UN Security Council

The Policy Guide seeks to enhance the ability of policy makers and practitioners—in governments, regional and international organizations, and civil society—in strengthening their efforts to protect civilians from conflict-related grave harm and mass atrocity crimes.
The Guide clarifies and compares the twin principles of R2P and POC in their normative, institutional and operational dimensions, distinguishes the principles’ different actors and methods, and specifies the situations when the two principles converge for specific actors and organizations.

The status of ‘international law’ is examined critically. In the first section, the basis of (national) legislation is described. This consists of an inquiry into a credible meaning of ‘natural law’. It is focused on the question whether universal principles exist and, if so, of what kind. Section 2 deals with the issue of enforcement. National legislation invariably realizes this, but this is not obvious at the international level. Section 3 deals with human rights. It is discussed whether their presence points to the existence of ‘international law’. To this end, a possible reason for these rights to have developed is expounded.

This  paper  explores  whether,  under  international  law,  the  United  Nations  Security Council  (UNSC)  has  the  power  to  address  massive  flows  of  refugees  by  issuing resolutions obligating UN member states to resettle displaced persons - particularly since resettlement has no basis in international law and is, in part due to a lack of political will,
the least utilised of the three durable solutions in UNHCR’s mandate.

The  legal  viability  of  the  UNSC  to  issue  resolutions  that  obligate  states  to  resettle displaced persons is explored under its UN Charter powers. The combined determination of a threat to peace and security of Articles 39 and utilisation of measures not involving the use of armed force of Article 41. This exploration shows that, a qualified power to
issue such resolutions does exist. Specifically, while it is within the UNSC power to issue resolutions on resettlement, those resolutions would, at this stage, be purely exhortatory rather  than  obligatory.  This  finding  is  confirmed  by  a  detailed  analysis of  around  55 UNSC resolutions on durable solutions and resettlement, showing that the UNSC has, in fact,  begun  to  issue  exhortatory  resolutions  regarding  resettlement  of  displaced populations,  although  primarily  focusing  on  local  resettlement  of  internally  displaced persons.

The lack of political will to implement the legally viable resolutions is addressed through three  incentive - based  suggestions:  UNSC  resolutions  as  a  “trigger”  activating  and deactivating  multilateral  and/or  regional  standing  arrangements;  a  resettlement - focused
mission; and specifying resettlement as an additional peacekeeping mandate.

Abstract (English)

This paper analyzes the multilateral Brazilian foreign policy, making the country a regional pivot in Latin America, a leading nation among developing countries, and an emerging world power. Without the status of nuclear power, Brazil establishes asymmetrical alliances to earn a place in a reformed UN Security Council, but must contend the seat with accredited competitors, such as India, as well a strategic partner, and counteract some riotous neighbors, as Mexico and Argentina. Meanwhile, through the establishment and the membership in several international organizations and multilateral mechanisms, Brasília developes a worldwide policy, maneuvering between new and old alliances, and playing a 'winning and losing carambole game'. Will the chrysalis turn into a butterfly?

Resumo (Português)

Este trabalho analisa a política estrangeira multilateral do Brasil, fazendo o país um pivô regional na América Latina, una nação liderante entre os países em desenvolvimento e uma potência mundial emergente. Sem o estado de potência nuclear, o Brasil estabelece alianças estratégicas para ganhar um lugar num Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas reformado, mas tem que competir por este lugar com concorrentes acreditados, tal como a Índia, assim como um parceiro estratégico, e para contrapor-se à alguns vizinhos tumultuosos, tal como o México e a Argentina. Enquanto isso, através do estabelecimento e da afiliação a muitas organizações internacionais e mecanismos multilaterais, Brasília desenvolve uma política mundial, manobrando entre alianças novas e antigas, e jogando carambola com possibilidade de conseguir o perder. A crisálida vai virar borboleta?

