Article 18
Article 18 gives each state one vote in the UN General Assembly. The interpretation of Sections 2 and 3 are controversial. They read:
- 2. Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall include: recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security, the election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the election of the members of the Economic and Social Council, the election of members of the Trusteeship Council in accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article 86, the admission of new Members to the United Nations, the suspension of the rights and privileges of membership, the expulsion of Members, questions relating to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.
- 3. Decisions on other questions, including the determination of additional categories of questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting.
The question of what constitutes an "important question" arose during the discussion of General Assembly Resolution 2758, which expelled the Taiwanese delegation from the UN and replaced it with the People's Republic of China. The General Assembly had declared, by a vote of 59 to 55 with 15 abstentions, this to be an unimportant question that did not require the consent of two-thirds of the members. The delegates of the Republic of China protested that this decision was illegal, and subsequently left the assembly hall.
Article 18 was designed to provide a more workable system than that established by Article 5 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, which provided for a consensus-based system in which "decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement of all the Members of the League represented at the meeting."
Read more about this topic: Chapter IV Of The United Nations Charter
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