Week 6 The UN (1) PDF

Chapter 21 The United Nations devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor Framing Questions Does the United Nations succeed in reconciling traditions of great power politics and traditions of universalism? Why has the United Nations become more involved in matters within states and what are the...

Chapter 21 The United Nations devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor Framing Questions Does the United Nations succeed in reconciling traditions of great power politics and traditions of universalism? Why has the United Nations become more involved in matters within states and what are the limits to this involvement? What are the United Nations’ biggest successes and challenges in its efforts to prevent and resolve conflict and to promote sustainable development? Reader’s Guide become much more involved within states. Justice for individuals is increasingly seen as a concomitant This chapter focuses on the development of the of international order. Serious deficiencies in human United Nations (UN) and the changes and challenges rights, or in economic welfare, can lead to interna- that it has faced since its establishment in 1945. The tional tensions. These developments have challenged UN is a grouping of states, and is therefore prem- traditional views about intervention within states. It ised on the notion that states are the primary units has also prompted the expansion of UN institutions to in the international system. The institutions of the address an increased number of economic and social UN reflect an uneasy hybrid between traditions of questions, and a search for better ways to coordinate great power consensus and traditions of universalism these activities. More recently, in the context of new that stress the equality of states. Furthermore, while threats to global security, changes in the global bal- the UN was established as a grouping of sovereign ance of power, and increased criticism of multilateral- states, this chapter argues that UN institutions have ism, there has been renewed debate about the UN’s taken on an increasing range of functions, and have role and effectiveness.  Chapter 21 The United Nations 335 Introduction The United Nations (UN) is made up of a group of economic and social work, and an increased tendency international institutions, which include the central to accord the UN a moral status. Threats to global system located in New York, the specialized agencies, security addressed by the UN now include inter-state such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the conflict and threats by non-state actors, as well as International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Funds political, economic, and social conditions within states. and Programmes, such as the United Nations Children’s Despite the growth in UN activities, however, there are Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Develop- questions about the relevance and effectiveness of the ­ment Programme (UNDP). When created more than UN. The failure by the US and the UK to get clear UN 70 years ago in the aftermath of the Second World War, Security Council authorization for the war in Iraq in the United Nations reflected the hope for a just and 2003 led to well-publicized criticism of the UN and a peaceful global community. It is the only global insti- crisis in international relations. The controversies sur- tution with the legitimacy that derives from universal rounding the intervention in Libya in 2011 mandated membership, and a mandate that encompasses security, by the UN Security Council and the difficulties faced economic and social development, the protection of by the UN Security Council in reaching agreement on human rights, and the protection of the environment. how to respond to the Syrian conflict since 2011 have Yet the UN was created by states for states, and the rela- given rise to further criticism and debate. tionship between state sovereignty and the protection After briefly outlining the history and the main of the needs and interests of people has not been fully organs of the UN, this chapter will look at its changing resolved. Questions about the meaning of sovereignty role in addressing matters of peace and security, and and the limits of UN action have remained key issues. then issues of economic and social development. It will Since the founding of the UN, there has been an focus on how the UN’s role has evolved in response to expansion of UN activities to address conditions changes in the global political context, and on some of within states, an improvement in UN capacity in its the problems that it still faces. A brief history of the United Nations and its principal organs The United Nations was established on 24 October needs and interests of peoples as well as those of states 1945 by 51 countries, as a result of initiatives taken (see Box 21.1). by the governments of the states that had led the war In many ways, the United Nations was set up to against Germany and Japan. By 2019, 193 countries correct the problems of its predecessor, the League of were members of the United Nations, with South Sudan Nations. The League of Nations had been established the UN’s newest member following its independence after the First World War, and was intended to make from the rest of Sudan in 2011. When joining, mem- future wars impossible, but a major problem was its ber states agree to accept the obligations of the United lack of effective power. There was no clear division of Nations Charter, an international treaty that sets out responsibility between the main executive committee basic principles of international relations. According (the League Council) and the League Assembly, which to the Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain included all member states. Both the League Assembly international peace and security; to develop friendly and the League Council could only make recommen- relations among nations; to cooperate in solving inter- dations, not binding resolutions, and these recom- national problems and in promoting respect for human mendations had to be unanimous. Any government rights; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions was free to reject any recommendation. Furthermore, of nations. At the UN, all the member states—large and in the League, there was no mechanism for coordinat- small, rich and poor, with differing political views and ing military or economic actions against miscreant social systems—have a voice and a vote in this process. states, which further contributed to its weakness. Also Interestingly, while the United Nations was clearly cre- key states, such as the United States, were not mem- ated as a grouping of states, the Charter refers to the bers of the League. By the Second World War, the 336 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor Box 21.1 Selected articles of the UN Charter The UN Charter contains references to both the rights of states Article 33 states that ‘The parties to any dispute, the continu- and the rights of people. ance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of inter- The Preamble of the UN Charter asserts that ‘We the peoples of national peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by the United Nations [are] determined... to reaffirm faith in funda- negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial mental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small’. peaceful means of their own choice’. Article 1(2) states that the purpose of the UN is to develop Chapter VII deals with ‘Action with Respect to Threats to the ‘friendly relations among nations based on respect for the princi- Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression’. ple of equal rights and self-determination of peoples and to take Article 42 states that the Security Council ‘may take such action other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace’. by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or Article 2(7) states that ‘Nothing contained in the present restore international peace and security’. Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters Article 99 authorizes the secretary-general to ‘bring to the atten- which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state’. tion of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may Chapter VI deals with the ‘Pacific Settlement of Disputes’. threaten the maintenance of international peace and security’. League had already failed to address a number of acts the League, those of the Security Council are binding, of aggression. and must be passed by a majority of nine out of the 15 The structure of the United Nations (see Box 21.2) members, including each of the five permanent mem- was intended to avoid some of the problems faced by bers. These five permanent members were seen as the the League of Nations. The UN Security Council was major powers at the time of the founding of the United given the main responsibility for maintaining interna- Nations. Tension between the recognition of power pol- tional peace and security. In contrast to the League of itics through the Security Council veto, and the univer- Nations, the United Nations recognized great power sal ideals underlying the United Nations, is a defining prerogatives in the Security Council. It includes five feature of the organization. The recognition of power permanent members, namely the US, the UK, France, politics through veto power in the Security Council can Russia (previously the Soviet Union), and China, as well be contrasted with the universalist principles underly- as ten non-permanent members. Unlike the decisions of ing the other principal organs of the United Nations. Box 21.2 Principal organs of the United Nations The structure of the United Nations is shown in Figure 21.1. binding on members. The General Assembly can consider any The Security Council was made up initially of 11 states, and then, matter within the scope of the UN Charter. after 1965, of 15 states, including the five veto-wielding permanent The Secretariat carries out the substantive and administrative members. When the Security Council considers a threat to interna- work of the UN. It is led by the secretary-general, who provides tional peace, it first explores ways to settle the dispute peacefully overall administrative guidance. António Guterres from Portugal under the terms of Chapter VI of the UN Charter. In the event of was sworn in as the ninth secretary-general in January 2017. The fighting, the Security Council tries to secure a ceasefire and may Secretariat consists of departments and offices with a total staff of send a peacekeeping mission. The Council can also take measures approximately 40,000 around the world. On the recommendation to enforce its decisions under Chapter VII of the Charter, for instance of the other bodies, the Secretariat also carries out a number of through the imposition of economic sanctions, arms embargoes, research functions and some quasi-management functions. Yet or collective military action. The Council also makes recommen- the role of the Secretariat remains primarily bureaucratic, with the dations to the General Assembly on the appointment of a new exception of the power of the secretary-general, under Article 99 ­secretary-general and on the admission of new members to the UN. of the Charter, to bring situations that are likely to lead to a break- The General Assembly is made up of all UN member states, with down of international peace and security to the attention of the one vote each. A two-thirds majority in the General Assembly is Security Council (see Box 21.1). This article was the legal basis for required for decisions on key issues such as international peace the remarkable expansion of the diplomatic role of the secretary- and security, the admission of new members, and the UN budget. general, compared with its League predecessor. A simple majority is required for other matters. The decisions The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), under the over- reached by the General Assembly have the status of recommenda- all authority of the General Assembly, coordinates the economic tions, rather than binding decisions, so they cannot force action and social work of the United Nations and the UN family of by any state. One of the few exceptions is the General Assembly’s organizations. It also consults with non-governmental organi- Fifth Committee, which makes decisions on the budget that are zations (NGOs), thereby maintaining a vital link between the United Nations. Source: By United Nations Department of Public Information © 2017 United Nations. Reprinted with the permission of the Figure 21.1 The structure of the United Nations system The United Nations System UN Principal Programmes and Funds Organs UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 1 UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social ITC International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UN-Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality UNSSC United Nations System Staff College General Subsidiary Bodies and the Empowerment of Women UNU United Nations University UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund WFP World Food Programme Assembly Main and other sessional UNV United Nations Volunteers Other Entities committees UNEP United Nations Environment Programme Disarmament Commission UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNFPA United Nations Population Fund Research and Training Institutes Human Rights Council UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Disaster Reduction International Law Commission UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner Research Institute UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services Standing committees for Refugees 1 and ad hoc bodies UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund Security Council Related Organizations CTBTO PrepCom Preparatory Commission for the Advisory Subsidiary Body Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Subsidiary Bodies 2 IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Counter-terrorism committees Military Staff Committee United Nations Peacebuilding Commission OPCW Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical International Criminal Tribunal for Peacekeeping operations and political missions Weapons Rwanda (ICTR) Sanctions committees (ad hoc) 3 WTO World Trade Organization International Criminal Tribunal 4 Economic and Standing committees and ad hoc bodies Specialized Agencies for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Social Council ILO International Labour Organization FAO Food and Agriculture Organization IMF International Monetary Fund of the United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization Functional Commissions Regional Commissions Other Bodies and Cultural Organization IMO International Maritime Organization Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice ECA Economic Commission for Africa Committee for Development Policy WHO World Health Organization ITU International Telecommunication Union Narcotic Drugs ECE Economic Commission for Europe Committee of Experts on Public World Bank Group UPU Universal Postal Union Population and Development Administration IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction Secretariat Science and Technology for ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin Committee on Non-Governmental America and the Caribbean and Development WMO World Meteorological Organization Development Organizations WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization IDA International Development Association Social Development ESCAP Economic and Social Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Group of Experts IFC International Finance Corporation Chapter 21 The United Nations Statistics Development on Geographical Names MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Status of Women ESCWA Economic and Social Agency UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Commission for Western Asia Other sessional and standing committees Organization Sustainable Development ICSID International Centre for Settlement and expert, ad hoc and related bodies United Nations Forum on Forests of Investment Disputes UNWTO World Tourism Organization International NOTES: Court of Justice Departments and offices DPI Department of Public Information OSRSG/CAAC Office of the Special Representative 1 UNRWA and UNIDIR report only to the General Assembly. of the Secretary-General for Children 2 IAEA reports to the Security Council and the General Assembly. EOSG Executive Office of the Secretary-General DPKO Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Armed Conflict 3 WTO has no reporting obligation to the General Assembly (GA) but contributes DSS Department of Safety and Security DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNODA Office for Disarmament Affairs on an ad-hoc basis to GA and ECOSOC work inter alia on finance and OCHA Office for the Coordination of developmental issues. DFS Department of Field Support UNOG United Nations Office at Geneva 4 Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the UN and each Humanitarian Affairs other through the coordinating machinery of ECOSOC at the intergovernmental DGACM Department for General Assembly OHCHR Office of the United Nations High UN-OHRLLS Office of the High Representative for level, and through the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) at the and Conference Management Commissioner for Human Rights the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing inter-secretariat level. This section is listed in order of establishment of these Trusteeship OIOS Office of Internal Oversight Services Countries and Small Island Developing States organizations as specialized agencies of the United Nations. DM Department of Management 5 Council5 DPA Department of Political Affairs OLA Office of Legal Affairs UNON United Nations Office at Nairobi The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994 with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations Trust Territory, UNOV United Nations Office at Vienna on 1 October 1994. OSAA Office of the Special Adviser on Africa This is not an official document of the United Nations, nor is it intended to be all-inclusive. 337 338 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor United Nations and civil society. ECOSOC’s subsidiary bodies neighbouring independent countries. The last to do so was the include Functional Commissions, such as the Commission on the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau, which had previously Status of Women; Regional Commissions, such as the Economic been administered by the United States. Commission for Africa; and other bodies (see Fig. 21.1). The International Court of Justice is the main judicial organ of The Trusteeship Council was established to provide interna- the UN. Consisting of 15 judges elected jointly by the General tional supervision for 11 Trust Territories administered by seven Assembly and the Security Council, the Court decides disputes member states, and to ensure that adequate steps were taken between countries. Participation by states in a proceeding is vol- to prepare the territories for self-government or independ- untary, but if a state agrees to participate, it is obligated to comply ence. By 1994, all the Trust Territories had attained self-govern- with the Court’s decision. The Court also provides advisory opin- ment or independence, either as separate states or by joining ions to other UN organs and specialized agencies on request. The UN Charter placed more emphasis than the The Funds and Programmes are much closer to League Covenant on the promotion of social and eco- the central system in the sense that their management nomic advancement as a central goal, in part because arrangements are subject to direct General Assembly many believed that the global economic depression of supervision, can be modified by Assembly resolution, the 1930s was one of the causes of the nationalism and and are largely funded on a voluntary basis. Since the aggression that led to the outbreak of the Second World establishment of the United Nations in 1945, a num- War. Whereas the League of Nations attributed respon- ber of new issues have come onto the international sibility for economic and social questions to the League agenda, such as the rights and interests of women, cli- Assembly, the Charter of the United Nations established mate change, resource depletion, population growth, ECOSOC to oversee economic and social institutions. terrorism, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Frequently, Along with the Secretariat and the General Assembly, those issues have led to a new organization being cre- ECOSOC is responsible for overseeing the activities ated in the Funds and Programmes. Examples include of a large number of other institutions known as the the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations system. This includes the specialized and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). agencies and the funds and programmes (see Fig. 21.1). In the early years of the United Nations, there were The specialized agencies, such as the World Health serious disagreements about many aspects of its work, Organization (WHO) and the International Labour including the question of membership. There were no Organization (ILO), have their own constitutions, regu- new members between 1950 and 1955, because the US larly assessed budgets, executive heads, and assemblies and USSR could not agree. In 1955 there was a deal of state representatives. They are self-contained consti- in which members of the Soviet bloc such as Bulgaria tutionally, financially, and politically, and they are not and Hungary were admitted alongside Western coun- subject to the management of the central system. tries such as Italy and Spain. The biggest jump in UN Box 21.3 The reform of the Security Council Since the Security Council is the main executive body in the The Security Council does not reflect today’s distribu- United Nations with primary responsibility for maintaining inter- tion of military or economic power, and it does not reflect a national peace and security, it is not surprising that many discus- geographic balance. Germany and Japan have made strong sions of UN reform have focused on the Security Council. cases for permanent membership. Developing countries have The founders of the UN deliberately established a universal demanded more representation on the Security Council, with General Assembly and a restricted Security Council that required countries such as South Africa, India, Egypt, Brazil, and Nigeria unanimity among the great powers. Granting permanent seats making particular claims. However, it has proved to be impos- and the right to a veto to the great powers of the time—the US, sible to reach agreement on new permanent members. How the Soviet Union (now Russia), France, the United Kingdom, and would Pakistan view India’s candidacy? How would South China—was an essential feature of the deal. Africa react to a Nigerian seat? What about representation by The composition and decision-making procedures of the an Islamic country? Should the European Union (EU) be repre- Security Council were increasingly challenged as member- sented instead of individual EU member states? Should there be ship of the United Nations grew, particularly after decoloni- a permanent rotating African seat? These issues are not easy to zation. Yet the only significant reform of the Security Council resolve and it is very unlikely that the P-5 countries will want to occurred in 1965, when the Council was enlarged from 11 to 15 relinquish their veto. members and the required majority from seven to nine votes. Nonetheless, while large-scale reform has proved impossible, Nonetheless, the veto power of the permanent five (P-5) mem- there have been changes in Security Council working procedures bers was left intact. that have made it more transparent and accountable.  Chapter 21 The United Nations 339 membership occurred with decolonization. By 1975 frequent calls for reform and changes in the member- there were 144 members, up from the original group of ship of the UN Security Council, but this is very dif- 51 members in 1945. The controversy over the People’s ficult (see Box 21.3). Republic of China’s (PRC’s) request to join severely hurt the UN’s credibility in the 1950s and 1960s. The Key Points PRC claimed that it was the rightful representative of all Chinese people, but it was the Republic of China The United Nations was established to preserve peace among states after the Second World War. (Taiwan) that represented China in the UN and on the Security Council, with American support. This Inreflected a number of ways, the institutions of the United Nations lessons learned from its predecessor, the League changed in 1971, as relations improved between the of Nations. US and the PRC. General Assembly Resolution 2758 (October 1971) recognized the PRC as the legitimate The institutions and mechanisms of the United Nations reflect both the demands of great power politics (i.e. representative of China to the UN. Security Council veto) and universalism. They also reflect There are still some debates over membership. For demands to address the needs and interests of people, as instance, Taiwan applied for membership in 2007 but well as the needs and interests of states. The tensions this application was denied. There are two permanent between these various demands are a key feature of UN non-member observer states at the UN: the Holy See development. (1964) and Palestine (2012). There are also non-state There have been a number of disagreements over UN membership, and over the composition of the UN Security observers, including intergovernmental organizations Council. and other entities. There have been widespread and The United Nations and the maintenance of international peace and security The global political context has shaped the per- 1990, when action was undertaken principally by the formance of the United Nations in maintain- US and its allies. ing peace and security. The cold war between the Second, there have been many instances of peace- United States and the Soviet Union hampered the keeping. No reference to peacekeeping exists in the functioning of the UN Security Council, since the UN Charter, but classical peacekeeping mandates United States or the Soviet Union could use the veto and mechanisms are based on Chapter VI of the UN whenever its major interests were threatened. From Charter (see Box 21.1). Classical peacekeeping involves 1945 to 1990, 193 substantive vetoes were invoked the establishment of a UN force, under UN command, in the Security Council, compared to 42 substan- to be placed between the parties to a dispute after a tive vetoes from 1990 to 2018. Furthermore, while ceasefire. Such a force uses its weapons only in self- the UN Charter provided for the establishment of a defence, is established with the consent of the host multilateral force under the command of a Military state, and does not include forces from the major pow- Staff Committee (Articles 43 and 47), to be set up by ers. This mechanism was first used in 1956, when a UN agreement between the Security Council and con- force was sent to Egypt to facilitate the exodus of the senting states, cold war rivalries made this impos- British and French forces from the Suez Canal area, sible to implement. The end result was that the UN and then to stand between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Security Council could not function in the way the Since the Suez crisis, there have been a number of clas- UN founders had expected. sical peacekeeping missions, for instance monitoring Because member states could not agree on the the Green Line in Cyprus, and in the Golan Heights. arrangements laid out in Chapter VII of the Charter, The classical peacekeeping that was prevalent during especially with regard to setting up a UN army, there the cold war was very different from the more robust were a series of improvisations to address matters of peacekeeping missions that became increasingly com- peace and security. First, a procedure was established mon after the end of the cold war. One notable excep- under which the Security Council agreed to a man- tion was the 1960–4 United Nations Operation in the date for an agent to act on its behalf. This occurred Congo, which was an early example of more robust UN in the Korean conflict in 1950, and the Gulf War in peacekeeping (see Case Study 21.1). 340 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor Case Study 21.1 UN peacekeeping in the Congo maintained and foreign troops withdrew, but at immense politi- cal, human, and financial costs. In the context of the cold war, the mission was accused of being a tool of US foreign policy. It only took a harder line against the secessionists after Lumumba, who was suspected of being pro-Soviet, was assassinated in January 1961. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash while trying to negotiate a ceasefire in September 1961. The mis- sion was hugely expensive and generated a financial crisis at the UN. It was not until after the end of the cold war that the UN again embarked on another ambitious peace enforcement mission. MONUC and MONUSCO were also large, expensive peace- keeping missions. MONUC was established in 1999 following the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and five regional countries. Initially, its Six members of the Indian contingent of the United Nations mandate was to observe the ceasefire, but subsequent Security Operation in the Congo (ONUC) Council mandates extended its activities. In 2010, the mission was renamed MONUSCO and authorized to use all necessary © United Nations Photo means to protect civilians and to support the government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts. As There have been two UN peacekeeping missions in the Congo: of 2018, MONUSCO had just over 18,000 uniformed personnel the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) from 1960 in the country. to 1964 and the United Nations Organization Mission in the These missions have had some accomplishments—for exam- Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) from 1999 to 2010, ple, in 2006 MONUC supported the largest, most complex elec- renamed the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission toral process ever supported by a UN mission—but they have in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from also been criticized. The eastern part of Congo continues to 2010 to present. These missions have had some successes, but experience waves of conflict and human rights violations. The they also highlight the challenges faced by robust UN peace- UN has drawn attention to the issue of gender-based violence, keeping (see Case Study 15.1). yet sexual violence continues, including allegations of sexual Congo became independent on 30 June 1960. However, abuse by UN troops. There have been significant disagreements colonial rule by the Belgians had left the vast country severely between the UN and the government, and national elections underdeveloped and politically fractured, despite its significant that were supposed to have been held in 2016 were delayed by mineral wealth. Soon after independence, the mineral-rich area two years. Furthermore, the UN has been criticized for support- of Katanga declared itself to be independent, with support and ing the Congolese army in its operations, even though elements encouragement by Belgian mining interests and Belgian troops. of the army were responsible for human rights abuses against the Congolese Prime Minister Lumumba appealed to the UN for Congolese population. The UN’s experiences in the Congo show help against the secessionists in Katanga. Invoking Article 99 of