This chapter investigates the overlap and contrast between the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the protection of civilians (POC), focusing attention on the three pillars of R2P and the four POC concepts. The first section affirms two widely acknowledged differences between R2P and POC – R2P’s narrow scope and deep response. The next outlines two important similarities between them: their shared basis in human rights and the cross-cutting parallels between R2P pillars and POC concepts. More controversially, the third section argues that the alleged limitation of POC to “armed conflict” (in the strict sense of international humanitarian law) is far less significant than commonly supposed and that POC’s status as a humanitarian principle – with primary concerns for impartiality and neutrality – is not equally applicable to all POC concepts. The legal status of each protection principle is then appraised, using Abbot and Snidal’s analytic categorization of soft laws. The final section assesses the usefulness of differentiating peacekeeping operations on the basis of R2P and POC, and advances one model of how this may be done.

22 Mayıs 2018 tarihinde Filistin Devleti Hükümeti, Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi'ne başvuruda bulundu. Bu başvuru Filistin'in İsrail uyruklu sivil ve askerlerin işlediği insanlığa karşı suçlar ve savaş suçlarıyla ilgili Mahkeme'ye yaptığı dördüncü başvuru olmuştur. İsrail Hükümeti ise Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi'ni kuran Roma Statüsü'ne taraf olmadığı gerekçesiyle bu başvuruları dikkate almamaktadır. Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi soykırım, insanlığa karşı suçlar, savaş suçları ve saldırı suçu ile ilgili bireyler üzerinde yargı yetkisine sahiptir. Mahkeme'de bir taraf devlet ya da Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi tarafından veya savcının kendi iradesi ile soruşturma açılabilmektedir. Öte yandan, Roma Statüsü'ndeki Güvenlik Konseyi yetkileri yargıyı siyasallaştırdığı gerekçesiyle eleştirilmiştir. Bu makale Filistin'de işlenen suçlar kapsamında Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi'nin yer bakımından, zamansal, kişisel ve konu bakımından yargı yetkisini incelemeyi ve bu çerçevede Güvenlik Konseyi’nin rolünün uluslararası
hesap vericiliği arttırıp arttırmayacağı tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu
amaçla öncelikle uluslararası ceza hukukunun gelişimi ve Uluslararası
Ceza Mahkemesi’nin yargı yetkisi irdelenecek, ardından Filistin’in
başvurusu incelenecek ve son bölümde başvurunun hukuki ve politik
temelleri ile Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi’nin rolü hakkında
değerlendirmelerde bulunulacaktır.

In the international context, human rights are rarely secured by the black letter of law, but rather by the soft laws, political policies and moral prescriptions of protection norms. Two key international protection norms are the well-established Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (PoC) and – recently added in the last decade – the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). Yet there is substantial confusion about the specific nature of these two norms, their relationship to one another, and their relationship to the human rights that are held to ground and shape each of them. These questions are complex not merely because there are several distinct PoC norms, nor because all these norms differ one from another. The complexity arises because the relevant differences apply to separate dimensions of each norm. In this way it is possible for a norm to be in one sense narrower than another, yet in another sense to be deeper, and in distinct further senses to be both broader and weaker. With such intricacies in mind, this paper develops a five-dimensional rights-based analysis of norms and uses it to differentiate RtoP from three separate PoC norms, and to illustrate the distinct ways each protection norm provides multi-layered rights protection.

As an international norm, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has gained substantial influence and institutional presence—and created no small controversy—in the ten years since its first conceptualisation. Conversely, the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (PoC) has a longer pedigree and enjoys a less contested reputation. Yet UN Security Council action in Libya in 2011 has thrown into sharp relief the relationship between the two. UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 follow exactly the process envisaged by R2P in response to imminent atrocity crimes, yet the operative paragraphs of the resolutions themselves invoke only PoC. This article argues that, while the agendas of PoC and R2P converge with respect to Security Council action in cases like Libya, outside this narrow context it is important to keep the two norms distinct. Peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, international lawyers, individual states and regional organisations are required to act differently with respect to the separate agendas and contexts covered by R2P and PoC. While overlap between the two does occur in highly visible cases like Libya, neither R2P nor PoC collapses normatively, institutionally or operationally into the other.

