Quentin MacClean Levin, “A Primer on Articles 43–47 of the U.N. Charter: Contribution of Forces for Collective Security,” HLS PILAC UNSC Primer Series, Nov. 2024

Executive Summary

The United Nations takes its name from the global military alliance that won World War II. The experience of that war inspired the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations to design a system of global collective security to prevent future aggression. Articles 43–47 of the Charter aimed to help enact that vision by creating a military force that the Security Council could employ to protect international peace and security. Under Article 43, the Council must negotiate agreements with Member States for the commitment of military forces. Article 45 requires that these forces include standby air-force contingents for emergency use. In exchange for providing military resources under Article 43, Article 44 would grant all contributing Member States the right to vote on Council decisions concerning the employment of their forces. Finally, Articles 46 and 47 establish a Military Staff Committee to assist the Security Council in commanding these military forces.

Yet this cornerstone of the Charter’s military alliance was never fully implemented. Under the pressures of the Cold War, no Article 43 agreements were concluded. Following the Cold War, the Council opted to employ ad hoc coalitions to enforce its decisions. Although the Military Staff Committee meets frequently, it has never formally assisted the Security Council in commanding any military forces.

This primer reviews the historical practice and current status of Articles 43–47. It then considers how the system could be implemented today through a veto-proof procedural initiative by the Council to commence the negotiation of Article 43 agreements. Many details of this system are not specified by the Charter, bringing a degree of flexibility and uncertainty to the prospect of implementation. Finally, this primer analyzes five policy implications of fully implementing the Article 43 system today.

Irrespective of whether Member States choose to comprehensively implement Articles 43–47, these provisions serve as a reminder of the aspirations for collective security and representative decision-making that propelled the founding of the United Nations and may inform other reform efforts today.

About This Primer Series

Despite the extraordinary authority placed in the United Nations Security Council, relatively little is known about its day-to-day workings outside its five permanent members and UN support staff. Indeed, the permanent members benefit from decades of continuous experience, as well as relatively large teams in New York and at their respective capitals devoted to international law and policy matters. Members elected for a two-year term at the Council often do not possess equivalent expertise, resources, and personnel. In a series of primers, HLS PILAC seeks to help fill an arguable informational gap concerning international law and the Council between the permanent and elected members. Building off a 2020 general primer for elected members published by HLS PILAC, these new analyses are intended to furnish elected members with important additional information that they can use as they see fit. The primary target audience includes current and future elected members of the Council, in particular those States’ legal and policy advisers. The series’ objective is not to proscribe or prescribe particular approaches but, rather, to apprise States of certain key issues that may be borne in mind in navigating engagements with and at the Security Council.