<aside> 💡 The Security Council is an independent organ of the UN System. The Security Council has the highest authority in the UN and they debate the most challenging and controversial of topics such as: “The Situation in Afghanistan”, “Eliminating Somali Pirates”, “Nuclear Arms of North Korea” etc.

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The P5 Countries

The Security Council consists of 15 members. 5 of these 15 are permanent members, (P5s), and the other 10 serve a two year term. The Five Permanent Members are:

1. The People’s Republic of China (China)
2. The Republic of France (France)
3. The Russian Federation
4. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The United Kingdom)
5. The United States of America

Veto Power

The above-mentioned P5 countries have Veto Power. The Veto Power entitles them to strike in a clause a specific clause of a resolution, or a resolution as a whole without question or without voting taking place.

If a P5 nation uses their veto, the clause or resolution is struck immediately.

<aside> 🚨 when in the Security and are a P5 Member, if you’re unhappy with the clause, vetoing must be used as a last resort.

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Instead of vetoing a clause, try:

• Amending the clause with Amendments
• Abstaining when voting on the clause (when you don’t mind if it remains in the resolution as a whole)

If it cannot be improved at all, and is a flaw in the resolution, it is suggested that you then should veto (vote against) the clause.

P5 Caucus

A P5 Caucus is an informal meeting in the Security Council that breaks debate. All P5 members leave the council’s room into a secluded area accompanied by one of the Student Officers of the Security Council. There they discuss a certain aspect of the resolution without needing to speak in the third person. The Caucus generally happens when one of the P5 delegates are considering on voting against (veto- ing) a clause that other P5 delegates are in favour of. In the caucus, the P5 delegates discuss whether the clause is worth having in the resolution or should be struck. To ask for a P5 Caucus, you need to motion or send a note to the chair for one. The motion is called “Motion for P5 Caucus”.