During 2019, it was estimated by the UN’s refugee organization United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that 79,5 million people have been forced to flee. Syria was the worst affected country with 6,6 million people on the run. 

The Syrian war broke out on the 15th of Match 2011, and is still going on today, which means that it will have been ongoing for 10 years. The armed conflict if occurring between Syrian government groups led by the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and warring opposition groups. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more then 12 million people have been forced on the run, which is more than half of Syria’s population. 

The purpose of this study is to analyze and explain Russia’s, the US’s and the United Kingdom’s management of the right of veto during the Syrian conflict by analyzing the countries motives for their own actions. The three countries are permanent member states of the UN’s Security Council. 

The method that will form the basis of the thesis is a motive analysis from the methodological study “Substantiate Motives” by Axel Hadenius. The theory that will be applied is neorealism, which was first described by Kenneth N. Waltz in his book “Theory of International Politics”. The theory intends to explain how and why states act the way they do. 

The conclusion of this study is that there’s a gap in the UN’s Security Council when it comes to resolutions and the will to implement these resolutions. By utilizing the right of veto in the Security Council, the possibility of adopting a resolution is blocked. The division within the Security Council has made it more difficult to work within Syria, and the most apparent side effect of the Security Council’s passivity is the fact that of not being able to preserve protection and security for the Syrian people, which is a pillar of human rights.