शांति निर्माण UN वीटो के पार

The United Nations was founded "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war," yet in 2025 the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 65 state-based armed conflicts, the highest number since its series began in 1946, including a record eight between states. This paper asks why the collective security system underperforms and what can be built in response. It combines doctrinal legal analysis, comparative institutional study, systems engineering and civilizational ethics. It argues that the failure is architectural, not moral. The veto in Article 27(3) can prevent collective Council action even where a permanent member, or an actor closely aligned with it, is implicated, which creates a structural risk of selective enforcement. Article 108 then makes fundamental reform of the veto depend on the consent of those who hold it. Meanwhile the system invests far more in reacting to war than in preventing it. The paper proposes a Four-Layer Peace Architecture (Niti, Vigyana, Prakriti, Chetana: law, science, ecology, consciousness) and a five-rung ladder of legal pathways, the lower rungs of which do not require P5 consent. It adds engineering instruments for prevention (an early-warning system linked to mandatory early action, river-basin peace authorities, cooperative verification and human-controlled AI) and a verified Peace Dividend Fund. It grounds these mechanisms in India's civilizational experience, from Ashoka's remorse after Kalinga to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. It concludes with a draft treaty-style instrument, the Dhauli Covenant, which complements the UN Charter, opens for signature among willing states, and is designed for eventual merger into a reformed Charter.