Legal Bases for the “Uniting for Peace” Mechanism and Its Use in the Conditions of the Russian Federation’s War against Ukraine
Legal Bases for the “Uniting for Peace” Mechanism and Its Use in the Conditions of the Russian Federation’s War against Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: The author analyzes comprehensively the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism, which was formulated and adopted by the UN General Assembly as a result of looking for a way out of the situation when the Security Council, as a body entrusted with the main responsibility in the field of maintaining international peace and security by the UN Charter, is unable to fulfill its duties due to the use by one of the states – permanent members of this body of its right of veto. Attention is paid to the development of this mechanism in recent years and its use for adopting a set of resolutions in response to the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The author concludes that the resolution of 1950, “Uniting for Peace,” became a concentrated expression of understanding by the member states of the broad competence of the UN General Assembly. Without violating the statutory advisory powers of this body, new mechanisms for their implementation were created. First of all, this concerns the efficiency of convening sessions and the simplified procedure for preparing issues for consideration by the General Assembly, as well as not only authorization but also direct coordination by this body of collective actions of member states in the field of maintaining international peace and security. The UN General Assembly legitimately took upon itself the solution of issues related to the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, albeit with the help of more limited means than those of the Security Council. The appeal to the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism also remains symbolic, and states continue to attach special importance to the resolutions adopted within this framework – as the final solution to the most complex and controversial issues on behalf of the UN as an organization, not its individual body.

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