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Dr. Walid Abdulrahim ‫اﻟﺪﻛﺘﻮر وﻟﯿﺪ ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ‬

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Society is Knowledge;
The United Nations My International
Knowledge is Power Law Studies [In
English]
About Me Selected
The United Nations [1] Bibliography
Public
International
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization. It is Law:
Introductory
a global association of governments facilitating cooperation in Topics
Dr. Walid international law, international security, economic development, A State as a
Abdulrahim Subject of
Beirut, Lebanon and social progress. It was founded in 1945 by 51 states, replacing International Law
Professor of Law the League of Nations; as of 2006 it consists of 191 member states. The Law of
Treaties
View my complete The creation of the United Nations Organization represents the
The Law of the
profile second major effort (the creation of the League of Nations was the Sea
first effort) in the twentieth century for the purpose of maintaining Air Space and
Blog Archive
international peace and security through a general international Outer Space Law
Diplomatic and
▼ 2011 (7)
▼ organization of states. Consular Law
▼ November (1)
▼ How and when was the United Nations created? What is its Peaceful
My Curriculum Settlement of
Vitae (C.V)
nature? For what purposes was it created? What are its Disputes
principles? How is it structured? How can it maintain The Use of Force
► December (6)
►
international peace and security, its primary purpose? How has it International
Criminal Law
► 2012 (3)
► evolved since its creation?
International
► 2013 (3)
► The answers to all the above questions are dealt with in the Humanitarian
► 2014 (9)
► following five chapters. Law
International
► 2015 (1)
►
Environmental
Chapter one deals with the genesis of the United Nations, its Law
Charter, its purposes and principles, its membership, and its The United
Nations
budget.
Regional
Organizations
Chapter two deals with the organizational structure of the United Specialized
Nations. Agencies
Miscellaneous
Studies [In
Chapter three deals with the role of the United Nations in the English]
maintenance of international peace and security.

Chapter four deals with the other activities of the United Nations.

Chapter five deals with the evolution of the United Nations since
its creation.

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Chapter One
 Introductory Topics

I. Genesis of the United Nations [2]

The name "United Nations" was coined by United States

President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War. It
was first used in the “Declaration by the United Nations” of
January 1, 1942, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their
Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis powers
during the Second World War. Thereafter, the Allies used the
name "United Nations Fighting Forces" to refer to their alliance.

The idea to create an international organization was elaborated

in declarations signed at the wartime allied conferences in
Moscow, Cairo and Tehran in 1943. From August to October 1944,
representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union met to elaborate
the plans for the creation of a United Nations organization at the
Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington, DC. Those and later talks
produced proposals outlining the purposes of the organization, its
membership and organs, and arrangements to maintain
international peace and security and international economic and
social cooperation. These proposals were discussed and debated by
governments and citizens worldwide.

On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on

International Organizations began in San Francisco.[3] The 50
nations represented at the conference signed the Charter of the
United Nations on 26 June 1945. Poland, which was not
represented at the conference, signed the Charter two month later.
The United Nations Organization officially came into existence on
October 24, 1945, after the Charter had been ratified by the five
permanent members of the Security Council, Republic of China,
France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States,
and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. United Nations Day
is celebrated on 24 October each year.

II. Nature of the United Nations

To understand the United Nations one must understand its

nature. The ideal of an international organization such as the
United Nations has intrigued far-seeking thinkers and dreamers
for many centuries. The theories and conceptions of these
thinkers and dreamers provided the bases for the international
organizations.

Three broad schools of thought can be suggested for the

purpose of understanding the nature of the United Nations. These
three schools can be called the rationalist, the revolutionist, and
the realist.[4]
 The rationalists insist on the need for a new plan for the
international relation. They reject the bankrupt practices and
objectives of the old diplomacy. They argue that the rationale for a
political body that has the right to enforce law and order at the
domestic level is the same for a world political body that has the
right to enforce law and order at the international level. That
which exists at the domestic level needs to be created in
international society, the society of sovereign states, for the
purpose of transforming that society into a true community of
nations where world-wide peace and order prevail. An
international political body could provide the framework for the
realization of order for the benefit of all mankind.

U.S President Woodrow Wilson, a rationalist, envisioned the

organization as “not a balance of power, but a community of
power; not organized rivalries but an organized common
peace.”[5] To him, organized common peace should be supported
by collective mechanisms for the pacific settlement of disputes and
by general and comprehensive disarmament for the purpose of
depriving states of the means with which to wage war and
aggression.

Rationalist thought is imbued with a sense of purposes: “To

save successive generations from the scourge of war; to secure
equal political rights (national self-determination) and equal
economic opportunities (the welfare state); and to substitute right
for might through the institution of the rule of law which will give
protection to the powerless against the powerful.”[6]

Believing in the historical progress, the rationalists assure that

the “United Nations is moving slowly but surely in the direction of
a fully-fledged world authority, with the acceleration of an ever-
widening range of executive responsibilities, especially in the
peace-keeping field, and the assimilation of procedures which …
constitute a form of parliamentary diplomacy”.[7]

Like the rationalists, the revolutionists insist on the process of

historical progress. However, there are important differences
between the two. On one hand, the rationalists’ goal is “an
international millennium, that is, a millennium in which sovereign
states will continue to exist, even though they will coexist not in a
state of near anarchy but in an effectively functioning world
community.”[8] On the other hand, the revolutionists’ goal is “to
rebuild, not merely to repair, the existing world order, the
institutions of which may need to be demolished to clear the site
for the rebuilding. In that rebuilding there may be little place for
traditional notions of sovereignty.”[9]

Finally, the realists insist on the “real nature of things”. Their

starting point is the observed behaviors of states. Their approach
is dominated by the “ubiquity of the struggle for power, regardless
of time and place and political ideology, or form of
government.”[10] Relying on this approach, they believe that the
world’s institutions are caught up in this struggle. They argue that
in this international arena of states struggling for powers, world
order is necessary and needed as a countervailing power. They
view world order as “a function of a balance of power checking and
restraining the overweening ambitions of the powerful.”[11] For
them the task of the world institution is to “add stability to the
balance and to facilitate the adjustment of shifting power
relationships without resort to large-scale or unlimited war.”[12]
The United Nations is viewed as providing “a convenient point of
diplomatic contact, especially in times of crisis, which may enable
statesmen to assess each other’s intentions more accurately and to
appreciate better the risks a particular policy may involve.”[13]

Relying on the philosophical bases created by these schools of

thought, the member states of the United Nations perceive the
nature of this international organization in different ways. The
United Nations is conceived as “static conference machinery” for
resolving conflicts of interests and ideologies with a view to
peaceful coexistence.[14] According to this view, the United
Nations is the forum through which sovereign states despite their
rivalries and competition achieve peaceful coexistence. In contrast
to this view, the United Nations is conceived as “dynamic
instrument of governments” through which the governments,
jointly and for common purposes, seek reconciliation to develop
forms of executive action, undertaken on behalf of all members,
aiming at forestalling and resolving conflicts by appropriate
diplomatic or political means.[15] According to this view, the
“dynamic instrument” concept is but the starting point on the path
to increasingly effective forms of active international cooperation
in the future; the road to this future is open.

To the International Court of Justice the United Nations is

neither a state nor a super-state.[16] To it the legal nature of the
United Nations is more akin to a confederation of states than it is
to a federation.[17]

The concept of “is” and “ought to be” regarding the United

Nations have confused the statesmen as well as the thinkers.
Everyone has been trying to give his own view.[18] The United
Nations is a meeting place for international discussion. It is a
place where the world statesmen meet each other. It is merely a
group of institutions provided with procedures and powers for
accomplishing objectives. It is an instrument of cooperation. It is
a loose association for occasional specific joint action, in regard to
which each of its members remain on the whole free to participate
or not. It is a club which makes joint action easier if wanted.

The most realistic view regarding the nature of the United

Nations is the one conceives the Organization not a world
government but an organization of sovereign states, and not an
entity apart from its members but an entity reflects the world
context in which it operates: its diversity, its imperfections, its
many centers of powers and initiatives, its competing values, its
worldly compound of mobility and tragedy.[19] This view gives a
veracious and realistic picture about the United Nations. The
United Nations is a reflection of the international scene. Its nature
should be conceived in regard to what it “is” in reality rather that
what it “ought to be”. Until the time when member states get
together to choose and decide what the United Nations ought to
be, the nature of the United nations remains a subject of
confusion. The United Nations remains a loose association of
conflicting states in an international theater, where each state
seeks to further its own interests through every possible means,
legal or illegal, or even through exploiting this Organization for its
own selfish purposes.

From the legal point of view, the United Nations is a legal

person under International Law (a subject of International Law).
[20] The United Nations can perform legal acts such as entering
into agreements with member States and with other international
organizations, concluding contracts and bringing claims before the
Court.

The international legal personality of the United Nations is

derived from the United Nations Charter, the Headquarters
Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of
America of 1947, and the 1946 Convention on the Principles and
Immunities of the United Nations. The attribution of an
international legal personality involves the capacity to perform
legal acts, to have rights and duties and to enter into relations on
the international level.

The United Nations enjoys in the territory of each of its member

states such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its
functions and the fulfillment of its purposes.[21] It also enjoys
such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfillment
of its purposes.[22] Officials of the United Nations (the Secretary
General and the Staff) and representatives of member states
similarly enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for
the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the
Organization.[23]

In reality, the United Nations has exercised its legal capacity in

a great variety of ways. It has concluded treaties, created military
forces, convened international conferences, and brought claims
against States.

III. Charter of the United Nations

On June 26, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations was signed
at San Francisco (USA). The Charter was a product of the joint
evolutionary efforts and developments of many minds extending
back over many centuries for the goal of establishing a world
organization that would do away with wars and contribute to
lasting security and peace on planet earth.[24] The United Nations
Organization created by the Charter represents the second major
effort in the twentieth century for the purpose of maintaining
international peace and security through a general international
organization of states.

The United Nations Charter is the constituting instrument of

the Organization, establishing the United Nations organs and
procedures, and setting out the rights and obligations of Member
States. It is an international treaty, codifying the major principles
of international law, from the sovereign equality of states to the
prohibition of the use of force in international relations to the
basic human rights to which all women and men are entitled.[25]

The Charter opens with a Preamble, and includes 19 chapters,

mainly on: United Nations purposes and principles; membership;
organs; pacific settlement of disputes; actions with respect to
threats to peace, breach of the peace and acts of aggression;
regional arrangement; international economic and social
cooperation; and amendments to the Charter.

The Preamble of the Charter expresses the ideals and common

aims of all the peoples whose Governments joined together to
form the United Nations. It starts with the solemn statement of
ends (purposes or aims) by the peoples of the United Nations. The
peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in
fundamental human rights, to establish conditions under which
justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and
other sources of international law can be maintained, and to
promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom.

The statement of ends by the peoples of the United Nations is

followed by their statement of means (courses of conduct) to attain
these ends. The peoples of the United Nations determined to
practice tolerance and live together with one another as good
neighbors, to unite strength to maintain international peace and
security, to ensure that armed force shall not be used save in the
common interest, and to employ international machinery for the
promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.

The Preamble ends with the resolution by the peoples of the

United Nations to combine their efforts to accomplish the listed
aims, and accordingly have agreed to the Charter of the United
Nations and to establish an international organization to be known
as the United Nations.

IV. Purposes and Principles of the United Nations

The United Nations is essentially an association of states that,

through an international treaty, has chosen to accomplish specific
aims and purposes. These purposes, the common ends, which the
United Nations, a center for harmonizing the actions of nations,
has to attain, are stated in the preamble and Article 1 of its
Charter. The purposes of the United Nations are: [26]

1. To maintain international peace and security;

 2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-
determination of peoples;

3. To cooperate in solving international economic, social,

cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in

attaining these common ends.

The United Nations and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes

of the United Nations, stated in Article 2 of the Charter the
principles to be followed by the Organization and its Members in
pursuit of the purposes stated in Article 1. The principles are:[27]

1. The United Nations is based on the sovereign equality of all

its Members.

2. All Members are to fulfill in good faith their obligations

under the Charter.

3. All Members are to settle their international disputes by

peaceful means in such a manner that international peace
and security, and justice, are not endangered.

4. All Members are to refrain in their international relations

from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any state, or in any other
manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United
Nations.

5. All Members are to give the United Nations every assistance

in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter, and to
refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the
United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.

6. The Organization is to ensure that states which are not

Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these
Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

7. The United Nations and its Members are not to intervene in

matters which are essentially within the domestic
jurisdiction of any state.

It seems that the maintenance of international peace and

security which was the basic reason for the creation of the United
Nations as an international organization represents the primary
purpose of this Organization. The maintenance of international
peace and security is the prerequisite to any other purposes of the
United Nations; without it no friendly relations, no international
cooperation, and no harmonization of nation’s actions could be
achieved. Its location, heading the list of the United Nations’
purposes, makes it prevailing over the other purposes.

Because of the importance of international peace and security,

the founders of the United Nations insisted upon it and
emphasized it in the Preamble and in the articles of the Charter of
the United Nations. They made it the primary purpose of the
United Nations, and to this end they stated all the possible
principles and courses of conduct which are to be followed to
attain it.

V. Membership of the United Nations

The Charter of the United Nations, after determining the

original members of the United Nation, defines the conditions and
the procedures for the admission of a new member to the United
Nations, and the conditions and procedures for the suspension or
expulsion of a member from the United Nations. The original
members of the United Nations, as determined by the Charter, are
the states (51 states) which participated in the United Nations
Conference on International Organization at San Francisco in
1945, and which signed its Charter. [28] Membership to the
United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which
accept the obligations contained in the Charter and, in the
judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out
these obligations.[29] The admission of any such state to
membership in the United Nations takes effect by a decision of the
General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security
Council.[30]

A member of the United Nations against which a preventive or

enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be
suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of
membership by the General Assembly upon the recommendation
of the Security Council; the exercise of these rights and privileges
may be restored by the Security Council.[31] Moreover, a member
which has persistently violated the principles contained in the
Charter may be expelled from the Organization by a decision of the
General Assembly upon a recommendation of the Security
Council.[32] No such action (suspension or expulsion) has ever
been taken.

As of 2006 the United Nations consists of 191 member states,

including virtually all internationally-recognized independent
nations, except the Vatican City (which has declined membership),
Palestine (whose status is still one of a de facto state, and has not
yet legal declared statehood), Niue (whose foreign affairs are dealt
with by the New Zealand Government) and the Republic of China
(whose membership was superseded by the People's Republic of
China in 1971). Palestine and the Vatican City both have
permanent observer missions to the U.N.
VI. Budget of the United Nations

The regular budget of the United Nations (excluding its

programmes) is approved by the General Assembly for a two-year
period. The budget is initially submitted by the Secretary General
and reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions. The main source of the funds for the regular
budget is the contributions of member states, which are assessed
on a scale approved by the Assembly on the recommendation of
the Committee on Contributions.[33] The fundamental criterion
on which the scale of assessments is based is the ability of states to
pay. This is determined by considering their relative shares of
total gross national product, adjusted to take into account a
number of factors, including their per capita incomes.

In addition to the regular budget, member states are also

assessed, in accordance with the modified version of the basic
scale, for the costs of the United Nations peacekeeping operations
around the world. With Regard to the United Nations operational
programmes, the bulk of the resources for their finance are
provided on a voluntary basis. Contributions are provided by
governments, and also by individuals.

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Chapter Two

Organizational Structure of the United

Nations

The Charter of the United Nations established six principal

organs of the United Nations, namely the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the
Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the
Secretariat. The United Nations family, however, is much larger;
it encompasses 15 agencies and several programmes and bodies.

I. General Assembly [34]

 The General Assembly (G.A) of the United Nations is the main
deliberative organ of the Organization. It is a forum where states
put forward their ideas and debate issues.

A. Composition and Voting

The General Assembly is composed of representatives of the

members of the United Nations; it is made up of all 191 member
states.[35] Each member of the General Assembly has one vote.
[36]

The General Assembly can discuss and make recommendations

on any issue covered by the U.N Charter. The recommendations
are not binding and the Assembly has no authority to enforce
them, however, they carry the weight of world opinion, as well as
the moral authority of the world community.

Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions,

such as those on peace and security, admission of new members,
election of members to other U.N organs, suspension or expulsion
of a member, and budget, require a two-thirds majority.[37]
Decisions on other questions are made by a majority of the
members present and voting.[38]

B. Functions and Powers

Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the General

Assembly include: [39]

1. To consider and make recommendations on the principles of

cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and
security, including the principles governing disarmament
and arms regulation.

2. To discuss any question relating to international peace and

security and, except where a dispute or situation is being
discussed by the Security Council, to make
recommendations on it.

3. To discuss and, with the same above exception, make

recommendations on any question within the scope of the
Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of
the United Nations.

4. To initiate studies and make recommendations to promote

international political cooperation, the development and
 codification of international law, the realization of human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and international
collaboration in economic, social, cultural, educational and
health fields.

5. To make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of

any situation, regardless of origin, which might impair
friendly relations among nations.

6. To receive and consider reports from the Security Council

and other United Nations organs.

7. To consider and approve the United Nations budget and to

apportion the contributions among members.

8. To elect the non-permanent members of the Security

Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council
and those members of the Trusteeship Council that are
elected; to elect jointly with the Security Council the Judges
of the International Court of Justice; and, on the
recommendation of the Security Council, to appoint the
Secretary-General.

The “Uniting for Peace” Resolution adopted by the General

Assembly in 1950 provides an additional function to the General
Assembly.[40] The General Assembly is granted the power to act
in place of the Security Council if the latter fails to discharge its
primary responsibility in maintaining international peace and
security. Under this resolution, the General Assembly may do by
recommendations anything that the Security Council can do by
decisions under Chapter VII. The Assembly can make appropriate
recommendations to members for collective measures, including
the use of armed force, if the Council in any case where there
appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of
aggression fails to exercise its responsibility, because of the lack of
unanimity of its permanent members.

C. Sessions [41]

The General Assembly meets in regular annual sessions. Its

regular session usually begins each year on the third Tuesday in
September. At the start of each regular session, the Assembly
elects its new President, its 21 Vice-Presidents and the
Chairpersons of the Assembly's six main committees. To ensure
equitable geographical representation, the presidency of the
Assembly rotates each year among five groups of states: African,
Asian, Eastern European, Latin American, and Western European
and other states.

In addition to its regular sessions, the Assembly may meet in

special sessions at the request of the Security Council, of a
majority of member states, or of one member if the majority of
members concur. It may meets in emergency special session
under the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution. Emergency special
sessions may be called within 24 hours of a request by the Security
Council on the vote of any nine Council members, or by a majority
of the United Nations members, or by one member if the majority
of members concur.

At the beginning of each regular session, the General Assembly

holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and
government, in which member states express their views on a wide
range of international matters. Issues are then discussed by the
Assembly. Some issues are considered only in the Assembly’s
plenary meetings, while others are allocated to one of the
Assembly’s six main committees:

- First Committee (Disarmament and International Security).

- Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

- Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

- Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).

- Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

- Sixth Committee (Legal).

All issues are voted on through resolutions passed in plenary

meetings, usually towards the end of the regular session, after the
committees have completed their consideration of them and
submitted draft resolutions to the plenary Assembly. Voting in
Committees is by a simple majority. In plenary meetings,
resolutions may be adopted by acclamation, without objection or
without a vote, or the vote may be recorded or taken by roll-call.
While the decisions of the Assembly have no legally binding force
for governments, they carry the weight of world opinion, as well as
the moral authority of the world community.

The work of the United Nations year-round derives largely from

the decisions of the General Assembly. That work is carried out:

- By committees and other bodies established by the Assembly to

study and report on specific issues, such as disarmament,
peacekeeping, development and human rights.

- In international conferences called for by the Assembly.

- By the Secretariat of the United Nations, the Secretary General

and his staff of international civil servants.
 II. Security Council [42]

The Security Council (S.C) of the United Nations is the most

important organ in the Organization. It has primary responsibility
for the maintenance of international peace and security.

A. Composition and Voting [43]

The Security Council is composed of 15 members: 5 permanent

members, namely China, France, the Russian Federation, the
United Kingdom and the United States; and 10 non-permanent
members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.[44]

Each member of the Council has one vote.[45] Decisions of the

Council on procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of
at least 9 of the 15 members.[46] Decisions on all other matters
(substantive matters) are made by an affirmative vote of nine
members including the concurring votes of the five permanent
members.[47] This is the rule of “Great Power Unanimity”, often
referred to as the “veto” power. If a permanent member does not
agree with a decision, it can cast a negative vote, and this act has
power of veto.[48] If a permanent does not support a decision but
does not wish to block it through a veto, it may abstain from
voting. The Charter provides an exception to the unanimity
requirement on substantive matters. Whenever a member of the
United Nations is a party to a dispute, the continuance of which is
likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and
security, that member shall abstain from voting on decisions
arising under Chapter VI of the Charter (Pacific Settlement of
Disputes). This exception has been explained on the ground that
nobody shall be judge in his own case.

The decisions of the Security Council are binding on all member

states of the United Nations, because under the Charter, these
members agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the
Security Council.[49] The Security Council alone has the power to
take decisions which member states are obliged under the Charter
to carry out, while other organs of the United Nations make
recommendations which have no binding force on member states
of the United Nations.

B. Functions and Powers

Under the Charter of the United Nations, the functions and

powers of the Security Council are:[50]
1. To maintain international peace and security in accordance
with the principles and purposes of the United Nations. In this
respect it can:

(a) investigate any dispute, or situation which may lead to

international friction or give rise to a dispute.

(b) recommend methods of adjusting any dispute or terms of

settlement.

(c) determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of

aggression and to recommend what action should be taken.

(d) call on members to apply economic sanctions and other

measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop
aggression.

(e) take military action against an aggressor.

2. To formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate

armaments.

3. To recommend the admission of new Members.

4. To exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in

"strategic areas".

5. To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the

Secretary General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the
Judges of the International Court of Justice.

6. To recommend to the General Assembly the suspension or

expulsion of a member state from the United Nations.

C. Meetings [51]

The Security Council is organized in a way to be able to function

continuously. The representatives of its members must be present
at all time at the United Nations Headquarters. The Security
Council may meet elsewhere than at Headquarters; in 1972, it held
a session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the following year it met in
Panama City.

The Security Council holds periodic meetings at which each of

its members may, if it so desires, be represented by a member of
its government or by a designated representative. Periodic
meetings are held twice a year, at such times determined by the
Council.
 The Council holds meetings at the call of its president at any
time he deems necessary, at the request of any of its members, at
the request of any member of the United Nations[52], at the
request of the General Assembly,[53] or at the request of the
Secretary General.[54]

Any member of the United Nations which is not a member of

the Security Council may participate, without vote, in the
discussion of any question brought before the Council whenever
the latter considers that the interests of that member are
specifically affected.[55] Any member of the United Nations which
is not a member of the Security Council or any state which is not a
member of the United Nations, if it is a party to a dispute under
consideration by the Security Council, shall be invited to
participate, without vote, in the discussion relating to the dispute.
[56] The participation of a non- member of the United Nations
will be according to the rules and conditions determined by the
Security Council.

III. Economic and Social Council [57]

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the principal

organ of the United Nations which coordinates the economic and
social work of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and
institutions, known as the United Nations family organizations.

A. Composition and Voting

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations is

composed of 54 members elected by the General Assembly for
three-year terms. [58] Membership on the Council are allotted
based on geographical representation; fourteen allocated to
African States, eleven to Asian States, six to Eastern European
States, ten to Latin American and Caribbean States, and thirteen
to Western European and other States.

Each member has one vote.[59] Decisions of the Economic and

Social Council are made by a majority of the members present and
voting.[60]

B. Functions and Powers

 The functions and powers of the Economic and Social Council
are:[61]

1. To serve as the central forum for the discussion of

international economic and social issues, and for the
formation of policy recommendations on those issues
addressed to member states of the United Nations and to the
United Nations itself or any of its family.

2. To make or initiate studies and reports and make

recommendations on international economic, social,
cultural, educational, health and related matters.

3. To promote respect for, and observance of, human rights

and fundamental freedoms.

4. To call international conferences and prepare draft

conventions for submission to the General Assembly.

5. To coordinate the activities of the specialized agencies,

through consultations with and recommendations to them,
and through recommendations to the General Assembly and
member states of the United Nations.

6. To perform services, approved by the General Assembly, for

members of the United Nations and, on request, for the
specialized agencies.

7. To consult with non-governmental organizations concerned

with matters with which the Council deals.

C. Sessions [62]

The Economic and Social Council generally holds one five-week

long substantive session each year, alternating between New York
and Geneva. The session includes a high-level special meeting,
attended by ministers and high officials, to discuss major
economic and social issues. The Council also holds at least two
organizational sessions each year in New York.

The year-round work of the Economic and Social Council is

carried out in its subsidiary bodies, commissions and committees,
which meet at regular intervals and report back to the Council.
The subsidiary system of the Council includes:

· Nine functional commissions, which are deliberative bodies

whose role is to consider and make recommendations on
issues in their areas of responsibilities and expertise.
 · Five regional commissions (for Africa, Asia and the Pacific,
Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western
Asia) whose role is to initiate measures and promote the
economic development of each region and strengthening the
economic relations of the countries in that region, both
among themselves and with other countries of the world.[63]

· Four standing committees: for Programme and

Coordination, on Human Settlement, on Non-Governmental
Organizations, and on Negotiations with International
Agencies.

· A number of expert bodies on subject such as development

planning, natural resources, and economic, social and
cultural rights.

· The executive committees and boards of various United

Nations bodies such as United Nations Children’s Fund,
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, United Nations Development Programme, and
World Food Programme.

D. Relations with Non-Governmental

Organizations

The Charter of the United Nations authorizes the Economic and

Social Council to consult with non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) concerned with matters within its competence.[64] Over
1,500 NGOs have consultative status with the Economic and Social
Council. NGOs with consultative status may send observers to
attend the meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies.
Because NGOs possess special experience and technical knowledge
of value to the Council’s work, they may express their views to the
Council. They may submit written statements relevant to the
Council’s work. They may also consult with the United Nations
Secretariat on matters of mutual concern.

Over the years, the relationship between the United Nations

and the NGOs with consultative status has developed
significantly. Increasingly, NGOs act as partners consulted on
policy and programme matters, and as valuable links to civil
society. NGOs around the world are increasing in number. They
are working daily with the United Nations to help achieve the
objectives of this Organization.

IV. Trusteeship Council [65]

 The Trusteeship Council is one of the principal organs of the
United Nations. It is entrusted to supervise the administration of
Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System. The
Trusteeship System was established under the Charter of the
United Nations, replacing the Mandate System established under
the Covenant of the League of Nations, to promote the
advancement of the inhabitants of the 11 original trust Territories
and their progress towards self-government or independence.[66]
The Trusteeship Council is composed of the five permanent
members of the Security Council, namely China, France, the
Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Charter of the United Nations authorizes the Trusteeship

Council: to examine and discuss reports from the Administrating
Authority on the political, economic and educational advancement
of the peoples of Trust Territories; to examine petitions from the
Territories; and to undertake special missions to the Territories.

The objective of the Trusteeship Council has been fulfilled. All

the trust Territories have attained self-government or
independence, either as separate states or by joining neighboring
independence countries. The Trusteeship Council by amending its
rules of procedure will now meet as and where occasion may
require.

V. International Court of Justice [67]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose seat is at The

Hague (Netherlands), is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations.[68] Its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations
Charter.[69]

A. Parties to the ICJ

The ICJ is open to the parties to its Statute, which

automatically includes all members of the United Nations. [70] A
state which is not a member of the United Nations may become a
party to the Statute of the ICJ, as is the case for Switzerland, on
conditions determined in each case by the General Assembly on
the recommendation of the Security Council.[71] The Court is not
open to private individuals.

B. Functions of the ICJ

The ICJ has two functions: Judiciary and advisory functions.

1. Judiciary Function:[72] The Court has the power to settle

legal disputes between states; only states can be parties in
cases before the Court.[73] All states which are parties to the
ICJ Statute can be parties to cases before the Court. Other
states can refer cases to the Court under conditions
determined by the Security Council.

2. Advisory Function:[74] The Court has the power to give

advisory opinions on any legal questions. Both the General
Assembly and the Security Council can request the Court to
give advisory opinions on legal questions. Other organs of
the United Nations and specialized agencies, when
authorized by the General Assembly, can request advisory
opinions of the Court on legal questions within the scope of
their activities.

C. Jurisdiction of the ICJ

The jurisdiction of the ICJ covers: (1) All cases which states
refer to it; (2) All matters provided for in the Charter of the United
Nations; and (3) All matters provided for in treaties or
conventions in force.[75]

The Court is competent to entertain a dispute only if the States

concerned have accepted its jurisdiction in one or more of the
following ways:[76]

(1) By the conclusion between them of a special agreement to

submit the dispute to the Court.

(2) By signing a treaty or convention which provides for

referral to the Court. Usually a treaty or a convention
includes a jurisdictional clause, i.e., a provision providing
that in the event of any dispute over its interpretation or
application, one of them may refer the dispute to the Court.
Several hundred treaties or conventions contain such a
clause.

(3) By making a declaration accepting the compulsory

jurisdiction of the Court in the event of a dispute with
another State having made a similar declaration. The
Statute of the Court provides that the states parties to the
 Statute may at any time declare that they recognize as
compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in
relation to any other state accepting the same obligation,
the jurisdiction of the Court in all legal disputes concerning:
(a) the interpretation of a treaty; (b) any question of
international law; (c) the existence of any fact which, if
established, would constitute a breach of an international
obligation; (d) the nature or extent of the reparation to be
made for the breach of an international obligation. Such a
declaration may exclude certain classes of cases.

The Statute provides that in case of doubt as to whether the

Court has jurisdiction, it is the Court itself which decides.[77]

D. Rules applied by the ICJ

In accordance with Article 38 of its Statute, the Court, in

deciding disputes submitted to it, applies:

(1) International conventions, whether general or particular,

establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting
states;

(2) International customs, as evidence of a general practice

accepted as law;

(3) The general principles of law recognized by civilized

nations;

(4) Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly

qualified publicists of various nations, as subsidiary means
for the determination of rules of law;

The Court may decide a case ex aequo et bono (on the basis of
equity), if the parties agree thereto.

E. Decisions of the ICJ

The decision of the ICJ has no binding force except between the
parties and in respect of that particular case.[78] The judgment is
final and without appeal.[79] Each member of the United Nations
must comply with the decision of the Court in any case to which it
is a party. [80] If any party to a case fails to perform the
obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the
Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council,
which may, if it deems necessary, make recommendations or
decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.
[81]
F. Composition of the ICJ [82]

The Court is composed of 15 judges elected by the

General Assembly and Security Council, voting independently. The
judges are chosen on the basis of their qualifications, not on their
nationality. They must possess the qualifications required in their
respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices,
or be jurists of recognized competence in international law. In
choosing them, care is taken to ensure that the principal legal
systems of the world are represented, and that no two judges be
nationals of the same state. The judges are elected for a nine-year
term, and may be re-elected. Elections are held every three years
for one-third of the seats, and retiring judges may be re-elected.
When the Court does not include a judge possessing the nationality
of a State party to a case, that State may appoint a person to sit as a
judge ad hoc for the purpose of the case. The judges do not
represent their governments but are independent magistrates.
They take oath to exercise their powers impartially and
conscientiously. They cannot engage in any other occupation
during their term of office.

The Court elects its President and Vice-President for three years;
they may be re-elected. It appoints its Registrar.

The Court normally sits in plenary session, but it may form

smaller units called chambers, composed of three or more judges.
Judgments given by chambers are considered as rendered by the
full Court.

VI. Secretariat [83]

The Secretariat of the United Nations is the administrative organ

of the Organization. It is composed of the Secretary General and
the staff appointed by the Secretary General. The Secretary General
is at the head of the Secretariat. The staff of the Secretariat work at
the United Nations Headquarters in New York and all over the
world. About 8,900 persons from 170 countries make up the
Secretariat staff.

A. International Character of the Members of the

Secretariat [84]
 The Secretary General and the staff of the Secretariat are
international civil servants. They answer to the United Nations
alone for their activities. They must refrain from any action which
may reflect on their position as international officials responsible
only to the Organization. They take oath not to seek or receive
instructions from any government or outside authority. They enjoy
such privileges and immunities as are necessary for independent
exercise of their functions in connection with the Organization.
Member states of the United Nations undertake to respect the
exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the
Secretary General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in
the discharge of their responsibilities.

