Canada's ambassador to UN says Security Council veto powers frustrate General Assembly

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations says right now the UN’s Security Council is “dysfunctional.”

 

“There’s a frustration that’s been growing in the General Assembly about the use of the veto,” Bob Rae told Evan Solomon on CTV News Channel’s Power Play Tuesday. “The Security Council is not some private club, it’s a public organization at the heart of the United Nations.”

But Tuesday, the General Assembly adopted a consensus motion that would require the five members to justify their vetoes to the assembly.

 

Five members of the Security Council, including Russia, hold veto powers.

 

 

“We’re not trying to simply point a finger at Russia,” Rae said. The United States, China, France and Britain also wield veto power.

 

Rae told Solomon the motion may reduce how often the five council members use their vetoes.

 

Ambassador Rae discusses the motion in the video at the top of his article.

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  Bob Rae, ambassador of Canada to the United Nations, speaks while holding a copy of the United Nations charter at the general assembly hall, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)