how difficult it is for peace operations to achieve state-building the UN Charter, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld took the objectives. matter to the Security Council, which authorized the deployment of ONUC to oversee the withdrawal of Belgian and other foreign Question 1: Do you think that it was a mistake for the UN to troops and to support the Congolese government to restore law deploy ONUC in response to the Congo crisis? and order in the country. At its height, ONUC deployed just under 20,000 troops. The Question 2: Do you think that UN peace operations should mission was successful in that Congo’s territorial integrity was include state-building objectives? Increased attention to conditions within political and civil rights, as well as the right to basic pro- states visions such as food, water, health care, and accommo- At the time of its founding and during the cold war, the dation. Under this view, violations of individuals’ rights UN had helped promote the view of the primacy of inter- were a cause of disturbances in relations among states: national order among states over justice for individuals. a lack of internal justice risked international disorder. Many people thought that diplomats should ignore the The UN reinforced the view that pursuing justice for internal affairs of states in order to preserve interna- individuals was an aspect of national interest. tional stability. By the 1990s, an increasing number of There are several reasons for this change. First, the people believed that the UN should address individual international environment had changed. The cold war  Chapter 21 The United Nations 341 stand-off between the East and the West had meant that instability), humanitarian emergencies, violations of member states did not want to question the conditions global standards of human rights, and problems such of the sovereignty of states. Jean Kirkpatrick’s (1979) as poverty and inequality. notorious essay, which recommended tolerating abhor- This led to changes in the nature of UN peacekeeping rent dictatorships in Latin America in order to fight and to its rapid expansion. In 1994, UN peacekeeping communism, was a reasonable report of the situation operations involved nearly 80,000 military personnel at that time: unsavoury right-wing regimes in Latin around the world, seven times the figure for 1990 (Pugh America were tolerated because they were anti-Soviet, 2001: 115). Post-cold war missions addressed civil wars and interfering in the other’s sphere risked escalation of as well as international conflicts. They were more likely conflict (Forsythe 1988: 259–60). to use force and to be based on Chapter VII of the UN Second, the process of decolonization had privileged Charter (see Box 21.1). In 1992, Secretary-General statehood over justice. The UN had elevated the right to Boutros Boutros-Ghali set out a new, ambitious UN statehood above any tests of viability, such as the existence agenda for peace and security in a report called An of a nation, adequate economic performance, defensibil- Agenda for Peace, where he outlined interconnected ity, or a prospect for achieving justice for citizens. This roles for the UN, including peace enforcement (see unconditional right to independence was enunciated in Box 21.4). A key problem has been that UN peace- the General Assembly Declaration on the Granting of keepers have been targeted by belligerents. Examples Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960. include the intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s, There emerged a convention that the claims of elites in the the intervention in the former Yugoslavia in the mid- putative states could be a sufficient indication of popular 1990s, and the mission in South Sudan today. In the enthusiasm, even when the elites were unrepresentative. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009, UN Charles Beitz was one of the first to question this peacekeepers assisted the Congolese national army in when he concluded that statehood should not be uncon- a military offensive against rebels, prompting violent ditional: attention had to be given to the situation of reprisals (see Case Study 21.1). The UN continues to individuals after independence (Beitz 1979). Michael play a prominent role in peacekeeping. In late 2018, the Walzer and Terry Nardin produced arguments leading total number of uniformed peacekeeping personnel to a similar conclusion: states were conditional enti- (military and police) in the UN’s 14 on-going peace- ties in that their right to exist should be dependent on keeping operations was approximately 90,000. a criterion of performance with regard to the interests As issues of peace and security were increasingly of their citizens (Walzer 1977; Nardin 1983). Such writ- understood to include human security and justice, ings helped to alter the moral content of diplomacy. there were concerns that these new activities could go The new relationship between order and justice was against the doctrine of non-intervention. Intervention thus a product of particular circumstances. After the was traditionally defined as a deliberate incursion into cold war, it was felt that threats to international peace a state without its consent by some outside agency, in and security did not emanate only from aggression order to change the functioning, policies, and goals of between states. Rather, global peace was threatened its government and achieve effects that favour the inter- by civil conflict (including refugee flows and regional ests of the intervenor (Vincent 1974) (see Ch. 32). Box 21.4 An agenda for peace In the early 1990s, after the end of the cold war, the UN agenda for peace and security expanded quickly. The UN secretary-­ Peace enforcement: authorized under Chapter VII of the Charter, and permitted to occur without the consent of the parties. general at the time, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, outlined a more ambitious role for the UN in his seminal report An Agenda for Peacekeeping: the deployment of a UN presence in the field with the consent of all parties (this refers to classical Peace (1992). The report described interconnected roles for the peacekeeping). UN to maintain peace and security. These included: Post-conflict peacebuilding: to develop the social, political, Preventive diplomacy: involving confidence-building measures, fact-finding, and preventive deployment of UN and economic infrastructure to prevent further violence and to consolidate peace. authorized forces. Peacemaking: designed to bring hostile parties to agreement, essentially through peaceful means. 342 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor At the founding of the UN, sovereignty was regarded use of the phrase ‘in principle’, and the term ‘should’, as central to the system of states. States were equal implied that there could be occasions where interven- members of international society and were equal with tion was necessary even when consent from the target regard to international law. Sovereignty also implied state was not possible. In the Outcome Document of the that states recognized no higher authority than them- 2005 World Summit, the General Assembly said that selves, and that there was no superior jurisdiction. The if national authorities are ‘manifestly failing to protect governments of states had exclusive jurisdiction within their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic their own borders, a principle enshrined in Article 2(7) cleansing and crimes against humanity’, and if peace- of the United Nations Charter (see Box 21.1). ful means are inadequate, the international community In earlier periods, however, states had intervened in could take collective action through the UN Security each other’s affairs. The United States refused to accept Council according to Chapter VII of the Charter any curtailment of its right to intervene in the inter- (A/RES/60/1, paras 138 and 139). This document echoes nal affairs