B. Duties of the Secretariat

The Secretariat carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the

Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United
Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by
them. The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the
issues dealt with the United Nations. These include, for example:
administering peacekeeping operations, mediating international
disputes, surveying economic and social trends and problems,
preparing studies on subjects of international concern, organizing
international conferences on issues of international concern,
monitoring the extent to which the decisions of the United Nations
organs are being carried out, interpreting speeches and translating
documents into the Organization’s official languages,[85] and
providing information about the work of the United Nations.

C. The Secretary General

The Secretary General as described by the Charter is the chief

administrative officer of the United Nations.[86] He is appointed by
the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security
Council for a five-year, renewable term. However, he is much more
than the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. He is an
international diplomat, activist, conciliator and advocate. He
stands before the international community as the very emblem of
the United Nations. His task involves great imagination and
creative actions.

The Secretary General is responsible for the administration of

the Secretariat of the United Nations, and the appointment of its
staff.[87] He speaks for, and represents the will of the international
community. He brings to the attention of the Security Council any
matter which appears to threaten international peace and security.
[88] He performs such other functions as are entrusted to him by
the Security Council, the General Assembly and the other principal
organs of the United Nations.[89] He offers his good offices or
mediates (he, his senior staff or a person designated by him) to
prevent or settle international disputes. He issues an annual report
on the work of the United Nations which appraises its activities and
outlines future priorities. Each Secretary General also defines his
tasks by taking into consideration the contemporary demands
required from the United Nations.

The work of the Secretary General entails continuous daily

consultations with world leaders and other individuals, attendance
at sessions of various bodies of the United Nations, and worldwide
travel as part of the overall effort to improve the state of
international affairs.

The present Secretary General of the United Nations, and the

eighth occupant of the post, is Mr. Ban Ki Moon of Korea, who took
office in January 2007. The previous Secretaries General were:
Kofi Annan of Ghana (January 1997-December 2006), Boutros
Boutros-Ghali of Egypt (January 1992-December 1996), Javier
Perez de Cuellar of Peru (January 1982-December 1991), Kurt
Waldheim of Austria (January 1972-December 1981), U Thant of
Burma (November 1961-December 1971), Dag Hammarskjöld of
Sweden (April 1953-September 1961), and Trygve Lie of Norway
(February 1946-November 1952).

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Chapter Three

The Role of the United Nations in

Maintaining International Peace and
Security [90]

The maintenance of international peace and security represents

the primary purpose behind the establishment of the United
Nations. It reflects the intentions and desires of its founders who
sought to establish an international organization for achieving this
end. It is a prerequisite to any other purpose of the United
Nations. Without it no friendly relations, no international
cooperation, and no harmonization of nation’s actions could be
achieved.

Because of the importance of international peace and security,

the founders of the United Nations insisted on it and emphasized
it in the preamble and the Charter of the Organization. They
stated all the possible principles, methods and procedures which
are to be followed to attain this end.
 The theme “we are going to create a collective security system,
and this time we are going to make it work,” dominated the entire
process of planning and formulating the United Nations Charter.
[91] The Charter provided a system for the pacific settlement or
adjustment of disputes, and the use of collective measures in
threat to or breaches of peace and acts of aggression.

The first method provided by the system is that of seeking

peaceful settlement or adjustment of disputes and situation by
peaceful means listed in the Charter. The second method is that of
taking collective actions (measures) of a coercive nature for the
prevention and removal of threats to the peace and for the
suppression of acts of aggression and other breaches of the peace.
Through these two methods delineated in Chapter VI entitled
“Pacific Settlement of Disputes” and Chapter VII entitled “Actions
with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and
Acts of Aggression” of the Charter, the United Nations primarily
exercises its role in maintaining international peace and security.

I. Pacific Settlement of Disputes [92]

Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations contains the

procedures for the pacific settlement of disputes. Article 33
obliges the parties to a dispute, “the continuance of which is likely
to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security,”
to seek a solution by “negotiation, enquiry, mediation,
conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional
agencies or arrangement, or other peaceful means of their own
choice.”[93] Under this Article, any party to any dispute which is
likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and
security is obligated to seek, first of all, a settlement by the
traditional peaceful procedures already established in
international law.

In the contemplation of the Charter, the first recourse of

nations in dispute should be to any of the peaceful methods, in a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not
endangered. This position is justified, first, on the grounds that it
will relieve the United Nations of the burden of handling too large
number of controversies and, on the second, that it will minimize
the interference of the United Nations in the affairs of sovereign
states.[94]

However, should the parties to a dispute fail to observe their

obligation under Article 33 or their attempts be unsuccessful, the
United Nations would intervene to consider the matters and to
give its recommendations and decisions under the Charter. The
Security Council is given the primary responsibility regarding
peace and security. Whatever the action taken by the parties, they
cannot prejudice the right of the Security Council to intervene by
investigation or recommendation of appropriate procedures or
methods of adjustment or settlement of any dispute which is likely
to endanger international peace and security. The Security
Council is entitled to intervene either by its own initiative,[95]
upon invitation of any member of the United Nations,[96] upon a
call of attention by the General Assembly,[97] upon a call of
attention by the Secretary General,[98] or upon a complaint of a
party to a dispute.[99]

To discharge its duty for maintaining international peace and

security, the Security Council may follow three courses of action.
Firstly, the Security Council may call upon the parties to a dispute,
the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of
international peace and security, to settle their dispute by any of
the peaceful means listed in Article 33(1).[100] Secondly, it may,
in case of a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33,
recommend “appropriate procedures or methods of
adjustment.”[101] Thirdly, it may recommend “terms of
settlement as it may consider appropriate.”[102]

Although under the Charter the Security Council is given the

primary role for maintaining international peace and security, the
General Assembly is not excluded from doing so. The General
Assembly may call the attention of the Security Council to
situations which are likely to endanger the maintenance of
international peace and security.[103] It may discuss any question
relating to the maintenance of international peace and security,
and may make recommendations with regard to any dispute or
situation to the concerned states or to the Security Council or to
both.[104] It may recommend measures for the peaceful
adjustment of any situation, regardless of origin, which it deems
likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among
nations.[105] Questions, disputes or situations may be brought
before the General Assembly by the Security Council,[106] by any
member of the United Nations,[107] or by any state which is a
party to a dispute.[108]

However, the General Assembly is prevented from making any

recommendation with regard to any dispute or situation while the
Security Council is exercising its function in respect of it, unless
the Council so requests.[109] This is a limitation imposed on the
authority the General Assembly in making recommendations
relating to the maintenance of international peace and security.

In practice with regard to the pacific settlement of disputes (or

“peacemaking” as it may be known),[110] the United Nations has
provided various means through which conflicts, disputes, and
situations are contained and resolved.[111] The Security Council
has applied all the available diplomatic techniques in various
international disputes, in addition to open debate and behind-the
scenes discussion and lobbying. It has called upon the parties to a
dispute to resort to any peaceful means of their own choice to
settle their disputes. It has recommended to the parties specific
appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment. It has
recommended to the parties ways to resolve their disputes, or
terms of settlement.[112] It has dispatched special envoys or
missions for specific tasks, such as investigation, fact finding,
negotiation or reconciliation. It has requested the Secretary
General to assist the parties in reaching a settlement to their
disputes; the impartiality of the Secretary General is one of the
United Nations’ assets. The Secretary General has taken
diplomatic initiatives to encourage and maintain the momentum
of negotiations. He has used his “good offices” for mediating, or to
exercise “preventive diplomacy”, that is, to take actions in order to
prevent dispute from arising, to resolve them before they escalate
into conflicts or to limit the spread of conflicts when they occur.
In many instances, the Secretary General has been instructed to
avert threats to peace or to secure peace agreements.

To foster the maintenance of peace, the General Assembly has

held special or emergency special sessions on issues such as
disarmament, and the question of Palestine. Over years, it has
helped promote peaceful relations among nations by adopting
declarations on peace, the peaceful settlement of disputes and
international cooperation. It has established investigatory organs
to examine matters under consideration by it, and to report back
to it. It has established subsidiary organs for observation,
mediation, conciliation and good offices.

Under Chapter VI relating the pacific settlement of disputes and

other articles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Security
Council and the General Assembly may exercise their role in
maintaining international peace and security by discussions,
investigations and recommendations. But the possibility remains
that pacific settlement may fail to resolve the disputes which may
become so serious as to constitute threats to or breaches of the
peace or acts of aggression. In such cases, the United Nations may
intervene by taking collective actions of coercive nature for the
prevention and removal of the consequences of such disputes.

II. Collective Enforcement Actions

The method of using collective enforcement (coercive) actions

by the United Nations is provided by Chapter VII of the Charter
and the provisions of the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution.[113]

A. Chapter VII of the Charter [114]

Chapter VII authorizes the Security Council to deal with threat

to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, and to take
collective enforcement actions (measures) in order to maintain or
restore international peace and security. The Security Council,
under article 39, the first article of Chapter VII, is given a wide
discretion in determining “the existence of any threat to the peace,
breach of the peace, or act of aggression”, and to “make
recommendations”, or to “decide what measures shall be taken in
accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore
international peace and security.” Such a determination under
Article 39 is an essential pre-condition to the operation of Chapter
VII of the Charter; the Security Council cannot exercise its powers
under this Chapter, particularly Articles 41 and 42, without such a
determination made expressly or implicitly.[115]

Before exercising its most far-reaching powers under Articles 41

and 42, the Security Council, under Article 40, may call upon the
parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it
deems necessary or desirable in order to prevent an aggravation of
the situation, provided that such provisional measures shall be
without prejudice to the rights, causes, or position of the parties
concerned. Such provisional measures may include a demand that
all parties concerned cease fire or withdraw their forces behind
specified truce lines.

In case of failure of the parties or any of them to comply with

the provisional measures, or the provisional measures are
inappropriate, the Security Council may proceed to recommend or
decide measures under Articles 41 and 42. Under Article 41, the
Security Council may decide to take measures not involving the
use of armed force to give effect to its decisions, and may call upon
the members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These
measures may include complete or partial interruption of
economic relations, means of transportation, means of
communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

Should the measures of Article 41 be inadequate or have proved

inadequate, the Security Council may decide to take measures
under Articles 42. The Security Council may take armed action by
air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore
international peace and security.[116] This action may include
demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land
forces of members of the United Nations.

To assist the Security Council in planning for the application of

armed forces, It is required the establishment of a “Military Staff
Committee” consisting of the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent
members of the Security Council or their representatives.[117]
This Committee is responsible under the Security Council for the
strategic direction and command of any armed forces placed at the
disposal of the Security Council; this Committee ceased its
operation in 1948.[118]

To give assurance that effective forces will be at the disposal of

the Security Council, all members of the United Nations
undertake, under Article 43 of the Charter, to make available to
the Security Council, on its call and in accordance with a special
agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and facilities,
including rights of passage, necessary for the purpose of
maintaining international peace and security; no such special
agreements under Article 43 have ever concluded between the
United nations and its member states. Members are also required
to make available national air-force contingents for combined
international enforcement action; no such contingents have been
ever made available.[119]
 To assure the effectiveness of the enforcement action decided
by the Security Council, members of the United Nations are
required to join in affording mutual assistance in carrying out such
measures.[120] Moreover, the action required to carry out the
decisions of the Security Council for the maintenance of
international peace and security must be taken by all the members
of the United Nations or by some of them, as the security Council
may determine.[121] All the members of the United Nations are
bound by the decisions of the Security Council under Chapter VII
of the Charter.

In practice, the Security Council has exercised its powers under

Chapter VII of the Charter. It has decided on collective
enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace
and security.[122] Such measures have ranged from economic and
diplomatic sanctions to military actions.

The Security Council has resorted to economic sanctions as

enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace
and security. Economic sanctions have taken many forms, ranging
from specific trade ban to full embargoes. Such sanctions were
imposed, for example, against South Africa’s apartheid regime in
1977, Iraq in 1990, the Former Yugoslavia in 1991, and Libya in
1992.

The Security Council has authorized the use of military forces,

for peace-keeping and peace-enforcing actions, to maintain or
restore international peace and security. Peace-enforcing
(Enforcement) actions were authorized against North Korea in
1950 and Iraq in 1991. Peace-keeping forces have been established
in many instances, for example, in Palestine (1948), in the Congo
(1960), in Cyprus (1964), in Lebanon 1978, in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (1995).[123]

Although Chapter VII of the Charter which empowers the

Security Council to decide collective enforcement measures for the
purpose of maintaining peace and security does not empower the
General Assembly with such authority, this organ can exercise
such authority under the provisions of the “Uniting for Peace”
Resolution.

B. Uniting for Peace Resolution [124]

The Uniting for Peace Resolutions grants the General Assembly

the powers to act in place of the Security Council if the latter fails,
because of the lack of unanimity of its permanent members, to
discharge its primary responsibility in maintaining international
peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat
to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression.[125] Under
this Resolution, the General Assembly may do by
recommendations anything the Security Council may do by
decisions under chapter VII of the Charter. The Assembly may
consider the matter immediately and recommend to members
collective measures, including in case of a breach of peace or act of
aggression the use of armed forces deemed necessary for the
maintenance or restoration of international peace and security.
[126]

To ensure that the General Assembly could act promptly and

effectively, the Uniting for Peace Resolution provides a procedure
for calling of an emergency special session of the Assembly. The
Assembly may meet in an emergency special session within
twenty-four hours upon the request of any nine members of the
Council, by the majority of members of the United Nations, or by
one member if the majority of members concur.[127]

Under the Uniting for Peace Resolution, the General Assembly

asserts its right to act in the same manner that the Security council
can act under Chapter VII of the Charter, but only when the
Council fails to act. The Assembly may make a determination of
the kind referred to in Article 39, and may recommend collective
measures to be undertaken in case of threat to the peace, breach of
the peace, or act of aggression. It should be noted that this right
granted to the Assembly is not intended to be a substitute for the
Council’s responsibility for the maintenance of international peace
and security, but rather a supplement.[128]

The General Assembly had its first experience with the Uniting
for Peace Resolution on February 1, 1951, after the Soviet Union’s
veto blocked the Security Council from taking any action against
the intervention of the People’s Republic of China in Korea. The
Assembly exercised its authority by adopting a resolution
determining that the Chinese intervention in Korea constituted an
act of aggression, and calling upon the Chinese Government to
cease hostilities and to withdraw from Korea.[129] After the
failure of the Chinese Government to comply with the above
resolution, the Assembly adopted another resolution
recommending the employment of economic sanctions against the
Chinese Government and the North Korean authorities.[130]

The Uniting for Peace Resolution was again implemented

during the 1956 Middle East Crisis. The General Assembly
assumed its responsibility for maintaining international peace and
security after the failure of the Security Council to discharge its
duty because of the veto power used by the United Kingdom and
France. In its emergency special session opened on November 1,
1956, the general Assembly adopted a series of resolutions. In the
first resolution, it urged the parties to comply with certain
provisional measures, including the cease-fire, the withdrawal of
forces and the full observance of armistices agreements, and the
reopening of the Suez Canal and the restoration of secure freedom
of navigation.[131] Also, it recommended that all members of the
United Nations refrain from introducing military goods in the area
of hostilities and from any acts which would delay or prevent the
implementation of its resolution. In the last resolution, the
Assembly decided the establishment of the United Nations
Emergency Force for the task of implementing the measures
provided for in its first resolution.[132]

Regarding the Israeli annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan

Heights, the failure of the Security Council to take any action
against Israel, because of the United States’ veto, led to the
transfer of the matter to the General Assembly under the Uniting
for Peace Resolution.[133] On February 6, 1982, the General
Assembly adopted a resolution calling on all its members to apply
economic and diplomatic sanctions against Israel on a voluntary
basis, and laying the groundwork for the possible expulsion of
Israel from the United Nations.[134]

The practice of the General Assembly demonstrates that this

organ can, under the Uniting for Peace Resolution, do by
recommendations anything the Security Council can do by
decisions under Chapter VII of the Charter. The Assembly can
make a determination, call for provisional measures, and
recommend economic, diplomatic and military measures similar
to those which the Security Council can take under Articles 39, 40,
41, and 42 of the Charter. However, the recommendations of the
General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace Resolution do not
have the legal force and effect that the Council’s decisions have.
Such recommendations are not legally binding upon members of
the United Nations. They do not legally commit members to
action. However, although this might be the case, it might
logically be expected that a resolution by the Assembly that has
broad support and to which the great majority of members of the
United Nations have committed themselves to the extent of voting
for it, would receive as favorable a response in terms of
compliance as a resolution by the Security Council.[135]

C. United Nations Forces [136]

The use of military forces by the United Nations for the purpose
of maintaining and restoring international peace and security
represents the effective measures which may be employed by the
Organization under the system of collective actions. On many
occasions, the United Nations has established international
military forces.[137] The constitutional bases for the establishment
of each of these forces have been different. The tasks which these
forces have been required to perform have ranged from a mere
policing action to an enforcing action. The composition, size and
command have varied. The relations of the forces with and within
states have been diverse.

