The UN Security Council’s Response to COVID-19: From the Centre to the Periphery?

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 214-230
Author(s):  
Jeremy Farrall ◽  
Christopher Michaelsen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Peace And Security

Abstract This article examines the UN Security Council’s response to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which has been criticised as hesitant and half-hearted. It argues that the Council’s inability to respond more assertively to the COVID threat was more predictable than surprising. Indeed, the Council’s approach to the COVID threat tended to follow, rather than diverge from, its past practice, exhibiting three increasingly entrenched features of Council decision-making in a crisis. First, the Council is hesitant and ill-equipped to respond to non-traditional or unorthodox threats to international peace and security, even where relevant precedents exist to support such a response. Second, the Council struggles to act when there is friction between permanent members. Third, when all else fails, the Council can still do reliably well on process.

Questioning the Criminal Justice Imperative

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-350
Author(s):  
Miriam Cullen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Procedural Fairness ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Procedural Integrity ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Rules Of Procedure

Abstract The Security Council’s structure as a small but powerful executive, combined with its primary responsibility for international peace and security, leads to a presumption against the application of ordinary standards of procedural fairness. At the same time, explicit provisions of the UN Charter and its own rules of procedure indicate that some balance was to be struck. This article questions whether the attainment of international criminal jurisdiction through Security Council decision-making really outweighs the need to ensure procedural integrity in every step of the process. It posits that a lack of procedural fairness in the Council’s methods of work at least undermines the justice imperative that the Council so espouses and at most violates an ancillary legal obligation.

A Competitive Race among Friends: The Campaign of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a Seat on the UN Security Council

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-479
Author(s):  
Bahia Tahzib-Lie ◽  
Jan Reinder Rosing
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Campaign Strategy ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
One Year

Summary On 31 December 2018, the Kingdom of the Netherlands — the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten — concluded its one-year membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), prompting many to reflect on its meaningful contribution to international peace and security during this time. The UNSC has exclusive and far-reaching powers with regard to maintaining international peace and security. For this reason, non-permanent seats on the UNSC are highly coveted. They confer prestige, influence and respectability on the seat-holders. Given the popularity of these seats, the Kingdom’s ability to influence decision-making within the UNSC became possible only after an intensive election campaign. In this practitioners’ perspective, we provide our insights and observations on the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ campaign strategy for the UNSC elections in 2016.

scholarly journals Evolution Dilemma of the United Nations

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
Cuneyt M Yenigun
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Veto Power ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Decision Making System ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Democratic Transformation

The United Nations (UN), despite some successful stories, has largely failed to safeguard international peace and security, particularly in the Middle East since its establishment. The UN’s inability to effectively resolve international conflicts is due to the Security Council (UNSC)’s decision making-process. The power to block any initiatives that do not fit the interest of any of the five permanent members (P5: US, UK, France, Russia, China) have impeded the UN’s ability to take effectively take actions where it is needed in safeguarding security in the Middle East. The nature of the veto power no longer reflects the reality of the 21st century; the UN is frozen in the context of the post-Second World War era and has failed to evolve with the international community.  Double standards in the International Court of Justice's decrees and infirmity of purpose of the UNSC overshadow the legitimacy of the organization, jeopardizing its security mission, and clashes with the democratic values in world public opinion. The UN should change to earn legitimacy and efficiency of preserving international peace and security by amending decision making system in the UNSC or changing decision-making organ within the UN. The Secretary General’s diplomatic activism and attempts to fill the gap left by the P5 infightings could not succeed because of the resistance of the UNSC’s permanent members to change and lack of integrity among the other states. To ensure democratic transformation of the UN today, all states, NGOs and think tanks should work together. This study discusses the system's current shortcomings and suggests some alternative paths for the effective transformation of the UN as a supranational security institution.

Kurt Waldheim, 1972–1981

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent J. Kille
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Impact

Kurt Waldheim is recognized as a subservient office-holder who bent to the will of the Great Powers. Waldheim’s individual decision-making and engagement with Security Council decisions was largely based on meeting the needs of the dictating powers and ensuring his own ongoing position as Secretary-General—to the point of almost securing the only third term in office in the history of the organization. As Secretary-General, Waldheim carefully managed his relationship with the Security Council, closely hewed to constraints placed upon his handling of the office, and often operated as an agent of the principal powers of the Security Council. This relationship steered the actions that emerged for addressing breaches of international peace and security across Waldheim’s time in office, and provides important lessons for understanding the impact of Secretary-General/Security Council interactions and relative influences on decision-making within the UN.

