UN General Assembly and Security Council

In the Assembly, a small island state and India count the same. This section shows how the Assembly works and what it can and cannot do.

1.1 Who sits in the General Assembly, and how many votes do they get?

The General Assembly is the UN’s main talking and policy body. Every member state sits in it. There are 193 members today. Each one has a single vote, whatever its size or wealth.

This rule comes from Article 18 of the UN Charter. So the Assembly is the one place where states vote as equals.

1.2 How does the Assembly decide?

Important questions need a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. Other questions need a simple majority. Examples of important questions are peace and security, the budget and electing Council members.

In practice, most resolutions pass by consensus, without a vote. But an Assembly resolution is mostly a recommendation. It is not binding law.

1.3 What are the six Main Committees?

Most of the Assembly’s detailed work happens in six Main Committees. They are:

• First: disarmament and international security.
• Second: economic and financial matters.
• Third: social, humanitarian and cultural questions.
• Fourth: special political questions and decolonization.
• Fifth: administrative and budgetary matters.
• Sixth: legal questions.

1.4 Who leads the Assembly?

Each year the members elect a President of the General Assembly. The post rotates among the five regional groups. The 81st President is Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh. He was elected on 2 June 2026. His turn came from the Asia-Pacific Group.

1.5 What is observer status?

Observer status lets an outsider attend and speak at the Assembly without a vote. The Charter does not mention it. The Assembly itself grants it. It can give it to non-member states, international organisations and other entities.

Today there are two non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine. Permanent observers may keep an office at UN headquarters. This is exactly what the exam question below tests.

UPSC CSP 2022, General Studies Paper I, Q78

With reference to the United Nations General Assembly, consider the following statements:

1. The UN General Assembly can grant observer status to the non-member States.
2. Inter-governmental organisations can seek observer status in the UN General Assembly.
3. Permanent Observers in the UN General Assembly can maintain missions at the UN headquarters.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

The answer is (d). The Assembly can grant observer status to non-member states. International organisations can seek it. Permanent observers can keep missions at headquarters.

The Council is smaller and more powerful than the Assembly. This section explains who sits on it and how it votes.

2.1 Who sits on the Security Council?

The Council has 15 members. Article 23 of the Charter names five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The other ten are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

The ten elected seats follow a regional pattern. Five go to African and Asian states, one to Eastern European states, two to Latin American states, and two to Western European and other states. Winning needs a two-thirds vote in the Assembly.

2.2 Who chairs the Council?

The Presidency of the Council rotates every month. Members take turns in the English alphabetical order of their names. So no state holds the chair for long.

2.3 How many votes does a Council decision need?

Each Council member has one vote. A procedural matter needs nine “yes” votes. Every other matter needs nine “yes” votes, and these must include the concurring votes of the five permanent members.

So a single “no” from a permanent member stops a decision. This is the veto.

2.4 Is an abstention a veto?

No. The Council’s own practice treats only a negative vote as a veto. If a permanent member abstains, the draft can still pass when it gets nine votes. Resolution 2244 of 2015 passed this way, with 14 votes in favour and one abstention.

2.5 Why is the Council’s power different from the Assembly’s?

The Assembly mostly recommends. The Council can act. Under Chapter VII it can decide on force to keep or restore peace. Article 25 says members agree to carry out the Council’s decisions.

2.6 Who won the 2026 Council election?

On 3 June 2026 the Assembly elected five members for 2027–28. They are Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan. Their terms begin on 1 January 2027.

Kyrgyzstan is the first-time member. It beat the Philippines in the fourth round of voting, 142 votes to 49. It has been a UN member since 1992 and never held a Council seat before. The five leaving members are Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia.

Sometimes a veto leaves the Council stuck while a crisis grows. The Assembly has a way to step in. This section explains it.

3.1 What is Uniting for Peace?

On 3 November 1950 the Assembly adopted resolution 377 A (V), called Uniting for Peace. It says that if the Council fails to act because of a veto, the Assembly can take up the matter at once. It can recommend collective steps to members.

The vote was 52 in favour, 5 against and 2 abstentions. Note the word “recommend”. The Assembly still cannot give binding orders.

3.2 How are Emergency Special Sessions used?

Uniting for Peace lets the Assembly meet in an Emergency Special Session within 24 hours. There have been 11 such sessions so far. The first dealt with the Suez crisis in 1956. The Council called it on 31 October 1956.

The 11th began in 2022 over Ukraine. The Council called it on 27 February 2022.

4.1 How often has India sat on the Council?

India has been an elected Council member eight times. The terms were 1950–51, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1991–92, 2011–12 and 2021–22. India has never held a permanent seat.

4.2 Why is the Charter so hard to change?

Article 108 sets the rule. A Charter amendment needs a two-thirds vote in the Assembly. It then needs ratification by two-thirds of all UN members. That group of ratifiers must include all five permanent members.

So any permanent member can block a reform of its own privileges, even if almost every other state agrees. This is the trap exam questions like to test.