WORLD War II divided nations into two factions: the Axis powers and the Allied powers. Once the war was over, the Allied powers pledged to refrain from such ghastly wars, and to promote human rights and global peace in the future. This led to the birth of the United Nations.

Subsequently, the world powers emp-owered themselves with veto power, and became permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC). This has over the years come under much criticism globally, but the status quo has been maintained. The veto power has often been an obstacle in the way of attaining global peace.

In recent times, the Russia-Ukraine war has persisted only because Russia’s veto power has always shielded it from the condemnation of the UN members, and any strict action against it.

Similarly, the Israel-Palestine war has been going on for months now because the United States has kept using its veto power in favour of Israel.

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), all five countries with the veto power happen to be among the top 10 largest arms exporters of the world.

Additionally, all of them possess nuclear capability. As things stand today, the world powers must address the relavant issues in order to maintain global peace and to uphold the cause of human rights.

Imran Qadir Brohi
Qubo Saeed Khan

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2024