In Hindsights
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Article 27(3) of the UN Charter not only enshrines the veto power of permanent members, but also institutes a limitation of this power through the principle of obligatory abstentions. In providing that “in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting”, the Charter seeks to ensure that a Council member “should not be allowed to be party, judge and jury at the same time” (S/PV.4753).
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The 2013 composition of the Security Council—whose members jointly contributed 22.4 percent of UN peacekeeping personnel as of 31 December 2012—was instrumental in two significant developments regarding the use of force in peacekeeping operations.
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Since the three vetoes by Russia and China over Syria in 2011 and 2012 and the inability of the Security Council to find a solution to the conflict, there has been a common perception that the Council is divided. Likewise, following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Council was viewed as having become badly fractured. However, looking at decisions adopted, the Council is actually divided on just a limited number of issues and otherwise largely operates by consensus
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Who will chair each of almost two dozen subsidiary bodies of the Security Council (see the insert in this Forecast on Security Council Subsidiary Bodies: An Overview) is a question on many minds this time of the year.
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For two years—until the passage of resolution 2118 on 27 September requiring the verification and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons—the veto blocked Security Council action on Syria, where a brutal civil war has claimed over 100,000 lives and prompted 2.2 million Syrians to flee into neighbouring countries. Joint China-Russia vetoes on three draft Syria resolutions have sparked discussion on and condemnation of the use of the veto, including by other permanent members.
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Permanent members have worked overtime for nearly two weeks to codify into a Security Council decision the 14 September Russia-US agreement to secure and dismantle chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria. With the issue of whether the Council acts under Chapters VI or VII of the UN Charter, and whether it does so in a binding manner, at the core of these negotiations, it may be worthwhile to take a closer look at this matter.
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This month's In Hindsight takes a look at the evolution and practice ofthe division of labour within the Council in taking the lead on particular issues on the agenda.
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In February 2011 we identified a notable reduction in appearances at the Security Council media stakeout since renovations had begun on the Council chamber. An analysis of the number of stakeouts during the entire renovation period prompts us to ask once more whether such reduced use will continue to be the status quo now that the Council is back in its refurbished chamber or whether Council members will reinvigorate this mechanism.
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The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the only international body with which members of the Security Council have regular interactions. They have been meeting annually since 2007, alternating between their respective headquarters.
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A visiting mission has been a tool the Council has used—since it first travelled to Cambodia and Viet Nam in 1964—for a number of purposes, including preventive diplomacy, gathering first-hand information, supporting peace processes and mediation.
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From November 2010 through March 2012, with a break in December 2010 during the US presidency of the Council), “horizon-scanning” briefings by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) were a regular feature of the programme of work of the Security Council. The UK initiated these briefings to provide the Council with information that might allow for better preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention. Additionally it was hoped that this format would allow for an unscripted exchange of ideas.
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On 26 November 2012, the Council held an open debate on its working methods. The all-day meeting enabled member states to take stock of what had been an eventful year on working methods, which culminated in two presidential notes being agreed in December in addition to the note of 5 June.
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After the conclusion of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) on 19 August and decreased Council activity on Syria, it may be timely to take stock of the Council’s response to the situation.
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On 29 August, the Secretary-General reissued the report on Eritrea (S/2012/412) initially circulated to Council members on 8 June. In resolution 2023 of 5 December 2011 (which condemned Eritrean violations of resolutions 1844, 1862 and 1907 and imposed new measures...
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Over the past two years or so, the Security Council has on several occasions chosen to communicate a set of complex political messages through press statements rather than a presidential statement or a resolution. The only mode of communication of Council decisions or views that is recognised in the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure is a resolution.
