Tensions between the United States and USSR were palpable during the United Nations Conference on International Organization. The year was 1945 and the UN was a newly established organization brought into fruition from the aftermath of World War 2. However, the battle between communism and capitalism persisted. With this backdrop, the establishment of the UN veto was debated. 

It was Article 27 (3) of the UN Charter, the institution of this provision would result in the 5 permanent members of the security council (UNSC) being given the power to veto decisions made by the whole body. These 5 countries are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It’s widely believed that this ability was proposed for 4 reasons: unity is essential for peace, protection of national interests, minority countries need to be protected, and prevention of rash decisions. Since implementing this, the aforementioned countries have utilized this power in order to uphold their national interests. One of the most prominent examples of this involves Russia when they vetoed any legislation regarding itself and Ukraine. Evidently, this aided, to some extent, their national interests without considering the involvement and predicaments of the other nations involved. Another example is the United States who has utilized their veto power on numerous occasions in order to protect Israel from decisions that would negatively affect the nation.

Since 1991 there have been 59 vetoes with most of them being concentrated in the Middle East. While France and the UK have not utilized their veto power since 1989, Russia, China, and the United States continue to abuse it in most cases. This misuse of the veto results in the UNSC being unable to take action on urgent conflicts. Last year, April 2024, representatives from Egypt pointed out that 6 vetoes resulted in “the Israeli war machine…continu[ing] to sow destruction as part of a genocide within the Gaza Strip”. The three nations who continue to abuse the veto power do it in order to advance their own national interests. This completely compromises the mission of the UNSC to safeguard international peace and ensure that human rights are met.

Thus, my conjecture is that the overuse of the veto results in inaction on the United Nations’ part. With the erasure of it in the UN charter, the UNSC would be able to swiftly pass beneficial decisions and promote prompt action during periods of urgency. However, as it stands now, the veto allows the 5 reigning UNSC countries to exploit their power whenever they wish and prevent tangible action from taking place, resulting in what I refer to as contemporary passivity.