Which body of the united nations gives some members the ability to veto resolutions?
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Established under Chapter V of the UN Charter, the Security Council is the UN organ responsible for making decisions on issues concerning the maintenance of international peace and security, through a system of resolutions and votes. Show
Functions and PowersThe Security Council exists “in order to ensure prompt and effective action by the UN.” The Member States have entrusted it with the “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” (Art. 24.1). To carry out its mandate, the Council may intervene in several different ways, as defined in Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XII of the Charter. Chapter VI: Pacific Settlement of DisputesThe Council acts as political mediator between States to help find peaceful solutions to disputes. A situation may be brought before the Council by a State involved in the dispute or by any other State, or the Council may decide on its own to examine a situation (Arts. 33–35, 37). It can then make recommendations and suggest appropriate procedures. It may also carry out investigations. In practice, most peacekeeping operations have been set up as a result of decisions taken under this Chapter. These operations are carried out with the agreement of the parties to the conflict, and their aim is to guarantee the compliance with a cease-fire or other types of accord reached by the parties. Such operations may be implemented by sending in observers, by positioning peacekeeping forces, or through other methods to monitor the agreement in question. These are all acts, therefore, that are carried out with the consent of the States involved. The Security Council has the power—quite considerable from a legal standpoint—to qualify an act or determine its existence (Art. 39 of the UN Charter). There is no precise definition of a breach or threat to international peace and security, and the Council alone determines whether a given act constitutes such a threat or violation. The Council also determines whether an effort to achieve a pacific settlement of disputes has succeeded or failed and whether a threat to the international public order exists. It can then enact the necessary measures to end the crisis or threat, which may or may not involve the use of force. The Security Council and the International Criminal Court (ICC) The Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and—once defined—aggression, preserves the Council’s prerogatives in situations reflecting a threat to, or breach of, the peace. The ICC also provides the Council with a new instrument of judicial pressure that can be applied to States in dealing with crises. The ICC statute includes a provision allowing the Council to suspend a prosecution or investigation undertaken by the Court for a renewable period of twelve months (Art. 16 of the ICC Statute). The Security Council can also refer a case to the prosecutor under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, thereby making compliance with the ICC binding on States. Hence, it can impose ICC jurisdiction on States that may not have ratified the ICC Statute (Art. 13 of the ICC Statute). Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of AggressionIn cases that fall under the Council’s Chapter VII mandate, the Council disposes of increased powers. The decisions it takes in these situations are mandatory and binding on all Member States of the UN, including those involved in the conflict, and do not need any agreement on their part. The Council can choose different measures to maintain or enforce peace and security:
Chapter VII allows the Security Council to subject some States to the jurisdiction of an international tribunal responsible for prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed on the State’s territory. For example, two ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals were created to prosecute crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In 2005, the Security Council referred the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for crimes committed in Darfur. In February 2011, the United Nations Security Council also referred the situation in Libya since 15 February 2011 to the ICC prosecutor. This referral has given the ICC jurisdiction over States that were not party to the Rome Statute.
In the case of armed intervention, the UN Charter includes a provision whereby the Council’s plan for the use of force would be implemented with the assistance of a Military Staff Committee (Art. 47); however, this Committee has never been functional. Chapter VIII: Regional ArrangementsThe Security Council encourages the pacific settlement of local disputes to be undertaken through regional agreements or agencies, provided that their goals and activities are “consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations” (Art. 52). The Council can therefore utilize regional arrangements to enforce decisions it has taken relating to the maintenance or restoration of peace (Art. 53). In this manner, several peacekeeping operations have been “subcontracted” by the UN to regional organizations such as the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in former Yugoslavia, the Organization of African Unity (OAU—now called the African Union) in Liberia and Sudan, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Chechnya. The Security Council takes on the legal responsibility for the way force is used (Art. 47.3 of the UN Charter). Any claims or complaints concerning failure to respect humanitarian law in implementing embargoes or in the use of international forces must be submitted to the Council. In cases in which peacekeeping activities are delegated to regional organizations (e.g., NATO, OSCE, OAU, WEU), those entities take on the legal responsibility for the use of force. However, the Council remains responsible and therefore retains authority over these actions (Arts. 53, 54). Chapter XII, which concerns the International Trusteeship System for non-autonomous territories, has fallen into disuse. Finally, the Council is also theoretically responsible for establishing a system to regulate armaments. Which United Nations body can veto?The United Nations Security Council veto power is the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to veto any "substantive" resolution.
Who has the ability to veto resolutions?The power of the President to refuse to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevent its enactment into law is the veto. The president has ten days (excluding Sundays) to sign a bill passed by Congress.
How can one country veto a UN resolution?The Right to Veto
It was agreed by the drafters that if any one of the five permanent members cast a negative vote in the 15-member Security Council, the resolution or decision would not be approved. All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another.
What body within the United Nations allows for the enforcement of UN resolutions?Security Council
It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.
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