https://www.scmp.com/rss/521814/feed The latest news and top stories on United Nations Security Council. A prominent New York City-based international governmental body, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is dedicated to maintaining international peace and security. Its main areas of focus include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorising military action. The UNSC is the sole UN body empowered to issue resolutions binding on member states, playing a crucial role in global... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Every violation of international law invites the next. From Afghanistan to Iran, and across Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza and Venezuela, the line between what is permitted and what is prohibited has been steadily blurred by the complicit inaction of the United Nations Security Council. Wielding the veto as both a shield and a weapon, its permanent members act without grounding in the UN Charter. They play with the fate of millions, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Until recently,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348274/un-security-councils-inaction-tearing-world-apart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348274/un-security-councils-inaction-tearing-world-apart?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:30:09 +0000 Wendy Wu Wendy Wu China should support India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, a prominent US economist has suggested, saying the two Asian powers could overcome historical grievances and political distrust to inject stability into the world. “China’s real interest is true, stable multipolarity,” Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs told a seminar in Beijing on Friday, urging India not to become a pawn in a US game to hold China back. “I believe that China should, after... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347428/china-india-and-why-jeffrey-sachs-says-us-needs-make-un-great-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347428/china-india-and-why-jeffrey-sachs-says-us-needs-make-un-great-again?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 13:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran’s ambassador to decry a “blatant misuse” of the international body. The resolution, passed by 13 votes with two abstentions, “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan”. It also “condemns any actions... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346278/un-security-council-demands-iran-halt-attacks-gulf-states?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346278/un-security-council-demands-iran-halt-attacks-gulf-states?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:03:38 +0000 Tian Shichen Tian Shichen The smoke rising from Iran on Saturday signalled more than just a localised escalation in the Middle East. Coming on the heels of the United States’ military invasion of Venezuela earlier this year, the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran represent a watershed moment for the 21st century. We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the post-1945 legal order, replaced by the unvarnished “law of the jungle” where strategic interests supersede legality, and the UN Charter is treated as a relic of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345081/attack-iran-normalises-global-descent-law-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345081/attack-iran-normalises-global-descent-law-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin United States first lady Melania Trump is set to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday, the White House announced, marking the first time a spouse of a serving world leader has done so. “First lady Melania Trump is set to make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasise education’s role in advancing tolerance and world peace,” the White House said. The US assumes a monthly... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3344794/melania-trump-preside-over-un-security-council-meeting-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3344794/melania-trump-preside-over-un-security-council-meeting-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:34:42 +0000 Cale Holmes Cale Holmes The United Nations is broke. According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the institution can’t pay its bills. Members, such as the US, haven’t paid their dues. The UN doesn’t just face a liquidity crisis. An old rule obliges it to pay members back for unspent money, even from dues it never received. The UN Secretariat and some major operations could close by July. The UN is far from ideal. The secretariat and agency headquarters are massive bureaucracies, the General Assembly is widely... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343337/more-funding-un-needs-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343337/more-funding-un-needs-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao Zhou Bo is a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army and a senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy. His military career included roles in the Ministry of National Defence’s Foreign Affairs Office and as a defence attaché. Zhou is the author of the recent book Should the World Fear China? SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. This article will be available to regular SCMP subscribers next... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3334347/ex-pla-colonel-taiwan-question-ukraine-war-china-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3334347/ex-pla-colonel-taiwan-question-ukraine-war-china-us-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 02:00:13 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The horrors of the war in Gaza have so shocked the whole world that anything is better than allowing it to continue. The fragile ceasefire has significantly slowed but not ended the killings and is itself in danger of imminent collapse. The United States-backed peace plan, now adopted by the United Nations Security Council, at least offers a way to end the killings and bring some stability and safety to the Palestinian territory. But while it has been hailed as a major diplomatic win for the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333525/flawed-us-gaza-peace-plan-better-more-palestinian-suffering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333525/flawed-us-gaza-peace-plan-better-more-palestinian-suffering?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 22:45:08 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He has written extensively on security issues and international politics and is best known for his theory of offensive realism in international relations, which holds that to dominate the international system, great powers must constantly engage in security competition with each other, sometimes leading to war. In this interview,... