United Nations Security Council veto power

The UN Security Council Veto Power is a power wielded solely by the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, enabling them to void any Security Council resolution regardless of the level of general support. This power is exercised when any permanent member enters a "nay" vote. (An abstention vote will allow the measure to pass).

History

The veto system was established to protect the interests of the founding members of the United Nations, which were the countries that won World War II. At the UN founding conference in 1944, it was decided that the representatives of Britain, China, the Soviet Union, the United States and, "in due course", France should be permanent members. France had been defeated and occupied by Nazi Germany, but its role as a permanent member of the League of Nations, its status as a colonial power and the activities of the Free French forces on the allied side allowed it a place at the table with the Big Four.

Usage

Usage of the veto can be split into two periods [1]:

- between 1946 and 1972, the most frequent user was the USSR

- since 1972, the most frequent user has been the USA.

Between the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of 2004, vetoes were exercised on 19 occasions. For that period, usage breaks down as follows:

- the United States used the veto on 13 occasions (11 regarding Israel, 1 Bosnia, 1 Panama)

- Russia used the veto on 3 occasions (2 regarding Cyprus, 1 Bosnia)

- The Republic of China (Taiwan) used the veto on 2 occasions (both regarding Mongolia)

and on one occasion, the USA, the UK, and France all used their vetoes (regarding Panama).

Analysis by country:

Russia (previously, the Soviet Union)

In the early days of the United Nations, the Soviet Union commissar and later minister for foreign affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, said no so many times that he was known as "Mr. Veto." In fact, the Soviet Union was responsible for nearly half of all vetoes ever cast--79 vetoes were used in the first ten years. Molotov regularly rejected bids for new membership because of the U.S. refusal to admit the Soviet republics. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians have used their veto power sparingly. (see Soviet Union and the United Nations).

United States

The USA first used the veto power in 1970, regarding a crisis in Rhodesia, and first issued a lone veto in 1972, to prevent a resolution censuring Israel. Since that time, it has become by far the most frequent user of the veto, mainly against resolutions criticising Israel (see Negroponte doctrine). This has been a constant cause of friction between the General Assembly and the Security Council (see United States and the United Nations).

China (ROC/PRC)

Between 1946 and 1971, the Chinese seat on the Security Council was occupied by the Republic of China (Taiwan) during which its representative used the veto only once (to block Mongolia's application for membership in 1955). This postponed the admission of Mongolia until 1960, when the Soviet Union announced that unless Mongolia was admitted, it would block the admission of all of the newly independent African states. Faced with this pressure, the ROC relented under protest.

After the Republic of China's expulsion from the United Nations in 1971, the first veto exercised by the present occupant, the People's Republic of China, was exercised in 25 August 1972 over Bangladesh's admission to the United Nations. As of 2004, the People's Republic of China has used their veto four times. (see China and the United Nations)

France

France uses its veto power sparingly. It used it in 1976 on the question of the Comoros independence, when the island of Mayotte was kept in French territory due to the vote of the local population. The greatest political dustup caused by a veto threat was when France threatened to veto a resolution on the Iraq war.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom used its veto power, along with France, to veto a resolution to resolve the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. They eventually withdrew after the U.S. called an emergency session under U.N. Resolution 377. The UK also used the veto unilaterally seven times because of Rhodesia.

Controversies

Stripping the veto power

As the political, economic, and military power of most of the original Security Council members has waned in recent decades, there has been talk about whether or not to disallow the veto power. It is also often alleged that veto power, particularly that of the United States, has undermined the strength and authority of the United Nations Security Council.

Expanding the permanent Council membership and giving new members veto power

Along with discussions of expanding the permanent Council membership has been the issue of whether or not to extend the veto power to the new permanent members. The current members appear amenable to expanding the Council membership, but more ambivalent about (or flat-out against) extending the veto power, arguing that doing so would paralyze the Security Council and make it ineffectual. On the other hand, members of the G4, consisting of India, Germany, Brazil and Japan argue that the present Security Council composition represents the world of 1945 rather than 2006. According to these countries, the Security Council must represent greater number of people otherwise the importance of Security Council might be lost and that the United Nations would have the same fate as that of the League of Nations. All four countries have launched a massive diplomatic effort to create a general consensus in their favour.

see also Reform of the United Nations

External articles

• Can You Bypass a U.N. Security Council Veto?
• Should we press for the abolition of the power of veto held by the permanent members of the Security Council?
• Security Council veto power usage : Fun facts to show and tell at your local coffee shop

Relevant Links

• Subjects of UN Security Council Vetoes
• U.N. Resolution 377 (Uniting for Peace resolution)

References

• This article incorporates text from other Wikipedia articles.