The UN General Assembly is considering introducing a provision that would require permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of veto powers. Currently, the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US – can veto any resolutions put forth by the body. The council’s other 10 rotating members do not have such powers.
The provision was tabled by Liechtenstein last week and presented at a closed-door discussion panel on Tuesday. The discussion turned out to be quite “positive” and the initiative received additional co-sponsors, the mission of the microstate to the UN said after the meeting.
“We had a strong turnout and positive engagement on the Veto Initiative in open format this afternoon. We will continue our work to get the strongest possible political support for our text which now has 57 cosponsors,” it stated.
If adopted, the initiative would mandate convening the UN General Assembly within 10 days after a permanent member of the UNSC uses their veto power. At the meeting, the state would have to justify its decision to use the veto. According to Liechtenstein, adopting the provision would “empower the General Assembly and strengthen multilateralism.”