UN General Assembly
1946

It is true that the requirement of unanimity tends to reduce the speed of action of the Security Council and increases the difficulties in the way of adopting a clear-cut decision. It may even prevent action which might peacefully settle a dispute. On the other hand, the unanimity requirement tends to discourage the taking of intransigent positions and to encourage the achievement of agreement through compromise. Certainty is better than speed. In the long run important decisions unanimously accepted by the permanent members are likely to produce better results than decisions which find the permanent members divided. The unanimity requirement, properly applied, prevents the Security Council from being progressively committed to a course of action inconsistent with the vital interests of any permanent member.