United Nations Security Council

Annual Military Training

   To improve their overall effectiveness, the five primary members of the Security Council should be required to conduct military exercises with each other on an annual basis. This will encourage greater cooperation among the group and improve their handling of international matters (e.g., prevent piracy near the African coastline).

Demerit System

   All Security Council members are expected to maintain a higher level of standard than other nations due to their stature. However, there may be a number of situations where a particular member may conduct themselves in an immoral or unethical manner due to political or economic reasons for their nation.

   To prevent this, a demerit system should be imposed upon the council to ensure that higher standards are being met by its members at all times. Examples of earning a demerit may be: dereliction of duty (not participating in an approved measure), human rights violations (both domestically and internationally), failure to uphold certain morals as a nation (excessive pollution, unfair trade practices), etc.

   If the number of demerits exceeds a certain threshold then that member will be temporarily dismissed until they are able to reestablish themselves once again. If they fail to do so in a reasonable amount of time then the dismissal will be final and they will be replaced by another that is willing to assume their duties.

Nuclear Weapons Restriction

   The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was established to prevent the possibility of nuclear war between nations. However, the agreement as it exists today may not be restrictive enough to prevent nuclear conflicts since any nation may withdraw making the accord ineffective.

   For example, both India and Pakistan have developed nuclear weapons as well as North Korea, Israel, and possibly Iran. The treaty has utterly failed to discourage nations from developing nuclear weapons, which places the entire world at risk.

   A better solution would be to take a tougher stance on the situation and impose a policy that only the five primary members of the Security Council may possess nuclear weapons. Other nations may complain that this would leave them at a disadvantage, but there are other ways to develop an advanced military than the use of nuclear weapons (e.g., stealth technology, laser weapons, robotics, space-based delivery systems, etc.).

   The justification why only the five primary members of the Security Council should have nuclear weapons is that such armaments may be necessary to fulfill their duties and responsibilities to the world. For example, if a nation had an underground facility to develop weapons of mass destruction of some kind, conventional weapons may not be strong enough to collapse the structure making it inoperable. A nuclear strike may be necessary to eliminate the site and resolve the situation.