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UN Security Council Documentation

Documents relating to the Working Methods of the Security Council

Working Methods Handbook

The Interactive Handbook of the Working Methods Handbook highlights practices and agreed measures and serves as guidance for the Council's work. Recent documents related to this topic can also be found in the UN Digital Library using the search term : "measures to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the work of the Security Council".

Annual Workshop for Newly Elected Members of the Security Council 

Each year in November a workshop, "Hitting the Ground Running", is held for Newly Elected Members of the Security Council. According to the report on the 2016 workshop (S/2017/468), its purpose is

"to give the newly elected members a deeper understanding of the dynamics, practices, procedures and working methods of the Security Council so that they are in a position to 'hit the ground running' when their terms on the Council commence the following January" .

Monthly Programme of Work

Monthly Programme of Work

The presidency of the Security Council rotates each month. Each president issues a forecast of the monthly programme of work, an informal, unsymbolled document.

Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the Presidency of... in....

Each president submits a report on the activities of the Security Council during the month of its presidency. It contains:

List of Matters before the Security Council

Released each year, the notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the UN lists matters being dealt with by the Security Council

In addition, in January of each year the Secretary-General submits to the Security Council a list of items of which the Council is currently seized and matters that have been removed from consideration. This document is updated weekly by addenda: