At the midpoint of the podcast, the panel discusses the feasibility of Russia being kicked out of the UN Security Council. Assistant Comments Editor Francis Dearnley begins with a summary of the council’s history:
The Security Council is composed of 15 members. The UN General Assembly selects ten countries on a rotating basis to serve two-year terms on the Security Council. This council is made up of five permanent members: Russia (formerly the USSR), the People’s Republic of China (formerly the ROC), the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. These permanent members have veto power over any decision that is put to a vote in the Council.
There is no mechanism to remove a permanent member of the Security Council written into the UN Charter.
Francis explains the difficulty of expelling a member:
The word permanent was supposed to mean just that. But there is a process to remove a country from the UN. That would require a UN General Assembly vote based on a Security Council recommendation. This has never been done and since Russia, of course, has a veto power in the Security Council, the Council cannot recommend Russia’s removal without Russia’s consent.
Later, former British Colonel Hamish De Bretton-Gordon expands on his article on the UN:
What could the UN be doing now? Many others and I have called for demilitarized zones around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. That’s something they could really tangibly do, which would make a phenomenal difference and bring a lot of mental security to people, particularly in Europe..
I think, in general, people are losing faith in the UN. Why are we investing so many resources in this when it has little impact? And I think setting the example of suspending Russia is a tangible thing that we could do.
Defense Associate Editor Dom Nicholls chimes in with his thoughts:
The UN was created out of the rubble of World War II, with only one purpose, and that was to stop a Third World War. And he did it brilliantly. There was no World War III. But everything was set to stop the activity, instead of allowing the activity.
I think now is the time to say, well, how do you move on? If you were trying to build it today and you said, ‘Well, here’s the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, the permanent members of the Security Council, and one of those permanent members can wage war on another member, seemingly without restrictions. and without any recoil, it is simply untenable.
Listen to Ukraine: the latestThe Telegraph daily podcast, using the audio player at the top of this article or at Apple Podcasts, Spotifyor your favorite podcast app.
The war in Ukraine is reshaping our world. Every weekday, The Telegraph’s top journalists look at the invasion from every angle – military, humanitarian, political, economic, historical – and tell you what you need to know to stay up to date.
With over 40 million downloads, our Ukraine: the latest podcast is your go-to source for the latest analysis, live reaction, and correspondents reporting from the ground. We have been broadcasting since the full-scale invasion began.
Ukraine: the latestRegular contributors to are:
David Knowles
David is head of audio development at The Telegraph, where he has worked for almost three years. He has reported from all over Ukraine during the full-scale invasion.
dominic nicholls
Dom is Associate Editor (Defense) at The Telegraph, having joined in 2018. He previously served for 23 years in the British Army, in tank and helicopter units. He had operational deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.
francis dearnley
Francis is assistant comments editor at The Telegraph. Before working as a journalist, he was Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board at the Houses of Parliament in London. He studied history at Cambridge University and in the podcast he explores how the past sheds light on recent diplomatic, political and strategic developments.
They are also regularly joined by The Telegraph’s foreign correspondents around the world, including joe barnes (Brussels), sofia yan (Porcelain), natalia vasilyeva (Russia), roland oliphant (Senior reporter) and colin freeman (Reporter). In London, venice rainey (Foreign weekend editor), katie o’neill (Assistant Foreign Editor), and true archer (News Reporter) also appear frequently to provide updates.
