Whether or not the Western African Community court can compel the Secretary General to admit Tibuti

into WETO.

International organizations are usually established by States, the founding states will
then conclude the treaty establishing the organization, detailing its constitution or
statute. The admittance of member states will then be in accordance to the conditions
and the decision-making procedure provided for in the constitution1. The 2% GDP
reserved for telecommunication is a Constitution requirement for membership into
WETO, Tibuti must satisfy this requirement to qualify as a member. Having failed to
produce evidence to satisfy the essential requirement, issue becomes whether the
Western African Community court can compel the secretary to admit Tibuti into the
organization on basis of it being a West African country.

The determination of the conditions for admission was stated to be a problem of

interpretation and consequently a legal question and since the question is always a
political one, it falls outside the jurisdiction of the court, however an advisory opinion is
rendered2. In the second Admissions case, the issue was whether or not an admission
of a State to membership in the United Nations, pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 2, of
the Charter, be effected by a decision of the General Assembly when the Security
Council has made no recommendation for admission by reason of the candidate failing
to obtain the requisite majority or of the negative vote of a permanent Member upon a
resolution so to recommend. Article 4, paragraph 2provided that admission of any such
State to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General
Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council, the ICJ held that the
Article explicitly provided for the a “recommendation” of the Security Council and a
“decision” of the General Assembly to effect admission and the two are intrinsically
intertwined .The General Assembly can decide to admit only on the basis of a
recommendation of the Security Council as envisaged by Article 4.

1
Henry G Schermers, ‘International Organizations or Institutions, Membership’ [2021]
<https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e505 > accessed 24 April
2024.
2
Competence of the General Assembly for the Admission of a State to the United Nations [“Second Admissions
Case”] Advisory Opinion 1950 ICJ Reps. 4 International Court of Justice, 3 March 1950.
Now to hold that the General Assembly has power to admit a State to membership in
the absence of a recommendation of the Security Council would be to deprive the
Security Council of its significant power which has been entrusted to it by the Charter. It
would almost nullify the role of the Security Council in the exercise of one of the
essential functions of the Organization. It would mean that the Security Council would
have merely to study the case, present a report, give advice, and express an opinion.
This is not what Article 4, paragraph 2, stipulate. In consequence, it is impossible to
admit that the General Assembly has the power to attribute to a vote of the Security
Council the character of a recommendation when the Council itself considers that no
such recommendation has been made.

Using the logic from the above case, the Secretary General has been entrusted with
admissions to WETO, for the court to compel that Tibuti be admitted solely on it being a
West African country will deprive the secretary of her power to which she has been
entrusted to by the organization. Moreover if exceptions to the requirements are made
solely on the geography dispositions of state, yet failing to meet the 2% GDP
reservation for the telecommunication development, the organization will not reach its
set mandate. Note that member states are responsible to financially contribute to
ensure the effective functioning of an international organization.