UN: Judge, Jury… Executioner?
Jimmy Carter at the UN, 1979. Wikipedia Commons.
The United Nations Security Council (SC) holds the primary responsibility for the preservation and enforcement of international peace and security. [1] When a dispute leads to hostilities, the SC’s mandated primary concern is to bring them to a close as soon as possible. However, the legal effectiveness of the SC is impacted by a special right of the five permanent members — the right to veto. If any of the five permanent members do not agree with a proposed SC resolution or decision, the resolution or decision cannot be approved. [2] All five have previously exercised this right to veto at one time or another. Owing to its scope, the veto has dominated SC workings because of its frequent use or threat of use. [3] This appears to contradict article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, where it is stated that the UN’s purpose is to maintain international peace and security by taking effective collective measures for peaceful means, in conformity with the principles of justice and international law. [4]
The Security Council’s Mandate
The SC has five permanent Member States: the Republic of France, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. There are also ten non-permanent Member States, each of which rotate on a two-year basis. [5] The SC determines the existence of international threats to peace, or acts of aggression, and further calls upon disputing parties to settle matters by peaceful means, providing recommendations of adjustment or terms of settlement. [6] The SC can also issue ceasefire directives, despatch military observers or peacekeeping forces, impose sanctions, and even authorise the use of force. [7]
The Veto Power
The right of veto granted to the permanent members of the SC is a prerogative enshrined in the Charter. It has been described as a sine qua non (literally, without which not, or more commonly, indispensable) in the UN, as it ensures the participation of the most powerful states. [8] The permanent members have used the veto to defend their perceived national interests or to uphold a tenet of their foreign policy. [9] This has led to the perception among many member states that the veto (or a threat of veto) is at times abused to the detriment of international peace and security. [10] Specifically, concerns continue to be expressed about the SC’s inability to mount effective responses to egregious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Most recently, the calls for peace in Gaza have been delayed due to China and Russia’s use of the veto power. [11] After extensive debate, the SC passed Resolution 2728, which called for ‘immediate ceasefire’ during the month of Ramadan. The US abstained from voting. [12]
This raises the question: How can the ‘right to veto’ be lawful when it essentially obstructs justice and contradicts the purpose of the UN Charter, the very legal instrument that created it?
[1] Charter of the United Nations arts 24, 26.
[2] Ibid art 27.
[3] Florence Dallas, Rutgers Global Policy Roundtable, ‘The Security Council’s sine qua non: The Veto Power’ (Occasional Paper No 8, 2018) 3 <https://polisci.rutgers.edu/publications/occasional-paper-series/346-occasional-paper-8-florence-emmanuela-emmy-dallas/file>.
[4] Charter of the United Nations art 1.
[5] Ibid art 23.
[6] Ibid Chapters VI, VII, VIII, XII.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Security Council Report, ‘The Veto’ (Research Report, October 2015) 2 <https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3 CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/research_report_3_the_veto_2015.pdf>.
[9] Ibid 3.
[10] Ibid 2.
[11] United Nations, ‘Security Council Fails to Adopt Resolution on Imperative of Immediate, Sustained Ceasefire in Gaza, Owing to Vetoes Cast by China, Russian Federation’ (Press Release, SC/15637, United Nations Security Council, 22 March 2024) <https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15637.doc.htm>.
[12] ‘Gaza: Security Council Passes Resolution Demanding “an immediate ceasefire” During Ramadan’, United Nations News (online at 25 March 2024) <https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147931>.
This article was originally published under the title ‘A Veto on Justice: Atrocities and the United Nations Security Council’ in The Brief Edition 2, 2024 — Ceci n’est pas une loi.