UN report warns Security Council veto power is hindering efforts to prevent global conflicts

By R Anil Kumar

• The United Nations has warned that the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council is hampering international efforts to resolve conflicts

• The report warns that conflicts and security rivalries disrupt trade and supply chains while diverting money and political attention from poverty reduction, healthcare, education and other development priorities

New York/ Bengaluru, Oct 25, 2026. The United Nations has warned that the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council is hampering international efforts to resolve conflicts, as rising geopolitical rivalries make global cooperation increasingly difficult.

The UN’s World Social Report 2026 says competition among major powers is weakening multilateral institutions and diverting resources away from development.

It calls for reforms to make global decision-making more representative, alongside stronger cooperation on debt, technology, climate change and social investment.

The report highlights a growing gap between the need for countries to work together on shared challenges and their ability to take collective action.

Although the emergence of multiple centres of power could, in principle, create opportunities for broader cooperation, competition for strategic influence is instead putting international coordination under strain, the report observes.

Veto power and global rivalries weaken UN action

The report identifies the Security Council’s decision-making structure as a major obstacle to effective international responses to conflicts.

The veto allows any of its five permanent members- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, to block substantive resolutions, even when other members support them.

The resulting deadlock has renewed calls for changes to the Council, including expanding its membership.

The UN secretary-general has backed reforms to improve representation for regions such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific, whose influence in global decision-making remains limited.

The report also points to the spread of geopolitical influence across the world. The number of countries exercising substantial influence over another country has increased from six in the 1970s to 34 today.

Relations between neighbouring countries have also deteriorated. According to the report, in 2024-25, 59 countries recorded worsening relations with their neighbours, while only 19 reported improvements.

The growing number of competing powers has encouraged countries to form smaller groups or coalitions to pursue shared interests.

However, the report warns that such arrangements risk weakening broader multilateral institutions and making collective responses to international challenges more difficult.

Rising military spending adds to development pressures

Geopolitical tensions are also increasing the pressure on national budgets.

More than half of all countries raised defence spending as a share of their gross domestic product between 2020 and 2024. All nine nuclear-armed states have expanded their arsenals since 2022, the report said.

The report warns that conflicts and security rivalries disrupt trade and supply chains while diverting money and political attention from poverty reduction, healthcare, education and other development priorities.

The consequences are particularly severe for low-income countries and economies affected by conflict.

Violence destroys infrastructure, discourages investment and weakens public institutions. Displacement also interrupts access to schools, healthcare and employment, making it harder for vulnerable communities to recover.

Meanwhile, rapid technological change and climate pressures are creating new demands on governments, even as many developing countries struggle to secure affordable financing and access to digital infrastructure.

UN calls for stronger cooperation on debt and technology

The report outlines three priorities for reviving international cooperation.

These include improving access to funding for social programmes through tax cooperation and debt relief measures, widening access to technology and digital infrastructure, and reforming global institutions to make them more inclusive and accountable.

It argues that developing countries need greater support to manage debt costs, attract investment and benefit from technological and economic changes.

The report stresses that economic, digital and energy transitions are advancing rapidly, but billions of people remain unable to access the jobs, skills, services and social protections needed to benefit from them.

It calls for renewed multilateral efforts to ensure that global progress does not deepen existing inequalities or leave vulnerable countries further behind.