Fakiha MAHMOOD

1310

Power Versus the Sovereign Equality of States: The Veto, the P-5 and United Nations Security Council Reforms

The United Nations Security Council is at the centre of the international security system. However, even after several decades the Council has had only minimal changes in its basic structure and composition, despite the fact that the international environment has changed considerably. The opportunity provided by the end of the Cold War to revitalise the Council was coupled by increasing number of voices calling for reform of this extraordinary organisation. But reform has proved to be a very difficult thing to accomplish in the case of the Security Council. This paper looks at the issue of Security Council reform from the prism of the right of veto and the perspectives of the permanent members. It argues that although the attitude of the P-5 is not favourable for reform, it is not the only stumbling block in its way. The lack of consensus among the rest of the world has also a role in prolonging this issue over decades
Keywords:

International security, P-5, reform, Security Council, veto United Nations.,

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  • Dimitris Bourantonis, The History and Politics of UN Security Council Reform, New York, Routledge, 2005, pp. 13-15. 6 Ibid., p. 19.
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  • The name of the group comes from the number of the draft resolution, A/61/L.69, these countries presented in the General Assembly which culminated in the shifting of the issue of Security Council reform from the open-ended working group to the intergovernmental negotiations. L stands for limited distribution and 69 is the number allocated to this document by the conference services.
  • Since the beginning of the issue of Security Council reform in the post-Cold War era, the focus of negotiations concerning reform was the open-ended working on the question of equitable representation on and increase in membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council (known as the Working Group) which was meant to provide an official forum for the discussions pertaining to the Security Council reform. However, in 2007 the issue was shifted to Intergovernmental Negotiations upon the request of General Assembly draft resolution A/61/L.69.
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  • Cox, “United Nations Security Council Reform”, p. 94. 46 Ibid.
  • Gasimova, “The Security Council’s Endless Enlargement Debate”, p. 275.
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  • Alexander Nikitin, “Russia as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council”, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung International Policy Analysis, November 2012, p. 14.
  • Ibid., pp. 11-12. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid., p. 14.
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PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs-Cover
  • ISSN: 1300-8641
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
  • Başlangıç: 1996
  • Yayıncı: T.C Dışişleri Bakanlığı
Arşiv
Sayıdaki Diğer Makaleler

Lic. Ariel GONZÁLEZ LEVAGGI

Evren Çelik WILTSE

Talha KÖSE

Okşan BAYÜLGEN

Course LEADER

Paul Simon ADAMS

Burhanettin DURAN, Nuh YILMAZ

Fakiha MAHMOOD

Berivan AKIN

Pınar İPEK