Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea has presented before the
60th Munich Security Conference, in Germany,
the United Nations Majority of Three Initiative (UNM3 Initiative), through which a resolution can only be blocked if three or more members exercise veto power at the UN Security Council. You can read more about the Peruvian proposal here.
Context
Given the failure of the League of Nations and following the Second World War, the United Nations was created with the purpose of maintaining international peace and security, as well as promoting relations of friendship and cooperation among States, with the hope of avoiding new conflagrations.
Thus, the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was established as a manifestation of the moral and legal obligation to prevent and peacefully resolve conflicts, through the promotion of universal ethical principles based on the sovereign equality of States.
In order to ensure the future desired by all, the Charter of San Francisco included the right of veto granted by the international community to the powers at the time.
Veto
Veto power granted to five permanent members of the Security Council was understood as an exceptional condition including the same purpose pursued with the creation of the United Nations.
However, the use of this privileged tool, apparently a guarantee, has repeatedly shown an orientation that has hindered global international action to stop conflicts and humanitarian abuses, thereby moving away from the purposes of the organization.
From a historical perspective, there are numerous examples of the Security Council's resolution limitations. For decades, the sources of conflict have gone beyond the interstate sphere, proliferating new threats to international peace and security that create and promote a disruptive scenario in which violent struggles of different kinds increase, such as internal armed confrontations, ethnic conflicts, transnational organized crime, and terrorist threats.
Peruvian proposal
The reasons that supported the original conception of the veto power in practice have become the "Majority of One."
Given this reality and taking into account the multiple group proposals made since 1979, it is essential to opt for a new dimension for the use of said tool. Peru proposes the United Nations Majority of Three Initiative (UNM3 Initiative).
The "Majority of Three" would apply to the functions and powers that the Security Council has under Article 24 of the United Nations Charter.
In this context, a resolution could only be blocked if three or more permanent members exercise veto power. In addition, whoever exercises veto power must be required to justify the use of this privileged tool publicly, thus increasing the transparency of decisions and the responsible use of this prerogative.
In short, this initiative is committed to the effectiveness of the functioning of the Security Council by demanding more comprehensive and coherent action with the San Francisco Charter, providing greater confidence in the decisions of said Council.
(END) NDP/JCC/RMB
Publicado: 18/2/2024