US sponsors move to force Russia to justify UN vetoes after Ukraine invasion, Syria violations

Russia could be forced to justify itself before the UN's General Assembly after using its veto at the Security Council, as the US moves against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

Washington revealed on Tuesday that it was sponsoring a United Nations General Assembly resolution to change UN rules in order to force permanent members of the Security Council who use their veto to account to the General Assembly.

The resolution is co-sponsored by Liechtenstein, which tweeted that 38 states had signed up.

"This innovative measure would automatically convene a meeting of the General Assembly after a veto has been cast in the Security Council," the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a statement.

The country using its veto would then have to justify its decision.

"We are particularly concerned by Russia's shameful pattern of abusing its veto privilege over the past two decades," Thomas-Greenfield added.

She said that this is "including its vetoes to kill a UN observer mission in Georgia, block accountability measures and chemical weapons investigations in Syria… and protect President [Vladimir] Putin from condemnation over his unprovoked and unjust war of choice against Ukraine".

Thomas-Greenfield also raised Russia using its veto to stop a criminal tribunal being formed after flight MH-17 was shot down in Ukraine in 2014.

But the US-sponsored resolution won't necessarily be a game-changer. International Crisis Group expert Richard Gowan told The National that countries with Security Council vetoes are experienced at justifying themselves before the UN.

The UNSC needs reform overall, of the veto system & its membership. But would this be a step where no double standards would be applied? Time to remind about the vetos US has used to promote Israel's impunity & block any form of accountability 👇 #DoubleStandards #UNSC #Apartheid https://t.co/IoTwis2DaU pic.twitter.com/GdMyunJ83c

— Inès Abdel Razek (@InesAbdelrazek) April 13, 2022

While the measure comes after what Washington sees as Russian misuse of the veto, there are five permanent members of the UN Security Council who all have vetoes and who would be impacted by the new resolution.

These are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China, and they gained this power when the UN was formed in 1945.

Washington often controversially uses its veto to stop resolutions against Israel.

Following Russia's attack on Ukraine in February, the UN General Assembly last week removed Russia from the Human Rights Council and passed two other resolutions against it.