The aim of the article is to propose some considerations on the efficiency of the actions of the United Nations Organization particularly also in view of the current warn-torn international panorama.
Overview on UN actions and tools to maintain peace
UNO has always operated with the goal of maintaining international peace and security. This objective is accomplished through conflict prevention and resolution, negotiation processes and deployment of peacekeepers. Preventive diplomacy, Peacekeeping Operations and Peace-building actions take place in the moments of beginning, development and conclusion of the conflicts and are chosen or combined to create the right conditions in which peace can settle and flourish.
Peacekeeping operations and the interest of the members of SC
Peacekeeping Operations facilitate political processes, protect civilians, assist in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants (UNO, 2022). They get their mandates from the Security Council (SC) that determines the existence of a threat to an act of aggression, and takes enforcement measures (which range from economic sanctions to international military action) to restore international peace and security (UNO, 2022). The SC is composed of ten elected members[1] and five permanent members who were the second World War's principal victors, all of whom are now nuclear-armed states: China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation (UNO, 2022). The permanent members of the SC have the veto power (UNO, 2022), therefore in case of a negative vote, the draft resolution would not be approved.
Moving from this consideration, the influence of UN actions is extremely connected to the will of the permanent members: as long as the peacekeeping operations can be considered as the only tool of direct intervention in an ongoing conflict provided by an international organization, the will of the permanent members is crucial in deciding whether or not actions are taken. This is due to the lack of political constraint of UN general resolutions that in fact provide guides to the Countries, the influences of the States and the combinations of the members.
The influence of the permanent members
Even if the delegates of each State serve a "super partes" role, they are influenced from the political and economical orientations of the State they represent and they influence each other. Indeed it is relevant which of the States are present in the SC while a specific decision is taken. Event though the elected members are related to the belonging to a region of the world, Africa, Middle East, South America and Oceania have practically a different representation inside the SC. Indeed the permanent members are the three super powers of China, USA and Russian Federation to which it is added a representation of EU (through the presence of France and UK). The economic weight of Middle East States such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates does not flow into the same influence on the decisions of the SC. The same consideration can be done for the emerging powers of India and African States which too are not included in the permanent members. Furthermore, adding the presence of two of the members of the EU (in which Germany, one of the most economically influent States, is not included) does not guarantee a balance in the delegation. There are some remedies that can be proposed such as expanding the security council and its permanent membership, or re-regulate the use of the veto (The Guardian, 2015) in order to balance the representation and does not allow arbitrary decision of one single permanent member to fail the resolution.
UN and the ongoing war in Ukraine
UN’s international court of justice (ICJ) claims that Russia has to halt its invasion of Ukraine in power of the lack of evidence to support the Kremlin’s justification for the war (The Guardian, 2022). The General Assembly voted a Resolution[1] that deplores the aggression against Ukraine in violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter, condemns all violations and abuses of human rights and demands the Russian Federation to withdraw all the military forces and respect international humanitarian law (UNO, A/ES-11/L.1, 2014). The efficiency of this resolution can be defined as mainly symbolic and influential only in the geopolitical formal debate.
However, the draft resolution proposed by the SC, was not adopted owing to the negative vote of 1 permanent member: the Russian Federation. This was the first attempt of a direct intervention on the current situation; the resolution had the aim of supporting the de-escalation of the current situation brought the efforts of the United Nations to respond to the humanitarian and refugee crisis that the Russian Federation’s aggression has created (UNO, S/2014/136, 2014).
Conclusions
Antagonisms have brought to paralysis when it comes to major crises. To go overcome this issue and provide more efficient methods of interventions in critical situations such as the conflict mentioned, in international law has to be prioritized. The lack of balance inside the SC and the huge power of the permanent members could be considered as matters subject of discussion and possibly change.
Bibliography
The Guardian. (2015, September 23). Retrieved March 16, 2022 from theguardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/sep/23/un-security-council-failing-70-years
The Guardian. (2022, March 16). Retrieved March 17, 2022 from theguardian.com: theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/un-international-court-of-justice-orders-russia-to-halt-invasion-of-ukraine
UNO. (2014). A/ES-11/L.1. New York: Security Council of UNO.
UNO. (2014). S/2014/136. New York: Sicurity Council of UNO.
UNO. (2014). S/2014/136. New York: Sicurity Counsil of UNO.
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