Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch

The Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch, is the advisory and research arm of the Security Council Affairs Division in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.  The Branch provides guidance to Member States and the Secretariat on Council practice and procedure upon request, substantive servicing of the Security Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions and familiarization of new Council members on Council practice and procedure.

The Branch also provides the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council.  The Repertoire, mandated by the General Assembly in resolution 686 (VII) in 1952, provides comprehensive coverage of the Security Council’s interpretation and application of the United Nations Charter and its own Provisional Rules of Procedure since 1946. Its primary purpose is to provide Member States, including those elected to serve on the Security Council, the United Nations system, academics and others with a source of information regarding the evolving practice of the Security Council.

The material presented in the Repertoire is exclusively based on official documents of the Security Council. Each Supplement to the Repertoire covers a period from two to six years and is published in English and French. In addition, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 55/222 , from the 1985-1988 volume onwards Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish editions are also available.The Repertoire, mandated by the General Assembly in resolution 686 (VII) in 1952, provides comprehensive coverage of the Security Council’s interpretation and application of the United Nations Charter and its own Provisional Rules of Procedure since 1946. Its primary purpose is to provide Member States, including those elected to serve on the Security Council, the United Nations system, academics and others with a source of information regarding the evolving practice of the Security Council.