Munir Akram, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, has blamed the veto-wielding governments for the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) inability to bring about peace in Gaza and Ukraine. “We are trying to curtail the veto power of the permanent members,” Akram said while speaking to media. Stressing that there are both pros and cons of permanent membership of the UNSC, owing to the veto powers enjoyed by a handful of nations, the envoy opposed the addition of another permanent member to the UN body. The diplomat added that permanent members have the power to essentially paralyse the Security Council.Urging for more non-permanent elected seats in the council, the Pakistani envoy said that the UNSC should comprise 27 members with a majority of developing nations. Five UNSC permanent members have veto power including China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA. These countries have vetoed resolutions hundreds of times with Russia using the power 125 times and the US 82 times.
