UN General Assembly
1953

8. From a recently published work on the United Nations I permit myself to quote a few observations concerning the veto rule. The authors write as follows: “The campaign to ‘eliminate the veto’, however, tends to confuse cause with effect. One negative vote, blocking unanimity of agreement, is merely a reflection of the power and inclination of the Soviet Union to pursue policies not acceptable to the other great Powers. It does no good to reach decisions by a majority vote if the minority has the power to prevent the decisions from being carried out. In such cases, the majority can prevail only by inducing the minority to co-operate or by finding some other means to make its opposition ineffective. Reaffirmation by balloting that the majority is the majority certainly does not reach the heart of this problem.” The same observation has been made by the London Times in the following words: "It is not easy to see how the revision of any document can change the awkward facts of international life.”