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General Assembly: 41st plenary meeting, 79th session
With another two vetoes cast this week in the Security Council — one on a cessation of hostilities in Sudan and one on a Gaza ceasefire — the importance of the “veto initiative” is now “even more profound”, the General Assembly heard today.
In April 2022, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the “Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council” (document A/RES/76/262), which has come to be described as the “veto initiative”. Under this plan, the General Assembly shall convene a formal meeting within 10 working days of the casting of a veto by one or more permanent Council members on the situation as to which the veto was cast, provided that the Assembly does not meet in an emergency special session on the same situation.
General Assembly President Philemon Yang (Cameroon) today called the veto initiative “bittersweet” as its very existence underscores that the Council’s divisions are self-incapacitating. “Inaction has often become the norm, not the exception”, damaging the United Nation’s credibility, he said.
Member States must reflect new approaches to “improve our Organization’s effectiveness and credibility” whether through adopting further measures, recommending action or seeking advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice, he stressed. In the case of a deadlock within the 15‑member Council, the Assembly must be ready to act and seize “the full authority vested in us”.