US Once Again Planning a Coup at the UN

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, Global Research, September 30, 2022 — Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Washington has shown that it is willing to do anything to move global society against Moscow, even if it means violating international law. According to a recent report, the US government plans to take measures against Russia within the UN framework to respond to the integration of the liberated regions into the territory of the Federation. Considering that Russia would veto any measure of this kind in the UNSC, it is possible to say that once again the US is planning a kind of “coup” at the UN.

A report recently published by Politico says the US government has a plan to impose measures against Russia globally, adopting a resolution at the Security Council to condemn Moscow for the referendums in the liberated oblasts. In fact, such a resolution has already been proposed by American diplomats, promoting sanctions not only against Moscow but also against all countries that recognize the referendums as legitimate and the liberated zones as part of Russian territory.

However, the proposition of resolutions is a mere bureaucratic practice, subject to control by countries with veto power. The West has tried several times to sanction Russia in the Security Council and was prevented precisely because Moscow has the right of veto, due to its permanent seat. But apparently the US would be seeking to pass the resolution independently of the bureaucratic procedure of the Council, trying to prevent Russia from vetoing the measure.

There are still no very clear details on how this would be done, but articles published about the issue cite internal US government sources and it is alleged that something is being planned in this regard. There is also no clear information on the material implications of such a resolution, on whether it would be limited to imposing sanctions against Russia or whether it would attempt to promote massive military support to Kiev on an international scale. However, it is expected that the US government will use a strategy similar to that adopted in the Resolution 82, which approved the condemnation against North Korea in 1950 and “legitimized” the US invasion of the Peninsula.

It is necessary to remember that this would not be the first time that the US government has tried to do something of this kind. A few months ago, Washington officials made statements that the US was planning a Security Council’s reformulation, excluding Russia, due to intervention in Ukraine, and China, due to strong ties with Moscow. After several denunciations and criticisms, the American plan seems not to have gone ahead, but apparently the US continues to plan illegal maneuvers against the current institutional arrangement of the UN.

It is important to mention that the strength of the UN as an international institution is due to the willingness of its member states to comply with the commitments made in international deliberations. It is the member states that make the organization strong, not the organization that coerces the states. In this sense, if illegal maneuvers, coup attempts, institutional illegitimate reforms and other similar attitudes become common in the organization’s praxis, the tendency is not that the affected countries are deterred, but that they simply withdraw from the UN and the organization ends.

If the US continues to try to create a “UN without Russia”, the UN will not last long, as no organization with global dimensions can survive in the absence of Russia. That is why it is absolutely irrational to want to impose coercive measures against Russia on a global level. What the US and other Western powers can legally do is try to pass measures through the regular procedure, submitting resolutions and peacefully accepting an eventual Russian veto. It is this bureaucratic structure that has allowed the UN to balance international interests and avoid a new world war since 1945.

For the West, however, ensuring peace is no longer a priority in the face of the agenda against Moscow. The US objective is to carry out every possible form of attack on Russia, even appealing to coups in the UN itself. It remains to be seen when the other signatory states of the UN Charter will perceive the threat posed by American anti-Russian belligerence and will take measures to prevent the catastrophe.

Undoubtedly, reforms in the UN are necessary, but not to make it subservient to Washington, but to adapt it to the multipolar world order. It is necessary to expand the Security Council and include the new emerging powers, in addition to guaranteeing the existence of mechanisms that improve international security. Any way that acts contrary to this will only contribute to the failure of the UN.

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Lucas Leiroz is a researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on Twitter.

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