The US is rallying members of the United Nations to adjust its rules of practice on the power of the veto, in a move to reprimand Russia’s blocking of resolutions on Ukraine.
A US-backed draft resolution was first floated by Liechtenstein and seeks to have the UN General Assembly (UNGA) convene automatically whenever a permanent member of the UN Security Council vetoes a resolution brought before the Council. The US says this will stop “Russia’s shameful pattern of abusing its veto privilege over the past two decades”.
The proposed resolution says the president of UNGA will decide to call a meeting “within ten working days of the casting of a veto by one or more permanent members of the Security Council, to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast, provided that the General Assembly does not meet in an emergency special session on the same situation”.
If UNGA endorses the resolution, it will also mean that the Security Council will be required to submit a report on the use of the veto to it at least three days before the debate, and precedence will be given to speakers representing the vetoing powers.
Liechtenstein, which tabled the draft on Tuesday, said 38 other countries had endorsed the draft, whose approval will give “a meaningful step to empower (UNGA) and strengthen multilateralism,” according to a statement from its Permanent Mission to the UN.
“The cosponsors will formally present the draft resolution to Member States next week – the next step in the process. We encourage all States to cosponsor and support and look forward to an early adoption.”
It was unclear on Wednesday how many African countries were backing the resolution. A Kenyan diplomat told The EastAfrican that Nairobi has been working with other countries to push for reforms in the Security Council “given nearly every one of the P5 (five permanent members) has abused the veto”. African countries have generally called for the inclusion of at least one permanent member from Africa.
The Security Council, composed of five permanent members and 10 non-permanent ones, is the UN’s most powerful body mandated to maintain international peace and security. Under Article 24 of the UN Charter, it acts on behalf of UNGA and can authorise external intervention, sanctions or any other decision that may help bring peace.
The permanent members – Russia, France, the UK, China and the US – have powers to veto substantive resolutions, which means they cannot be implemented with any of their opposing votes. This power was originally granted to them to oppose decisions that may not help world peace and security. They didn’t have to explain it to UNGA.
“The United States takes seriously its privilege of veto power; it is a sobre and solemn responsibility that must be respected by those permanent members to whom it has been entrusted,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN.
The UNGA resolution on the veto will be a significant step in accountability, transparency and responsibility for permanent members who wield its power.
But they have been accused of placing their own interests first. Russia, for example, last month vetoed a resolution brought to the Council to condemn its “aggression” against Ukraine, after it invaded the country and labelled it “a special military operation”.
It also threatened to use the veto when the matter of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine was brought to the Council. Nonetheless, 141 countries in UNGA later voted to condemn Russia’s “aggression” when it convened in a rare “emergency special session” in March.
The US itself has used the veto numerous times, especially on issues related to Israel and Palestine. Last year, Washington blocked a joint statement to condemn Israel’s military response to attacks from Palestine. It has also blocked resolutions that had exposed US troops to potential prosecution at the International Criminal Court.
Both Russia and China have blocked resolutions to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Moscow also vetoed a resolution for an observer mission in Georgia, a former Soviet republic it had invaded. Although the UK and France often prefer abstinence, they used the veto in the years before 1990.
