When a complaint concerning a threat to the peace or a the breach of peace is brought before the Security Council, the President of the Council or any member state may initiate a resolution.  

Nowadays it is customary for the three Western permanent members - France, the United Kingdom and the United States (P3) to submit a draft resolution. Their UN Ambassadors or other representatives meet every day to discuss the issues on the Security Council agenda and to agree on the texts of the draft resolutions. This procedure is followed by consultations in the permanent five (P5) group and among the other groups within the Council. It is important to have gained broad support when the draft resolution is submitted before the official meeting.  

The Security Council members may have to consult their national groups in the General Assembly. The representatives meet at closed informal meetings at the UN Headquarters.  

It is in the informal consultation chamber, next to the Security Council chamber, that the travaux préparatoires of the Council (working papers, draft resolutions etc.) are completed. While formal meetings do not last very long, an informal consultation of the whole can last for several hours and may run into several sessions. When a given resolution or action has been agreed upon, the consultation is adjourned and the members move next door to open a formal session of the Council.

The most important decisions by the Security Council are passed at informal consultations of the whole. They are completely closed to any nonmembers and completely off the record. Such meetings take place very often - sometimes late at night. 

When, finally, the official meetings take place, they are often short without long debates, and voting procedure. Statements by member states can be made, if desired. 

The resolutions of the Security Council, unlike those of the General Assembly, are binding upon all UN member nations. In accepting the Charter, all nations agree to accept and carry out these decisions of the Security Council.  

Procedural votes in the Security Council require the approval of a simple majority of the members. Substantive decisions require the approval of nine members, including the concurring votes of all five permanent members. This permanent member unanimity requirement is often referred to as the veto power.