The green, red and yellow buttons at the desks of delegates at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and related conferences indicate only some of the options available when resolutions are put to vote. Over the years, the voting options have gone beyond ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Abstention’. It is possible to be ‘present and not participating’ or ‘absent at the time of the vote’. This makes it possible for member states to nuance their positions to suit their needs. The history of the UN shows that innovative use has been made by member states on several occasions. Some diplomats have often used these provisions to diverge slightly from their instructions to do a favour to some friendly delegations.
Voting system
The voting system in the UN Security Council is rigid. Every vote counts because the resolutions adopted by the Security Council are mandatory for all members of the UN. The resolutions adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, ‘Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression’, are even more significant as they involve even war, as it happened in the case of Iraq.
