Highlight 17/2022 – Could the Russo-Ukrainian war be the catalyst for the reform of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization?

Cyril Yemofio, 4 April 2022

Wars have repeatedly changed the course of human history, opening pathways into the future and closing others. Margaret McMillan, a war historian, asks the following question: do changes in society bring new types of war or does war drive change in society? Well, this is an age-old question that leaves us with different answers depending on the perspective we look at it from. But before delving into the Russo-Ukrainian war, it is important to look at both world wars of 1914 and 1938 respectively and how they shaped the society we live in today.

The League of Nations was founded two years after the end of the first world war at the Paris Peace Conference of 1920. The goal of this covenant was to prevent collective wars, disarm warring states and provide a platform for negotiations and arbitration between states. Though the idea behind the creation of the League of Nations was commendable in the efforts of pushing for world peace and respecting the rights of human beings, there were still many holes that led to the eventual demise of the organization. Growing tensions between states, the rise of populist ideas i.e., Adolf Hitler, a lack of representation and inclusion of many states because of colonial ties were among the reasons for the collapse.

The consequent war which followed hailed as the war to end all wars in 1938, saw the rise of Nazism and a large-scale operation by the axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) to gain control and dominance on a global level. This in effect, created alliances between France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States of America, and to some extent China. All of whom had been either invaded or targeted by the Axis powers. The failed efforts of the axis powers to take military and political control on a global level was halted through a coordinated effort by the allied states. The consequence of this victory against the Axis powers was the creation of the United Nations Organization. An organization whose main objective was to again maintain international peace and security just like its predecessor, the League of Nations.

This time around, a new organ was formed, the Security Council, with the sole objective of maintaining security and peace, combining all the allied states from the Second World War to create the five permanent positions with veto power along with ten non-permanent positions (rotations). The Security Council is the sole organ of the United Nations with the power to make binding decisions.

Over the years, there have been calls for reformation of the Security Council, the main argument being that the Council does not reflect the world we live in now and member states with veto power have an unfair advantage in sensitive security matters that often arise at the Council. A clear example of the use of such power was when the United States, in 2003 declared war on Iraq even though the Council strongly objected to it. Almost 20 years on, the invasion of Russia in Ukraine proves its lack of efficiency: Russia vetoed a resolution calling for de-escalation in Ukraine.

The ongoing war has brought fresh scepticism to the Security Council and the United Nations Organization as a whole. Some called for the elimination of the permanent 5 positions and their veto power and others called for a complete restructuring with all member states being equal. How and in which form is still to be answered. Nonetheless, this war has shown us that there are gaps that need to be addressed within the organization and with all the historical proof given, this war may just be the catalyst that could change and shape how the Security Council, the United Nations Organization and multilateralism as a whole are looked at.

Cyril Yemofio, Highlight 17/2022 – Could the Russo-Ukrainian war be the catalyst for reform at the Security Council of the United Nations Organization?, 4 April 2022, available at www.meig.ch

The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the author and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva.

References

McMillan, Margaret, 2021, War: How conflict shaped us, Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks

https://archives.ungeneva.org/brochure-league-of-nations-union-projet-de-mandat

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1112802

United Nations Oral History Project Interview Transcripts and Tapes (MS 1703). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/archival_objects/1256710 Accessed March 28, 2022.