The Permanent 5

The United Nations Security Council is in charge of peace and security on the international scale. The Security Council is responsible for operating peacekeeping operations, sanctions and automatism military action. The Security Council is made of 15 member states, 5 of which have a permanent seat while the other 10 are elected by the other member states for 2 year terms. The 5 permanent member states, also known as the Permanent 5 (P5) have the power to veto any decision voted by the Security Council. Under article 27 of the United Nations Charter, each member of the Security Council gets one vote and 9 votes are needed for something to pass. However it may only pass if each of the permanent members allows it, this is where they get their veto power. If one of the permanent members does not vote to pass it or doesn't vote at all, then the action they were voting on does not pass. The Security Council not only votes on military actions, but also if a new member's application is accepted.

 So who are the five permanent powers of the United Nations Security Council, who hold so much power? They are nations who are great powers (a great powers is a nation with a lot of military, political, and economic influence) that were victorious after the Second World War. These great powers that won the war are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Over the years some of the governments of the permanent 5 have changed. After the World War II France's seat was held by the Forth French Republic, but in 1958 a new constitution was written and the Fifth French Republic was born, or simply the French Republic. Before 1971 China's seat belonged to the Republic of China, but switched to the People's Republic of China, because of the Republic of China's exile to Taiwan and having no power on mainland China. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor to the Soviet Union for the Council seat was seen as the Russian Federation.

The Permanent 5 have used their veto power for a total of 268 times as of 2007. The most belonging to the Russian seat with 123, most of which were under the USSR, and the least with 6 belonging to China. There has been no vetoes this year, but 7 have been used in the years of 2011 and 2012. In 2011 the US vetoed an action regarding Palestine, and in the same year Russia and China vetoed an act regarding the Middle East. In 2012 both Russia and China used their vetoes on issues regarding the Middle East and one regarding the issue in Syria. 

Debate has been sparked by and weather or not the 5 permanent members should hold exclusive right to the veto power. Critics point to the fact the P5 use their veto power to help themselves or their allies. There is also a group known as the G4, which is made of four countries that wish to extend the amount of permanent members in the Security Council. These countries include Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan and each state supports the other in trying to obtain a permanent seat.

More on the United Nations Security Council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_power#Aftermath_of_the_Cold_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/scact_veto_en.shtml
http://www.un.org/en/sc/
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter5.shtml
http://www.un.org/en/members/about.shtml