The six year war in Syria which has taken over 400.000 lives, led to the displacement of more than 11 million persons and has included war crimes and crimes against humanity, poses a serious challenge for R2P. One of the main reasons for inaction in this conflict is the blockade of the Security Council – as permanent members Russia and China have used their vetoes several times (Russia 6, China 5) to block proposed draft resolutions. The blockade has reinvigorated the appeals for a restrain in the use of the veto by the Permanent Members. This paper examines the Responsibility not to Veto (RN2V) idea – the idea to restraint the veto in the four cases susceptible to R2P. It briefly explores the idea’s history and then focuses on the two latest initiatives – the French proposal and the ACT’s Code of conduct. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these proposals is being conducted, after which an assessment of their chances of success takes place. The paper concludes that similarly to other attempts to reform the UN Security Council, these initiatives do not have a real chance of succeeding any time soon. Nevertheless, the paper offers three reasons why the debate surrounding these proposals is significant and hence should continue. First, the debates indicate an alternative approach in cases when the Security Council is blocked and therefore could improve the issue of right authority for R2P. Second, the wide support that these initiatives enjoy, indicates that the 2005 R2P formula – preparedness for a case-by-case reaction in situations of manifest failure – is not a satisfactory outcome for the international community. Thus, they signal a search for a new understanding of Pillar 3 of R2P. Finally, they show the need for further development and upgrade of ‘R2P-lite’.

Keywords: Responsibility not to Veto (RN2V), UN Security Council (UNSC), Responsibility to Protect (R2P, RtoP), veto, right authority

Esta Dissertação tem por objeto o estudo da apreciação judicial dos atos do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas pela Corte Internacional de Justiça. A pesquisa é alicerçada na obra de Hans Kelsen, notadamente sua teoria sobre o Direito Internacional. Tem por objetivo analisar, a partir de uma perspectiva jurídica-dogmática, a validade normativa da justiciabilidade dos atos do Conselho de Segurança pela Corte Internacional de Justiça. Para tanto, em seu primeiro capítulo, o trabalho se dedica ao estudo da teoria internacionalista de Hans Kelsen. O segundo capítulo passa a considerar o Conselho de Segurança com fim de analisar a existência de limitações normativas aos seus poderes. O terceiro capítulo realiza um estudo da competência da Corte Internacional de Justiça e sua relação com o Conselho de Segurança. O trabalho conclui que, nos termos da normativa internacional vigente, a Corte Internacional de Justiça possui a competência para realizar um juízo de validade sobre os atos do Conselho de Segurança, mas não possui instrumentos capazes de garantir o cumprimento de sua decisão.

Prima facie, the rogue state is a notorious disturber of international peace and security. While US President Obama sought to make a clean break from the hawkish US foreign policy under George W Bush, this paper argues that the administration will not be able to do away with the category of rogue states. Using Jacques Derrida's thinking about rogues, this article explores the useful social role that the rogue state plays in defining the international community and looks at Obama's move away from intervention and towards isolation as a means of distancing the excluded other.

(Esta é uma versão revisada da Nota Estratégica 17, de mesmo título, publicada pelo Instituto Igarapé em maio de 2015).

O ano de 2015 marca o 70º aniversário da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU). Com isso, ganham força os já existentes debates sobre a adequação do Sistema ONU à realidade e às necessidades do século XXI, com destaque para a reforma do Conselho de Segurança (CSNU), o principal responsável pela manutenção da paz e da segurança internacional. O efetivo avançar do tema, porém, tem sido debatido em reuniões fechadas e por um grupo restrito de profissionais, em geral representantes de governos e da ONU. Se por um lado o imperativo da transparência e a urgente necessidade de
democratização começam a pressionar por maior abertura, por outro, é também fundamental que a sociedade civil volte as suas atenções ao debate, expanda e aprofunde o seu próprio conhecimento sobre o assunto e participe mais ativamente dessas relevantes discussões.

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfi lming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

As an international norm, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has gained substantial influence and institutional presence—and created no small controversy—in the ten years since its first conceptualisation. Conversely, the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (PoC) has a longer pedigree and enjoys a less contested reputation. Yet UN Security Council action in Libya in 2011 has thrown into sharp relief the relationship between the two. UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 follow exactly the process envisaged by R2P in response to imminent atrocity crimes, yet the operative paragraphs of the resolutions themselves invoke only PoC. This article argues that, while the agendas of PoC and R2P converge with respect to Security Council action in cases like Libya, outside this narrow context it is important to keep the two norms distinct. Peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, international lawyers, individual states and regional organisations are required to act differently with r...

