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In News
- The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto.
About
- Though the resolution was planned two years ago, the urgency was felt after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine recently.
- Liechtenstein is the primary sponsor of the resolution but later on France, Britain and Germany along with 100 more counties too joined as co-sponsors.
Need for resolution
- The objective of the resolution is to make the permanent members more accountable while exercising their right to veto a Security Council resolution.
- Right to veto is the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to veto or reject any “substantive” resolution.
- The Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations.
- Five permanent members of the Security Council are:
- U.S.A
- Russia
- China
- U.K
- France
- Resolution stresses on the responsibility of a permanent member to explain its decision to the General Assembly.
- Proponents of the resolution voiced that the veto has been abused by the veto-holders to further their interests in the international geopolitical arena and also to put their rivals in tight spots.
Trajectory of Veto
- So far more than 200 Security Council proposals have been vetoed.
- Proposals ranging from Korean War, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change, reporting on weapons stockpiles to governance of a part of the Indian Ocean nation Comoros.
- Soviet Russia (now Russia) has exercised the most vetoes so far, followed by the US.
Veto usage by permanent members
India’s stand
- India so far has not been a co-sponsor of the resolution. It has maintained a strategic autonomy so as to not fall in either camp.
- It’s one of the members of G-4 nations who have potential candidacy for permanent membership at the Security Council.
- G4 comprises Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
- Germany and Japan have joined the resolution as co-sponsors but Brazil and India have refrained.
Security Council Reforms
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Source: TH
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