UN General Assembly
1946

Finally, I wish to refer to the so-called veto question. The responsibility of the permanent Members of the Security Council in relation to the exercise of the right of veto is one of the most important which they have incurred vis-a- vis the other United Nations, for by reason of circumstances and of their special position, they have been granted, in order to defend the peace and to support our Organization, a privilege which is scarcely compatible with the principle of the sovereign equality of all nations. The responsibility of the permanent members of the Security Council is all the greater since no change can be made in the Charter without a favourable vote on their part. That being so, and in view of the manner in which the Article embodying the right of veto has been applied, the alternative facing the permanent members is obvious. If they are not willing to give up that privilege because they consider that present conditions do not allow of such a step, they are under an inescapable moral obligation to reach agreement among themselves to determine the exact scope of the right of veto and obviate any abuse of its application.