of other states in its hemisphere until 1933, recommendations from The Responsibility to Protect, when it conceded the point at the 7th International the 2001 final report of the International Commission Conference of American States. The US position was on Intervention and State Sovereignty (see Ch. 32). very similar to the Brezhnev doctrine of the 1970s, Yet the number of occasions in which a UN reso- which held that the Soviet Union had the right to inter- lution has justified intervention due to gross infringe- vene in the member states of the socialist common- ments of the rights of individuals has remained limited. wealth to protect the principles of socialism. Kosovo was arguably the first occasion in which inter- Much earlier, the British had insisted on the abo- national forces were used in defiance of a sovereign lition of slavery in their relations with other states. state in order to protect humanitarian standards. They stopped ships on the high seas and imposed the NATO launched the air campaign in March 1999 in abolition of slavery as a condition in treaties (Bethell Kosovo against the Republic of Yugoslavia without a 1970). There were also occasions when states tried to mandate from the Security Council, since Russia had bind other states to respect certain principles in their declared that it would veto such action. Nonetheless, internal affairs. A number of states in Eastern Europe, NATO states noted that by intervening to stop ethnic such as Hungary and Bulgaria, were bound to respect cleansing and crimes against humanity in Kosovo they the rights of minorities within their frontiers, based on were acting in accordance with the principles of the UN agreements made at the Berlin Conference of 1878 by Charter. The intervention in Libya in 2011 was another the great powers. In practice, then, intervention was a case. A Security Council resolution approved a no-fly common feature of international politics. zone over Libya and called for ‘all necessary measures’ By the 1990s, some people pointed out that the UN to protect civilians (S/Res/1973). A multi-state coalition Charter did not assert merely the rights of states, but intervened to implement the resolution. NATO later also the rights of peoples: statehood could be inter- assumed command of the Libya mission. preted as conditional on respect for such rights. Others, The Iraq War in 2003 was questionably another case of however, were concerned that any change in the prin- intervention to protect the rights of individuals without ciple of non-intervention would be used as a tool by host country consent, although the legality of interven- richer and more powerful states to impose their inter- tion under existing Security Council resolutions is con- ests and views on poorer and weaker ones. tested and the motives for intervention are disputed (see The major pronouncements of the UN General Case Study 21.2). The US intervention in Afghanistan Assembly referred to the primary responsibility of in 2001 is an exceptional case in which the UN Security states for dealing with complex crises within their Council acknowledged the right of a state which had borders. A 1991 General Assembly resolution implied been attacked—referring to the events of 11 September some relaxation of this principle when it held that ‘The 2001 in the US—to respond in its own defence. sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of The difficulty in relaxing the principle of non-­ States must be fully respected in accordance with the intervention should not be underestimated. For Charter of the United Nations. In this context, humani- instance, the UN was reluctant to send peacekeepers tarian assistance should be provided with the consent to Darfur without the consent of the Sudanese govern- of the affected country and in principle on the basis of ment. After intensive international diplomacy and nego- an appeal by the affected country’ (A/RES/46/182). The tiations about the nature of the force, Sudan consented  Chapter 21 The United Nations 343 Case Study 21.2 The 2003 intervention in Iraq which required the destruction of Iraqi weapons of mass destruc- tion under UN supervision, and UN Security Council Resolution 1441 of 2002, which threatened ‘serious consequences’ if this were not done. Yet efforts to reach a Security Council resolution in the winter of 2003 that would clearly authorize the use of force against Iraq were unsuccessful. France and Russia threatened to veto a second Security Council resolution authorizing force. The credibility of the UN was damaged by the failure to agree on a second Security Council resolution, and by the decision of the US and British administrations, along with a small number of allies, to use force against Iraq without clear UN authoriza- tion. There were fears of an increased tendency for the US to act without UN authorization. The Bush administration’s National Security Strategy of September 2002 stated that ‘[W]e will be pre- A Security Council vote at the United Nations, 2003 pared to act apart when our interests and unique responsibilities © Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images require’ (NSS 2002: 31). Nonetheless, the aftermath of the invasion and the continued difficulties in establishing security in Iraq and elsewhere in the In March 2003, a US-led coalition launched a highly controver- region have highlighted the need for international cooperation. sial war in Iraq, which removed Saddam Hussein from power. Some people argue that the UN enhances the legitimacy of mili- The justification for war stressed Iraq’s possession of weapons of tary action, and can help share in global risks, burdens, and strat- mass destruction, in defiance of earlier UN resolutions. Unlike in egies for post-conflict rebuilding. Kosovo, the gross violation of human rights was not given as a main justification for the invasion until later. The failure to find Question 1: Do you think that the 2003 intervention in Iraq and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as well as the subsequent its aftermath shows the importance of the UN or its limitations? civil war, fuelled critics’ claims that the war was unjustified. There was no agreement over whether the UN Security Council Question 2: Do you think that there are lessons from the UN authorized military action in Iraq. American and British diplo- experience in Iraq that are relevant to more recent conflicts, such mats pointed to UN Security Council Resolution 687 of 1991, as those in Syria and Yemen? and the force was established in July 2007 (S/Res/1769). principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention In 2012, Russia and China vetoed a Security Council remain important. resolution proposing further sanctions on Syria (under Chapter VII of the UN Charter), arguing that this could From peacekeeping to peacebuilding open a path to external military involvement in Syrian internal affairs, and in 2014 they again vetoed a Security Partly due to the terrorist attacks in the United States Council resolution to refer Syria to the International in 2001 as well as the impasse reached in the UN Criminal Court. Between 2016 and 2018, Russia vetoed Security Council over Iraq in 2003, Secretary-General eight Security Council resolutions on Syria. There is Kofi Annan named a high-level panel to examine the some concern that a relaxation of the non-intervention major threats and challenges to global peace. The 2004 principle by the UN will lead to military action by indi- final report emphasized the interconnected nature of vidual states without UN approval (see Case Study security threats, and presented development, security, 21.2). More generally, relations between the US and and human rights as mutually reinforcing. Many of Russia and China have deteriorated, and there is the fear the report’s recommendations were not implemented, of great power unilateralism, especially as US President but some were, notably the establishment of a new UN Trump has frequently