Har vetorätten ett berättigande inom FN idag? - En kritisk analys avseende behovet av vetorätt i modern tid

Sammanfattning: In order to establish the UN after world war II, the then five great powers of the world required to have a veto right in the UN Security Council. The other members agreed to this as there were a fundamental need to create a global organization of this nature. The veto right has resulted in that the permanent members of the Security Council always have had the ability to vote against proposals and resolutions which have been submitted to the Security Council. The veto right has recently been the subject of criticism from various sources. The core of the criticism has been that the permanent members use the veto right out of self-interest. As a consequence, the UN has in many cases been restricted to take actions, for example initiate peace keeping interventions. This may therefore be viewed as counter-productive as the primary goal of the organization is to work for a peaceful world. The veto right has been further criticized because several issues are not up for discussion at the Security Council, that developing countries do not have a comparable influence even though several decision impact them directly, that principles which have evolved within the UN becomes ineffective, that the veto right instrument can be abused and that the veto right can be used to stop ICJ judgements from being implemented. Whether the veto right is needed today is a complicated question. On the one hand, much of the criticism of the veto right instrument must be viewed as justified. The veto right is in many cases an obstacle for the UN to act in critical situations. As a consequence, the UN cannot work effectively to against its goals. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to achieve a reform of the veto right since certain permanent members of the Security Council are highly critical to such a reform and their approval is required. The permanent members are also important as they have access to significant resources.