Reforming The UNSC: An Ongoing Dilemma

This study examines why reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is acrucial necessity and how that contributes to the Council’s capabilities in addressinghumanitarian crisis. We specifically focus on three major structural weaknesses–the PermanentFive (P-5) members, the veto and the principle of state sovereignty-that influence the decision-making process. In contrast to other studies, we consider whether the Council needs reform toreflect a more representative and effective peacekeeping body capable of addressing crisesarising from intra-state conflicts. We find that most proposals on Council reform calls forincrease in membership composition in both the permanent and non-permanent categories toinclude regions that are not represented in the permanent category. Using various case studies,we empirically focus on how P-5members use their position and power to pursue their nationalinterest at the expense of humanity. We demonstrate that none of the proposals recommendmembership composition in the form of regional organizations instead of the status quo neitherdoes any highlight the human aspect or the attitude of the P-5that is so very crucial for thereform process to succeed.