expressed criticism of the UN. Peacebuilding Commission (see Box 21.5). An increasing readiness by the UN to intervene Since then, there have been a number of efforts to within states to promote justice for individuals would review and reform the UN peacekeeping and peacebuild- indicate a movement towards global governance and ing architecture. Three peace and security reviews in 2015 away from unconditional sovereignty. There have expressed concern that changes in the drivers of violence been some signs of movement in this direction, but in some parts of the world may be outpacing the ability of 344 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor hand, there has been a stronger assertion of interna- Box 21.5 The UN Peacebuilding tional responsibility for gross offences against popula- Commission tions. Nonetheless, intimations of a new world order The UN Peacebuilding Commission was established in in the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991 quickly gave December 2005 as an intergovernmental advisory subsidiary way to despondency with what were seen as failures body of the General Assembly and the Security Council. It was in Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia, and first proposed by the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on increasing disagreement about the proper role of the Threats, Challenges, and Change in December 2004, and again in the Secretary-General’s Report In Larger Freedom in March 2005 UN. Compared to the enthusiasm about the potential (UN 2005). Existing mechanisms at the UN were thought to be for the UN in the early 1990s, the disagreements over insufficient in responding to the particular needs of countries the war in Iraq in 2003 and over Syria since 2011 are emerging from conflict. Many countries, such as Liberia, Haiti, and striking. Debates about which institutions and actors Somalia in the 1990s, had signed peace agreements and hosted are most effective in conducting peace operations have UN peacekeeping missions, but later reverted to violent conflict. been reinvigorated, and a variety of non-UN actors, The Peacebuilding Commission proposes integrated strategies and priorities for post-conflict recovery. The establishment of the including regional organizations and ad hoc coali- Peacebuilding Commission is indicative of a growing trend at the tions, have been involved in recent military operations. UN to coordinate security and development programming. Likewise, there is no consensus on how best to confront The organizational committee of the Peacebuilding non-state-based threats, such as terrorism and the pro- Commission is made up of 31 member states. There are also liferation of small arms. There are also concerns over country-specific meetings to look at the post-conflict strate- gies, priorities, and programming for particular countries. So the increased use of the Security Council veto in recent far, all of the countries on the agenda of the Peacebuilding years, and the criticisms of multilateralism expressed by Commission have been in Africa: Burundi, Sierra Leone, US President Trump and some other populist leaders. Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and the Central African Republic. The Peacebuilding Support Fund is designed to pro- Key Points vide support during the early stages of recovery for countries on the Peacebuilding Commission’s agenda as well as countries in similar circumstances designated by the secretary-general. The cold war and the decolonization process discouraged more active involvement by the United Nations within states. Bymaintaining the mid-1990s the UN had become involved in international peace and security by resisting UN peace operations to respond effectively. The reports aggression between states, attempting to resolve disputes contain broad agreement on the need for improved within states (civil wars), and focusing on economic, social, intergovernmental coherence, greater focus on political and political conditions within states. solutions, more predictable financing, gender inclusivity, The United Nations does not have a monopoly on peace operations. While the UN often provides legitimation, and more flexible peace operations. In 2019, Secretary- operations are sometimes conducted by regional General Guterres reorganized the peace and security organizations, ad hoc coalitions, or hybrid arrangements units at UN headquarters to help deliver more regionally involving UN and non-UN actors, such as the African Union. integrated political strategies and to make transitions out of peace operations less disruptive. Nonetheless, there is The UN has paid increasing attention to peacebuilding and the gendered dimensions of peace and security, with a no consensus among member states on issues such as the number of important reports and initiatives in these areas. use of force and support to counterterrorism operations. Critics, however, point to severe shortcomings such as allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by The UN’s record on the maintenance of interna- some UN peacekeeping personnel. tional peace and security has been mixed. On the one The United Nations and economic and social questions Promoting social and economic development is an impor- The North–South divide along with cold war rivalries tant UN goal. The preamble to the UN Charter talks of profoundly shaped the UN’s efforts in these areas. The US promoting ‘social progress and better standards of life and the USSR had very different ideas about how to pro- in larger freedom’, and the need to ‘employ international mote economic and social progress. The UN’s economic machinery for the promotion of the economic and social agenda was originally dominated by the Bretton Woods advancement of all peoples’. institutions, which promoted a free-market ideological  Chapter 21 The United Nations 345 agenda. Voting rights and decision-making in these insti- Box 21.6 Assessed contributions to the UN tutions were skewed towards rich Western countries, and Regular Budget their early focus was on post-war rebuilding (see Ch. 16). The increase in UN membership through decoloni- Contributions to the UN Regular Budget are set by the General zation in the late 1950s and 1960s prompted an increas- Assembly. The assessed contributions are based on the size of a ing focus on global economic inequalities, and a push member state’s national economy as a proportion of the global economy, to a ceiling of 22 per cent. For 2018–9, the General to find alternative ways to promote development within Assembly approved a budget of $5.39 billion (GA/11997), down the UN system. The number of institutions in the UN from $5.8 billion for 2014–5. The member states with the six system addressing economic and social issues increased highest assessed contributions for the 2018–9 Regular Budget significantly. In the 1960s UNCTAD was a key forum are as follows: for dialogue between developed and developing coun- 1. United States 22.00 per cent tries, and this led to the creation of the Group of 77, a 2. Japan 9.68 per cent coalition of developing countries to promote their col- lective economic interests at the UN. The UNDP was 3. China 7.92 per cent established in 1965 as a Fund and Programme (see 4. Germany 6.39 per cent Fig. 21.1) and became a key actor in the UN’s efforts to 5. France 4.86 per cent reduce global poverty. The UNDP was important in pro- 6. United Kingdom 4.46 per cent moting the idea of human development, and since 1990 it has published the influential annual Human Development The Funds and Programmes, such as UNDP and UNICEF, are Report, which links security and development concerns. not included in the regular budget and are financed through voluntary contributions by member states. In recent years the Even as economic and social issues became increas- proportion of voluntary funding in overall budgets has signifi- ingly important at the UN, the main contributor states cantly increased. reduced their funding. By the mid-1990s, there