United Nations Charter, Chapter VII, Article 43: Now or Never

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick M. Burkle
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Peace Enforcement ◽  
United Nations Charter

ABSTRACTFor more than 75 years, the United Nations Charter has functioned without the benefit of Chapter VII, Article 43, which commits all United Nations member states “to make available to the Security Council, on its call, armed forces, assistance, facilities, including rights of passage necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.” The consequences imposed by this 1945 decision have had a dramatic negative impact on the United Nation’s functional capacity as a global body for peace and security. This article summarizes the struggle to implement Article 43 over the decades from the onset of the Cold War, through diplomatic attempts during the post–Cold War era, to current and often controversial attempts to provide some semblance of conflict containment through peace enforcement missions. The rapid growth of globalization and the capability of many nations to provide democratic protections to their populations are again threatened by superpower hegemony and the development of novel unconventional global threats. The survival of the United Nations requires many long overdue organizational structure and governance power reforms, including implementation of a robust United Nations Standing Task Force under Article 43. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;13:655–662)

Part 2 The Post-Cold War Era (1990–2000), 38 The Gulf War—1990–91

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
de Wet Erika
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Cold War Era ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
The Military

This contribution discusses the Gulf War of 1991-1991. It sets out the facts and context of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, followed by the adoption of United Nation Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) and the subsequent military reaction by the United States-led international coalition. It assesses the reaction of the main protagonists and that of the broader international community to these events. In doing so, it also assesses the legal basis of the military response by the international coalition of the ‘willing and able’ against Iraq. It determines whether it was based on Article 42 of the United Nations Charter, or collective self-defence in terms of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The final section examines if and to what extent this case has had an impact on (the legal basis) of military measures taken in the interest of collective security in the post-Cold War era.

Notice of Other Recent Documents

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1619-1620
Keyword(s):  
International Economic ◽  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
International Support ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations System ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
Nations System

The fourth in the 1994 series of reports and papers released by the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), the 36-page Evolving United Nations: Principles and Realities, by Johan Kaufmann, examines concepts enshrined in the United Nations Charter — conflict and peace-related activities, international economic and social cooperation, and human rights and humanitarian activities — and discusses them in terms of the realities and developments of the post-Cold War era. The author concludes that, while the UN must still be treated as an organization of states, the automaticity with which self-proclaimed states, with minimum international support, can become UN members must be challenged.

Part 2 The Post-Cold War Era (1990–2000), 40 The Intervention in Somalia—1992–95

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill Terry D ◽  
Tibori-Szabó Kinga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Peace Enforcement

This chapter examines the 1992-1995 intervention of the United Nations and the United States in Somalia. It sets out the facts and context of the crisis, the positions of the main protagonists (UN, US and Somalia) as well as the reactions of third states and international organisations. The chapter then discusses several questions regarding the legality of the intervention under the jus ad bellum. It first looks at the legal basis of the intervention under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and the place of peace enforcement operations within that framework. It then analyses the types of mandates and their execution in the Somalian operations and lastly, it draws conclusions on the precedential value of the intervention for future UN collective operations.

Land of Blue Helmets

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Arab World ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
Member States ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Political Mediation

Born in 1945, the United Nations (UN) came to life in the Arab world. It was there that the UN dealt with early diplomatic challenges that helped shape its institutions such as peacekeeping and political mediation. It was also there that the UN found itself trapped in, and sometimes part of, confounding geopolitical tensions in key international conflicts in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods, such as hostilities between Palestine and Iraq and between Libya and Syria. Much has changed over the past seven decades, but what has not changed is the central role played by the UN. This book's claim is that the UN is a constant site of struggle in the Arab world and equally that the Arab world serves as a location for the UN to define itself against the shifting politics of its age. Looking at the UN from the standpoint of the Arab world, this volume includes chapters on the potential and the problems of a UN that is framed by both the promises of its Charter and the contradictions of its member states.

Global Values and the Institutions of the United Nations

ICL Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Spijkers
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
International Community ◽  
Shared Values ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
Global Values

AbstractA constitution defines the values of a particular community, and establishes institutions to realize these values. In defence of the argument that the United Nations Charter is the world’s constitution, I will try to show that it contains the shared values and norms of the international community, and that the UN’s organs are tasked with the promotion and protection of the shared values and norms as defined in the UN Charter. The focus is on the values of human dignity and peace and security.

The United Nations and International Security in the New Millennium

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-541
Author(s):  
W. Andy Knight
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
International Security ◽  
Human Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Cold War

AbstractThe end of the Cold War opened a window of opportunity for the United Nations to play a greater role in international security than it was allowed to play in the midst of the ideological conflict between the United States and the former Soviet Union. However, the expected "peace dividend" never materialized in the post-Cold War period. Instead, a number of civil conflicts erupted and new threats to security, particularly to human security, emerged. This chapter critically examines the evolution of the UN's role in addressing international security problems since 1945, including global terrorism. It also outlines recent attempts by the world body, through extension of its reach beyond the territorial constraints of sovereignty, to build sustained peace through preventive measures and protect human security globally.

Anticipatory Self-Defence in the Legislative History of the United Nations Charter

1991 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. H. McCormack
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
Self Defence

Article 51 of the United Nations Charter states that:Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of selfdefense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.International lawyers are still arguing about the scope of the right of self-defence in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Most of the arguments focus on the semantics of Article 51. Those who argue for a “restrictive view” of the provision emphasise the qualifying phrase “if an armed attack occurs”.

Governmentalizing the Post–Cold War International Regime: The UN Debate on Democratization and Good Governance

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Zanotti
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
International Regime ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The United Nations

This article examines a range of “good governance” discourses and practices at the United Nations as elements of global governmentality. It explores the emergence of “good governance” as a political rational for the UN, the mechanisms of governmentality that have been promoted as a consequence, and some of their most important effects.

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