In the article the author shows the norm of respect for the territorial
integrity of states plays a fundamental role in international relations.
Because, it is needs to solve of regional confl icts. For solving the
regional confl icts the Security Council must determine the aggressive
part and collaborate with General Assembly, International Court,
Secretary, Economical and Social Council, organizations specialized.

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfi lming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

Breakey, Hugh & Francis, Angus J. <http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Francis,_Angus.html> (2011) Points of convergence and divergence : normative, institutional and operational relationships between R2P and POC. Security Challenges, 7(4), pp. 39-50.

My op ed published in Beeld (Johannesburg), 4 July 2020.

I traced the tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt regarding the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and the UN Security Council debate on the matter towards the end of June 2020. I also focused on the role of the African Union to resolve the matter.

The coronavirus crisis is still in full swing, but attention is already turning towards the international environment we are likely to encounter in the post-pandemic world. With entire countries currently in lock down and comparisons with major wars becoming commonplace, many expect the impact from the crisis to be genuinely historic. One popular subject of speculation is the need to rethink the global architecture of international relations. In particular, many observers are highly critical of the United Nations response to the coronavirus outbreak and see it as a damning verdict of an organization that was first established in the aftermath of WWII to transform the way the nations of the world interacted.

The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful global governance forum in the history of mankind. In a rapidly globalising world its constitutive mandate – addressing issues of international peace and security – is expanding and becoming increasingly diffuse as human security concerns transcend political borders.  Nowhere is this more evident than in Africa, which dominates the Council’s agenda in terms of its sheer number of unresolved conflicts and humanitarian crises.

Africa therefore has a fundamental stake in the deliberations of the Security Council, yet remains of all regional groups the largest without permanent representation on the Council. For these and many other reasons, the latter’s anachronistic composition has become the subject of unprecedented activism within the United Nations community for structural transformation of its executive core. Progress has thus far been elusive, mainly due to competing formulae that mask a host of foreign policy agendas. The dilemma also applies to Africa: notwithstanding the continent’s decade old “Common Position”, the issue of Security Council reform has caused deep rifts and a paralysis of strategy.

This paper will highlight the imperatives of permanent African membership on the Security Council. It will, however, argue that the continent’s prospects for success in this quest are limited by the AU’s obstinate and unrealistic obsession with continental consensus. It is therefore incumbent upon the various African middle powers who have expressed ambition in this respect – notably South Africa – to pursue this crucial foreign policy objective by exploring alternative diplomatic strategies.

The 'international community' is omnipresent in international debates. It is a point of reference. Much international action is undertaken in its name. And many a catastrophe – from Aleppo to climate change – is portrayed as a failure of the international community. As is clear from these random references, the functions, meanings and content of the concept of 'international community' are fluid: it is as appealing as it is evasive – and in fact, often it appeals precisely because it is evasive, and because a wide range of diverse, sometimes competing, meanings and expectations are projected onto it. The working paper seeks to unveil some of the functions, meanings and expectations projected upon the notion of 'international community'. While it focuses on debates in one particular field, viz. international law, its themes are of significance to a wider audience.

The year 2020 commemorated the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council’s landmark Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Despite the notable advances achieved at a legislative and regulatory EU level, the implementation and integration processes still fail to ensure an effective protection of women's rights. One important gap in this regard concerns borders and migration which are not fully recognised as WPS-related issues nor are they integrated into the appropriate policy frameworks. Against this background, this paper calls for a greater acknowledgement of the increased danger faced by women arriving at European borders including, but not limited to, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), and for appropriate levels of protection. The exposure of migrants to gendered violence and insecurity is connected to the risky nature of European borders. On one hand, women can encounter violence perpetrated by fellow travellers,...

Während seiner Mitgliedschaft 2019/2020 im Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen will Deutschland Impulse zur Abrüstung und Rüstungskontrolle geben. Eine besondere Herausforderung in dieser Hinsicht stellt Nordkoreas Nuklearund Raketenrüstung dar. Im Jahr 2017 eskalierten Kim Jong Un und Donald Trump den Konflikt hierüber. Gipfeltreffen zwischen Washington und Pyongyang sowie zwischen den beiden Koreas öffneten dann im Jahr 2018 Fenster für eine zukünftige Kooperation. In der Frage der Denuklearisierung liegen die Positionen der USA und Nordkoreas aber noch weit auseinander.