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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · International Organisations

Veto

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/ˈviːtəʊ/nounCore term

In international relations & diplomacy, veto means: The power of one member to block a decision even when the others support it; at the UN, the right of the five permanent Security Council members to stop a draft resolution.

In Turkish: veto, veto hakkı

How it is used

Noun and verb: a country 'uses its veto', 'casts a veto' or 'vetoes' a draft. In the Security Council a negative vote by a permanent member is a veto, but an abstention is not. The plural is 'vetoes'. Bodies that decide by unanimity also give members 'veto power'.

Example sentences

  1. The draft was vetoed by one of the permanent members.

  2. Any member can veto the decision because the rules require unanimity.

  3. Some states want to limit the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities.

Common collocations

  • use a veto
  • cast a veto
  • veto power
  • veto a resolution
  • threaten a veto
  • Security CouncilThe UN organ with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It has 15 members and can take decisions, such as sanctions, that all UN member states must carry out.
  • resolutionA formal decision or statement adopted by vote or consensus in a body such as the UN Security Council or General Assembly, expressing a position or requiring action.
  • consensusGeneral agreement among all participants, often reached without a formal vote because no one objects to a proposal.
  • United NationsThe global organisation set up in 1945 to keep international peace and security, build friendly relations between nations and encourage cooperation; almost every state is a member.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: International Organisations

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