NEW YORK: Pakistan has urged the United Nations to tackle the issue of the veto power vested in the Security Council’s five permanent members, saying that it has prevented and hindered the implementation of Security Council resolutions.
Speaking in a debate at the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Munir Akram highlighted that the veto power has paralyzed the Council, and longstanding disputes like Kashmir and Palestine could not be resolved due to it.
The 2022 Assembly’s resolution, adopted by consensus, requires the General Assembly to automatically meet within ten days if any of the five permanent members use their veto right, holding them accountable for exercising this special voting power.
All five members have exercised the veto right at some point, with 44 vetoes alone since 2000.
Ambassador Akram stressed that the abolition or restraint on the misuse of the veto rights of the permanent members should be an integral part of the Security Council’s reform. Therefore, he opposed the creation of new permanent members on an expanded Security Council, saying that more permanent members and more veto powers would multiply the likelihood of paralysis and inaction in the Security Council.
Instead, he suggested a new category of members, not permanent members, with longer durations in terms and the possibility of getting re-elected.
General Assembly President Csaba Korosi said that the veto issue affects the whole UN, and the decisions taken in these halls or the lack of decisions reverberate worldwide, and vetoes should always remain the very last resort.
He urged ambassadors to ask tough questions and seek game-changing solutions, stressing that there is no wrong answer, only new ideas. He also expressed hope that Security Council members can unite and work for viable solutions, going beyond their immediate interests to act responsibly for the sake of peace across the world.
