow up after leaving the Council.