A photo of the UN Security Council chamber

Oxfam has called for major reform of the UN Security Council, claiming it is ‘failing people living in conflict’. In a new report, the NGO has said that people in Palestine, Israel and Yemen are particularly being failed by the UN’ body.

According to Oxfam, the five permanent Security Council members – the UK, USA, Russia, France and China – are ‘exploiting their voting, vetoing and negotiating powers’ in order to suit their own short-term geopolitical interests. Oxfam says that in doing so, they are undermining the Council’s duty to maintain international peace and security.

As a result, Oxfam has now called for wide-reaching reform of the Security Council, including the abolition of the veto and expanding the body’s membership to more countries.

In its report, Oxfam examined 23 of the world’s most protracted conflicts over the past decade. This has included conflicts in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Palestine, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. Oxfam found that 27 of the 30 Security Council vetoes cast on these conflicts related to Palestine, Syria and Ukraine. More than a million people have been killed in these 23 conflicts.

Halima Begum, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, said: “As recent votes on Gaza and Ukraine have made painfully clear, too often the Permanent Five are prepared to put their strategic interests and military alliances above the Security Council’s most basic duty to keep the peace and protect life. This is a repudiation of both the word and spirit of the UN Charter. As such, there is an increasingly widespread belief across the international community that the Security Council is simply unfit for purpose.

“More often than not, the abuse of exclusive powers by the permanent members contradicts the broader will of the UN General Assembly, where all states are represented.

“Root and branch reform of the Security Council is long overdue if the international community is ever to resurrect the Council’s mandate, to maintain international peace and security.”

The UN General Assembly has passed at least 77 resolutions over the last decade supporting Palestinian self-determination and ending Israel’s illegal occupation. But this year during the Gaza-Israel war, the UK in its privileged permanent position chose to abstain on ceasefire votes rather than veto, refused to push for ceasefire talks on the Security Council’s agenda and has continued to sell parts for F-35 fighter jets that drop bombs on civilians in Gaza.

Although the UK has not used its veto in the last decade, alongside France and the US, it has held the pen on two-thirds of resolutions relating to the 23 protracted crises studied by Oxfam. ‘Pen-holding’ allows the UK and the permanent members to lead on negotiations and direct how resolutions are drafted, tabled, or ignored – too often according to their own interests.

The UK holds the pen on Yemen, where a protracted conflict is now in its ninth year. Oxfam says that the UK has not fully leveraged its position to push for peace and accountability, particularly by failing to condemn Saudi Arabia’s role in bombing civilians. Instead, Oxfam says the UK’s actions and inaction at the UN Security Council have blocked peace in Yemen, raising questions about whether the UK is prioritising its defence and economic ties over its responsibility to address the conflict.

The report is also critical of the fact that humanitarian funding remains entirely dependent upon voluntary contributions. In contrast, UN member state funding for peacekeeping operations is mandatory.

Globally, the number of people needing humanitarian assistance has risen nearly four times in the last decade, triggering massive funding needs. Between 2014 and 2023, the UN appeal for funds has nearly tripled from $20 billion to over $56 billion – but less than half of this amount was met last year.

Image credit: UN/Mark Green – Creative Commons