I usually write four brief essays in this space. This time around I only have one. And it matters, perhaps more than any other opinion I have ever spouted. I will even keep it extra-short.

BULLSHOOT:
Resolution 377

Here is the ridiculous reality of the United Nations Security Council:

1. Three-fifths of the Security Council must vote to advance something.
2. That three-fifths must include all five permanent members.
3. The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United States, and the UK. If any one of them votes against something, it dies.
4. There is no exclusion for a permanent member being the subject of the vote.

In other words, any permanent member effectively has veto power over anything. For this reason, the United Nations has done NOTHING about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is absurd that the UN even allows Russia a vote on this, but there it is. Yet as the world talks about how the UN’s hands are tied, everyone forgets about Resolution 377.

Adopted in 1950, Resolution 377 allows the United Nations General Assembly to override the Security Council in matters where it is imperative “to maintain or restore international peace and security.” Yet the United Nations has sat on its hands since this atrocity began, with Vladimir Putin killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, lying to the world every step of the way, and threatening the use of nuclear weapons if anyone interferes.

I can think of no greater threat to international peace and security than this. The United Nations should invoke Resolution 377 and put Russia in its place. In fact, nations like Russia have no place in the United Nations because they are not interested in working with any other nations. Putin just wants to rule, expand his reach, reestablish the Soviet Union, and return to a path toward global domination.

Enough of this. I urge you to read about Resolution 377, including its brief and clear text, and about when it the UN has invoked it—which has been thirteen times since its inception. Spoiler: The UN already invoked the resolution this year, regarding Ukraine to override Russia’s veto once. Now it is time to do it again in order to send United Nations troops into Ukraine and stop this madness—and, if not, the United Nations has no reason to exist and should dissolve itself immediately.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_377

David M. Fitzpatrick is a fiction writer in Maine, USA. His many short stories have appeared in print magazines and anthologies around the world. He writes for a newspaper, writes fiction, edits anthologies, and teaches creative writing. Visit him at www.fitz42.net/writer to learn more.