End Putin’s Reign of Violence With Improved Global Peacekeeping Strategies

Target: Csaba Kőrösi, President of the United Nations General Assembly

Goal: Promote global stability and enhance peaceful conflict resolution with improvements to security council.

A series of setbacks have not tempered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead, President Vladimir Putin is stepping up the aggression, ordering a partial troop mobilization and doubling down on dangerous rhetoric about nuclear weapons. The atrocities still being uncovered in liberated Ukrainian towns and cities speak to the ongoing humanitarian cost of this war. The United Nations (UN), which was initially created following World War II as a symbol of global peace and stability, has largely sat on the sidelines of the conflict. Increasingly, member nations are calling for a change.

The powerful UN Security Council is a major contributor to the problem. Fifteen countries currently comprise the council, which is the peacekeeping and dispute resolution branch of the UN. The Security Council has authority to enact sanctions, arrange military interventions, and engage in other measures to maintain stability. Unfortunately, the council grants veto power on any actions to five nations. Russia is among these countries, and since its invasion it has abused this power to prevent any meaningful UN retaliation.

Russia is historically not the only nation to abuse the veto system. The continued existence of this system poses an ongoing threat to international relations. Japan’s Prime Minister is the latest to call attention to this power imbalance. Long-recommended reforms include an expansion of the nations invited to the council and an abolition of the veto system that disproportionately favors larger and more powerful countries.

Sign the petition below to urge these needed reforms to take center stage at the United Nations General Assembly.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear President Kőrösi,

“We must face the reality that the integrity of the United Nations is at risk…What we need is action toward reforms, not just talk.” The actions of which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speak are meaningful and urgent UN Security Council reform. Collectively, the five nations with veto power have exercised this authority dozens of times to sideline the United Nations in matters of critical global importance. The world does not yet know where Russia’s current abuse of power will end, and that is terrifying.

Immense changes have occurred since World War II, and imbalanced power dynamics that favor the privileged few are not only detrimental but deeply dangerous. Please help make UN Security Council reforms a reality before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Neptuul