The Russian Federation’s footprint in the United Nations: the right of «veto»

Abstract

The article examines some aspects of the problems of reforming the United Nations, which is the largest international organization in the world, established after the end of World War II to maintain peace, develop friendly relations and intergovernmental cooperation among member states. The study focuses on the activities of the UN Security Council, which is one of the key organs of the international organization, as it performs the main function of the UN - ensuring international security. A significant feature of this body is that it is empowered to make decisions which are binding on all countries that are members of the organization. It is emphasized that the veto right of permanent member states should act as a stabilizer ensuring the collegial nature of the UN Security Council's activities and adoption of important decisions in the field of international security. It is pointed out that the veto power in the UN Security Council is provided for to avoid counteracting the interests of the founding members of the Organization, but given the global expansion of the United Nations in the second half of the twentieth century, it seems obvious that such a right may impede the achievement of justice and equality of member States. The attention is focused on the inadmissibility of using the veto power not in the interests of maintaining peace and security, but on the basis of the member states' own interests.