The constitutional bases for the establishment of United

Nations forces are found in the Charter of the United Nations and
the Uniting for Peace Resolution. Under the Charter, the Security
Council may, in the last resort, take armed action involving the
establishment of international forces for the purpose of enforcing
its decisions for ending a threat to the peace, breach of the peace,
or act of aggression. Articles 29, 39, 40, 41 and 42 provide
possible constitutional bases for the establishment of United
Nations military forces by the Security Council in order to
maintain or restore international peace and security. Article 29
authorizes the Security Council to establish such subsidiary organs
as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions; the
establishment of United Nations forces is coming within this scope
of authority. United Nations forces may be established as
collective measures authorized to be taken by the Security Council
under Articles 39, 40, 41 and 42 of Chapter VII.

With regard of the General Assembly, the Uniting for Peace

Resolution provides a constitutional basis for the establishment of
United Nations forces by the General Assembly. Further
constitutional bases may be found in Articles 10, 11, 14, and 22 of
the Charter of the United Nations. Under Articles 10, 11, and 14,
the General Assembly may establish United Nations forces for the
task of implementing its recommendations with regard to any
question, situation or dispute, for the purpose of maintaining
international peace and security. Article 22 authorizes the general
Assembly to establish such subsidiary organs as it deems
necessary for the performance of its functions; the establishment
of United Nations forces are coming within this scope of authority

The United Nations forces have performed various functions

and tasks in accordance to the circumstances of each case. The
functions and tasks of the United Nations forces have ranged from
a peace-enforcing nature to a peace-keeping nature.[138] The
United Nations peace-keeping forces have been entrusted to
perform peace-building functions in addition to the peace-keeping
functions. Peace-building functions are functions aiming to
support environments and structures which strengthen and
consolidate peace and security; areas of activity include military
security, civil law and order, judicial-building or reform, human
rights, political progress (referendums and elections),[139]
administration, health, education, reconstruction, social
development and economic development. The United Nations
peace-keeping forces are increasingly charged with functions
related to peace-building, in addition to those related to the
maintenance of peace and security. Generally, they are charged to
maintain ceasefires and separate forces, to prevent the recurrence
of war and violence, to implement comprehensive settlement, and
to protect or facilitate humanitarian operations and activities. It
seems that there is no limit on the functions which the United
Nations forces can perform. Future conflicts are likely to present
new and complex challenges to the international community, to
which it will respond. Effective responses to these challenges will
require courageous and imaginative courses of action to be taken,
and new means and tools for peace and security to be utilized.

Over the years the United Nations forces have been entrusted
with the following missions: to repel an aggressor or aggressors
by using full military actions by air, sea and land; [140] to secure or
supervise cease-fire, truce and armistice agreements; to control
frontiers; to secure the withdrawal of armed forces and personnel
of the conflicting parties; to maintain a buffer zone between the
conflicting parties; to participate in mine clearance; to assist in the
exchange of prisoners of war; to ensure the release of political
prisoners or detainees; to assist in and secure safe return of
refugees and displaced inhabitants; to establish and maintain safe
zones or protected areas; to implement or assist in the
implementation of peace agreements; to disarm or disband (or to
assist in or supervise the disarming or disbanding) armed groups;
to collect, storage or destruction of weapons; to establish and
maintain law and order (security and stability); to restore peace
and achieving national reconciliation; to prevent the occurrence of
civil war; to maintain the territorial integrity and independence of
a state; to assist legitimate governments in returning or
maintaining their effective authority over their territory or in
specific areas; to support transitional governments; to provide
humanitarian protection; to coordinate, facilitate and protect
humanitarian relief operations; to secure vital infrastructures; to
establish or maintain the functioning of civil service facilities; to
prepare, hold, or monitoring free referendums or elections; to
administer a country, a territory or a specific zone; to provide
technical assistance for institutional building, such as the building
of law enforcement institutions and judicial organizations; to
perform certain civil administrative functions; to secure or
monitor the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
to assist in the development and economic reconstruction of a
particular territory.

In the practice of the United Nations, the structure,

composition, size and command of the United Nations forces have
varied in accordance to the circumstances of each case, and the
tasks and functions they have been requested to perform.[141]
The United Nations forces have been composed of national
contingents voluntarily provided by member states of the United
Nations. Their size ranged from several observers to thousands
and hundreds of thousands of persons.[142] The strategic and
political controls over the forces have been for the United Nations
(the Security Council, the General Assembly or the Secretary
General). The direct operational responsibility and day-to-day
administration of a force have been entrusted to the commander
of the force. The commander has operated under the instruction
and guidance of the United Nations. Since the United Nations
forces have been composed of national contingents from the
contributing states, each of these contingents has been placed
under the command of its own national commanding officers who
have been under the control of the United Nations. The chain of
command has run directly from the commander of the force to the
commanding officers of each national contingent. A force has
been subject to orders and instructions only from its commander
and, through him, from the United Nations. The officers of the
contingents have to receive their instructions and directions from
the commander of the force, advised and assisted by his staff. The
commanding offices of the units have been responsible to the
commander of the force for the proper functioning and discipline
of their personnel.

The United Nations has established its international forces on

the basis of voluntary contribution of its member states. The
contributing states have entered into negotiations with the
Secretary General acting on behalf of the United Nations, and have
concluded agreements with him. They have provided contingents
to serve under the control of the United Nations, and its political
and strategic direction in the field. However, a contributing state
has retained the right to withdraw all its contingents or a
particular unit or to replace the national commanders of its units,
after a notice to the United Nations of its decision. Nevertheless, it
has been required that any change in the contingents must have
been made in consultation between the contributing states and the
commander of the United Nations forces. The national contingents
have retained their separate national identities and organizational
units. The national commanders have retained direct
responsibility for national contingents serving under them.
Although the national commanders have the right to communicate
with their governments, they have had to receive instructions from
the United Nations through the commander of the United Nations
forces, not from their governments. In this context, the United
Nations have been regarded international forces representing the
interests of the United Nations (the international community), not
the national interests of contributing states. This has been the
main principle upon which the relationship between the
contributing states and the United Nations forces has been based.

The practice of the United Nations has demonstrated that the

consent of the host states on whose territory the United Nations
forces have operated has been a pre-condition for the presence of
these forces.[143] The consent of the host states has been required
in every action taken by the United Nations. It has been required
for the entry, stationing and remaining of the forces. With regard
to the questions of the composition, functions of the force, and the
contributing states, the position has been that the view of the host
state has been one of the determined elements to be considered,
although the United Nations has had the sole and complete
freedom of decision on these questions.

The United Nations, on many occasions, has performed

different functions, and played various roles. Its forces have
constituted an executive action on behalf of the United Nations for
the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
Although in most of the crises, the United Nations has succeeded
in preventing further fighting between the parties, it has not
succeeded in finding solutions, or in reaching lasting peace to
most of these cries. It has failed to respond to major crises,
prevent wars and violence, or repel aggression. Its efforts in
urging and encouraging parties to settle their differences
peacefully have not been successful in most cases brought before
it. Its efforts to enforce world law, peace and order have not been
effective or successful.

The experience of the United Nations in maintaining

international peace and security cannot be viewed with complete
satisfaction. This imperfection raises a serious question regarding
the effectiveness of the United Nations system for maintaining
international peace and security. Apart from all the arguments in
this respect, the United Nations present system for maintaining
international peace and security through the use of military forces
constitutes the better system that has ever been established by the
international community. It is not clear that the situation in the
international stage would have been better if the United Nations
system had been differently constructed. The present United
Nations system provides effective means and processes which may
be employed by the international community for the maintenance
and restoration of international peace and security. The defect is
not related only to the system, but primarily to the unwillingness
of certain members of the United Nations to make it work.
International peace and security is entirely dependent upon the
willingness of the member states of the United Nations to
cooperate toward this end. Until they are willing to comply with
international law and order, this system cannot operate effectively.
 The effectiveness of using forces by the United Nations to
achieve its objectives has been adversely affected by the primary
weakness of the United Nations which lies within the divisions
among its members, particularly the super powers, the permanent
members of the Security Council. The Security Council, which is
entrusted with the primary responsibility for maintaining peace
and security, is dominated by policies and interests of its
permanent members. Its decisions reflect such one-sided
interests. Partiality and double standard is the name of the game
played by the super powers. The members of the United Nations,
including the super powers, have failed to cooperate together in
times of crises. They have failed to agree on important issues, and
to make full use of the United Nations resources available for
solving major international disputes. They have failed to agree on
peaceful solutions or adjustments of major world crises. They
have failed to conclude agreements, under Article 43 of the
Charter and Section C of the Uniting for Peace Resolution, making
available to the United Nations the forces and facilities for the full
discharge of its responsibility. The super powers failed to
cooperate together within the Military Staff Committee provided
for in Article 47 of the Charter, thus this Committee ceased to
operate in 1948.

The absence of special agreements under Article 43 of the

Charter and the lack of cooperation between the members of the
United Nations, particularly the permanent members of the
Security Council, constitute two major factors which have
primarily contributed to the ineffectiveness of the United Nations
system relating to the maintenance of international peace and
security, and to the dissatisfaction with the work of the
Organization.

To override the problems facing the international community, it

is necessary to have a comprehensive and genuine prospect for
international peace and security. Peace and security should be
universal value-goals which must be produced, promoted and
shared in a manner whereby everyone can enjoy them. Security
must include not only freedom from war and threats of war, but
also full opportunity to preserve, promote and share all values of
mankind by peaceful non-coercive means. Peace must include the
conditions of peace and the reduction of the severe frustrations
which drive nations or peoples to war. Peace and security must be
a dynamic and continuous world process for the realization of
freedom, justice and progress on a world-wide scale. They must
facilitate the necessary environment for creative changes in the
general interest of mankind to take place.

The realization of such comprehensive and genuine peace and

security requires the existence of a comprehensive and genuine
international organization, a world decision-making process. The
United Nations can be such an organization. It is one of the most
hopeful factors on the world horizon. It is, with the extent of its
experience, suitable to be the comprehensive world decision-
making process that will be dedicated to regulating the processes
of public order of the world community. First, however, series of
amendments to the Charter of the United Nations must be made
to transform this Organization into the required comprehensive
and genuine international organization.

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Chapter Four

Other Activities of the United Nations

The maintenance of international peace and security is the

primary, but not the only purpose of the United Nations. The
United Nations is also entrusted to achieve international
cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian
field, as well as to promote and encourage the respect for human
rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. [144] The activities of
the United Nations in achieving these ends are dealt with in the
following.

I. UN Activities in Economic and Social

Development [145]

The second major function of the United Nations is to promote

economic and social development worldwide. The vast majority of
the resources available to the United Nations are devoted to
economic development, social development and sustainable
development of its member states. The United Nations engages in
a large number of activities, and sponsors a large number of
agencies to meet this goal. Guiding the United Nations work is the
conviction that lasting international peace and security are
possible only if the economic and social well-being of people
everywhere is assured. The United Nations’ Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) oversees these activities.

The efforts of the United Nations in this respect have

profoundly affected the lives and well-being of millions of people
throughout the world. Many of the economic and social
transformations that have taken place globally in the last six
decades have been significantly affected in their direction and
shape by the work of the United Nations. The United Nations has
been the global forum for debating on economic and social issues,
and for solving the many international problems. It also has been
the global consensus-building center for setting priorities and
goals (on issues such as advancement of women, human rights,
environment protection and governance) for international
cooperation to assist countries in their development efforts and to
foster a supportive global economic environment.

The United Nations system works in a variety of ways to

promote its economic and social aims. It formulates policies,
advises governments in their development plans, sets
international norms and standards, and mobilizes funds, to carry
out programs for development.

The United Nations operates through its many programs and its
special agencies to promote economic development and provide
assistance and technical expertise to developing countries. The
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the
principal organ coordinating the economic and social work of the
United Nations and its operational arms. One of the United
Nations programs is the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), which helps negotiate international
trade agreements that stabilize prices and promote trade with
developing countries. Other program is the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), which coordinates all UN efforts
in developing nations. UNDP has thousands of projects operating
around the world. It is the world’s largest international agency
providing development assistance on technical issues. Others
programs and specialized agencies work to promote and develop
areas such as international trade, agriculture, industry, labor,
transport and communications, telecommunications, science and
technology, poverty, hunger, health, education, culture, drug
control, crime prevention, and environment.

The United Nations also helps finance development through the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
commonly known as the World Bank. The IBRD helps developing
nations get funding for projects. It grants loans to member
countries to finance specific projects and this in turn encourages
foreign investments. A related agency, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) promotes international cooperation on monetary
issues. The IMF encourages a stable, orderly pattern of monetary
exchange rates between nations.

II. UN Activities in Humanitarian Assistance [146]

The United Nations is a major provider of emergency relief and

longer-term assistance responding to natural and man-made
disasters that are beyond the capacity of national authorities
alone. Assistance includes food, shelter, medical supplies and
logistical support. The United Nations is also a catalyst for action
by governments and relief agencies, and an advocate on behalf of
people struck by emergencies.

The United Nations responds to natural and man-made

disasters on two fronts.[147] On one hand it seeks to bring
immediate relief to the victims, primarily through its operational
agencies. On the other hand, it seeks effective strategies to
prevent emergencies from arising in the first place.

When disaster strikes, the United Nations and its agencies rush
to deliver humanitarian assistance. The United Nations has
become increasingly involved in providing humanitarian
assistance to people in need. All too frequently, the humanitarian
crises to which the United Nations responds are caused by
international conflict.[148] The United Nations can also respond
to humanitarian crises caused by natural disasters such as floods
or hurricanes.[149] Agencies such as the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
World Food Program (WFP) can mobilize international assistance
in a short time frame to respond to a crisis. [150]

To prevent disaster, the United Nations seeks to reduce the

vulnerability of societies to disaster, and to address their man-
made causes. United Nations Agencies and programs are
increasing their capacity in the area of early warning for disaster-
prevention. They assist disaster-prone countries in developing
contingency planning and other preparedness measures. Conflict
prevention strategies address the root causes of war in a
comprehensive manner. They foster security, economic growth,
good governance and respect for human rights which are the best
protection against disaster, whether natural or man-made.

Increasingly, United Nations agencies work with

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) which provide relief and
assistance, as well as with the aid agencies of governments, to
coordinate a global response to humanitarian crises.

III. UN Activities in Human Rights Field [151]

One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the

creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law, which
provides a universal and internationally protected code of human
rights. Not only has the United Nations defined a broad range of
internationally accepted rights, including civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights, it has also established mechanisms to
promote and protect these rights and to assist governments in
carrying out their responsibilities.
 On 10 December 1948, three years after the establishment of
the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted the “Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,” which spells out basic civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights that all persons in
every country should enjoy. This Declaration with the Charter of
the United Nations constitutes the foundations of the human
rights law. Since then, this Declaration has served as the
inspiration for tens conventions and declarations which have been
concluded under the auspices of the United Nations on a wide
range of issues. In 1966 the “International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights” and the “International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights” were adopted (entered into force in
1976). These two conventions take the rights of the Universal
Declaration a step further by translating these rights into legally
binding commitments and setting up bodies to monitor the
compliance of state parties. A large majority of the world’s
countries are parties to these Covenants. During the last six
decades, other conventions have been concluded dealing with
matters such as punishment of crime of genocide, status of
refugees, elimination of all forms of racial discrimination
including discrimination against women, torture and other
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, rights of child,
and rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.

