3 - Initiatives to Voluntarily Restrain Veto Use in the Face of Atrocity Crimes

Summary

This chapter explores initiatives that have sought voluntarily to restrain use of the veto in the face of atrocity crimes. They include: the “responsibility not to veto” found in the “responsibility to protect,” the “S5 initiative,” the French/Mexican initiative not to veto in the face of atrocity crimes, the ACT (Accountability, Coherence and Transparency) group of states’ Code of Conduct, and a proposal by a group known as “The Elders.” In addition to explaining the initiatives and providing background on them, this chapter evaluates the merits of each of the different approaches. Because all the initiatives call for voluntary veto restraint, until the recalcitrant permanent members of the Security Council (the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, and the United States) join these initiatives – which appears unlikely – the initiatives will not fully solve the problem of veto use, or the threat of veto use, in the face of atrocity crimes.