25 - What Role for the UN Security Council in Epidemics?: A Covid-19 Case Study

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Un Security Council

un Security Council Resolutions before uk Courts

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-64
Author(s):  
Alexander Orakhelashvili
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Common Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
The Uk

Over the past decade, the effective performance by the UN Security Council of its primary responsibility in the area of peace and security has increasingly become contingent on the implementation of its decisions within the national legal systems of the UN Member States. An examination of this issue in the context of the British legal system could offer a useful case-study of the ways to enhance the effectiveness of the UN collective security mechanism, to enforce the limits on the legitimacy of that mechanism, and also to highlight the practical difficulties that may accompany the attempts to apply Security Council resolutions domestically. This contribution exposes all these issues, focusing on the practice of the uk courts over the past decade. It examines the mediation of the effect of Security Council resolutions into English law through the 1946 United Nations Act, the royal prerogative and other common law techniques. After that, the contribution moves on to examine the English courts’ handling of the normative conflict between a Security Council resolution and other sources of international law.

scholarly journals Nigeria - South Africa Rivalry in Quest for Regional Power Status: from Material Potential to UN Security Council Membership

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
Ikponmwonsa Omoruyi ◽  
Stephen Osaherumwen Idahosa ◽  
Mahamat Mugadam Mugadam ◽  
Oumar Sidibe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Security Council ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Regional Role ◽  
Pan Africanism ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Common ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Regional Agenda

The paper explores the role and the power potential of Nigeria and South Africa with special attention to their comparatively high military, economic, political capabilities that enable them to shape and dominate regional agenda. It also analyses the internal, regional and external dynamics within Africa, particularly in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The paper further thoroughly examines the hegemonic contest for the UN Security Council membership among the dominant African states through the lens of Ezulwini Consensus, as well as the Pan-African credentials of Nigeria and South Africa in accordance to their contribution to ensuring peace, stability and development on continental and sub-regional levels. Nigeria and South Africa are the most important actors on the African continent, but there are obvious constraints undermining their ability to play an effective regional role. Thus, the research was guided by the comparison case-study of Nigeria and South Africa in crucial for understanding power potential areas. The study concludes that although Pan-Africanism stands of Nigeria and South Africa are commendable, both powers mostly follow this strategy for advancing their national interests. Taking into account the whole set of internal and external factors, both countries need to unite their efforts and practical strategies to advance the common goal of Africa development, peace and security.

Independent experts with political mandates: ‘Role distance’ in the production of political knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-371
Author(s):  
Aurel Niederberger
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Objective Knowledge ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Knowledge Practices ◽  
Independent Expert ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Way

AbstractSome experts take on political mandates and simultaneously base their authority on a claim to independence: this balancing act enables international organisations (IOs) to incorporate ‘independent’ experts and generate ‘objective’ knowledge around their policies. However, how do these experts reconcile the contradictory roles of a mandated expert and an independent expert? I address this question by taking recourse to Goffman's sociology and two related concepts: sociological ambivalence refers to situations in which a person faces conflicting expectations. This conflict can be remedied through role distance, that is, behaviour that signals a degree of disaffection from the role one is currently performing while one simultaneously continues to perform that role. I conduct a case study of ‘independent’ experts hired by the UN Security Council to monitor sanctions, analysing how their position is sociologically ambivalent and how their knowledge practices are interlaced with performances of role distance. The findings have two implications for macro-phenomena: first, by keeping their contradictory role constellation functional, experts make it possible for IOs to mobilise ‘independent expertise’. Second, because experts perform role distance through the way they produce knowledge, role distance leaves traces in political knowledge.

scholarly journals Towards International Legitimization of the Responsibility to Protect’s Third Pillar

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Arsalan H. AlMizory
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Past ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
Atrocity Crimes

Over the past few years, the question whether international law permits the use of force not in response to existing violence but to avert and prevent mass atrocity crimes occurring within the boundaries of a sovereign State has taken on added significant in the aftermath of the humanitarian tragedies of the 1990s. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a complicated and emerging norm of international law, which represents the start of a new era for the United Nations (UN), seeks to provide a means for the Security Council to take enforcement measures under Chapter VII to prevent mass atrocity crimes. The research discusses that when the Security Council is deadlock and peaceful measures have been exhausted, it is important to have a legal basis of using limited armed force as a last resort in the name of humanitarian intervention, to avert overwhelmingly atrocity crimes that a government has shown it is unwilling or unable to prevent. The research analyzes the case of Syria as a case study, which demonstrates that the presence of certain conditions enables the UN Security Council to implement R2P norm to save civilian populations from mass human rights violations.

