A United Nations resolution is a formal decision that a UN body adopts by a majority vote of its members. Resolutions deal with important questions of international peace and security, the admission or suspension of the rights and privileges of membership in the UN, the expulsion of members, the operation of the trusteeship system, or budgetary matters. Resolutions and decisions of UN bodies are usually numbered and bear the date and session at which they were adopted.
Resolutions can also address non-security issues, such as the appointment of ambassadors or the granting of special economic and other privileges to particular countries. In addition, resolutions can contain instructions to a Secretary-General or other staff.
The Security Council is responsible for maintaining global peace and security. It has the most powerful of the UN’s organs, including the veto, which allows its five permanent members (the “P5”) to block passage of any resolution, regardless of the level of support for it from other member states. The P5 have used the veto over 300 times since the United Nations’ inception in 1945.
Smaller UN members have long sought reforms to the Security Council’s working methods, but substantial reform would require amending the Charter, which requires two-thirds of all member states’ votes and domestic ratifications. As a result, the odds of such reform are very slim. Nevertheless, a number of small and medium-sized states have joined an informal caucus called Accountability, Coherence, and Transparency (ACT) to advocate for improved Council working methods that could include constraints on the use of the veto.
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