How the US uses its veto power at the UN in support of Israel

The United States once came to Israel's defence during the United Nations Security Council yesterday.

Two resolutions centring Israel's invasion of Gaza did not see the greenlight.

The US-drafted resolution, which called for humanitarian pauses and Israel's right to defend itself, was vetoed by Russia and China on Wednesday at the UN headquarters in New York.

Meanwhile, the Russian sponsored resolution which only called for a humanitarian ceasefire, failed to get enough votes. Had it gotten enough votes, however, the US was expected to veto it.

Earlier on 18 October, the US had blocked a resolution calling for "humanitarian pauses" in the war, although 12 countries had voted in its favour.

How US protects Israel in the UNSC

The US, one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, has always blocked resolutions that either criticised Israel or called for a Palestinian statehood.

In recent times, the US House of Representatives then overwhelmingly passed a resolution proclaiming that Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state" in a 412-to-9 vote.

Even the current US president, Joe Biden, during a speech in 1986, boldly declared: "Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interest in the region."

Furthermore, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is considered one of the most powerful lobby groups in America's corridors of power.

Americans with a religious affiliation to Israel also make up large members in Congress. For instance, Jews make up only 2% of the nation's population, but have 34 representatives in Congress, or 6% of 535 lawmakers in both chambers.

Given these facts, the US response to UNSC resolutions should not come as a surprise.

Since 1945, a total of 36 UNSC draft resolutions related to Israel-Palestine have been vetoed by one of the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France. Out of these, 34 were vetoed by the US and two by Russia and China.

The majority of these resolutions were drafted to provide a framework for peace in the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. The US has vetoed resolutions on Israel a total of 46 times, including over Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon as well as Israel's annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights, which remains under Israeli occupation. Washington also formally recognised Israeli sovereignty in 2019 over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of US policy.

The 1972 draft resolution – the only time the US did not veto – was brief and generic, calling upon all sides to "cease immediately all military operations and to exercise the greatest restraint in the interest of international peace and security". Some key resolutions blocked by US The October 18, 2023 resolution calling for "humanitarian pauses" and for Israel to rescind its evacuation order for northern Gaza was blocked.

After the Great March of Return, in 2018, the UNSC drafted a resolution condemning "the use of any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians" and calling for "lasting, comprehensive peace" with "two democratic States, Israel and Palestine".

The US vetoed the resolution. After the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, a draft resolution said "actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void". It demanded the status of Jerusalem to be determined in line with UN regulations.

All of the 15 UNSC members voted in favour except the US, which vetoed it. Following the second Intifada or uprising that started in 2000, a UNSC resolution expressed "grave concern at the continuation of the tragic and violent events that have taken place since September 2000", condemned attacks against civilians and called for Israel "to abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention". Twelve countries voted in favour, but the US vetoed.

Why does US hold such power?

The institution of the veto, known to the Romans as the intercessio, was adopted by the Roman Republic in the 6th century BC to enable the tribunes to protect the mandamus interests of the plebeians (common citizenry) from the encroachments of the patricians, who dominated the Senate.

Since then, the idea of veto has become more formalised in the modern world. The UNSC introduced the veto power during its formation, giving it to its five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. A single veto by a permanent member would halt the passing of any resolution.

The idea behind such a carte blanche in handing out vetoes has its roots in the failed League of Nations. The League of Nations was a predecessor-of-sorts of the United Nations. Every member on the league council had a veto on any non-procedural issue.

At the foundation of the League, there were four permanent and four non-permanent members. The League Council had expanded by 1936 to have four permanent and 11 non-permanent members, which meant that there were 15 countries with veto power.

The existence of such a large number of vetoes made it very difficult for the League to agree on many issues.

The current veto power in the UNSC was elaborated on in the San Francisco Declaration, which France later joined as well. The statement says that a veto cannot be used to stop the Council from considering a topic at all, but interpreted its applicability broadly, including that the veto power could be exercised in the question of whether an issue is procedural or non-procedural.

A central goal of the United Nations at its founding was to make sure the five Great Powers would continue working with the UN, in order to avoid the lack of universality that had diminished the political strength of the League of Nations.