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Existing Legal Limits to Security Council Veto Power in the Face of Atrocity Crimes (Session 2)
The World Citizen Book Club concluded its two-session series on Existing Legal Limits to Security Council Veto Power in the Face of Atrocity Crimes by Jennifer Trahan. This second session deepened the analysis of how existing international law could be used to challenge the legality of vetoes that obstruct action on genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
About the Book
Building on the legal foundations established in Session 1, the book explores how the practice of vetoing action on atrocity crimes continues despite regular condemnation by UN member states and repeated voluntary veto restraint initiatives. Trahan presents three independent legal bases for constraining the veto: the UN Charter’s own Purposes and Principles, jus cogens norms of international law, and the positive obligations imposed by the Geneva and Genocide Conventions. The book examines concrete mechanisms through which the legality of obstructive vetoes could be challenged. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020.
About the Author
Jennifer Trahan is a Clinical Professor at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs and Director of their Concentration in International Law and Human Rights. Her work spans international criminal law, the crime of aggression, and UN Security Council reform. She has served as amicus curiae to the International Criminal Court and as Convenor of the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression.
Discussion Highlights
The second session focused on potential avenues for challenging obstructive vetoes and the prospects for meaningful Security Council reform. Participants examined voluntary veto restraint initiatives, the role of the General Assembly, and strategies for building political will to constrain the veto when atrocity crimes demand urgent international action. The discussion also addressed Trahan’s advisory work on the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression for Ukraine as a contemporary example of accountability innovation.
