Whether we are scrolling through our digital newsfeeds, watching TV or reading newspapers, we are bound to hear or read about the 51³Ô¹Ï Security Council. Heated discussions in the Council chamber or, more recently, in open videoconferences, as well as historic resolutions on important developments affecting peace and security around the world, often make headlines.
What is less known to the general public is why and how conflicts actually come before the Council and what it does in relation to different situations. This wealth of institutional memory is recorded in a unique publication whose 22nd edition (covering 2019) is now available online ¨C the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.
Whether we are scrolling through our digital newsfeeds, watching TV or reading newspapers, we are bound to hear about the 51³Ô¹Ï Security Council.
Heated discussions in the Council Chamber or, more recently, in open videoconferences, as well as historic resolutions on important developments affecting peace and security around the world, often make headlines.
What is less known to the public is how conflicts actually come before the Council and what it does.
This wealth of institutional memory is recorded in the 2019 edition of the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.
Mandated by the General Assembly in 1952 to record the growing body of customary international law, the Repertoire has since become a key information resource for Council members, other Member States, the UN system and the public.
First published in 1954, its subsequent 22 volumes (known as supplements) represent the authoritative record of the Council¡¯s interpretation and application of the UN Charter and its own Provisional Rules of Procedure.
Since 2018, these supplements have been published annually by the Security Council Affairs Division of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and posted online in October.
Despite its lofty title, the Repertoire is a living, breathing resource for delegates and UN staffers wanting to keep abreast on the activity of the Council.
The Repertoire contains in-depth information about the Council¡¯s work in delivering its mandate to maintain international peace and security, including action to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes, authorize the use of force or impose sanctions.
It examines in detail the relations between the Council and other UN organs and it features key discussions and decisions on the right to self-determination, non-interference in the internal affairs of states or the binding nature of resolutions.
We invite you to learn more about the work of the most powerful body of the 51³Ô¹Ï and consult the freshly released Repertoire.
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