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Mahesh

17/12/23 17:41 PM IST

Veto Power of United Nations Security Council

In News
  • Recently, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Veto power in UN
  • All member countries of the UN are part of the General Assembly.
  • This body can pass resolutions on relevant matters. Only a simple majority (of more than half the members) is required to pass its resolutions.
  • However, the UN Security Council is a much more exclusive club, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.
  • These are the ‘permanent five’ or P5 countries, called so because the UNSC also has 10 additional members who are elected for two years each based on UNGA elections. Also, UNSC resolutions are legally binding, unlike the UNGA’s.
  • Each of the P5 members has the power to veto a vote.
  • It was agreed by the drafters of the UN Charter (which lays down its governing principles) that if any one of the five permanent members cast a negative vote in the 15-member UNSC, the resolution would fail.
  • A member can choose to abstain though, allowing the resolution to be adopted if it obtains the minimum nine votes.
Permanent members veto power
  • The creators of the United Nations Charter conceived that five countries… because of their key roles in the establishment of the United Nations, would continue to play important roles in the maintenance of international peace and security.
  • After World War Two ended in 1945, the P5 were among the victors against Germany, Italy and Japan.
  • Among them, the US, the UK and the USSR (later Russia would take its seat) were at the forefront of war efforts.
  • When it came to forming an international organisation to maintain international peace, they were keen to accord certain exclusive rights to themselves.
  • The dominant Allied powers, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom secured permanent seats for themselves.
Why veto power not amended?
  • Permanence and possession of the veto power create a critical status difference with the elected members, even those (e.g., Germany, India, and Japan) who are major powers in their own right.
  • India, among other countries, has often made claims to P5 membership, arguing that the current body is limited in terms of representation.
  • However, these efforts have not yielded results mainly because they challenge the dominance of countries that have created and been entrenched in a system that ultimately works in their favour.
  • A reimagined structure for a Security Council would see all 15 seats being made temporary, for periods of five years to provide more continuity, with wide, nonregional open competition for each seat, alongside clear, monitored restrictions on lobbying expenses and two-term limits within a cycle of 30 years to reward excellence while avoiding domination.
Source- The Hindu

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