In addition to conventions, the United Nations has adopted

many declarations including standards and principles relating to
the protection of certain human rights; these declarations have no
binding force since they are not treaties (conventions). These
declarations deal with maters such as: rights of religion and belief;
rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities; and treatment of prisoners.

Although, virtually every United Nations organ and specialized

agency is involved to some degree in the field of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, the major United Nations body working to
promote and protect human rights is the “High Commission for
Human Rights” which was created in 1993 (the successor of the
“United Nations Commission on Human Rights” created in
1946). The major task of the Commission is to strengthen the
coordination and impact of the United Nations human rights
activities. The commissioner oversees all the United Nations
human rights programs, works to prevent human rights violations,
and investigates human rights abuses. It also has the power to
publicize abuses taking place in any country, but does not have the
authority to stop them.

One of the United Nations most visible recent activities

regarding human rights has been the creation of special war
crimes tribunals to prosecute those responsible for atrocities
committed during the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia,
Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. These tribunals, established by the
Security Council in 1993, 1994, and 2002, respectively, operate
independently of the United Nations. The United Nations also
played an important role in the creation of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute war criminals, although the ICC
is not a UN organ.
 In conclusion, the role and scope of the United Nations in
promoting and protecting human rights continue to expand.
Through its international machinery, the United Nations works on
several fronts: as global conscience, as lawmaker, as monitor, as
nerve-center, as researcher, as forum of appeal, as fact-finder, and
as discreet diplomat.

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Chapter Five

The Evolving United Nations

The establishment of the United Nations in the closing months

of the Second World War represented an important effort by states
to meet the needs for maintaining international peace and
security, and to grasp the presented opportunity. The year 1945
was an appropriate moment for charting a new design for world
order. The Charter of the United Nations emerged from the San
Francisco Conference. It represented a series of compromises
among states with diverse interests and varying political,
economic and cultural backgrounds. The founders of the Charter
hoped that most of the compromises would endure. They
anticipated, however, that some of the compromises might not
last. This was why many powers and functions of the United
Nations were stated in general terms with the expectation that
they would be interpreted in the light of future specific situation.
Accordingly, provisions were made in Articles 108 and 109 of the
Charter for its amendment and review.

The founder of the United Nations did not intend the Charter to
be a rigid perfect instrument, but rather a “human” instrument
that “has within it ample flexibility for growth and development,
for dynamic adaptation to changing conditions”.[152] The Charter
was designed to lay a broad base for an institution that might
develop to meet changing needs.

The dramatic changes that occurred immediately after the

establishment of the United Nations inspired a doubt as whether
this new organization had been endowed with sufficient powers to
maintain world peace and security. The appearance of the atomic
bomb was one change that created a new phase for mankind. The
split of the Second World War’s victors into two camps, East and
West, was another change that for almost half a century played an
essential and dangerous role on the international stage. These
changes have resulted in further changes in the attitudes of
nations and peoples. The United Nations has not been able to live
up to its promises and expectations, and to operate as effectively
as its founders had hoped. It has become apparent that changes in
the United Nations have been necessary in order to cope with the
situations and to adapt the functioning of the Organization in the
field of peace and security to constant threat of war.

Changes have been taken place within the United Nations

system. The Charter has been subjected to changes in a variety of
ways. Certain articles have already fallen into disuse by not being
implemented or applied. Others have been interpreted or applied
by various organs and members of the United Nations in ways that
the founders of the United Nations did not contemplate. Special
organs and agencies have been created. Supplementary or
supporting treaties and agreements have been concluded. Equally
important, the organs and procedures of the United Nations have
undergone an evolutionary growth through the process of trail and
error.

Although changes made to date have affected the provisions of

the Charter substantially, they have left its text intact, except with
regard to a few articles which were formally amended to meet
certain needs.[153] To some extent this has been due to the
difficulties inherent in the amending process, especially to the fact
that any one of the five permanent members of the Security
Council could veto a proposed amendment. This reality, however,
has not precluded numerous proposals for changes in the United
Nations to be introduced.

The following two sections deal with the changes that have
occurred on the international stage since the establishment of the
United Nations and their effects on the Organization, and with the
methods available for achieving changes in the United Nations
which involve informal ones used to date and formal ones
provided in the Charter.

I. The United Nations in a Changing World,

1945-2007

There is nothing similar in the whole history of mankind.

During only six decades significant changes have taken place that
have put the fate of man on a crossroads, the crossroads of
survival or total destruction.

Second World War was followed by far-reaching scientific and

human revolutions of a global nature. “The forces of science and
technology were unleashed in both negative and positive
directions, creating in man both a new sense of insecurity and
terror and a renewed hope that a better life is within his
reach.”[154] Atomic energy and other advancement in science,
technology and medicine which have been brought to mankind
with all of their potential for good and evil have changed the
relations of nations and peoples.

The advancements have influenced persons’ and nations’

attitudes in a many ways. There have been greater demands for
self-determination, for democracy, and for opportunities to
improve the economic, educational and social status of
individuals, groups and nations. All these have caused significant
events to occur during the last sixty decades since the
establishment of the United Nations. The most important events
have been the liquidation of the colonial system, and the rise and
fall of the Soviet empire. These two events have affected the
United Nations. They have led to the expansion in the
membership of the United Nations, and to the shift of powers,
functions and influence within the United Nations.

A. Liquidation of Colonial System

All the 45 percent of mankind that was under the domination of

the colonial powers in 1945 achieved independence by 1990.[155]
The prolonged and persisting struggles of national liberation
movements and the successful anticolonial campaign of the United
Nations have brought an end to the hundreds of years of western
colonization of Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The
colonial powers, after several wars among themselves, lost their
strength and became unable to maintain their empires in the face
of the awakened oppressed people of their colonies.

Since the time of its creation the United Nations has been
involved in a global campaign of anticolonialism and
decolonization, which reached its peak in 1960 and has
maintained its full momentum in succeeding decades. The United
Nations has made a distinctive and effective contribution to
overturning of the colonial system. Its attack upon colonialism
has been extensive, as the multitude of words and resolutions on
the subject that its different branches have adopted demonstrates.
[156]

The concern of the United Nations with the colonial problem

has been varied and extensive. The 1960 “Declaration on Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and People” marked the
culmination of drastic change in the relationship of the United
Nations to colonialism.[157] This declaration adopted by the
General Assembly has been an outstanding landmark in the
movement against colonialism by making the war against this
system a major enterprise of the United Nations. In later
resolutions by the General Assembly, the war on colonialism was
pushed several steps ahead. The legitimacy of colonial struggles
for self-determination and independence was recognized and all
states were invited to provide material and moral support to
national liberation movements, i.e., the members of the United
Nations were overtly invited to enlist in armed struggles to
overthrow colonial and racially discriminatory regimes.

The United Nations' campaign against colonialism has been

successful. In 2007, 47 years after the adoption of the declaration
on decolonization, all territories formally under colonial rule have
become independent.

B. Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire

In 1945, the victorious Red Army liberated Eastern European

Countries from the Nazi occupation. Three years after World War
II all these countries had Communist governments. Eastern
European Countries became satellite states of the Soviet Union.
The consolidation of power in Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union
and the emergence of the Soviet Union as a nuclear power led to
the polarization of the world. The world split into two camps, East
and West, with conflicting ideologies and concerns. In May 1955,
the Soviet Union and its Eastern European Countries established
the Warsaw Pact as alliance for cooperation and defense among
them. This was in response to the creation, in April 1949, of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as organized defense
cooperation between the United States of America and its Western
allies. The alliance between the United States of America and the
Soviet Union during the Second World War was replaced by
distrust and competition. The “Cold War” between the East and
the West was embarked.

By using its military might and intimidation, the Soviet Union

was able for four and half decades, following the Second World
War, to maintain its control over East Europe, and to influence
world events. It formed friendships with a great number of third
world countries, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

In maintaining control over East Europe, the Soviet Union

and the Communist Governments of these countries resorted to
force to crash several revolts, e.g., the Hungarian revolt of 1956,
the Czechoslovakian revolts of 1967 and 1977, and the Polish
revolts of 1968, 1970 and 1981. Although, the Soviet Union
succeeded in crashing these revolts, it failed to suppress the
aspiration of East European peoples for national independence
and democracy.

With the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev to power in 1985, a new

kind of leadership was emerged in the Soviet Union. President
Gorbachev was devoted to political and economic reforms in the
Soviet Union, and to improve relations with the West. This
meant letting democracy take its course in the Soviet Union and
East Europe. Democracy swept all over East Europe. In 1989,
first democratic non-communist government took over Poland.
In the same year, Hungary got its first non-communist
government. On November 8, 1989, the Berlin Wall Collapsed.
By the end of 1989, most of Eastern European Countries
achieved national independence by peaceful means.
 The Soviet Union, itself, was not immune from the spread of
democracy and national independence. In 1990, the three Baltic
Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were the first to declare
independence and seceded from the Soviet Union. In the
summer of 1991, the Russian people defeated the coup d'etat by
the hard-line communists who tried to recapture the power and
put the Soviet Union back on its past course. By the end of 1991,
all the Republics of the former Soviet Union achieved national
independence. The Soviet Union ceased to exist.

The fall of the Soviet Empire put an end to the Cold War
between the East and the West, with most of its consequences.
However, this fall resulted in the emergence of new problems.
Ethnic wars erupted in several Republics of the former Soviet
Union, and in the former Yugoslavia. These wars represent
major threats to the international peace and security.

The above events have caused significant changes in the

United Nations. The changes have been reflected in the
following two areas: expansion in the membership of the United
Nations; and shifting powers, functions and influence within the
United Nations.

C. Expansion in the Membership of the United

Nations

The Most profound change, which significantly affected the

structure and the patterns of powers and influence in the United
Nations, is the increase in the number of members from 51 in 1945
to 191 in 2007. The majority of the states which got together to lay
the foundation for the United Nations were long-established states
with developed political, economic and social systems. They had
substantial populations, and were western in their general
orientation.[158] The majority of members in 2007 represent
developing states which have not yet achieved stability in their
political, economic or social systems. In addition, these states
have various cultural backgrounds.

The priorities and concerns of the majority in the early years of

the United Nations were different from those of the majority in the
latter years. In the early years, the majority took an
anticommunist position on the Cold War issues; relatively few
states were uncommitted. In the latter years, the majority took a
neutral position concerning the East-West conflict. The problems
of decolonization and racial discrimination constituted a priority
to this majority since most of the states themselves were former
colonies. States were concerned about establishing their national
identities, and developing their political, economic and social
systems. At the present time the majority is devoted to
cooperating in the field of economic development and world peace
and security. States are concern about their political, economic
and social development.
 The expansion in the membership of the United Nations has
caused the rise of blocs and groupings of states around common
characteristics and interests of all kinds, as well as the emergence
of new issues, problems and priorities. These blocs and groups
which roughly approximate political parties have played a
significant role in the decision-making process of the United
Nations. The largest of the blocs has been the Group of 77 (or the
developing Nations bloc), which has consisted of some 120
member states. Next largest has been the Non-Aligned
Movement, which has consisted of some 90 members. Following
has been the 50-member African Group. Next has been the
Islamic Conference, which has consisted of 41 member states.
Also, have been the 39-member Asian Group, the 33-member
Latin American Group, the 22-member Western European “and
others” Group, the 23-member Arab Group, and the 11 member
Eastern European Group (ceased in 1990). In addition, there have
been the smaller groups: the 5 Nordics, the 6-member Association
of Southeast Asian Countries; and the 10-member European
Community.[159]

It is important to note that although blocs have been extremely

important in determining many outcomes in the organs of the
United Nations, they have not been invariably decisive. Many
states have been belonging to more than one bloc and have been
subjected to various sorts of influences and interests, which have
affected their attitudes toward any issue. Blocs, except to some
extent the Eastern European Group before 1989, have not been
concrete or cohesive in nature.[160] However, the tendency of
states to get together in the United Nations in voting blocs based
on their special interests has placed all the state members of the
organization at the mercy of blocs which command sufficient votes
to initiate or prevent action of any kind.[161]

An important result of the expansion of the membership of the

United Nations has been the increase in the number of non-
permanent members of the Security Council from 6 to 10. These
seats have been allocated as follows: 5 for Africa and Asia, 1 for
Eastern Europe, 2 for Latin America, and 2 for Western Europe
and “other states”.

Another aspect of the expansion of the United Nations'

membership in the sixties and the seventies was represented by
the shift of influence in the General Assembly, from the United
States of America and its allies to the Soviet Union. The Soviet
Union, which was in a minority position in the early years,
emerged as an influential power in the United Nations. Before
1989, the Soviet Union was able to make common cause with the
emerging majority in the United Nations, the nations of Asia and
Africa. Colonialism, national liberation, self-determination,
economic development and social justice were issues which the
Soviet Union not only was able to gain from, but they also gave it
an advantage over the Western Camp, the United States of
America and its allies.[162] The Soviet Union, with the new
majority in the United Nations, was able during the years 1960
and 1989 to influence the outcomes of the General Assembly,
other organs and agencies of the United Nations. However, as the
result of the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991, the United States has
been able to recapture the majority in the United Nations, and
since then, it has been the most influential state in this
international organization.

D. Shifting Powers, Functions and Influence

The mechanism envisaged in the 1945 United Nations Charter

which vested upon the Security Council the primary responsibility
for the maintenance of international peace and security proved
during the early years of the life of the Organization its defects. The
Council, because of the veto, failed to meet its responsibilities under
chapters VI and VII of the Charter. The defects in the mechanism
have rested on the fact that the permanent members failed to
cooperate among themselves, and to make the United Nations
system work by equipping and using it as a chosen instrument for
achieving common ends.

The success of the United Nations depends primarily on the

cooperation of the permanent members of the Security Council. At
the time the Charter was written, its authors assumed that the
major allied victors would find it in their interests to cooperate to
make the United Nations effective in order to prevent the
recurrence of another world war.[163] It soon became apparent,
however, that the silence of guns after the end of the Second World
War put an end to their cooperation. The Major victors split into
two camps with conflicting ideologies, views and concerns
regarding the necessary conditions of peace and security, and
regarding the role which the United Nations should play.

In the early years of the United Nations, the Western powers, the
US and its allies, sought to make extensive use of the Organization
for restoring conditions of peace and security in the war-torn
world. This attitude was dictated by the fact that they were able to
control the majority in the Council and the Assembly. The Soviet
Union and its allies, on the other hand, who were a minority in both
organs, considered any action by the United Nations as detrimental
to their interests, since it would further the interests of the Western
powers. Action which the majority in the Organization sought to
undertake were viewed by the Soviet Union as direct threats to its
security, and therefore to be prevented by the use of the veto in the
Council. In this line, it looked upon the United Nations more as
means to be used to prevent action inimical to its own interests
than as means of cooperation for common purposes.[164]

The characteristics of the Cold War, such as fear, distrust and

lack of confidence in the other side, were behind the failure of the
United Nations to implement the enforcement provisions of the
Charter by the conclusion of Article 43 agreements making
available to the Council the forces and facilities necessary to the
full discharge of its responsibilities.[165] This failure was the
first major blow to the United Nations system. The experience of
the early years which was influenced by the Cold War
demonstrated that the veto power exercised by the Soviet Union
made the Council an unreliable instrument for providing
collective security and maintaining international peace and
order. Responding to this reality, the Western powers sought
alternative means for providing collective security. The first
means was the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) on April 4, 1949. The inherent right of
individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 was
the basis on which NATO was founded. NATO became the basis
for organized defense cooperation among West European
powers, United States and Canada, and the principal collective
means by which these states faced their major external threat in
the years of the Cold War.[166]

The second means sought by the Western powers to deal with

threats to international peace and security was the use of the
General Assembly as an alternative to the Security Council, in
case the latter was prevented from taking an action because of
the veto. The General Assembly on November 3, 1950, adopted
the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution. [167]

In essence the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution grants the

General Assembly the power to act in place of the Security
Council only if the Council fails to discharge its primary
responsibility. Under it, the Assembly may do by
recommendations anything that the Council can do by decisions
under chapter VII. The Assembly can make appropriate
recommendations to members for collective measures, including
the use of armed force, (1) if the Council, because of the lack of
unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its
responsibility, and (2) in any case where there appears to be a
threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The
above two facts represent the essential preconditions to the
operation of the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution. By the “Uniting
for Peace” Resolution, the Assembly in effect asserts its right to act
in the same manner that the Council can act under chapter VII of
the Charter, but only when the Council fails to act.[168]

It is obvious from its provisions that the Resolution provides a

system quite different from the one the drafters of the United
Nations Charter intended. Instead of “decisions” by the Council
which members are obligated to carry out, collective action is to be
based upon “recommendations” by the Assembly which are not
legally binding upon members.[169] Also, instead of “special
agreement’ referred to in article 43 to be the basis for making
available to the Council armed forces, the armed forces under the
Resolution are to be made available to the Assembly by members
on a voluntary basis.

