United Nations Security Council veto power

The veto was the result of extensive discussion during the negotiations for the formation of the United Nations at Dumbarton Oaks (August–October 1944) and Yalta (February 1945).

[14] Harry S. Truman, who became President of the United States in April 1945, wrote: "All our experts, civil and military, favored it, and without such a veto no arrangement would have passed the Senate.

Senator Connally [from the US delegation] dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same if they opposed the unanimity principle.

The specific language was a compromise between the idea that one should not be able to pass judgement on their own actions, and the principle that the Security Council should not act against its permanent members.

[17][18] By adopting A/RES/377 A, on 3 November 1950, over two-thirds of UN Member States declared that, according to the UN Charter, the permanent members cannot and should not prevent the General Assembly from taking any and all action necessary to restore international peace and security in cases where the Security Council has failed to exercise its "primary responsibility" for maintaining peace.

The newly independent countries of the Third World frequently voted against the Western powers, which led the United States to resort to the veto.

[25] After the first United States veto in 1970, the Soviet ambassador declared, "Using your automatic majority you imposed your will on others and forced it down their throats.

[28] On 26 April 2022, the General Assembly adopted a resolution mandating a debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council.

Initially this led to a deadlock, from 1946 to 1955, as both the Western allies and the Soviet Union prevented each others' preferred candidates from joining, which was resolved with a 1955 agreement which allowed the admission of 16 new members at once.

[32] Additionally, China has used two vetoes (Guatemala in 1997 and North Macedonia in 1999) in order to block or end UN missions in countries that engaged in diplomatic relations with Taiwan, due to the territorial dispute about the status of that island.

The United States circumvented a Soviet veto in 1950 by asking the General Assembly to extend Trygve Lie's term without a recommendation from the Security Council.

The only time it unilaterally vetoed a draft was in 1976 to block a resolution on the question of the independence of the Comoros, which was done to keep the island of Mayotte as a French overseas community.

[38] It also vetoed, along with UK, a resolution calling on the immediate cessation of military action by the Israeli army against Egypt in 1956 during the Suez Crisis.

[38] In 2003, the threat of a French veto of resolution on the impending invasion of Iraq caused friction between France and the United States.

Because of their frequent vetoes, Soviet ambassador Andrei Gromyko earned the nickname Mr. Nyet and Vyacheslav Molotov was known as Mr.

[41] The Soviet government adopted an "empty chair" policy at the Security Council in January 1950 to protest the fact that the Republic of China still held the Chinese seat at the United Nations.

However, Russian vetoes became more common in the early 21st century to block resolutions regarding Russia's wars against Georgia and against Ukraine, as well as its military interventions in Syria and Mali.

[45] The first occurrence was in October 1956 when the United Kingdom and France vetoed a letter from the US to the President of the Security Council concerning Palestine.

On 23 December 2016, the Obama administration abstained on a resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements, the first time that the United States has.

[28] In April 2024, the Biden administration vetoed a resolution that would have recommended that the General Assembly hold a vote on the State of Palestine's full membership of the organization.

In the twenty-first century, the veto has come to be almost universally seen as a disproportionate power and an impediment to credible international action to crises.

"[52] The "enormous influence of the veto power" has been cited as a cause of the UN's ineffectiveness in preventing and responding to genocide, violence, and human rights violations.

[16] In light of the criticisms of veto power and its impact on the decision-making process of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), several reform proposals have emerged.

It proposes that membership and veto power be shifted from individual states to sovereignty-pooling organizations, like the European Union (EU).

The NWF suggests that regional organizations like the EU could be eligible for UN membership, a reform achievable without requiring amendments to the UN Charter.

[55][56] Justifications for the veto are usually based in the interests of the permanent members and the idea that peace and security is only possible if the great powers are all working together.

[16] According to one author, there were four reasons evident at the conference: "1) unanimity was considered indispensable for peace; 2) permanent members needed to protect their national interests; 3) the need to protect minority blocs from over-dominating majority coalitions; and 4) the desire to prevent rash Security Council resolutions.

"[4] In 1993, Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans wrote that the veto was established to ensure that the United Nations did not commit to things it would be unable to follow through on due to great power opposition.

"[58] Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the "profound wisdom" of the founders of the United Nations, referring to the veto power as the underpinning of international stability.

[6] Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lauded its "important role in checking the instinct of war.