UN Security Council Veto Power
From Freepedia
The veto power is a power wielded solely by the 5 permanent members of the UN security council. It gives them the power to void any Security Council resolution, no matter what the supporting majority. This power is exercised when any permanent member enters a "nay" vote. (An abstention vote will allow the measure to pass).
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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
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." The Soviet Union was responsible for nearly half of all vetoes ever cast. 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 U.S. uses its veto power mainly against resolutions they see as anti-Israeli. This has been a constant cause of friction between the General Assembly and the Security Council which has a record of veto'd resolutions on this subject caused by US application of its veto in what critics have claimed is a partisan way (see United States and the United Nations).
China/Taiwan
China uses its veto sparingly. Most notably, in 1955, the ROC (Taiwan) representative cast the only Security Council veto blocking the admission of the People's Republic of Mongolia to the United Nations on the grounds that all of Mongolia was part of China. 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. (see China and the United Nations)
France
France uses its veto power sparingly. It used it in 1976 on the question of the Comoros independance, 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.
Britain
Britain 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.
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 (or flat-out against) about extending the veto power, arguing that doing so would paralyze the Security Council and make it ineffectual. On the other hand, members of the G-4, consisting of India, Germany, Brazil and Japan argue that the present Security Council composition represents the world of 1945 rather than 2005. 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 the 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
- Official UN Security Council Veto section
- U.N. Resolution 377 (Uniting for Peace resolution)
References
- This article incorporates text from other Wikipedia articles.
