Each of the 15 United Nations Security Council members has one vote. Most decisions require at least nine votes in favor, but substantive decisions can also be blocked by a permanent member's negative vote. The rules differ for procedural and substantive matters. That distinction determines whether the five permanent members can exercise the power commonly called a veto.
Table of Contents
- Who votes on the Security Council?
- How procedural votes work
- How substantive votes and vetoes work
- Why an abstention is different
- How to read a reported vote
Who votes on the Security Council?
The Council has five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The General Assembly elects the other ten members to two-year terms, according to the United Nations current-members page.
Permanent and elected members each cast one vote. Permanent status does not provide extra votes, but it gives those five countries greater power over substantive decisions.
How procedural votes work
A procedural decision passes when at least nine members vote in favor. It does not require approval from every permanent member, so a permanent member cannot defeat it with a veto.
Procedural decisions include adopting the agenda, inviting participants and adjourning a meeting. Because these questions control how the Council conducts its work, classifying a vote as procedural can affect whether the measure passes. The basic comparison is:.
- Procedural decision: At least nine affirmative votes.
- Substantive decision: At least nine affirmative votes, subject to the permanent-member voting rule.
How substantive votes and vetoes work
Under Article 27 of the UN Charter, a substantive decision requires at least nine affirmative votes, including the concurring votes of the permanent members. In practice, a negative vote from any permanent member prevents adoption. That negative vote is commonly called a veto.
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It can defeat a substantive draft even when nine or more Council members support the measure, as the Security Council's voting-system explanation states. A draft receiving eight affirmative votes fails without any veto because it has not reached the nine-vote threshold. A draft receiving 14 affirmative votes and one negative vote from a permanent member also fails, but for a different reason: the veto constraint.
Why an abstention is different
A permanent member's abstention does not count as a veto. A substantive resolution can therefore pass with one or more permanent members abstaining, provided it still receives at least nine affirmative votes. This distinction helps readers interpret a vote correctly.
A permanent member can decline to support a resolution without blocking it; only its negative vote prevents an otherwise qualifying substantive draft from being adopted. The Charter includes a narrower abstention rule for certain disputes. A Council member that is a party to a dispute must abstain from decisions under Chapter VI or Article 52(3), which concern specified peaceful-settlement matters.
How to read a reported vote
First determine whether the Council treated the question as procedural or substantive. Then count the affirmative votes and check whether any permanent member voted against a substantive draft.
Use this sequence: Voting records also show that veto disputes do not define every Council outcome. In 2025, the Council adopted 44 resolutions and failed to adopt four drafts; 27 adopted resolutions were unanimous, according to its 2025 practice highlights.
- Did the draft receive at least nine affirmative votes?
- Was the matter procedural or substantive?
- If substantive, did a permanent member cast a negative vote?
- Did a permanent member merely abstain, which is not a veto?
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