International Relations GS 2 In the news 3 times

United Nations Security Council

Structure, Veto Power, and Reform Debate

The UNSC is the UN's primary organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security, with the power to adopt binding resolutions. However, the P5 veto has increasingly paralysed the Council on major conflicts, fuelling calls for structural reform from countries like India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan (the G4 grouping).

Key details

UNSC composition: 5 permanent members (P5: US, UK, France, Russia, China) with veto power + 10 non-permanent members elected for 2-year terms by the General Assembly.
The veto power (Article 27 of the UN Charter) allows any P5 member to block any substantive resolution — it has been used over 300 times since 1945.
Russia and China have used the veto to block resolutions on Syria (16+ times since 2011) and the US has used it to block resolutions critical of Israel (over 50 times).
Reform proposals:
G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan): Seek permanent seats with veto power.
Uniting for Consensus (led by Italy, includes Pakistan, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina): Oppose new permanent seats; propose semi-permanent seats with longer terms.
African Union (Ezulwini Consensus, 2005): Demand two permanent seats with veto power for Africa.
India's UNSC bid: Supported by the US (permanent membership), France, UK, and Russia; opposed by China (which blocks Japan's bid) and Pakistan (which opposes India's bid).
India has served as a non-permanent UNSC member eight times, most recently in 2021-22.