As the Guardian columnist Gary Younge put it, the Security Council ?operates, by and large, according to the golden rule ? those who have the gold make the rules?. Its structures are outmoded, its methods undemocratic and its record of defending, restoring or establishing democracy weak. The law of force regularly takes precedence over the force of law. The human rights records of certain members are extremely poor, while, rather ironically, the five permanent members also happen to be the world?s main arms traders. Its resolutions quite often have nothing much to do with principle or international law but everything to do with the balance of power within it, being results of intimidation, coercion, bribing and horse-trading (who has forgotten the ?most expensive ?no? in history? ? certainly not the Yemenis).
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