What would it take to remove Russia from the United Nations Security Council? Up front, it seems Impossble, but I’ll ask, how can the UN even function if it has a rogue State on the Security Council who is undermining the proceedings to benefit itself in an unlawful manner?
An interesting article that argues Russia is not a legitimate member of the UN Security Council, that technically the position is not supposed to be transferred from one country (USSR) to another (Russia).
There is no mechanism to remove a permanent member of the Security Council written into the UN Charter. The word “permanent” was to mean just that. But there is a process to remove a country from the United Nations. That would require a vote of the UN General Assembly based on the recommendation of the Security Council. This has never been done. And given that Russia has a veto on the Security Council, the Council cannot recommend Russia’s removal without Russia’s agreement. This simply will not happen. So no, Russia cannot be kicked out.
But is Russia validly there at all? This is Ukraine’s question. The UN Charter says that the USSR, not Russia, is the permanent member. While no permanent member of the Security Council has ever been removed, two have changed – and it is worth analysing how and why, not just for the current crisis but for the next one surely coming over Taiwan.
An interesting article that argues Russia is not a legitimate member of the UN Security Council, that technically the position is not supposed to be transferred from one country (USSR) to another (Russia).
Summing up
- According to the Constitution of the USSR, the union republics, including the RSFSR, had the status of individual states with the right to withdraw from the USSR. In turn, the USSR was a separate state from the union republics;
- The UN Charter does not allow the change or continuation of permanent membership in the UN Security Council from one country to another;
- The Constitution of the USSR does not provide any procedures of the replacement of the Soviet Union by one of the USSR’s parts in international organizations and bodies, including the UN Security Council;
- The highest bodies of state power and administration of the USSR did not take a decision to replace the Soviet Union with the RSFSR in international organizations and bodies, including the UN Security Council;
- No international treaty made with the participation of the USSR provides for the replacement of the Soviet Union with the RSFSR in international organizations and bodies, including the UN Security Council
Ukraine invasion: should Russia lose its seat on the UN Security Council?
Ukraine invasion: should Russia lose its seat on the UN Security Council?
The question centres on whether Russia legally inherited the permanent seat formerly occupied by the Soviet Union.
theconversation.com
There is no mechanism to remove a permanent member of the Security Council written into the UN Charter. The word “permanent” was to mean just that. But there is a process to remove a country from the United Nations. That would require a vote of the UN General Assembly based on the recommendation of the Security Council. This has never been done. And given that Russia has a veto on the Security Council, the Council cannot recommend Russia’s removal without Russia’s agreement. This simply will not happen. So no, Russia cannot be kicked out.
But is Russia validly there at all? This is Ukraine’s question. The UN Charter says that the USSR, not Russia, is the permanent member. While no permanent member of the Security Council has ever been removed, two have changed – and it is worth analysing how and why, not just for the current crisis but for the next one surely coming over Taiwan.
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