WAR IN UKRAINE

THE SHIFT OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ CENTER OF GRAVITY FROM THE SECURITY COUNCIL TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Abstract

On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to launch a vast offensive by Russian armed forces on land, air, and sea across the entire territory of Ukraine, under the guise of what was justified as a "special military operation”. Such a war initiated by Russia against Ukraine highlighted the deficiencies of the United Nations when a permanent member of the Security Council is involved. Since the beginning of armed hostilities, the Security Council, a body of limited composition assuming primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, remained paralyzed in its actions by the Russian veto. On the contrary, the General Assembly, the plenary body, experienced renewed vitality, that enabled it to intervene in aid to Ukraine and to adopt a series of important albeit non-binding resolutions. The center of gravity of the United Nations thus shifted from an immobilized Security Council to a revitalized General Assembly capable of recalling the essential principles of international law, at a time when they are being so blatantly disregarded.