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3330088/john-mearsheimer-taiwan-us-china-rivalry-trump-and-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3330088/john-mearsheimer-taiwan-us-china-rivalry-trump-and-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 10:47:08 +0000 Peiman Salehi Peiman Salehi The rejection of the Russian-Chinese proposal at the UN Security Council on September 26 closed the final diplomatic window to delay the return of sanctions against Iran. This moment signals a turning point in Gulf security and global power dynamics. For Tehran, already battered by inflation and economic isolation, the return of sanctions narrows options and makes asymmetric responses more likely. The Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly one-fifth of global oil supply passes, remains Iran’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3327585/return-iran-sanctions-moment-reckoning-china-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3327585/return-iran-sanctions-moment-reckoning-china-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao After a week-long gathering of leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York, its president struck a positive tone on Monday. Annalena Baerbock, the former German foreign minister, said there was a collective will to “choose the right path at the crossroads”. “If high-level week is any indication, this house is fulfilling that purpose – the United Nations is still relevant,” she said. But 23 years after Kofi Annan spoke of the UN’s “fork in the road”, when he was secretary general, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3327827/us-retreat-un-may-create-tremendous-opportunity-nations-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3327827/us-retreat-un-may-create-tremendous-opportunity-nations-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The UN Security Council on Friday rejected another last-ditch effort to delay the reimposition of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme a day before the deadline and after Western countries claimed that weeks of meetings failed to result in a “concrete” agreement. The resolution put forth by Russia and China – Iran’s most powerful and closest allies on the 15-member council – failed to garner support from the nine countries required to halt the series of UN sanctions from taking effect on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327060/un-security-council-rejects-china-and-russias-last-ditch-bid-delay-iran-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327060/un-security-council-rejects-china-and-russias-last-ditch-bid-delay-iran-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 20:55:10 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to urge sweeping reform of the UN Security Council, which Tokyo has long criticised as “dysfunctional” and unfit for today’s world order. Ishiba left for New York on Tuesday morning, telling reporters just before his departure, “After reflecting on the 80 years since the founding of the United Nations, I would like to state that now is the time to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3326559/can-japan-shake-un-security-council-ishiba-make-last-ditch-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3326559/can-japan-shake-un-security-council-ishiba-make-last-ditch-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 09:43:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United Nations Security Council did not adopt a draft resolution on Friday to permanently lift sanctions on Iran, but Tehran and key European powers still have eight days to try and agree to a delay. The 15-member UN Security Council was required to vote on the draft resolution on Friday after Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process on August 28 to reimpose UN sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent it from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326222/un-security-council-votes-against-lifting-iran-snapback-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326222/un-security-council-votes-against-lifting-iran-snapback-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:45:03 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel’s ally the United States. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests. “This strike sends a message that should echo across this... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325260/un-security-council-condemns-strikes-qatar-doesnt-name-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325260/un-security-council-condemns-strikes-qatar-doesnt-name-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:34:00 +0000 Lub Bun Chong Lub Bun Chong This year marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II and the founding of the United Nations. Humanity learned with great pain that peace and security must coexist for all nations, and the vicious circle of war must not be repeated. In 1941, the United States imposed an oil embargo on Japan in response to its expansion in Asia and invasion of French Indochina. For the US and its allies, Japan’s militant aggression was a blatant violation of peace; for Japan, the embargo was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3324197/ukraine-war-must-be-resolved-within-un-halls-not-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3324197/ukraine-war-must-be-resolved-within-un-halls-not-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Ashfaq Zaman Ashfaq Zaman History teaches us lessons, but it’s still up to us to listen. The UN Charter was written as a result of the bloodiest conflict in modern history. The lesson is obvious: we should not wait until after wars end to build institutions that ensure peace. Today, military policy is increasingly governed by the temperaments of individuals as opposed to a wider international framework. The world becomes a far less stable place when policy is based on mood instead of multilateral decision-making.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3320148/un-weakness-over-ukraine-war-iran-israel-conflict-shows-need-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3320148/un-weakness-over-ukraine-war-iran-israel-conflict-shows-need-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Igor Patrick,Khushboo Razdan Igor Patrick,Khushboo Razdan Brics leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro condemned recent bombing campaigns against Iran on Sunday, calling the strikes a “violation of international law” and “deliberate attacks” on civilian infrastructure, but avoided direct mentions of the US and Israel. The joint declaration, coming against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs of 100 per cent on imports from Brics countries, underscored an apparent effort to state the members’ position without directly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317159/brics-leaders-set-condemn-strikes-iran-avoid-direct-mention-us-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317159/brics-leaders-set-condemn-strikes-iran-avoid-direct-mention-us-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jul 2025 17:02:36 +0000