UN May Limit Veto Power of Security Council

On Tuesday, the UN agreed to redefine the Security Council veto power, which is in the hands of the body's permanent members, such as the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France.

As per the consensus adopted yesterday, a General Assembly special session is to be convened every time one of the five stronger military states, of the Security Council uses its veto power.

The decision comes after last week's Security Council meeting in which Liechtenstein introduce a proposal requiring the five UNSC members to justify their use of the veto.

Liechtenstein's initiative was supported by more than 50 UN members, including the United States, which resorted to veto on 60 out of the 82 total cases in history.

According to the new rule, the global powers will be required to justify their use of the veto.

The new rule will also allow the UNGA to be convened within 10 working days after a veto in order to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast.

Linchestein's mission said, “Together, we have let the world know that a veto will no longer be the final word on peace and security."

The measure will “create a new procedure,” the mission noted.

It's worth mentioning that the most recent case of a veto came from Russia barring the UN Security Council from condemning its own military deployment in Ukraine.