Regional Arrangements and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: The Role of the African Union Peace and Security Council

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 97-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Riziki Majinge
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
African Union ◽  
International Peace ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations

SummaryThis article examines the role of regional arrangements under the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter) in the maintenance of international peace and security. The African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC), the organ within the AU charged with addressing threats to international peace and security on the African continent, is used as a case study. The author contends that the major challenges facing regional arrangements in exercising mandates under Article 53 of the UN Charter of the United Nations have more to do with inadequate financial and logistical resources than the nature of those mandates. Taking the AU’s role in Somalia, Sudan, and other African countries as examples, the article demonstrates that the AU PSC has failed to achieve its objective of maintaining peace and security precisely because the United Nations (UN) Security Council — a more powerful and better resourced organ — has failed to live up to its responsibility of extending the assistance necessary to enable the AU PSC to perform its functions. Consequently, the author concludes that the UN Security Council, when delegating powers to regional arrangements to maintain international peace and security, should provide adequate resources to such regional arrangements, especially those that will otherwise have minimal or no capacity to fulfil their mandate effectively.

scholarly journals How Sovereign Is a State From Foreign Intervention? Gambia as a Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Omodanisi Kemi Beatrice
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Foreign Intervention ◽  
Un Security Council

This paper examines to what extent is Gambia sovereign from foreign intervention. It considers the legality or otherwise of ECOWAS’ military intervention in the recent post-election/ political crisis in Gambia. Bearing in mind that national sovereignty in international law is not absolute as International Humanitarian Law, Human Right and International Criminal Law have provided exceptions, this paper highlight situations which permit foreign intervention in a state and considers the various argument of writers on the legality/illegality of ECOWAS’ military intervention in Gambia. The paper argues that ECOWAS’ military intervention lacks the requisite authorisation of the UN Security Council who by its resolution permitted the application of political measures only. ECOWAS also failed to meet the requirement for the application of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Gambia. More so, intervention on the basis of restoring democracy is void of legal backing as the enabling protocol permits ECOWAS to apply sanctions on member-state where democracy is abruptly brought to an end. On the whole, this paper concludes that though ECOWAS’ military intervention is justifiable in view of the situation in Gambia, it however lacked the requisite legal backing. The paper recommends that in situations where intervention is not based on humanitarian reason to necessitate the application of R2P, military intervention should have the requisite authorisation of the UN Security Council and the application of force should be the last option having exhausted all other means of dispute resolution.

The Syrian Crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 163-190
Author(s):  
Rosemary Foot
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Veto Power ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
World War ◽  
Syrian Crisis ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Voting Decisions

This chapter begins with a brief exploration of the various phases of this devastating conflict. It explores why China has used its veto power on seven occasions over the course of this war (up to September 2019); a puzzle, because vetoing is extremely unusual Chinese behaviour. The chapter also explores the image consequences for China, mostly damaging in the early stages of this war, that have flowed from that change in its approach. It references some of the resolutions that have caused UN Security Council division. In particular, it focuses on the justifications Beijing has offered for the voting decisions it has made over the course of a devastating conflict that has included the use of chemical weapons. The Syrian case is afforded its own chapter in this study not only because of China’s more frequent use of the veto, but also because of Syria’s status as one of the worst failures in human protection since World War II. The case study is additionally instructive with regard to China’s approaches to the UN’s POC and R2P agendas.

Small States in the UN Security Council: Austria’s Quest to Maintain Status

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Baldur Thorhallsson ◽  
Anna Margrét Eggertsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
World System ◽  
Small States ◽  
Small State ◽  
Campaign Strategy ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Post War ◽  
Changing World

Summary This article offers a case study on why small states seek membership on the UN Security Council (UNSC). It examines the intension of a small state, Austria, to seek membership on the Council for the 2009-2010 term, the campaign strategy and the domestic debate on the candidacy. The analysis indicates that Austria’s former status as an empire and successful transformation in the post-war period influenced its candidacy and campaign strategy. Also, Austria’s ideational commitment to the UN cause was the foundation for its successful UNSC campaign. Austria’s small size was not a hindrance in its campaign: on the contrary, as a small state Austria gained prestige for its competence and contributions to the UN. A UNSC seat for Austria was not a question of a small state seeking status; rather, it was a quest for remaining relevant and maintaining status in a changing world system.

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