Ban Ki-moon, 2007–2016

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gowan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
The Face

During Ban Ki-moon’s tenure, the Security Council was shaken by P5 divisions over Kosovo, Georgia, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Yet it also continued to mandate and sustain large-scale peacekeeping operations in Africa, placing major burdens on the UN Secretariat. The chapter will argue that Ban initially took a cautious approach to controversies with the Council, and earned a reputation for excessive passivity in the face of crisis and deference to the United States. The second half of the chapter suggests that Ban shifted to a more activist pressure as his tenure went on, pressing the Council to act in cases including Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, and Syria. The chapter will argue that Ban had only a marginal impact on Council decision-making, even though he made a creditable effort to speak truth to power over cases such as the Central African Republic (CAR), challenging Council members to live up to their responsibilities.

Trygve Lie, 1946–1953

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Jenny Ravndal
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Security Council ◽  
The United States ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Political Negotiation

This chapter explores all aspects of Trygve Lie’s interaction with the Security Council, beginning with his appointment process and the negotiation of the relative domains of the Council and the Secretary-General. This was a time when the working methods of the UN system were rapidly evolving through political negotiation and responses to external crises. It examines Lie’s personality and character, how he viewed his own responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace and security as crises arose, the legal and political tools he developed and exercised, and his changing relationship with individual permanent members and the six elected members. In the emerging Cold War, Lie’s position in the Security Council would be determined in particular by his relationships with the United States and the Soviet Union. Taking initiative in response to external crises in Iran, Palestine, Berlin, and Korea, Lie succeeded in laying foundations for an expanded political role for the Secretary-General.

Disarmament

2008 ◽  
pp. 286-299
Author(s):  
Keith Krause
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Land Mines ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Small Arms ◽  
The World ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
World Organization ◽  
Light Weapons

This article evaluates the achievements and limitations of the world organization in the field of disarmament. It stresses the role of the UN as part of the efforts to control arms as a way to achieve international peace and security. It also notes specific cases where progress was achieved or not, as well as the more recent efforts to handle the problems of anti-personnel land mines and small arms and light weapons. The article also tries to draw out some of the broader implications for international relations of the UN experience with formal multilateral arms control, among others.

Why Are the Missiles (and Missile Defence) Called Peace-Keepers? – Corroding the Concept of Peaceful Use

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 789-828
Author(s):  
Keith Wilson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Security Framework ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
Earth Space ◽  
Peace And Security

The United States is abrogating the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to deploy a limited missile defence shield. Amongst other developments, this is prompting a reconsideration of the global security framework. However, a crucial element is missing from the current missile defence proposals: a clearly articulated concept of peaceful use, applicable both to outer space and to earth-space. The deployment of missile defence runs counter to emerging norms. It has effects going far beyond the abandonment or re-configuration of specific Cold War agreements. In a community of nations committed to the maintenance of international peace and security (cf. national or plurilateral security), sustainable meaning for widely used and accepted norms of peaceful use and peaceful purposes is at risk.

Islamic State: Understanding the Nature of the Beast and Its Funding

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Martin ◽  
Hussein Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Terrorist Group ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Annual Income ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Holy War ◽  
World Today ◽  
The World ◽  
Peace And Security

The Islamic State (IS) took the global stage in June 2014 and since has become one of the greatest threats to international peace and security. While initially closely affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the IS has proved itself to be a distinct phenomenon of horror—more dangerous than Al-Qaeda. The group essentially established itself in the volatile Middle East, but has infiltrated many parts of the world with the aim of expanding Islam’s Holy War. What certainly makes the IS different from its predecessors is that the group has been labeled the wealthiest terrorist group in the world today. By the fall of 2015, IS generated an annual income of US$2.4 billion. The question for many analysts observing the situation in Syria is: where does the IS gets its money? The aim of this article is to critically observe the nature of IS and its funding requirements and the measures pursued in curtailing the group’s funding.

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