OPINION: Russian Federation Has No Veto at UN

The Russian Federation is not a member of the UN!

The Republic of China (nationalist China) was a charter member of the United Nations from 1945. It was not the People’s Republic of China (communist China) which currently holds a permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations. In fact the Korean war of the early 1950s pitted a coalition of the United Nations against communist North Korea, communist China and the USSR.

In the struggle between communist and nationalist China, the communists ultimately prevailed in the 1950s, but it was not until much later that the People’s Republic of China became a UN member and succeeded to China’s permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC). This required a formal application by the People’s Republic pursuant to the UN charter and a two-thirds vote of the UN General Assembly.

It happened in 1971, largely as  result of President Nixon’s and Henry Kissinger’s efforts – two very dubious historical figures in terms of integrity. Many who opposed argued that this was a bizarre reward for Chinese communist bad behavior.

The USSR was a charter member of the UN. On Dec. 8, 1991, the leaders of the three most prominent Soviet republics – Ukraine, Belarus and Russia -concluded an agreement in Bilovezhka Puscha, Belarus, dissolving the USSR. Two weeks later in Alma Alta, Kazakhstan, eleven former Soviet republics concluded a separate agreement dissolving the USSR. Thereupon, former Soviet Permanent Representative to the UN Yuli Vorontsov, acting on behalf of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, delivered a letter to the UN Secretary-General informing him of the dissolution and requesting accession of the Russian Federation (RF) to the USSR seat as a permanent member of the security council.

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Allegedly, the UN Secretary-General disseminated this letter among the UN member states with no further action taken.

Since then, the RF has acted as if its request had been approved and intimating both actual UN membership and a permanent seat to the UNSC, participates both as a member of  the UN at various fora and as a successor to the USSR at the UNSC. However no formal application for UN membership by the RF was submitted, ever. Nor has any vote been taken.

The UN has a process for UN membership. The state submits an application to the secretary-general and a letter formally stating that it accepts the obligations under the charter. The security council considers the application. Any recommendation for admission must receive the affirmative votes of nine of the 15 members of the council, provided that none of its permanent members have voted against the application. If the council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the general assembly for consideration. A two-thirds majority vote is necessary in the assembly for admission of a new state.

In its preamble, the charter lays out its purposes of practicing tolerance and living together in peace, uniting strength to maintain international peace and security, ensuring that armed force will not be used except in  the common interest.

Given Russia’s offensive behavior in only thirty years, culminating in the current aggression which includes indisputable evidence of war crimes and probably more – such as crimes against humanity and attempted genocide – Russia’s chances for immediate admission are negligible.  The recent UN General Assembly vote allowing President Zelensky to address its opening session virtually rather than in person with 101 in favor, only seven opposed and 19 abstentions, was symbolic of the international community’s opprobrium of Russia.

Thus, similar to the Korean situation, upon a motion by a UNSC permanent member, the UN should send a coalition of its forces to Ukraine to assist the Ukrainians in the defense of their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In the long term, Russia should be admitted as a UN member (but, certainly not a permanent member of the UNSC) for the sake of the UN’s legitimacy as a  venue for peaceful dialogue and conflict settlement –  only after Russia is demilitarized similarly to Nazi Germany in the late 1940’s and its accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear state.

This road map with variations is certainly a possibility. It is a tall order and requires political will and integrity, certainly not a traditional characteristic of international approaches.  But it concerns the future viability of the UN  as a peacekeeping mechanism on the international stage and should also serve to settle the current ar waged by Russia in Ukraine.

The Russians need to realize that their methods of conducting international relations have no place in today’s world. Russia may renege on all opportunities and become a pariah, with continuing sanctions and designation as a state sponsoring terrorism. That, however, may be too much to expect from the traditionally servile and imperialistically predisposed Russian populace.

The process should begin immediately. Minister Sergey Lavrov, a war criminal himself, should never have been permitted to enter the United States during the recent UN events. Immediately, the United States, as a permanent security council member, should move to preclude Russia all access to the UN due to the fact that it is not a member. In view of the bogus referendum in Ukraine’s occupied regions, sanctions should be heightened. The Western countries should recall their diplomats, oust the Russian diplomats/spies from their territories, and declare the RF a state sponsor of terrorism.

This is only the beginning. The end as outlined above is full Russian demilitarization and accession to NPT.