On the Eastern side, the Warsaw Pact was concluded in May

1955 as an alternative means for collective cooperation and
defense for the Soviet Union and its Socialist allies, in response to
the creation of NATO and the adoption of the “Uniting for Peace”
Resolution.
 The Cold War between the East and the West had a negative
affect on the United Nations system for maintaining peace and
security. The system weakened and became distorted. The shift of
powers and functions with this regard from the United Nations to
NATO and the Warsaw Pact represented a very serious blow to the
expectations, which the founders of the international organization
hoped to further. The expectation to establish one world
organization for the purpose of taking effective collective measures
to prevent and remove threats to the peace, and to suppress acts of
aggression or other breaches of the peace, was demolished.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact were two gigantic systems that
function independently of the United Nations. Their rivalry and
mutual fears resulted in arms race, polarization of the world
states, a weakened United Nations as an organization of
collective security, and the threat of nuclear war.[170]

The period of “détente”[171] which followed the Cold War in

the early seventies was unable to remove the negative impact of
the Cold War on the workability and effectiveness of the United
Nations. The world politics during the years of “détente”, as it
was during the years of the Cold War, was mainly preoccupied
with conflict between super powers, and arm race and
competition. The United States and the Soviet Union continued
behaving in the same manner they behaved during the years of
the Cold War. However, a significant change relating to the
center of influence in the United Nations occurred. The
influence upon the United Nations which the US and its allies
were able to exercise by mobilizing support for their position
came to an end. Between the early sixties and late eighties, such
influence had been exercised by the Soviet Union, who was able
to mobilize the majority in the Assembly, and even to some
extent in the Council, to support its position. The United States
found itself in the same shoes the Soviet Union had found itself
in the past. US confidence in the capability of the United
Nations on matters of peace and security declined. The US, on
many occasions, exercised its veto power to prevent actions and
resolutions from being undertaken and adopted by the Security
Council. During this period, nothing changed on the
international stage except the actors. The United Nations
system for the maintenance of peace and security remained
ineffective. The assumption behind giving powers in the field of
peace and security to the General Assembly under the “Uniting
for Peace” Resolution did not realized. It was clear that the
provisions of the Resolution could not be used to coerce a major
power or to initiate collective measures in situations where a
permanent member of the Council would feel its vital interests
be threatened. The Resolution was meant to achieve quicker
consideration by the Assembly, but not the exercise by this
organ of powers to which a permanent member objects.[172]

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the picture of

the world changed. All the consequences of the Cold War
ended. The United States is again the center of influence
within the United Nations.
 II. Available Methods for Achieving
Changes in

the United Nations

Many changes have taken place within the United Nations

system since the drafting of the Charter of the Organization in
1945. The Charter in 2007, as it has been profoundly
influenced during the past six decades by customs and usages,
interpretation, resolutions of various United Nations organs,
supplementary or supporting treaties, and the changing
conditions in the international stage, is hardly the Charter that
was drafted in 1945.

The text of the Charter, except of articles 23, 27, 61 and 109,
is the same today as it was on June 26, 1945, the day when the
delegates of the 50 nations assembled at San Francisco
solemnly affixed their signatures to it. The Charter, however,
in its practical application is not the same as it was then. Some
of its gaps have been filled. Some articles, which in 1945
seemed to be very essential for effecting the expectations of the
founders have become dead letters. Others, which then seemed
to be of minor importance, have unexpectedly come to be
significant. The relative importance of organs, functions and
procedures have changed in more than one instance.

The founders of the United Nations meant it to be a living

organism that would grow with the changing world. This
expectation of growth and change is expressed, near the end of
the Charter, in a short chapter entitled "Amendments".[173]
Changes in the United Nations system, however, have come
about in a variety of ways other than by amending the Charter.

The following examines the methods by which changes can

be made in the United Nations. First, the methods employed
since 1945 are surveyed. Then, the provisions of the Charter
relating to formal amending process are examined.

A. Informal Methods Used to Date

Because the formal amending procedures of the United

Nations Charter are too rigid to allow necessary changes, and
because the political circumstances are not conducive to their
use, other means have been found to achieve desired ends. The
Charter has been subjected to changes in a variety of ways and
to greater effect than is generally believed. It has been changed:
(1) by the failure to implement or apply certain provisions; (2)
through the interpretation by various organs and members of
the United Nations; (3) through the conclusion of
supplementary or supporting treaties or agreements; and (4)
through the creation of special organs and agencies.

(1) Failure to Implement or Apply Certain Provisions

Several articles, which those who participated in the San

Francisco Conference believed were highly important in making
the United Nations an effective instrument for maintaining
world peace, have been already fallen into disuse. This has been
because organs and members of the organization have
disregarded or have failed to implement or apply them. Perhaps
the best examples are those articles relating to the military
preparation of the United Nations. Article 43, which was meant
to be the heart of the collective security system provided for in
the Charter and the teeth which were put into collective security
action under the United Nations, has been disregarded. Under
it members of the United Nations are required to make available
to the Security Council, in accordance with special agreements,
the armed forces, assistance and facilities necessary for
maintaining international peace and security. Unfortunately,
these agreements have never come into existence; and article 43
remains a dead letter.

Equally dead are Articles 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48, which are
related to the use of armed forces by the Security Council and
which are largely dependent on the entry into force of Article
43. Article 44 gives a say to individual member states in all
decisions of the Council concerning the employment of that
member's armed forces. Article 45 provides for immediately
available air forces for combined international enforcement
action. Articles 46 and 47 entrust the Security Council and the
Military Staff Committee with the task of planning for the
application of armed forces and employing and commanding
such forces. And Article 48 requires all members of the United
Nations to carry out the Council's actions concerning the
maintenance of international peace and security. Taken
together, all these Articles with Article 43 are the cores of the
collective security system of the United Nations, as it was
envisaged at the San Francisco Conference by the drafters of the
Charter.

The same fate had fated Articles 106 of the Charter. Under
the heading “Transitional Security Arrangement”, there is
Article 106 that was meant to cover the short transitional period
anticipated before the making of the “special agreements”,
which would give the United Nations the forces necessary for its
collective actions. Article 106 provides that prior to the time the
Council is ready to begin exercising its responsibilities concerning
collective enforcement actions, the five permanent members of the
Council should consult with each other with a view to such joint
action on behalf of the Organization as might be necessary to
maintain international peace and security. In short words, this
Article gives the super powers the joint responsibility for
maintaining peace and security on a transitional basis. The super
powers, however, because of the division among them, have failed to
give effect to this transitional arrangement.

(2) Liberal Interpretations

The Charter of the United Nations, as any constitutional

instrument, grows and takes on new meanings as the Organization
accepts challenges and meets demands and needs. The only
provision in the Charter relating to its interpretation is the one
implied in Article 96. Under this Article the General Assembly or the
Security Council may request the International Court of Justice to
give an advisory opinion “on any legal question”; such opinions,
however, have no binding legal effect. This flexibility in the Charter
has led to a number of significant developments in the United
Nations.

In practice and in line with the general understanding reached at

the San Francisco Conference, the organs and member states of the
United Nations have felt free to interpret the various articles of the
Charter as they have been fit.[174] Consequently, any interpretation
of any provision of the Charter which a majority of the members may
believe to be reasonable one can prevail in any particular instance.
This explains why the Charter has its liberal, as well as its strict,
constructionists. The liberal interpretation, however, has been in
ascendance much of the time. It has been very helpful in
strengthening the General Assembly, giving more of a policy-making
role to the Secretary General and its staff, and overcoming the
deadlock in admitting new members to the United Nations.[175]

The most significant development, which was due to a liberal

interpretation of the Charter, relates to the all-important question of
voting in the Security Council. Article 27, Paragraph 3, provides
specifically that for other than procedural matters, decisions of the
Council are to be made “by an affirmative vote of nine members
including the concurring votes of the permanent members”. In its
early history, the Security Council took the position that an
abstention or an absence of a permanent member did not
constitute a negative vote. This liberal interpretation of Article
27, Paragraph 3, has been the prevailing one since then. It was
this interpretation, together with the absence of the Soviet
Union from the Security Council, that made it possible for the
Council to take action with respect to the North Korean attack
against South Korea in 1950. The difference between this liberal
interpretation of Article 27, Paragraph 3 and the strict one is
substantial. Under the strict interpretation, when a permanent
member abstains or is absent at the time of the vote is taken no
decisions can be reached by the Council. This is a clear
illustration of how differently the Charter may be interpreted,
and how an interpretation may make a difference. Another
illustration of how differently the Charter may be interpreted is
found in Paragraph 2 of Article 27, which provides that decisions
of the Council on procedural matters should be made by an
affirmative vote of nine members. This article does not spell out
the distinctions between the procedural and substantial matters.
 At the San Francisco Conference, the five major powers
agreed on the strict interpretation of “procedural’ questions.
They agreed that procedural questions, for the most part, were
those involved with the organizational matters referred to in
Articles 28 to 32 of the Charter: the adoption of the rules of
procedure of the Council; the selection of the president of the
Council; the time and place of the Council's meetings; the
establishment of subsidiary organs; the adoption of conditions
for the participation of a state that is not a member of the United
Nations in the Council's discussion; etc. Beyond this point,
these powers agreed in their Statement of June 7, 1945, that
decisions of the Council which might have “major political
consequences” should be made by the unanimous vote of the
permanent members.[176] This narrow interpretation has not
followed by the General Assembly, which has been attempting to
narrow the area within which the veto should apply. The
Assembly has been inclined to define procedural questions very
broadly. In its resolution of April 14, 1949, the Assembly
recommended to the Council that some thirty-one decisions
should be considered procedural, and that the Council should
conduct its business accordingly.[177] Included in the list were a
number of decisions that previously had been considered
substantive, such as those relating to the pacific settlement of
disputes and the admission of new members to the United
Nations. Obviously, there is a substantial difference between the
strict interpretation agreed on by the major powers at the San
Francisco Conference and the liberal one urged on the Council
by the Assembly. Either of these two methods of interpretation
could be applied; however, this is dependent on the members of the
United Nations.

Another significant development, which was due to the liberal

interpretation of the Charter, relates to the expanding nature of the
political activities of the Secretary General. The articles of Chapter
XV relating to the role of the Secretary General leave the impression
that his political functions are to be quite limited in scope. In
practice, however, both the Security Council and the General
Assembly have taken a broad view of his function. He has exercised
an influential role in various fields. He has made statements before
the Council and the Assembly on a variety of questions. He has
undisputed authority to place any item he considers necessary on
the provisional agenda of both organs. He has played an effective
and influential role with respect to peaceful settlement of disputes
and peace-keeping operations; a role which those who participated
in the San Francisco Conference did not foresee.

Still another demonstration of what interpretation can do is

reflected in the sharp shift in the roles of the Security Council and
the General Assembly. In the Charter of the United Nations, much
emphasis is placed on the primary responsibility of the Council in
the field of international peace and security. The Council is
designed to be the most powerful and influential organ of the
United Nations. It is organized to be able to function continuously,
designed to have armed forces at its disposal, and empowered to
make decisions binding on all members of the international
organization. The General Assembly, on the other hand, is
designed for much less important roles. It is scheduled to convene
in regular annual sessions. It was not designed to have armed
forces at its disposal. It is only empowered to make
recommendations, not decisions binding on members of the United
Nations. Its main weapons are discussion and debate. In practice,
however, the Assembly has undergone evolutionary growth.

As the Security Council has fallen into disuse, because of the

division among its permanent members, the Assembly has become
a stronger and more important organ. The Assembly has gradually
played a much different role than was foreseen by those drafted the
United Nations Charter. Various devices, ways and means have
been employed to expand the Assembly's activities and influence in
about every field. The creation of the Interim Committee in 1947
(and its recreation in 1949) was meant to keep the Assembly in
virtually continuous session if necessary.[178] The adoption of the
“Uniting for Peace” Resolution in 1950 aimed to empower the
Assembly to take action against an aggressor if the Council fails
to exercise its responsibility for maintaining international peace
and Security.[179] Moreover, this resolution aimed to make
available at the disposal of the Assembly armed forces. It asks
member states of the United Nations to maintain within their
national forces elements so trained, organized and equipped that
they could promptly be available for service as United Nations
units.

Today, the General Assembly can convene in an emergency

session within 24 hours. It can make appropriate
recommendations to members of the United Nations for
collective measures, including the use of armed forces. All this
was made possible only by the liberal interpretations of the
Charter's provisions relating to the functions and powers of the
General Assembly.

3. Conclusion of Supplementary or Supporting

Agreements

The Charter has been subjected to changes as a result of

numerous treaties and agreements that have been concluded by
various states. Treaties and agreements have been used as
devices to define in detail the general provisions of the Charter,
to specify the rights and obligations of member states, to specify
the powers and functions of the United Nations organs, and to
lay down obligations and commitments that go beyond those
contained in the Charter. The most important example of such
developments is the establishment of regional and security
arrangements or organizations. Article 52, Paragraph 1 of the
Charter provides that nothing in it shall preclude “the existence
of regional arrangements or agencies” for dealing with “matters
relating to the maintenance of international peace and security,”
provided that they are “consistent with the Purposes and
Principles of the United Nations”. Paragraph 2 of this Article
requires members to seek pacific settlement of local disputes
through regional arrangements or agencies. Paragraph 3
requires the Council to encourage such behavior. Under Article
53, the Council is required, where appropriate, to utilize such
regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under
its authority.

Despite its provision for regional arrangements, the Charter

of the United Nations was primarily designed to approach
matters of collective security on a world-wide basis.
Consequently, the primary responsibility for international peace
and security was vested in the Security Council. However,
because of the failure of the Council in assuming its
responsibility, members of the United Nations, in search of an
alternative, concluded numerous treaties and agreements
establishing regional arrangements or organizations, such as
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Warsaw Pact
(ceased to exist in 1990), the Inter-America Treaty of
Reciprocal Assistance, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,
Organization of African Unity (became the African Union), the
Arab League, etc. By these treaties and arrangements, the
member states shifted the emphasis from universal collective
security to regional security arrangements based on the
principle of self-defense as expressed in article 51. Regional
security arrangements constitute different techniques for joint
action than the one that exists under the Charter of the United
Nations.

Another important supplementary device to the Charter is

the declarations accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) under Article 36 of the
Statute of the ICJ.[180] Although the Charter obliges members
of the United Nations to settle their disputes by peaceful means
referred to in Article 33 of the Charter, it does not impose any
particular means on the disputants. By acceding to the so-
called optional clause of Article 36 of the ICJ Statute, the states
agree in advance to accept the jurisdiction of the Court with
respect to legal disputes in which they may become involved.
The declarations enlarge the competence of the ICJ by
imposing on the states obligations over and above those already
embodies in the Charter.

Still there are numerous resolutions and declarations

adopted by various organs of the United Nations, and
covenants and conventions concluded by states under the
auspices of the United Nations, covering about every field
which are meant to supplement or support the Charter. These
supplementary devices dealt, for example, with: status; rights
and obligations of states and other international legal persons;
authority over land, sea and space; trade and development
cooperation; human rights; peaceful settlement of international
disputes; the use of force; etc. Each of these devices has played
a role in the development of provisions of the Charter.

4. Creation of Subsidiary Organs

Articles 22 and 29 of the United Nations Charter respectively

authorize the General Assembly and the Security Council to
establish such subsidiary organs as are deemed necessary for
the performance of their respective functions. During the sixty
years of the United Nations’ history hundreds of committees,
commissions, panels, special representatives, boards and
agencies have been established. These subsidiary organs have
been assigned a wide variety of functions covering all areas of
the Assembly's or the Council's responsibilities.

