The Security Council is one of the six main organs of the United Nations UN). The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, London. Since its first meeting, the Security Council has taken permanent residence at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. It also travelled to many cities, holding sessions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1972, in Panama City, Panama, and in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1990. A representative of each of its members must be present at all times at UN Headquarters so that the Security Council can meet at any time as the need arises. The Council is composed of 15 Members; five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly 

All members of the UN agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the UN make recommendations to member states, only the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member states are then obligated to implement under the Charter. More than 60 UN Member States have never been Members of the Security Council. A State which is a Member of the UN but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that country's interests are affected. Both Members and non-members of the United Nations, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, may be invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions for participation by a non-member State.

According to the UN Charter, the Security Council has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. All UN members agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the UN make recommendations to member states, only the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member states are then obligated to implement under the Charter.

The Security Council has the primary responsibility for ascertaining the existence of a threat to peace or an act of aggression; it must be recognized that, in this respect, its efficiency is remarkable. He must then invite the parties to settle their dispute by peaceful means and recommend the methods of adjustment and the terms of settlement that it deems appropriate; at this level the practice of double standards already appears. In some cases, it may impose sanctions or even allow the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security; and it is at this level that the interests of each country sometimes leads the members of the Security Council to play Russian roulette.

The appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new members of the UN is by a decision of the General Assembly taken on the recommendation of the Security Council, who is therefore at one and the same time both judge and partially involved.

UN documents have a symbol, which serves as a unique identifier. Each symbol is composed of letters and numbers, which indicates the organ to which the document is being submitted or the organ that is issuing the document. All documents of the Security Council start with S/. From 1946 to 1993, the format was S/[sequential number], e. g., S/24111. Since then the basic format for the symbols of Security Council documents is: S/[year]/[sequential number], e. g., S/1998/318. Resolutions of the Security Council have as symbol the following format: S/RES/[sequential number] ([year]). The format of the symbol for the Presidential Statements is: S/PRST/[year]/[sequential number]. All language versions of a document carry the same symbol.

The key Documents of Security Council are: Provisional Rules of Procedure; Working Methods Handbook; Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council; United Nations Charter.

Formal meetings of the Security Council are entitled to verbatim coverage. The documents, which include the statements and speeches made during the meeting, are identified by the prefix "S/PV." and are official meeting records. The preparatory work for formal meetings is conducted in informal consultations for which no public record exists. Press releases also provide a summary of the Security Council meetings as well as the unofficial text of the resolutions and presidential statements adopted at the meetings. However, it is important to remember that press releases are not considered official records. The Security Council has also a number of committees as subsidiary organs. For more information see the UN website