Voting procedures in the Security Council are governed by the provisions of the UN Charter. According to the Charter, each member of the Security Council has one vote. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters require an affirmative vote of nine members. Decisions on all other matters require an affirmative vote of nine members, including the concurring vote of the permanent members. The members of the Security Council treat an abstention as the equivalent of an affirmative vote.
The first veto in the Security Council was issued by the Soviet Union on February 16, 1946. The Soviet Ambassador Andrey Vyshinsky vetoed a resolution calling for negotiations regarding the withdrawal of British and French troops from Syria. In his memoirs, UN Secretary General Trygve Lie noted his concern that this first veto had been used in an almost lighthearted manner. "Why was this first veto cast? Not because Mr. Vyshinsky opposed the substance of the resolution, but because its language was not strong enough to please him." Since then, the veto has been used on countless occasions by the permanent members of the Security Council.
The veto played a prominent role during the Korean conflict. At the beginning of 1950, the Soviet Ambassador to the Security Council Jacob Malik was boycotting Security Council sessions because China's seat was occupied by the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek. Because the Soviet Union was absent, it did not participate in any of the Council sessions. Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, the Security Council immediately authorized Member States to "furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack." The Security Council then approved a unified UN Command under the authority of the United States. On August 1st, Soviet Ambassador Malik announced that he would return to his seat on the Security Council. When the Soviet Union vetoed further Security Council action, the General Assembly passed the Uniting for Peace Resolution, which had been proposed by U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Under the plan, the General Assembly may consider a matter when the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity among the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. If the General Assembly is not in session at the time, the General Assembly may meet in emergency special session within 24 hours of the request. Seven members of the Security Council or a majority of the General Assembly can call the emergency special session. Using the procedures established in the Uniting for Peace Resolution, the United Nations continued its efforts in Korea.
The veto also played a prominent role during the 1956 Suez crisis. On July 26th, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. In response, Britain, France and Israel decided to occupy the Canal. On October 29th, Israeli forces attacked and were soon followed by British and French troops. The Security Council met on October 30th and drafted a resolution calling for immediate withdrawal. However, the resolution was vetoed by Britain and France. As a result, Yugoslavia invoked the Uniting for Peace Resolution and the matter was transferred to the General Assembly. The Assembly passed a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of all forces by a vote of sixty-four to five, with six abstentions. The resolution led to the withdrawal of British, French and Israeli troops and the establishment of the UN Emergency Force, the first UN peacekeeping operation in history.
