What Could the United Nations General Assembly Do When the United Nations Security Council Is Deadlocked

Abstract

At a time when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is so deadlocked that it has difficulty performing its responsibilities in international peacekeeping, conventional opinions tend to focus on reforming the UNSC to find solutions. However, when faced with these issues, the role of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) cannot be ignored. As the main organ of the United Nations, the UNGA has a wider representation with 193 member states compared to the 15 members of the UNSC, which means that the UNGA can reflect the different opinions and interests of different countries. In addition, the UNGA can provide the necessary funding for peacekeeping missions, ensure their effectiveness, and exert political pressure on Member States to resolve conflicts and facilitate peace negotiations through the recommendations it approved. These characteristics indicate that UNGA has the full potential and qualifications to play an active role in international peacekeeping operations. This work is dedicated to arguing that when the UNSC is unable to perform its duties, the UNGA has the legitimacy and rationality to assume the secondary role of maintaining peace through the application of the Uniting for Peace Resolution and the establishment of subsidiary bodies and making feasible recommendations based on these perspectives.