The day after Russian troops crossed the border to begin their invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Security Council drafted a resolution condemning the invasion and calling on Russia to withdraw unconditionally. What happened next was predictable enough: Russia vetoed the resolution.
As one of five permanent members of the Security Council (P5), Russia has veto powers over any resolution put to the UN. While the UN Charter charges the Security Council with primary responsibility for international peace and security, any action requires the affirmative vote of the P5. A negative vote is, in effect, a veto.
The “veto problem” has plagued the UN since its inception and efforts have been made over the years to reform this. One or another of the P5 – the US, Russia, China, the UK and France – has always stymied those efforts in the past. But now, thanks to some imaginative thinking by the UN General Assembly, there is at least some progress in this area.
