Security Council and the Veto
All articles in Security Council and the Veto
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Force Multiplication for Peace, Enter United Nations Peace Corps
World Federalist Movement · January 2024
The United Nations faces bureaucratic and geopolitical challenges. The U.S. subsidizes the UN despite its ambivalent public perception.
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In Defense of an Idealist Approach to UN Reform
December 2023
World Federalists advocate for fundamental changes to the UN system, arguing that the Security Council’s structure is inherently undemocratic. The article details how the veto power of the P5 members stifles global progress, preventing effective world policy from coming to fruition.
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World Peace and Security Require a Stronger United Nations
Citizens for Global Solutions · September 2023
As long as any permanent member can veto Security Council action, aggressors like Russia in Ukraine go unchecked. Letting two thirds of the General Assembly override a veto, and suspending members that attack their neighbors, would give the Charter real force.
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The Security Council Veto and the International Court of Justice
March 2023
By vetoing a resolution demanding a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, Moscow went beyond the powers the UN Charter grants. A World Court advisory opinion saying so could void that veto and curb abuse by the five permanent members without amending the Charter.
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Toward a “UN Spring”
World Federalist Movement – Canada · February 2023
Vivian Davidson notes that the five permanent members account for 71% of world military spending and 66% of arms sales, and says a resolution mailed to all 193 UN ambassadors asks them to return the Council’s power to the General Assembly.
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Liechtenstein Resolution Provides a Mechanism to Hold the P-5 Accountable
World Federalist Movement · May 2022
Answering to the whole General Assembly for every veto would be a first check on the five permanent powers. A member using the veto should also give up the Council chair, which Russia kept while the Council discussed its own war in Ukraine.
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Introducing Dr Tawanda Hondora
June 2019
Major powers that use the Security Council for their own ends are feeding wars from Yemen to Libya. Civil society, working in national capitals and enlisting business and young people, must defend the ICC and push to reform global institutions.
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Reimagining Your United Nations through Model UN (MUN)
June 2019
The Workable World Trust uses Model United Nations conferences to introduce Joe Schwartzberg’s Security Council reform proposal, which replaces the five-member veto system with 12 regional blocs and weighted voting across all 193 UN member states. A pilot at Mexico City’s MIMUN 2019 found that students debating under the reform model produced a unanimous resolution, while reverting to traditional rules saw P5 veto power block the same measure.
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UN Security Council Resolution 2467 on sexual violence in conflict
World Federalist Movement – Canada · April 2019
Language on sexual and reproductive health, proposed by Germany, was dropped to avoid a US veto, which WFM–C says seriously undermines the ninth resolution under the women, peace and security agenda.
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The United Nations and Canada: A Question of Leadership
World Federalist Movement – Canada · January 2019
Canada’s UN Security Council candidacy faces scrutiny over its record on peacekeeping and poverty reduction. The article calls for renewed leadership and action on global governance issues.
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Making Effective Use of Existing Legal Obligations in the Face of Atrocity Crimes
December 2018
A permanent Security Council member that vetoes action against genocide breaks its own treaty duty to prevent it. The General Assembly could ask the International Court of Justice whether unrestrained vetoes in the face of atrocity are lawful.
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Restoring Faith in the UN (December 2017)
World Federalist Movement – Canada · January 2018
The UN General Assembly invoked the Uniting for Peace resolution to address Syria’s chemical attacks. The mechanism allows action when the Security Council is blocked by veto power.
