Mission: Impossible? Reforming the UN Charter to Limit the Veto

Abstract

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again brought the question of the limits of the veto by the P5 in the UN Security Council into the spotlight. This short piece examines the possibility of the veto power of the P5 being restricted and the possibility of reform of the UN Charter to restrict or abolish the veto. After concluding that the drafting of the Charter makes these approaches unworkable it then considers the possibility of the UN being reformed under a new Charter that has a more equitable Security Council – concluding that such an approach is functionally impossible.