The General Assembly has established many organs to assist

it in carrying out its responsibilities in the administrative and
financial field. Some have permanent status such as the Interim
Committee, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions, the Committee on Contributions, and the
Board of Auditors. Some important subsidiary organs created by
the Assembly, e.g., the Collective Measures Committee and the
International Law Commission, have been assigned to undertake
studies of a general character. Many operating agencies, e.g., the
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA), the High Commission for Human Rights, the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), and the
Development Programme (UNDP), have been established to
administer a variety of relief, rehabilitation, and assistance
programs in the field.

In the field of peace and security, the General Assembly has

created many organs entrusted with a wide variety of functions.
Some of a permanent nature, e.g., the Peace Observation
Commission, and the Panel for Inquiry and Conciliation, have
been created to serve where they might be needed. Many ad hoc
organs have been created, from time to time, to deal with
particular situations. Many have been entrusted with
investigatory functions. Others have been assigned to observe
particular situations. A number of subsidiary organs have been
assigned with functions of mediation, conciliation and good
offices. In addition, there have been military forces created by
the Assembly as its subsidiary organs for peace-keeping
purposes.

To assist it in performing its responsibilities, the Security

Council has established its own subsidiary organs. It has
created standing commissions or committees of a permanent
nature, e.g., the Committee on the Admission of New Members,
to assist it in particular aspects of its work or to deal with certain
recurring matters. It has established organs to deal with
particular questions or situations for the task of investigation,
observation, mediation, and assisting in the implementation of
its resolutions or peace-keeping operations.

The importance of the subsidiary organs created by the

Assembly and the Council rests in the fact that without the
assistance provided by them main organs of the United Nations
could not effectively discharge their responsibilities under the
Charter. The establishment of such organs does not amend the
Charter in any substantive way, but it does constitute an
important feature of the developing United Nations system
under the Charter.
B. Formal Methods Available Under the Charter

Two different methods of amending the Charter of the

United Nations were agreed upon at the San Francisco
Conference of 1945. The first is the ordinary procedure of
amendment set forth in Article 108. The second is the
comprehensive review by a general conference provided in
Article 109.

1. Ordinary Amending Process

Article 108 of the Charter outlines a two-step process that is

to be followed for the ordinary amending process of the United
Nations Charter: (a) an adoption of the proposal by a two-
thirds vote of the General Assembly; and (b) a ratification by
two-thirds of the members of the United Nations, including all
the permanent members of the Security Council. In connection
with these two steps, three points should be noted. First, a
proposed amendment may be adopted by the Assembly without
any concurring action by the Council. The will of the majority
of two-thirds of the members prevails. No single state, whether
small or super, can prevent an amendment from being
adopted. Second, Article 108 reiterates the principle of
permanent members' unanimity. It requires that amendments
must be ratified by all the five permanent members of the
Council. This means that no amendment can become effective
if it is opposed by any permanent member. Any one of the
permanent members can prevent the entry into force of any
amendment even if it is ratified by all other members of the
United Nations. Third, after being ratified by the two-thirds of
the members of the United Nations, including all the five
permanent members on the Council, an amendment would
become effective with respect to all members, even those that
voted against it in the Assembly or failed to ratify it. The
dissatisfied member has only one remedy, that is, to withdraw
from the Organization.

Until 1963, none of the profound changes in the United

Nations system which took place were brought about through
the formal amendment process of the Charter. Formal
amendments, however, were proposed on various occasion.
During the first few sessions of the Assembly, a few proposals
were made to amend the Charter. One of these was a proposal
introduced in 1946, to amend Article 27, Paragraph 3, in order
to curtail the use of the veto, but it was withdrawn for lack of
support.[181] In 1956, following the great influx of new
members, further proposals to amend the Charter were brought
up in the Assembly. The most significant were the proposals:
to amend Article 61 in order to enlarge the Economic and Social
Council; and to amend Article 23 in order to increase the
number of the nonpermanent members on the Security Council,
and correspondingly to amend Article 27 in order to increase the
number of affirmative votes needed for a decision by the Council
to be adopted.[182] The Cold War atmosphere prevented amend-
ments to the Charter from getting the support of all the five
permanent members; of course, no amendment could come into
effect without ratification by all of them.

The pressure to pass amendments to the Charter continued

over the years until 1963 when an agreement was reached for this
end. At its eighteenth session, the Assembly adopted amendments
to raise the number of the members of the Economic and Social
Council to 27, and to expand the size of the Security Council to 15,
with a corresponding amendment to Article 27 to require 9
affirmative votes for the adoption of the Security Council's
decisions.[183] These amendments entered into force on August
1965 when the members of the United Nations, including the 5
permanent members on the Council, ratified them in accordance
with their constitutional processes.

When Articles 23 and 27 were amended, the requirement of

seven votes for calling a conference to review the Charter in Article
109, Paragraph 1, was not changed. The Assembly in 1965 adopted
an amendment of this Paragraph to conform to the new
requirement of Article 27.

2. General Conference for the Charter's Review

Article 109 outlines a three-step process to be followed in case

of review of the Charter by a general conference of the members of
the United Nations: (a) a call for holding a conference by a two-
thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly and a
concurring vote of nine members of the Security Council; (b) an
adoption of the alteration to the Charter by a two-thirds vote of the
conference; and (c) a ratification of such alteration by two thirds of
the members of the United Nations, including all five permanent
members of the Security Council, in accordance with their
constitutional process. In connection with these steps, four points
should be noted. First, the review of the Charter as a whole is not
the business of the General Assembly, but of a “General
Conference” of all members of the United Nations. It is a kind of
constituent assembly which may be called to continue the work of
the San Francisco Conference.[184] Second, a reviewing
conference could be called for at any time. Third, none of the
permanent members of the Council, or all of them together, by
their negative vote can prevent the calling of a general conference.
Fourth, each of the permanent members, however, can prevent the
entry into force of any alteration to the Charter by failing to ratify
it.

It seems that, as far as amendments of the Charter are

concerned, there is no difference between Articles 108 and 109.
Any amendment must be approved by a two-thirds vote of either
the General Assembly or the General Conference. Moreover, even
if “alterations” (under Article 109) or “amendments” (under
Article 108) to the Charter are approved, they would come into
force only if ratified by two-thirds of the members of the United
Nations, including all five of the permanent members of the
Security Council.

Paragraph 3 of Article 109 outlines an additional specific one-

time procedure for reviewing the Charter. It provides that if a
conference has not been held before the tenth session of the
Assembly, “the proposal to call for such a conference shall be
placed on the agenda of that session” and “the conference shall be
held if so decided by a majority vote of the members of the General
Assembly and by a vote of any seven members of the Security
Council.” This provision is no longer applicable since the tenth
session of the Assembly has passed and the only decision possible
under it has been taken.[185]

The decision to include a specific provision for a general

conference to review the Charter was a product of a compromise
between the position of the major powers and that of those who
were dissatisfied with certain provisions of the Charter, especially,
those of Articles 27 and 108. Its objective was to assure the
dissatisfied states that there would be an opportunity for reviewing
the Charter at some future time.

During the first three sessions of the General Assembly,

proposals for the calling of a general conference to review the
Charter were introduced.[186] None, however, was adopted
because of the opposition of many members who argued that the
time had not yet come to convene such a conference, and that
because of the division among the major powers it was unwise to
discuss amendments of the Charter.

Because no conference to review the Charter was held prior to

the tenth session of the General Assembly, the proposal to call
such a conference was automatically placed on the agenda of the
tenth session as required by Paragraph 3 of Article 109. The
debate at that session revealed little enthusiasm and much
reluctance by many members of the United Nations for calling
such a conference.[187] The General Assembly adopted a
resolution expressing the view that it would be “desirable to
review the Charter in the light of experience gained in its
operations”, but that such a review “should be conducted under
auspicious international circumstances.”[188] In this resolution,
the Assembly did not fix the time or the place for the
conference. However, a committee was established to consider
the matters in consultation with the Secretary General. To this
resolution, the Security Council gave its concurrence.[189]

At its tenth session, the General Assembly did not call for
holding a conference to review the Charter as required by
Paragraph 3 of Article 109. This could be understandable since
this Paragraph did not guarantee that a conference would be
held. The Assembly was under no obligation to call a
conference, but merely to place the matter on the agenda of its
tenth session.[190]
 Both Articles 108 and 109 provide far too rigid procedure for
amendment of the United Nations’ Charter. The process is just
as long and just as difficult under any of these two Articles. This
explains why during the sixty-year history of the United Nations
no substantial changes in the Organization have taken place
through the formal amending processes provided in the
Charter. Profound changes in the United Nations system have
been accomplished only through informal methods.

[1] For the materials on the United Nations, see generally, the UN web site at //www.un.org/; United Nations, BASIC
FACTS About the United Nations, U.N., New York, 2004 [Hereinafter is cited as UN Basic Facts]; Bowett’s Law of

International Institutions, P. Sands and P. Klein eds., 5th edn, London (2001), chapter 2; L.M. Goodrich, E. Hambro and

A.P. Simons, Charter of the United Nations, 3rd edn, New York (1969); E. Luard, 1 A History of the United Nations, London

(1982); L.B. Sohn, Cases on the United Nations Law, 2nd edn, Brooklyn (1967); O. Schachter and C.C. Joyner (eds.) United

Nations Legal Order, 2 vols., Cambridge (1995)

[2] See generally, E. Luard, 1 A History of the United Nations, London (1982).
[3] See the collected works of this Conference in UNCIO, 15 vols., New York (1945).
[4] See G.L. Goodwin, “World Institutions and World Order”, in The New International Actors, pp. 55-64, C. Cosgrove & K.
Twitchett eds., London (1970).

[5] Quoted in Goodwin, id. at 57.

[6] Id. 57.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id. 62
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] See Dag Hammarskjöld, the introduction to The Annual Report of the United Nations Secretary General, 16 U.N.
GAOR, Supp. 1A, U.N Doc. A/4800/Add.1 (1961).

[15] Id.
[16] See Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations Case, 1949 I.C.J. 174.
[17] See G. Clark, Introduction to World Peace through World Law, Peace is possible: A Reader on World Order, 108-33,
Cambridge (1966).

[18] See generally N. Hill, International Organization, (1952); and D. Mitrany, “The Functional Approach to World

Organization”, in The New International Actors, C. Cosgrove & K. Twitchett eds., London (1970).

[19] This view was introduced by H. Kissinger in a speech entitled” The Global Challenge and International Cooperation,”
delivered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 14, 1975. Quoted in M. Zacher, International Conflicts and Collective Security,

1946-1977, at 4, New York (1979).

[20] See supra chapter one para. III.

[21] UN Charter art. 104. Text of the UN Charter is found on the UN web site at /www.un.org/.
[22] Id art. 105(1).
[23] Id. art.105(2).
[24] See L.M. Goodrich, From League of Nations to the United Nations, 1 International Organization (Feb. 1947), 3-21.
[25] See UN Charter arts 2 & 55.
[26] See id. art.1.
[27] See id. art. 2.
[28] Id. art. 3.
[29] Id. art. 4(1).
[30] Id. art. 4(2).
[31] Id. art. 5.
[32] Id. art. 6.
[33] The United States is the largest contributor to the UN, providing roughly 22 percent of
the organization’s administrative budget and about 27 percent of its peacekeeping budget.

[34] See generally, UN Charter chapter IV, the UN web site at //www.un.org/; S. Bailey, The General Assembly of the
United Nations, London (1964); and B. Finley, The Structure of the United Nations General Assembly, 3 vols., Dobbs Ferry

(1977).

[35] UN Charter art. 9.

[36] Id. art. 18(1).
[37] Id. art. 18(2).
[38] Id. art. 18(3).
[39] See id. arts. 10-16, 23, 61, 85 & 97.
[40] G.A. Res. 337 A of November 3, 1950, 5 U.N. SCOR Supp. (No. 20) at 10, U.N. Doc. A/1775 (1950).
[41] See UN Charter art. 20; the Rules of Procedures of the General Assembly, A/520/Rev. 7, 20 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 14)
at 88, U.N. Doc. A/6014 (1965); and the “Uniting for Peace” Resolution para. A(1).

[42] See generally, UN Charter chapter V, the UN web site at //www.un.org at //; S. Bailey, The Procedure of the Security
Council, 2nd edn, Oxford (1988); and S. Bailey and S. Daws, The Procedure of the UN Security Council, Oxford (1998).

[43] See generally, S. Bailey, Voting in the Security Council, Oxford (1969).
[44] UN Charter art. 23.
[45] Id. art. 27(1).
[46] Id. art. 27(2).
[47] Id. art. 27(3).
[48] All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another.
[49] UN Charter art. 25.
[50] See id. chapters VI, VII, VIII & XII.
[51] See UN Charter arts. 23-32; and the Provisional Rules of Procedures of the Security Council U.N Doc. S/96/Rev. 4.
(1950).

[52] Under Article 35 of the U.N. Charter (in case of a dispute or situation the continuous of which is likely to endanger the
maintenance of international peace and security).

[53] Under Article 35 (2) & (3) of the UN Charter

[54] Under Article 99 of the UN Charter.
[55] UN Charter art. 31.
[56] Id. art. 32.
[57] See generally, UN Charter chapter X; and the UN web site at //www.un.org/.
[58] Id. art. 61.
[59] Id. art. 67(1).
[60] Id. art. 67(2).
[61] See id. arts. 62-66 & 71.
[62] See id. art. 72; and the Rules of Procedure of the Economic and Social Council, U.N. Doc. E/3063/Rev.1 (1966).
[63] The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is located in Beirut, Lebanon.
[64] UN Charter art. 71.
[65] See UN Charter chapter XIII; and the UN web site at //www.un.org/.

[66] See UN Charter chapter XII.

[67] See generally, UN Charter chapter XIV; ICJ Statute (Text of the ICJ Statute is found on the UN web site); and the ICJ
web site at //www.icj-cij.org/.

[68] UN Charter art. 92; and ICJ Statute art. 1. .

[69] UN Charter art. 92

[70] Id. art.93(1).
[71] Id. art. 93(2).
[72] See ICJ Statute chapters II & III.
[73] Id. art. 34(1).
[74] See id. chapter IV; and UN Charter art. 96.
[75] ICJ Statute art. 36(1).
[76] See id.. arts. 36.
[77] Id art.36(6).
[78] Id. art. 59.
[79] Id. art. 60.
[80] UN Charter art. 94(1).
[81] Id. art. 94(2).
[82] See ICJ Statute chapter I.
[83] See generally, UN Charter chapter XV; and the UN web site at //www.un.org/.
[84] See UN Charter arts. 100 & 105(2).
[85] Under the Charter, the official languages of the United Nations are Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish (UN
Charter art. 111). Arabic has been added as an official language of the General assembly, the Security Council and the

Economic and Social Council.

[86] U.N. Charter art. 97.

[87] Id and art. 101.
[88] Id. art. 99.
[89] Id art. 98.
[90] See generally, Mohammad Walid Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Peace and
Security, Saida-Beirut (1994) [In Arabic]; L. Goodrich & A. Simons, The United Nations and the Maintenance of

International Peace and Security, New York (1955); and United Nations, Basic Facts about the United Nations, chapter 2,

UN, New York (2004) [Hereinafter cited as UN Basic Facts].

[91] D. Mitrany, “The Functional Approach to World Organization”, in The New International Actors, p. 131, C. Cosgrove &
K. Twitchett eds., London (1970).

[92]See generally, Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, part one; J.
Collier and V. Lowe, The Settlement of Disputes in International Law, Cambridge (1999); J.G. Merrills, International

Dispute Settlement, 3rd edn, Cambridge (1998); K.V. Raman, Dispute settlement Through the UN, Dobbs Ferry (1997); M.N.

Shaw, International Law, pp. 1099-1118, 5th edn, Cambridge (2003); United Nations, Handbook on the Peaceful settlement

of Disputes Between States, UN, New York (1992).; and UN Basic Facts, chapter 2.

[93] For a discussion on the means of peaceful settlement of disputes, see Mohammad Walid Abdulrahim, Introduction to
Public International Law, chapter 14, Beirut (2006); and P. Malanczuk ed., Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to

International Law, chapter 18, 7th rev. edn, London and New York (1997);

[94] N. Hill, International Organization, 299, New York (1952).

