The Security CouncilThat collective

The Security Council
That collective security is a core design feature of the UN is suggested by the
Charter, the preamble of which begins with the words “We the peoples of the
United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of
war,” and the first article of which states that “The Purposes of the United Nations
are: 1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective
collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and
for the suppression of acts of aggression and other breaches of the peace.” The
Charter provides two mechanisms for maintaining international peace and security,
both of which focus on the Security Council as the institutional mechanism for
carrying out this task. Chapter VI, entitled “Pacific Settlement of Disputes,” allows
the Security Council to involve itself in any dispute that it sees as a threat to the
international peace, and to investigate, arbitrate, and recommend solutions.
Chapter VII, “Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace,
and Acts of Aggression,” gives the Security Council the authority to define threats
to and breaches of the peace, and to define the appropriate response of the international
community, ranging from diplomatic pressure, to economic sanctions, to
the use of force.5