Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. From 1947-1994 it was instrumental in the decolonization and subsequent independence of territories in Africa and the Pacific. In accordance with T/RES/2200 (LXI) of 25 May 1994, the Trusteeship Council currently only meets “as and where occasion may require”.

Chapters XI-XII of the UN Charter concern the work of the Trusteeship Council.

Membership of the Trusteeship Council varied over time, in accordance with Article 86 of the UN Charter. Members included:

• UN Member States administering trust territories
• Permanent Members of the Security Council not administering trust territories
• “As many other Members elected for three-year terms by the General Assembly as may be necessary to ensure that the total number of members of the Trusteeship Council is equally divided between those Members of the United Nations which administer trust territories and those which do not.”

Currently, the permanent members of the Security Council serve as members of the Trusteeship Council in accordance with Article 86 of the Charter.

The Rules of Procedure of the Trusteeship Council are found in T/1/Rev.7.