In the United Nations Security Council , the five permanent members hold one-vote veto power . Based on their own national interests and positions, it is difficult to reach an agreement on certain issues, and it usually requires multiple discussions and coordination before they can be passed. The five permanent members had previously argued over the issue of humanitarian relief in Syria, which ended in a compromise between Britain, the United States and France. Surprisingly, the five permanent members unanimously passed two resolutions this time.
According to Xinhuanet reported on July 13, Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2643 and Resolution 2644. Resolution 2643 extends the term of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement for one year to July 14, 2023. Resolution 2644 extends the ban on illegal exports of oil from Libya for 15 months to October 30, 2023, and extends the authorization of the expert group assisting the Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee until November 15, 2023.
The Hodeidah Agreement is a ceasefire agreement reached between the Yemeni government and the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. The Houthi armed forces took over the Yemen capital Sana and southern Yemen in September 2014, forcing Yemeni President Hadi to flee Saudi Arabia for refuge. Soon after, Saudi Arabia and other countries launched a military operation code-named "Decisive Storm" against the Houthi armed forces, which plunged Yemen into war, causing tens of thousands of civilian casualties and displacing more than 2 million people.
Then the Security Council began to intervene to mediate the conflicts and disputes between the two parties. Under the mediation of the United Nations, the Yemeni government negotiated with the Houthi armed forces and reached the Stockholm Agreement in Sweden , one of which stipulated that the warring parties cease fire in the city of Hodeidah and the three ports of Hodeidah, Selif and Essa. . Unfortunately, although the two sides signed some agreements to cease fire and exchange prisoners of war, the two sides did not implement all of them. They also accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement, which meant that the war would rekindle.
In order to help both parties implement the ceasefire agreement, the Security Council established the Hodeidah Agreement Support Mission in January 2019. The initial term of the support mission was only 6 months. However, within the first 6 months, the support mission did not completely solve the problem and could only continue to extend the time. To this day, relevant issues have still not been properly handled, and the Security Council can only continue to extend the mandate of the Mission.
When the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Libya, we have to mention Libya’s former supreme leader Gaddafi . After the regime he established was overthrown, the situation in Libya immediately fell into turmoil. The United Nations Security Council subsequently passed some sanctions on Libya. resolution.
The Security Council passed Resolution 2146 in 2014, authorizing United Nations member states to inspect ships designated by the Libyan Sanctions Committee. After ships suspected of illegally exporting crude oil from Libya are seized, the crude oil will be returned to Libya. Later, the Security Council passed Resolution 2362 again in June 2017, extending the scope of this ban to crude oil and refined petroleum products. Now the relevant ban is being extended again to allow Libya to comply with the provisions of the Security Council without resorting to force.
Extending the authorization time of the expert group assisting the Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee is also intended to achieve this purpose. The Libya Sanctions Committee of the Security Council, as its name implies, is the committee of the Security Council that implements sanctions against Libya. The expert team that assists its work, operates in Libya, and can also better supervise the implementation and implementation of specific work. The resolution also makes it very clear that United Nations member states are required to effectively implement sanctions against Libya to prevent military intervention from exacerbating the conflict in Libya.
Folks have always had many different opinions about the five permanent members of the United Nations. Many of them are joking and are neither objective nor accurate enough. In essence, the five permanent members are the defenders of the current international order and have made outstanding contributions to world peace and stability. The Security Council is a body that handles international affairs. The five permanent members reaching consensus on these matters can stabilize these regions earlier.
