The UN’s 75th Anniversary offers a welcome opportunity to restore the credibility of the United Nations and the primacy of the UN Charter. It iss also a timely reminder to both Permanent and Elected members of the UN Security Council to live up to their Charter responsibility to prevent and respond to threats to international peace and security.

All that is required is a return to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter including the commitment to multilateralism based on universally accepted and respected principles.

None of these proposals requires extraordinary political will or amendment of the UN Charter. Each proposal rests on existing provisions of the UN Charter, UN resolution or UN rules of procedure. The greater use of Article 99 powers is a right and duty accorded to the Secretary-General in the UN Charter. The Uniting for Peace mechanism was adopted in General Assembly resolution 377 and has been invoked at least ten times in the history of the United Nations; it can be enacted by any nine members of the Security Council or by two thirds of the members of the General Assembly. Working methods reform of the Security Council would require the initiative and active engagement of the elected member of the Security Council pursuant to its own rules of procedure.

A majority of Member States have indicated support for each of these measures in one form or another:

While the Secretary-General has not formally invoked article 99 in recent years, he has drawn matters to the Security Council’s attention, most recently in his August 2017 letter concerning the situation in Myanmar (S/2017/753). He should use his Charter authority more frequently, not only to bring matters to the Council’s attention but also to propose actionable recommendations to resolve conflicts and other crises, to protect civilians and to ensure accountability for violations of international law

While the Uniting for Peace mechanism has been used ten times in the past, it has not been initiated since 1997. Many member states have strongly urged permanent members of the Security Council to refrain from using the veto in situations involving mass atrocity crimes. In particular, over half the UN’s membership have indicated support for the France/Mexico Initiative and the ACT Code of Conduct Regarding Security Council Action Against Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity or War Crimes. However, if one or more permanent members use their veto and prevent the Security Council from fulfilling its responsibility, the rest of the membership should invoke Uniting for Peace and refer the matter to the UN General Assembly for action.


The Security Council’s established practice of convening Arria-formula meetings can be used to invite all legitimate parties to conflicts in order to give voice to non-State parties committed to peaceful resolution of conflicts. A number of states have indicated strong support for reforming the penholder system including in a June 2018 draft note from Russia and a letter of 13 November 2018 from the elected and incoming members of the Council. The United Kingdom has itself taken some steps to share the pen on certain issues like Sudan

Opportunities such as the UN75 global dialogues should be used to restore confidence in multilateralism in general and the United Nations in particular.

It is a good time to recommit to the UN Charter and to a strong, credible and effective United Nations where the UNSG, the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and all UN Member States live up to the promise and the responsibility to take “prompt and effective action” for the maintenance of international peace and security, for the protection of civilians and for the rule of law and justice.

Pandemics also represent a threat to global peace and security. A more credible and effective Security Council will be better able to establish and enforce mechanisms to prevent and respond to these and other threats to international peace and security.

WMDs including the proliferation, treat of use and use of WMDs, represent one of the single largest threats to global peace and security. A more credible and effective Security Council will be better able to establish and enforce mechanisms to prevent and respond to these and other threats to international peace and security.

Many of the major challenges posed by new and emerging technologies including cyber-attacks and other remote-controlled methods of warfare, are threats to international peace and security. A more credible and effective Security Council will be better able to establish and enforce mechanisms to prevent and respond to these and other threats to international peace and security.

While the UN, and the Security Council in particular, have thus far successfully averted a third World War between States, the Security Council’s record of failure in resolving intra-State conflicts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Syrian Arab Republic and the prolonged occupations in Kashmir, Palestine and Western Sahara have undermined the Security Council’s credibility as the ultimate peacemaker and peace enforcer in the multilateral system.

Improving the security council’s response would thus increase the credibility of our global system and strengthen its ability to respond to the various threats to international peace and security ranging from armed conflict to WMD proliferation – from climate change to pandemics.

Upholding the UN Charter will significantly enhance inclusivity and accountability in both tangible and less tangible ways.

The restoration of the UN Secretariat’s status as a separate and independent principal organ and a greater resort to Article 99 will give voice to the Peoples of the World as envisioned in the UN Charter.

The Uniting for Peace process enables the widening of the peace and security powers and responsibilities to the wider membership of the General Assembly.

Regularly convening Arria-formula meetings to hear from representatives of non-State actors, following the intent and spirit of Article 32 of the UN Charter for all parties to be heard would enable all parties to a conflict to take part in conflict-resolution.

A more democratic penholder system will allow for more collaborative working methods and ensure resolutions are not predominantly drafted by the P3 – namely, the US, UK and France.

I cannot see a mechanism whereby this proposal could have that effect

This proposal is primarily designed to ensure that the UN is more willing and able to resolve conflict and reduce political violence; by enhancing the credibility, efficiency and effectiveness of the Security Council and by empowering the General Assembly to act where the Council is prevented from doing so, the UN will be in a better position to deter and respond to threats to the peace and breaches of the peace as well as to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes.

This proposal is supported by the attached report, written by Mona Ali Khalil for Together First and UNA-UK.

In the report, Mona Ali Khalil makes a number of recommendations for upholding the responsibility of the UN Security Council and improving its working methods. All these reforms could be achieved in the short term, without the need for the difficult and potentially impossible process of amending the UN Charter. Yet if they were fully implemented, they would significantly strengthen the Security Council’s ability to take prompt and effective action to fulfill its “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security”.

■ For the UN Secretary-General: make greater use of his “Article 99 powers” to bring matters to the attention of the Security Council which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security, including early warnings by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and to make concrete recommendations on measures to achieve prompt and effective action and to ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

■ For UN member states: make better use of “Uniting for Peace” in situations where the Security Council is prevented from fulfilling its primary responsibility to take prompt and effective action to maintain international peace and security. All states should recommend concrete measures under the mechanism and elected members of the Security Council should leverage the right to invoke “Uniting for Peace” in the event of a veto or the threat of a veto.

■ For members of the Security Council: Move towards more inclusive and collaborative working methods including more active role for elected members in the drafting and consultation process and greater use of Arria-formula meetings as well as move away from the “single penholder” system whereby a small number of, predominantly permanent, members of the UN Security Council draft most Security Council resolutions.

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