A United Nations resolution (UN resolution or UNSCR) is a formal text adopted by a body of the United Nations, such as the Security Council or the General Assembly. A resolution can address a specific issue or a broad topic, and if passed, creates new legally binding obligations for the parties to the conflict. Resolutions can also be amended, or withdrawn, and are normally voted on in open formal meetings, with the results recorded in the meeting record.
The most powerful body of the UN, the Security Council, has a core responsibility to maintain international peace and security. It does this through a number of mechanisms, including the veto, a unilateral power available only to its permanent members, known as the P5: the United States, China, France, Russia and the UK. UN Watch has been calling for voluntary restraint on the use of this power since 2014. In September 2014, at a ministerial-level event organized by France and Mexico on the margins of the 69th session of the General Assembly, High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein supported a proposal by the French delegation that would encourage the P5 to “voluntarily and collectively pledge not to exercise their veto in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes committed on a large scale”. However, this was not implemented.