331 Beatriz Vázquez Rodríguez Spain and the Responsibility to Protect:... Another case is the debate on small arms during which the Security Council adopted reso-lution S/RES/2220 (2015)44 including the language of the responsibility to protect in the text of the resolution and stressing the close connection between the two questions. Furthermore, the resolution underscores several times the primary responsibility of states as regards the protection of their populations and reaffirms «(…) the relevant provisions of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the protection of civilians in armed conflict, inclu-ding paragraphs 138 and 139 thereof regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity»45. Once again, there is no mention of the responsibility to protect in the statement made by Spain. Finally, it is also important to highlight the debate on the adoption of a new resolution on women and peace and security that also took place in October, the month in which Spain held the presidency of the Security Council. Just as in the other cases, and despite the fact that the resolution referred to the role of women in armed conflicts, the importance of prevention and the fight against sexual violence in conflicts, no elements relating to the responsibility to protect were mentioned in the statement by the Spanish Prime Minister. SPAIN’S SUPPORT FOR THE LIMITATION OF THE USE OF THE VETO IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL Closely linked to the effective implementation of the responsibility to protect is the issue of the need to limit the use of the right of veto by the permanent members of the Security Council to ensure that the adoption of resolutions necessary for the implementation of said responsibility is not hindered. It is, therefore, important to highlight Spain’s position on this subject. During the round of statements by the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the previously-mentioned session, three spokesmen made specific references to the question of limiting the use of veto46. When faced with the question as to whether in their statement: «If a State fails to do so, then the international community must take its place. Obviously, any intervention of that kind must take place in strict respect for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations». Towards the end of their statement, they reiterated that: «… any use of force to defend civilians must take place with total respect for the Charter of the United Nations. Any unilateral action … should be discouraged», «(…) the Security Council must exercise leadership for a response at the international level, while respecting the standards of the Charter of the United Nations», (S/PV.7374, Security Council, Protection of civilians in armed conflict, delegation of Burundi, 30 January 2015, pp. 48-49). 44 S/RES/2220, 22 May 2015, Small arms. 45 S/RES/2220, 22 May 2015, Small arms, pp. 2. 46 The members of the Committee who referred to the question of the veto in their statements were: T. Jiménez, who said that «The fact that the reform is blocked does not mean that the criticisms as regards the under representation of the veto of the five permanent member states has disappeared. Consequently, as a non-permanent member, I know that there will be constant pressure from many http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
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