UNGA to vote on resolution to defend veto

The 193 members of the UN General Assembly are to vote on a resolution that would require the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto in the future.

Discussions of veto reform are rare and controversial, but have been revived by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

An ambassador from a country that does not have the veto rights said that the measure would make the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom pay a higher political price when they use their veto to strike down a Security Council resolution.

It is not yet clear if the reform would push the five permanent members to use the veto less, or if it would create more vetoes as permanent members propose controversial texts that they know their rivals will want to veto, and force them to justify their position publicly.

The measure was proposed more than two years ago, and it allows for the General Assembly to convene within 10 working days after a permanent member uses a veto to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast, according to the text.

Around sixty countries have joined the United States in co-sponsoring the reform, including the United States, a rally of support that caused widespread surprise at the UN.

Britain and France will vote for the reform, even though they abstained from co-sponsoring it.

Neither China nor Russia were among the sponsors of the text. A diplomat from one of the two countries who asked not to be named criticized the move, saying it will divide the UN even further.

The measure will create a new procedure, according to Liechtenstein's ambassador Christian Wenaweser, who insists that the proposal is not against anyone. He said that it was not directed against Russia despite the fact that the proposal was on ice for more than two years and that the Security Council has proved incapable of condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to Moscow's veto power.

Russia has abused its right of veto for two decades and the proposed text is intended to remedy this, according to the United States' perspective.

Wenaweser said the text aimed to promote the role of the United Nations, to promote multilateralism and to promote the voice of all of us who are not on the Security Council on matters of international peace and security. The text is non-binding and nothing prevents a country that has used its veto from refusing to explain its actions to the General Assembly.

One ambassador said that the application will shed light on the use of the veto right and the blockade of the Security Council.

The Security Council has five permanent members, but it also has 10 members elected for two years, without the right of veto.

Among the co-sponsors of the resolution are - in addition to Ukraine - both Japan and Germany, who are hoping to become permanent members of a potentially enlarged Security Council.

But neither Brazil nor India, two other potential candidates for a permanent position on the Council, are on the list of co-sponsors obtained by the AFP.