America’s veto on Gaza ceasefire, why only these 5 countries have this power in the UN Security Council?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. While not binding, these proposals indicate a consensus among member states. America used its veto power in favor of Israel. Robert Wood, the US deputy representative to the UN, stressed that the proposal is a departure from reality. He said that unfortunately almost all our recommendations were ignored. That’s why they are using the veto. 153 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 10 voted against it and 23 countries abstained. Other votes at the United Nations have also noted the United States’ continued support for Israel. It vetoed a UN Security Council resolution. In such a situation, let us know why veto powers have been given to specific countries within the United Nations and why has that power been retained for more than 70 years?

What is veto power in the Security Council?

All member states of the United Nations are part of the General Assembly. This body can pass resolutions on relevant matters. Only a simple majority (of more than half the members) is required to pass its resolutions. However, the United Nations Security Council is a more exclusive club, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. These are the ‘permanent five’ or P5 countries, so called because the UNSC also has 10 additional members who are elected for two-year terms on the basis of UNGA elections. Furthermore, unlike the UNGA, UNSC resolutions are legally binding. Each of the P5 members has the power to veto one vote.

Why do only the permanent members of the Security Council have veto power?

The United Nations states that the creators of the UN Charter envisioned that the five countries… because of their leading roles in the founding of the United Nations, would continue to play an important role in the maintenance of international peace and security. After World War II ended in 1945, the P5 were among the winners against Germany, Italy and Japan. Among them, the US, Britain and the USSR (later to be replaced by Russia) were at the forefront of the war effort. When it came to creating an international organization to maintain international peace, they were willing to give themselves certain special rights.

Four policemen, US intelligence and more

Many meetings and conferences were held on the way to the formation of the United Nations. The Dumbarton Oaks Conference was held in Washington DC in 1944. It was attended by representatives of China, Great Britain, the USSR and the United States. Barring China, leaders of the other three countries also later met in Yalta on the Crimean peninsula to outline the framework for a UN-like body. In the 1994 article ‘FDR’s Five Policemen: The Creation of the United Nations’, international affairs scholar Stephen Schlesinger noted how FDR saw the United Nations as essential in the post-war world. The article’s title is taken from the ‘Four Policemen’, a term FDR often used in the early 1940s to claim that these countries should play an active role in global peacekeeping, given their relative strength. Will happen. Citing recently released secret US files, Schlesinger wrote that Pentagon operatives had spied on US allies ahead of the 1945 San Francisco conference that would see the establishment of the United Nations.

Why was the power of veto not amended in the United Nations?

Bosco states in his article that permanence and possession of veto power make a significant difference in status with elected members, even with those (e.g., Germany, India, and Japan) that are prominent in their own right. There are powers. India, among other countries, has often staked a claim for P5 membership, arguing that the current body is limited in terms of representation. However, these efforts have not yielded results primarily because they challenge the dominance of countries that have created and become entrenched in a system that ultimately works in their favor.