was a crip- pling financial crisis in the regular Assessed Budget for the UN and in the budget for peacekeeping operations. host country. These described the plans of the various This was mitigated only when the US agreed, under cer- institutions and donors in a particular country, clearly tain conditions, to repay what it owed the UN and when it setting out targets, roles, and priorities. Another reform returned to full funding in December 2002 (see Box 21.6). at the country level was the strengthening of the Resident Paradoxically, despite the shortage of funds, the UN Coordinator, usually an employee of the UNDP. He or acquired new skills with regard to key economic and social she became the responsible officer at the country level. problems. During the 1990s, a number of new issues were At headquarters level, the 1990s reform focused on the brought onto the international agenda. Several global con- reorganization and rationalization of ECOSOC, allowing ferences were convened to discuss pressing problems, such it to become more assertive and to take a leading role in as environmental issues at a conference in Rio de Janeiro the coordination of the UN system (A/50/227, para. 37). (1992), human rights at a conference in Vienna (1993), By the end of the 1990s it was clear that development population questions at a conference in Cairo (1994), and was still very unequal around the world. In 2000 the UN women’s issues at a conference in Beijing (1995). These con- convened a Millennium Summit, where heads of state ferences each spawned a commission to carry forward the committed themselves to a series of measurable goals programme. Such conferences represented a growing sense and targets known as the Millennium Development of interdependence and the globalization of human con- Goals (MDGs). These goals included reducing by half cerns. They also translated broad socio-economic concerns the number of people living on less than a dollar a day, into more specific manageable programmes (see Box 21.7). achieving universal primary education, and reversing Follow-up conferences were held to take stock of progress. the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria (A/55/L.2). At Alongside growing UN involvement in development the time of the MDG deadline in 2015, there had been issues in the 1990s, the UN economic and social arrange- significant accomplishments, but progress had been ments underwent reform at the country (field) level and uneven across regions and countries. at headquarters level. A key feature of the reforms at the In September 2015, the UN Summit agreed on the country level was the adoption of Country Strategy Notes, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide written on the basis of discussions between the special- a vision for the world by 2030. There are 17 Sustainable ized agencies, funds and programmes, donors, and the Development Goals and 169 targets, ranging from 346 devon e. a. curtis · paul taylor Box 21.7 The United Nations climate change conferences The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015 South Africa over compensation, legal liability, and verification (COP21) was one of a series of UN Global Conferences focusing procedures. on environmental issues. The first UN Conference on the Human The Paris conference of 2015 was referred to as COP21 since it Environment, which took place in Stockholm in 1972, stimulated the was the twenty-first meeting of the Committee of the Parties to the creation of national environment ministries around the world and Kyoto Protocol. The Paris Agreement was historic because countries established the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). adopted the first ever legally-binding global climate deal. The 195 Twenty years later, the UN Conference on Environment and countries at the meeting agreed to the goal of keeping the increase Development, the Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro. in the global average temperature to ‘well below 2°C above pre- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change industrial levels’ (Art 2, section 1). They also agreed to a goal of (UNFCCC) was one of three conventions signed by many gov- zero net emissions by the second half of the century. Countries can ernments at the 1992 Earth Summit. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 choose their own targets, thereby overcoming an obstacle that had was an addition to the UNFCCC, which set binding targets for plagued earlier conferences, but these will be reviewed regularly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The UNFCCC has guided and transparently. By the end of the Paris conference, there were future climate diplomacy and established the principle of com- pledges by 187 countries to make ‘intended nationally determined mon but differentiated responsibility, meaning that all countries contributions’, but critics pointed out that these pledges do not go have a role to play in protecting the environment but that highly far enough and that many details were moved out of the legally developed countries have the most responsibility. binding agreement and into more flexible decisions. The parties There have been annual intergovernmental meetings to dis- directed the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to cuss progress on the limitation of greenhouse gases and to agree draw up a report, which was published in October 2018. The report a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. It has been difficult concluded that urgent and unprecedented changes and shifts in for representatives to agree on a legally binding set of targets for energy systems and transport would be needed to reach targets the reduction of gas emissions, due to their different interests. of 1.5–2°C goals. Some countries have expressed reservations; for For instance, small island states pushed for zero global emissions, instance, US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair whereas oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela were Bolsonaro have threatened to withdraw from the accord. more sceptical of decarbonization language. There were also disa- Despite their limitations, the climate conferences make clear greements about which countries should pay. Developed coun- that environmental issues remain prominent on the UN agenda, tries that had been the largest polluters in the past often disagreed and demonstrate the importance of the United Nations as a with large emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil, and framework for moving towards global agreement. eradicating extreme poverty, to combatting inequalities reforms to help achieve the SDGs, including strengthening within and between countries, to empowering women, the role of the Resident Coordinators in the field. to improving energy efficiency. Compared to the MDGs, Since the founding of the UN there has been growing which consisted of narrower goals focused mainly on activity in areas of social and economic development. developing countries, the SDGs are universally applicable Various reforms have meant that the two poles of the to all countries. The process leading to the SDGs was much system were better coordinated: the pole where inten- more inclusive than the one for the MDGs, involving a large tions are defined through global conferences and agen- consultation programme and an open working group with das, and the pole where programmes are implemented. representatives from 70 countries. The ambitious breadth The reform of ECOSOC sharpened its capacity to shape and inclusive nature of the agenda have been praised by broad agreements into cross-sectoral programmes with some but criticized by others for not being achievable and well-defined objectives. The adoption of the MDGs and for making it difficult to prioritize. In 2018, Secretary- SDGs has provided a focus to the UN’s work in these General Guterres launched a number of institutional areas, although progress remains uneven. Key Points The co