THE SECURITY COUNCIL

THE security council is the key decision - making body in the united nation and has 15 member . Five of these are permanent members , while the other ten are elected by the general assembly for two years. The five permanent members are The United States of America , the Russian federation (previously the soviet union) France , Britain , and China . The primary responsibility of peace -keeping is with the security council , but for decades its ability to act was limited when either the United State or the soviet union used its veto power. During the cold war a major issue on which the superpowers agreed ,and all the permanent members had a right to veto any motion at any time . The security council has the power to order sanction call for a cease - fire in time of war and even authorize military action by the appointment of judges to the international court of justice and the appointment of the UNITED NATIONS secretary - general