By: Kasper Sturtz

The failure of SC/2, which would have seen the State of Palestine become an official Member State of the United Nations (UN), had it not been vetoed by the United States, was felt throughout the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). 

Immediately following the announcement, Representatives Izzy Sunby and Claire Czajkowski of Slovenia stood from their seats and gave an impassioned speech regarding this decision: “93 percent voted yes or abstained on the vote in the General Assembly. This is not the failure of us, as countries. This is not the failure of the individual diplomatic foreign policies of our nations. It is a deep institutional failure that allows for one Member State in the Security Council to stop what is the will of the body. As a result, our delegation stands firmly in the idea that by the end of this weekend our body must discuss the possibility of UNSC reform so that these types of injustices stop happening,” Representative Sunby said.

In addition, Representative Czajkowski said, “We must address this. Did we not just see how one nation just stopped an entire vote? This is unfair. This is not the UN Security Council for the world; this is the UN Security Council for the Permanent Five Members (P5). Let nations have voices and let them be heard. Right now, we are being silenced. No longer.”

This speech spurred a discussion among the UNSC about the P5’s veto power. Notably, it was not up for debate whether the rule is fair to all Member States, with it seemingly unanimously understood that it is not. Despite this, the rule was heavily defended by the members of the P5. In particular, Representative Luke Wagner of France felt that the discussion was “unrealistic” as the members of the P5 would simply veto any attempts to reform the veto system, thereby making it a “circular problem,” and urged the body to move on.

The topic was touched upon again during the press conference held by Malta on the failure of SC/2 Monday morning. Malta, Algeria, Japan, France, Mozambique, Russia and Sierra Leone each took turns expressing their sympathies toward the State of Palestine and disappointment with SC/2’s failure. During their speeches, Malta and Mozambique also mentioned the veto concern.

Representative Michael Jouanneau of Malta said on the topic, “Malta is equally disheartened by the ability of one Permanent Member [to block] the simple admittance of the State of Palestine, which may I remind the public, did pass the General Assembly with the note that the State of Palestine meets all membership requirements. As a member of the UfC group, we do echo open and frank conversations among the Security Council on the question of reform, especially related to the participation and representation of Small States and SIDS.”

Representative Brendan Maguire of Mozambique emphasized these points, saying that, while they offer their sympathies to Palestine, they know that “sympathies are nothing without action.” Representative Maguire says they believe it is “imperative to address the bias… in the veto system” and they “call upon this reform.”