Nations uniting in shifting alliances
Questions
about the United
Nations’ role as an international
organisation have pervaded
since its inception. UN reform is a regular agenda item, and meaningful
outcomes occur
at a glacial pace. Yet the UN endures, with 2025 marking the 80th anniversary of the UN
Charter.
The UN Charter is an international treaty that is binding on
all 193 member
states. Article
1 proclaims the UN’s purpose is to maintain international peace and
security, develop friendly relations among nations and ensure international
cooperation and harmonisation.
The UN
Security Council (UNSC) has primary
responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, including
authorising the use of force, imposing sanctions and establishing peace
operations. In practice, the veto power of the Permanent 5 (P5) members (China,
France, Russia, UK and US) can be an obstacle to ensuring international peace
and security. The current geopolitical environment and major power competition
is challenging
the UNSC as it struggles
to uphold its obligations under the UN Charter.
UN reform
Efforts to
reform the UNSC, including initiatives
to modify the veto power of P5 members, are often stymied. Nonetheless, on 26
April 2022 the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution establishing
a new mechanism each time a veto is cast (known as the ‘veto initiative’). The president
of the UNGA calls a formal meeting of member states to debate and vote on the
disputed issue. The other method for debating disputed issues, the Uniting for Peace resolution,
was adopted by the UNGA in 1950. Under this resolution, matters deadlocked in
the UNSC can be referred to, or invoked by, the UNGA for debate and vote. This occurred
when Russia vetoed a draft resolution on Ukraine on 25 February 2022. The UNSC referred the matter to
the UNGA and on 2 March 2022
the resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favour, 35 abstentions and 5
against. While UNSC resolutions are legally binding on all
UN member states, UNGA resolutions are not.
UN Security Council resolutions
Not all draft resolutions make it to a vote. Political
disagreements, lengthy negotiations and a lack of support from P5 members can
lead to some
drafts being abandoned. The process involves extensive
consultation, which aims to produce a draft that will be adopted either
unanimously or by a majority (9 votes).
The table below shows an increase in the number of
vetoes and a decrease
in the number of resolutions adopted by the UNSC over the last 5 years.
Table 1 UN Security Council resolutions and
vetoes since 2020
Sources: Dag Hammarskjöld Library, ‘UN Security Council
Meetings & Outcomes Tables: Vetoes’, UN website; UN Digital Library, ‘Voting
Data’, UN website.
Note: the COVID-19 pandemic impacted
UNSC practices from 2020 to 2022. The number of resolutions adopted by the
UNSC in 2020 account for a shorter period of activity (March to December) and
adjustment to temporary COVID-19 safety practices.
The Security
Council Report recently highlighted a decline in the number of non-unanimous
resolutions adopted, as well as presidential
statements. Additionally, the UNSC held fewer meetings in the first half of
2025, particularly on ‘The situation in the Middle East, including the
Palestinian question’.
UN challenges
Regardless of minor reforms,
the UN system continues to be challenged. So far this year the UNSC has not adopted any significant
resolutions on 2 major conflicts: Gaza and Ukraine (the 24 February 2025 resolution on Ukraine contained one sentence urging a swift end
to the conflict). The June 2025 Israeli conflict with Iran and US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities
did not
illicit a decisive response from the UNSC.
On
4 June 2025 the US issued the
first veto for 2025 against a draft resolution on Gaza. Since the introduction of the ‘veto initiative’, the UNSC
submits a special report to the UNGA
about each vetoed draft resolution,
which is usually debated and voted on by the UNGA, sometimes with
additional statements adopted. This was the case when the US vetoed Gaza resolutions on 20 November 2024 and
4 June 2025.
The
June UNGA vote on a vetoed Gaza
resolution was supported by 149 member states, 19 abstentions
and 12 against. Of the 12 negative votes, 7 were Pacific Island nations.
Recent changes in negotiating
positions and voting patterns within the UN system suggest some major political
shifts. For example:
The Security Council Report notes shifts in UN voting patterns that suggest the
‘Global South countries’ are reluctant to pick a side in the Ukraine conflict, while
votes on Gaza show much less support for US and Israeli positions. The report predicts the ‘shifting global landscape and continuing political polarisation
among permanent members are expected to continue to shape’ UNSC dynamics in
2026.
Similarly, recent UNGA voting
patterns suggest new alliances are emerging. With significant shifts in votes
on Ukraine and the Gaza situation, the instability of the geopolitical landscape is on display at the UN.
The
upcoming UN General
Assembly High-level Week (22–30 September 2025) is likely to reveal further shifts in political positions and
divisions among the broader UN membership, particularly on the question of
Palestinian Statehood. Australia
recently shifted its position
on Occupied Palestinian Territory resolutions in the UNGA, from voting
against or abstaining to voting
in favour, and announced
on 21 September 2025 formal recognition of the State of Palestine.