The United Nations UNSC (UNSC) held an emergency meeting on February 25 in response to Russia's military action against its neighbour Ukraine. But a resolution to condemn the act was not achieved, let alone sanctions against Moscow. Russia, which expectedly vetoed the resolution, presided over the meeting as the rotating president of the council. A comical turn of events, if anything.
The UNSC aims to resolve international disputes in accordance with Chapter VI of the UN Charter, which authorizes the council to call on parties to seek solutions via negotiation, arbitration, or other peaceful means. Failing that, Chapter VII empowers the UNSC to take more assertive actions, such as imposing sanctions or authorizing the use of force “to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
But Russia's belligerence against Ukraine is yet further evidence of the international community's inability to effectively respond to events that disrupt peace. The UNSC is a distressing symbol of this ineffectiveness, as it stands.
The UNSC is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to maintain peace and to do so it can decide to slap sanctions on countries threatening peace, and UN member countries are required to comply with its decisions, but it seems as if it is not the reality.
The five permanent members of the council -- US, UK, France, China, and Russia -- have veto power to kill any resolution and there is no doubt that Russia will keep using this privilege to torpedo any draft resolution to punish itself for the invasion. Additionally, in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly's “Uniting for Peace” resolution of November 1950, if the UNSC fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member, then the UNGA may act in its stead.
This would happen in the case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The UNGA can consider the matter with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. This resolution was invoked only once in UN peacekeeping history, when in 1956 the UNGA established the First UN Emergency Force (UNEF I) in the Middle East.
This situation voices the reality that the UNSC has lost its relevance. The council's structure was created in October 1945, immediately after the end of World War II, under the leadership of the US, UK, the former Soviet Union, China, and France. The UNSC's problems are nothing new as it did not also work well during the Cold War. In 2003, the US, which many saw as the leader in maintaining world order, waged war against Iraq without a clear UN resolution to fully justify its actions.
Now, the most desirable option to end this atrocity would be to establish certain limits to the veto power of the permanent members to prevent abuse by China or Russia. A more plausible idea would be to strip Russia of its permanent member status as a way to punish it for the attack on Ukraine. Some Western democracies are moving to explore this option, according to European media. But this would require amending the UN Charter, a step that must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the UNGA and all the permanent members of the UNSC.
Besides China and Russia, US, UK, and France are also against limiting their veto power. The next best option would be to increase both the permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC without touching the veto power of the five nations. This could involve, for instance, giving permanent seats to some other major powers, such as Japan, Germany and India, or increasing the number of nonpermanent seats from the current. Advocates say this would increase pressure on China, Russia, and other permanent members to refrain from abusing their power to shoot down resolutions.
Lastly, this step too would require the amendment of the UN Charter. Even though some countries have been calling for a major reform of the body, Beijing and Moscow have balked even at including such calls and related discussions in official records, according to diplomatic sources at the UNSC.
Sabiha Mehzabin Oishee is a Fellow, University of Oxford, UK.
