The United Nations Security Council, the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, is a powerful institution that can resolve major global crises and set policy across all UN member states. But one of its most important – and controversial – tools is the veto, which grants permanent members (the “P5”) the power to block resolutions they disagree with.
A Resolution on Gaza
This resolution calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the occupied Palestinian territory and for Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza, in line with international law. It also requests the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The resolution mentions two prior Resolutions, 672 and 673, addressing the violence of October 1990 at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Israeli police against Palestinian demonstrators, who were armed only with stones.
In the aftermath of World War II, world leaders sought to establish an international body capable of resolving major global conflicts before they could escalate into major disasters. They established the United Nations, with a Security Council of five permanent and ten elected members to oversee its security mandate. But the United Nations is not without its weaknesses, particularly the lack of a strong enforcement mechanism. The veto, which allows permanent members to block the adoption of resolutions they disagree with, has proved an enormous obstacle to effective action.