Which two BRICS nations are permanent members of the UN Security Council?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
China and Russia
Explanation
The two BRICS nations that hold permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are China and Russia. The UNSC has a total of five permanent members (often referred to as the P5), which includes China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These permanent members possess the power of veto, allowing any one of them to block a substantive resolution. While BRICS has expanded over the years to include several new emerging economies, the original founding group consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Among these, only Russia (which inherited the seat of the former Soviet Union) and China hold permanent UNSC status, while India, Brazil, and South Africa have consistently advocated for structural reforms to gain permanent representation.
Key Points
The United Nations Security Council consists of 15 members in total: 5 permanent members with veto power and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly.
The acronym BRIC was originally coined in 2001 by economist Jim O'Neill to identify fast-growing economies, officially becoming a formal geopolitical bloc with its first summit in 2009, and expanding to BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010.
India and Brazil are prominent members of the G4 nations (alongside Japan and Germany), a group that mutually supports each other's bids for permanent seats on an expanded UN Security Council.
Important Questions and Answers
Question: Which country's permanent seat on the UN Security Council did the Russian Federation assume in December 1991?
Answer: The Russian Federation assumed the permanent seat and membership of the former Soviet Union (USSR).
Question: What special voting power is held exclusively by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council?
Answer: They hold the Veto Power, which allows any of the five permanent members to single-handedly prevent the adoption of any substantive UNSC resolution.