[95] UN Charter art. 33(2).
[96] Id. art. 35(1).
[97] Id. art. 11(3).
[98] Id. art. 99.
[99] Id. arts. 35(2) & 37(1).
[100] Id. art. 33(2).
[101] Id. art. 36(1).
[102] Id. art. 37(2).
[103] Id. art. 11(3).
[104] Id. art. 11(2).
[105] Id. art. 14.
[106] Id. art. 11(2).
[107] Id.
[108] Id. arts. 11(2) & 35(2).
[109] Id. art. 12(1).
[110] “Peacemaking” refers to the use of diplomatic means to persuade parties in conflict to cease hostilities and to
negotiate a peaceful settlement of their dispute.

[111] See UN Basic Facts, chapter 2.

[112] Probably the most famous Security Council’s resolution recommending terms of settlement is the Resolution 242
(1967) dealing with the Middle East.

[113] The General Assembly adopted this resolution on November 3, 1950, G.A. Res. 377(a) (V), 5 GAOR, Supp. 20, U.N.
Doc. A/1775, at 10 (1950).

[114] See generally, UN Basic Facts, chapter 2; Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International
Peace and Security, chapter 5; Malanczuk, pp. 387-430; and Shaw, 1119-1151.

[115] Cf. Shaw, p. 1120.

[116] The use of force by authorization of the Security Council, and upon a recommendation of the General Assembly

constitute two exceptions to the principle of the prohibition of the use of force provided in Article 2(4) of the Charter of the

United Nations. On this subject, see Abdulrahim, Introduction to Public International Law, pp. 180-183.

[117] UN Charter arts. 46 and 47(1) & (2).

[118] Id. art. 47(3).
[119] Id art.45.
[120] Id. art. 49.
[121] Id. art. 48.
[122] See generally, UN Basic Facts, chapter 2.
[123] The Ongoing UN Peace-keeping operations as of June 2007 are:
UNTSO United Nations Truce Supervision Organization May 1948 present
UNMOGIP United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan January 1949
present
UNFICYP United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus March 1964 present
UNDOF United Nations Disengagement Force June 1974 present
UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon March 1978 present
MINURSO United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara April 1991
present
UNOMIG United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia August 1993 present
UNMIK UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo June 1999 present
MONUC UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo November
1999 present
UNMEE United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea July 2000 present
UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia September 2003 present
UNOCI United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire April 2004 present
MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti June 2004 present
UNMIS United Nations Mission in the Sudan March 2005 present
UNMIT United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste August 2006
present
[124] See generally, UN Basic Facts, chapter 2; Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International
Peace and Security, chapter 6; and Shaw, 1151-1154.

[125] Uniting for Peace Resolution section A.

[126] Id.
[127] Id.
[128] Cf id. the preamble.
[129] G.A. Res. 498 (V) of 1 February 1951, 5 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 20 A) at 1, U.N. Doc A/1775/Add. 1 (1951).
[130] G.A. Res. 500 (V) of 18 May 1951, id. at 2.
[131] G.A. Res. 997 (ES-I) of 2 November 1956, U.N. GAOR ES-I Supp.(No. 1) at 2, U.N. Doc. A/3354 (1956).
[132] G.A. Res. 1000 (ES-I) of 5 November 1956, id. at 2.
[133] S.C. Res. 500 (1982), 37 U.N. SCOR Res. & Decs. (1982) at 2, U.N. Doc. S/INF/37 (1982). Note that the S.C. adopted
a resolution in December 1981, after the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel, calling on Israel to rescind its legislation,

and declaring such annexation null and void. S.C. Res. 497 (1981), 36 U.N. SCOR Res. & Decs. (1981) at 6, U.N. Doc.

S/INF/36 (1981). However, the council failed because of the negative vote of the U.S. to adopt a draft resolution introduced

by Jordan calling on all members of the United Nations to consider sanctions against Israel for annexing the Syrian Golan

Heights. See 37 U.N. SCOR Supp. (Jan.-Mar. 1882) at 5, U.N. Doc. S/14832/Rev. 1 (1982).

[134] G.A. Res. 1 (ES-IX) of 5 February 1982.

[135] Goodrich & Simons, at 445.
[136] See generally, Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, chapter 7;
D.W. Bowett, UN Forces, London (1964); R. Higgins, United Nations Peacekeeping, 4 vols., Oxford (1969-81) ; Malanczuk,
pp. 416-430; UN Basic Facts chapter 2; United Nations, The Blue Helmet: A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, 2nd

edn, UN, New York (1990); and the UN web site at //www.un.org/.

[137] UN Peace-keeping operations (1948 – 2007)

UNTSO United Nations Truce Supervision Organization May 1948 present
UNMOGIP United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan January 1949
present
UNEF I First United Nations Emergency Force November 1956 June 1967
UNOGIL United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon June 1958 December 1958
ONUC United Nations Operation in the Congo July 1960 June 1964
UNSF United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea October 1962 April 1963
UNYOM United Nations Yemen Observation Mission July 1963 September 1964
UNFICYP United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus March 1964 present
DOMREP Mission of the Representative of the SG in the Dominican Republic May 1965
October 1966
UNIPOM United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission September 1965 March 1966
UNEF II Second United Nations Emergency Force October 1973 July 1979
UNDOF United Nations Disengagement Force June 1974 present
UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon March 1978 present
UNGOMAP United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan May 1988
March 1990
UNIIMOG United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group August 1988 February 1991
UNAVEM I United Nations Angola Verification Mission I January 1989 June 1991
UNTAG United Nations Transition Assistance Group April 1989 March 1990
ONUCA United Nations Observer Group in Central America November 1989 January 1992
UNIKOM United Nations Iraq - Kuwait Observation Mission April 1991 October 2003
MINURSO United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara April 1991
present
UNAVEM II United Nations Angola Verification Mission II June 1991 February 1995
ONUSAL United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador July 1991 April 1995
UNAMIC United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia October 1991 March 1992
UNPROFOR United Nations Protection Force February 1992 December 1995
UNTAC United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia March 1992 September 1993
UNOSOM I United Nations Operation in Somalia I April 1992 March 1993
ONUMOZ United Nations Operation in Mozambique December 1992 December 1994
UNOSOM II United Nations Operation in Somalia II March 1993 March 1995
UNOMUR United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda June 1993 September 1994
UNOMIG United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia August 1993 present
UNOMIL United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia September 1993 September 1997
UNMIH United Nations Mission in Haiti September 1993 June 1996
UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda October 1993 March 1996
UNASOG United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group May 1994 June 1994
UNMOT United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan December 1994 May 2000
UNAVEM III United Nations Angola Verification Mission III February 1995 June 1997
UNCRO United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia May 1995 January
1996
UNPREDEP United Nations Preventive Deployment Force March 1995 February 1999
UNMIBH United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina December 1995 December
2002
UNTAES United Nations transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and
Western Sirmium
January 1996 January 1998
UNMOP United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka January 1996 December 2002
UNSMIH United Nations Support Mission in Haiti July 1996 July 1997
MINUGUA United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala January 1997 May 1997
MONUA United Nations Observer Mission in Angola June 1997 February 1999
UNTMIH United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti August 1997 November 1997
MINOPUH UN Civilian Police Mission in Haiti December 1997 March 2000 January 1998
October 1998
MINURCA United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic April 1998 February
2000
UNOMSIL United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone July 1998 October 1999
UNMIK UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo June 1999 present
UNAMSIL United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone October 1999 December 2005
UNTAET United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor October 1999 May
2002
MONUC UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo November
1999 present
UNMEE United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea July 2000 present
UNMISET United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor May 2002 May 2005
UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia September 2003 present
UNOCI United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire April 2004 present
MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti June 2004 present
ONUB United Nations Operation in Burundi June 2004 December 2006
UNMIS United Nations Mission in the Sudan March 2005 present
UNMIT United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste August 2006 present

[138] The UN force which was established in Korea in 1950 was the only force of a peace-enforcing nature.
[139] The United Nations electoral assistance has become a regular and increasingly
important feature in United Nations peace operations. In 2005 and 2006, UN peace-keeping
forces supported elections in six post-conflict countries – Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, Iraq,
Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo-with populations totaling over 120 million.
[140]This was the case of Unified Command in Korea (1950-1953).
[141] See Abdulrahim, The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, pp. 154-162.
[142] The smallest peace-keeping force is UNMOGIP (1949-) between India and Pakistan, it is consisted of 45 military
observers and 19 international civilians. The largest peace-keeping forces was UNPF (1995-1996) in the republics of the

former Yugoslavia, its authorized strength was 57,370 personnel. The UN Unified Command in Korea reached at its peak to

740,000 personnel. Note that the UNFIL in South Lebanon consists of as of 30 April 2007 of: troops 13,251; international

civilian 202, local civilian 308.

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Personnel of Ongoing United Nations Peacekeeping Operations as of April 30,
2007

Uniformed personnel 82,871

Including 70,804 troops; 9,523 police and 2,544 military observers

Countries contributing uniformed personnel 115

International civilian personnel 4,705

Local civilian personnel 10,658

UN Volunteers 2,017

Total number of personnel serving in 15 peacekeeping operations 100,251

Total number of fatalities in peace operations since 1948 2,355

[143] See generally, 3 R. Higgins, United Nations Peacekeeping, pp. 125-210, Oxford (1980); and Report by the Secretary
General on the Withdrawal of UNEF of 26 June 1967, U.N. Doc. A/6730/Add.3 (1967).

[144] See UN Charter art. 1.

[145] See generally, UN Basic Facts, chapter 3.
[146] See generally, id. chapter 5.
[147] In the last decade, civil wars have become a central cause of emergency situations;
millions were uprooted from their homes by war. Natural disasters — floods, droughts,
storms and earthquakes — killed many persons and caused great economic losses.
[148] In 2000 alone, millions were uprooted from their homes by war.
[149] In 2000 alone, natural disasters — floods, droughts, storms and earthquakes — killed
more than 50,000 people and caused economic losses exceeding $90 billion in 1998. More
than 90 per cent of all disaster victims live in developing countries.
[150] In 2000 alone, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched 16
inter-agency appeals that raised more than $1.4 billion to assist 35 million people in 16
countries and regions. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees provides international
protection and assistance to over 22 million refugees and displaced persons. The UN Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides education,
health, and relief and social services to 3.8 million registered Palestine refugees. The World
Food Programme delivers one third of the world’s emergency food assistance, saving millions
of lives.
[151] See generally, UN Basic Facts, chapter 4.
[152] Statement by former US Secretary of State Cordell Hull on the Occasion of the Signing of the Charter, June 26,
1945, 13 Dept. of State Bulletin, 13, Washington DC (1945).

[153] See UN Charter arts. 23, 27, 61 & 109.

[154] 2 Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, Building Peace, 693 (1973).
[155] More than 80 nations whose peoples were under colonial rule have joined the United Nations as sovereign
independent states since the UN was founded in 1945.

[156] For a detailed discussion, see R. Emerson, The United Nations and Colonialism, in The Evolving United Nations:
A Prospect for Peace, 83-99, K. Twitchett (ed.), London (1971).

[157]See G.A. Res. 1514 (XV), 15 GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 66, U.N. Doc. A/4684
(1960). For a discussion of this resolution and the uses made of it, see Kay, The
Politics of Decolonialization: The New Nations and the United Nations Political
Process, 21 Int'1 Org., 786 (Autumn 1967); and Emerson, pp. 2, 90-92.
 [158] See L.M. Goodrich, The United Nations in a Changing World, 48, Oxford (1974).
[159] See T.M. Frank, Nations Against Nations, 247, Oxford (1985).
[160] Id. p. 247.
[161] See M. Moskowitz, The Roots and Reaches of the United Actions and Decisions, 18, The Netherlands (1980).

[162] See id. p. 26.

[163] See Goodrich, The United Nations in a Changing World, pp. 112-113.
[164] Id. p. 113.
[165] Article 43 stipulates:
1. All members of the United Nations, in order to contribute to the maintenance of
international peace and security, undertake to make available to the Security Council,
on its call and in accordance with a special agreement or agreements, armed forces,
assistance, and facilities, including rights of passage, necessary for the purpose of
maintaining international peace and security.
2. Such agreement or agreements shall govern the numbers and types of forces, their
degree of readiness and general location; and the nature of the facilities and
assistance to be provided.
3. The agreement and agreements shall be negotiated as soon as possible on the initiative of the Security Council. They shall be

concluded between the security Council. and Members or between the Security Council and groups of Members and shall be

subject to ratification by signatory states in accordance with their respective constitutional processes

[166] See Goodrich, The United Nations in a Changing World, pp. 114-115.

[167] G.A. Res. 377 (V), 5 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 20) at 10, U.N. Doc. A/1775 (1950).
[168] It should be noted that this right granted to the Assembly was not intended to be substitute for the Council's
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, but rather a supplement. This is why the

preamble to the resolution reaffirms “the importance of the exercise the Security Council of its primary

responsibility” and “the duty of the permanent members to seek unanimity and to exercise restraint in the use of the

veto”. Also, this is why the resolution in Section A of the Resolution requires the Assembly to exercise its primary

responsibility and only in cases where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression.
[169] See L. Goodrich, E. Hambro & A. Simons, Charter of the United Nations, 124-25,
3rd & rev. edn., New York (1969).
[170] See 1 Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, p. 266.
[171] “Détente” is a French word, literally means a relaxation of tension. It has been used as a short-hand for a complex
process of adjustment between the East and the West since the early seventies. The policy of detente encompassed a

continuing dialogue between the United States of America and the Soviet Union in the. areas of arms control, trade,

scientific and technical exchange and crisis management. The essence of the policy was the coexistence relationship between

the two powers. See generally, U.S. Dep't of State, The Meaning of Détente, Washington D.C (1974).

[172] Goodrich, The United Nations in a Changing World, p. 117.

[173] UN Charter chapter XVIII (arts. 108 & 109).
[174] See F. Wilcox & C. Marcy, Proposals for Changes in the United Nations, 12, Westport (1955)
[175] See 1 Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, 266 (1973).
[176] Doc. 852, III/1/37(1), 11 U.N.C.I.O. Docs. 711 (1945).
[177] See G.A. Res. 267 (III), U.N. Doc. A/900, at 7 (1949).
[178] See G.A. Res. 111 (II), U.N. Doe. A/519, at 15 (1947); and G.A. Res. 295 (IV), U.N. Doc.
A/1251, at 17 (1949). .
[179] See G.A. Res. 377 (V), 5 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 20) at 10, U.N. Doc. A/1775 (1950).

[180] Paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Statute of the ICJ stipulates: “The States parties to the present Statute may at any
time declare that they recognize on compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other state

accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in all disputes…”

[181] See 1 U.N. GAOR 2nd Pt. C. 1, Annex 7a, at 323-24, U.N. Doc. A/C.1/34
(1946)
[182] See 11 U.N. GAOR Annex (Agenda Items 56, 57 & 58) at 1-5 & U.N. Docs. A/3138,
A/3140, A/3446, A/3468/Rev. l & A/L.217/Rev.l (1956).
[183] See G.A. Res. 1991 (XVIII), 8 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 15) at 21, U.N. Doc. A/5515
(1963).
[184] See A. Martin and J.B. Edwards, The Changing Charter, p.12 (1955).
[185] See G.A. Res. 992 (X), 10 U.N. GAOR Supp. (NO. 19) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/3116 (1955).
[186] See 1 U.N. GAOR C.1 2nd Pt. Annex 7b at 324 & 326, U.N. Doc. A/C.1/49/Rev. l (1946);
and 3 U.N. GAOR Ad. Hoc. Pol. C. Annex (Agenda Item 17) at 13-14, U.N. Doc. A/A.C.24/31
(1948).
[187] For the debate, see 10 U.N. GAOR (542nd – 547th plen. mtgs.) at 296-370, U.N. Docs A/P.V.542-547 (1955).
[188] G.A. Res. 992 (X0, at 49.
[189] See 10 U.N. SCOR (707th mtg.) at 30-31, U.N. Doc. S/P.V.707 (1955).
[190] See Goodrich, Hambro & Simon, pp. 644-456.

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