The Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, mandated by the General Assembly in resolution 686 (VII) in 1952, provides comprehensive coverage of the Security Council’s interpretation and application of the United Nations Charter and its own Provisional Rules of Procedure since 1946. Its primary purpose is to provide Member States, including those elected to serve on the Security Council, the United Nations system, academics and others with a source of information regarding the evolving practice of the Security Council.

The material presented in the Repertoire is exclusively based on official documents of the Security Council. The first edition of the Repertoire covered the years 1946-1951 and was issued in 1954. All subsequent editions are referred to as Supplements. From 1952-2017, each Supplement covered a period ranging from two to four years. Since 2018, Supplements have been covering a period of one year. In addition, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 55/222, from the 1985-1988 volume onwards, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish editions are also available, in addition to English and French. 

The Repertoire is prepared by the Security Council Practices and Charter Research Branch, which is the advisory and research arm of the Security Council Affairs Division in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. In addition to preparing the Repertoire, the Branch provides guidance to Member States and the Secretariat on Council practice and procedure upon request, substantive servicing of the Security Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions and familiarization of new Council members on Council practice and procedure.