Q. With reference to the differences between the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), consider the following statements:
1.In the UNGA, decisions on important questions, such as peace and security, require a two-thirds majority while there is no such mechanism in the UNSC.
2.The UNSC is the most representative of UN organs while the UNGA is less representative.
3.The UNGA’s resolutions are not binding on Member States while the UNSC’s resolutions are binding on all Member States.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation –
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Decisions on important issues in the General Assembly require a two-thirds majority of the member states present and voting.
However, the UN Security Council operates differently. Its decisions are made by a vote of the 15 members, and any one of the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) can veto a decision, even if the other 14 members support it.
Resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are not legally binding on Member States, while resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are legally binding on all Member States.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is often considered the most representative UN organ. The UNGA includes all 193 member states of the United Nations, and each member state has one vote, giving it a high degree of representativeness.
On the other hand, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is less representative because it consists of 15 member states, with 5 permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
Source: ForumIAS
