United Nations Security Council veto power

7 min readApr 30, 2021

The United Nations Security Council “Veto power” refers to the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) to veto any “substantive” resolution. However, a permanent member’s abstention or absence does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.[1] This veto power does not apply to “procedural” votes, as determined by the permanent members themselves. A permanent member can also block the selection of a Secretary-General, although a formal veto is unnecessary since the vote is taken behind closed doors.

The veto power is controversial. Supporters regard it as a promoter of international stability,[2] a check against military interventions,[3] and a critical safeguard against US domination.[4] Critics say that the veto is the most undemocratic element of the UN,[5] as well as the main cause of inaction on war crimes and crimes against humanity, as it effectively prevents UN action against the permanent members and their allies.[6]

UN Charter[edit]

The veto power originates in Article 27 of the United Nations Charter, which states:

Each member of the Security Council shall have a vote.
Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.
Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.[7]

A negative vote from any of the permanent members will block the adoption of a draft resolution. However, a permanent member that abstains or is absent from the vote will not block a resolution from being passed.[1]

Although the “power of veto” is not mentioned by name in the UN Charter, Article 27 requires concurring votes from the permanent members. For this reason, the “power of veto” is also referred to as the principle of “great power unanimity” and the veto itself is sometimes referred to as the “great power veto”.[8]

Origins[edit]

The idea of a veto over the actions of international organisations was not new in 1945. In the League of Nations, every member of the League Council had a veto on any non-procedural issue.[9] At the foundation of the League, there were 4 permanent and 4 non-permanent members. The League Council had expanded by 1936 to have 4 permanent and 11 non-permanent members, which meant that there were 15 countries with veto power. The existence of such a large number of vetoes made it very difficult for the League to agree on many issues.

The veto was the result of extensive discussion during the negotiations for the formation of the United Nations at Dumbarton Oaks (August–October 1944) and Yalta (February 1945).[10] The evidence is that the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and China all favored the principle of unanimity, not only out of desire for the major powers to act together, but also to protect their own sovereign rights and national interests.[11] Harry S. Truman, who became President of the United States in April 1945, wrote: “All our experts, civil and military, favored it, and without such a veto no arrangement would have passed the Senate.”[12]

At San Francisco, the Big Five made it clear that there would be no United Nations if they weren’t given the veto. Francis O. Wilcox, an adviser to the US delegation, described the dramatic negotiations: “At San Francisco, the issue was made crystal clear by the leaders of the Big Five: it was either the Charter with the veto or no Charter at all. Senator Connally [from the US delegation] dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same if they opposed the unanimity principle. “You may, if you wish,” he said, “go home from this Conference and say that you have defeated the veto. But what will be your answer when you are asked: ‘Where is the Charter’?”[5]

Usage[edit]

History[edit]

Number of resolutions vetoed by each of the five permanent members of the Security Council from 1946 until present.[13]v • t • e

The usage of the veto has gone through several distinct phases, reflecting the shifting political balance on the Security Council. From 1946 to 1969, a majority of the Security Council was aligned with the United States, which cast no vetoes because it won every vote. To block resolutions from the Western majority, the Soviet Union cast 93% of all the vetoes. France and the United Kingdom occasionally used the veto to protect their colonial interests, and the Republic of China only used the veto once.

The Western majority eroded through the 1960s as decolonization expanded the membership of the United Nations. The newly independent countries of the Third World frequently voted against the Western powers, which led the United States to resort to the veto.[14] After the first United States veto in 1970, the Soviet ambassador declared, “Using your automatic majority you imposed your will on others and forced it down their throats. But times have now changed.”[15]:118 From 1970 to 1991, The United States cast 56% of the vetoes, sometimes joined by French and British vetoes. The Soviet Union cast fewer vetoes than any of the Western powers, and the People’s Republic of China used the veto only once.

After the end of the Cold War, there was a brief period of harmony on the Security Council. The period from 31 May 1990 to 11 May 1993 was the longest period in the history of the UN without the use of the veto. The number of resolutions passed each year also increased.[16] Usage of the veto picked up in the early 21st century, most notably due to the Syrian Civil War. Since 1992, Russia has been the most frequent user of the veto, followed by the United States and China. France and the United Kingdom have not used the veto since 1989.

As of July 2020, Russia/USSR has used its veto 116 times, United States 81 times, UK 29 times, France 16 times and China 16 times.[17]

Subjects[edit]

Secretary-General selection[edit]

Main article: United Nations Secretary-General selection

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Therefore, the veto power can be used to block the selection of a Secretary-General.[18] Since 1981, the Security Council has selected the Secretary-General through series of straw polls. A vote by a permanent member to “discourage” a candidate is considered equivalent to a veto. The formal recommendation of a Secretary-General is approved unanimously by acclamation. Although the identity of the vetoing permanent member is usually known, the veto does not go on the record as a formal veto of a Security Council Resolution.

Every permanent member has vetoed at least one candidate for Secretary-General. The United States circumvented a Soviet veto in 1950 by asking the General Assembly to extend Trygve Lie’s term without a recommendation from the Security Council.[19] However, every Secretary-General since 1953 has been recommended by a unanimous vote of the permanent members of the Security Council.

Analysis by country[edit]

China (ROC/PRC)[edit]

Between 1946 and 1971, the Chinese seat on the Security Council was held by the Republic of China, whose Nationalist government lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and evacuated to Taiwan. During that time, its representative used the veto only once to block Mongolia’s application for membership in 1955, because the ROC considered the entirety of Mongolia to be part of China. This postponed the admission of Mongolia until 1961, when the Soviet Union announced that it would block all further admissions of new members unless Mongolia were admitted. Faced with this pressure, the Republic of China relented under protest.

In 1971, the Republic of China was expelled from the United Nations, and the Chinese seat was transferred to the People’s Republic of China. China first used the veto on 25 August 1972 to block Bangladesh’s admission to the United Nations. From 1971 to 2011, China used its veto sparingly, preferring to abstain rather than veto resolutions not directly related to Chinese interests.[20] China turned abstention into an “art form,” abstaining on 30% of Security Council Resolutions between 1971 and 1976.[15]:140 Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, China has joined Russia in many double-vetoes. China has not cast a lone veto since 1999.

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