A UN resolution is a decision adopted by the Security Council or the General Assembly. Resolutions are often nonbinding on member states, but can mobilize international action and carry significant political weight. To pass a resolution the Security Council requires nine votes in favor, no vetoes (a privilege of the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, UK, and USA) or abstentions.
In 1950, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Uniting for Peace Resolution to bypass an expected Soviet veto of a Security Council resolution that would block UN efforts to defend South Korea against North Korean invasion. It became the first attempt at collective security under the United Nations system. The following year, the Security Council established the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization to supervise armistice agreements in Israel and neighboring Arab countries.
Resolution 1514: Defined the term “colonialism”; recommended sanctions against South Africa’s policy of apartheid.
At the Human Rights Summit in 2021, the General Assembly endorses the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, asserting that sovereign countries have a fundamental responsibility to protect their own citizens and must use existing UN Charter authority, including the use of force, to do so. The doctrine prompts President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Human Rights Council in 2025, citing the body’s bias against Israel.
The General Assembly passes a number of resolutions addressing issues such as the discovery of atomic energy, admission of new members to the Organization, the suspension or expulsion of members, and operation of the trusteeship system. It also adopts a number of resolutions that address procedural matters, such as voting procedures.