Intro
1. Previous session:
a. overview of earth history, war between 2 kingdoms
b. that war reaching climax, will result in birth of God's
kingdom on earth
c. "beginning of birth pains" is a period leading up to Lord's
return; major events
of increasing
severity, increasing frequency
2. Mt 24:6-8. "You will hear of
wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the
end is still to come. Nations will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. All these are the beginning
of birth pains."
a. wars, rumors; but do not be alarmed
b. nation against nation
c. kingdom against kingdom; ethnos against ethnos, ethnic conflict.
i. Yugoslavia a big, recent example in the news: Bosnia, Herzegovina,
then
Kosovo
ii. issue: ethnic cleansing, conflicts
3. Is an organization whose purpose
it is to address such problems: United Nations
4. In following presentation,
will give lots of quotations from official documents
a. purpose: show you official positions; not hearsay, not just
my opinion
b. all documents I used are available in public library or
online at official web sites
c. reason for giving such detail: help you understand how UN
is preparing for
New World Order,
or Global Governance
Purposes of UN (UN Charter, Chapter 1)
1. To maintain international peace
and security, and to that end: to take effective
collective measures for the prevention and
removal of threats to the peace, and for
the suppression of acts of aggression or other
breaches of the peace, and to bring
about by peaceful means, and in conformity
with the principles of justice and
international law, adjustment or settlement
of international disputes or situations
which might lead to a breach of the peace;
a. first purpose: to preserve world peace and security
b. includes removal of threats to peace; examine significance
later
2. To develop friendly relations
among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
and to take other appropriate
measures to strengthen universal peace;
a. second purpose: encourage nations to be just in their actions
toward each other
b. emphasis: equal rights and self-determination of peoples;
easily used to justify
action against
a government oppressing its own people
c. necessary contingency: "take other appropriate measures
to strengthen universal
peace"; very
inclusive
3. To achieve international co-operation
in solving international problems of an
economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian
character, and in promoting and
encouraging respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or
religion; and
a. third purpose: help nations cooperate in solving international
problems
b. human rights, fundamental freedoms
4. To be a centre for harmonizing
the actions of nations in the attainment of these
common ends.
a. fourth purpose: serve as an agency through which nations
can work
Structure of UN
Six major organs
1. General Assembly
a. the only major organ in which all UN members are represented.
b. each member state has equal voice and one vote.
c. Charter permits the Assembly to discuss any question of
importance to the UN,
and to recommend
action to be taken by the members or UN organs.
d. General Assembly is similar to town meeting, where everyone
attends and has
opportunity
to speak
e. intended to be the center of the UN, with oversight of all
other organs,
committees and
agencies
f. controls budget; determines each member's assessment/contribution.
g. issues decisions in form of General Assembly Resolutions
2. Trusteeship Council
a. watches over territories that were not self-governing when
UN was founded
b. its job almost completed, likely to be given new assignment
3. International Court of Justice
a. handles international legal disputes
b. headquarters at The Hague in The Netherlands
4. Economic and Social Council
a. several duties, such as advancing human rights and helping
people to better
their way of
life
5. Security Council
a. has major responsibility for maintaining peace and security
("Security Council")
b. Charter gives Security Council special powers to carry out
its responsibility
c. membership
i. 15 members, 5 permanent and 10 rotating with 2-year terms
ii. permanent members: France, Great Britain, China, Russia, United
States
iii. permanent members have veto power, rotating members do not
d. Issues decisions in form of Security Council Resolutions;
resolutions are
binding on all
UN member states; i.e., all nations must accept and carry out
Security Council
resolutions
e. Powers
i. power to decide what action UN should take to settle international
disputes
ii. must approve all applications for UN membership
iii. selects candidate for Secretary-General
iv. how Security Council responds to violations of peace/security
f. UN Charter, Chapter VII - Action With Respect to Threats
to the Peace,
Breaches of
the Peace, and Acts of Aggression
g. Article 39. The Security Council shall determine the existence
of any threat to
the peace, breach
of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make
recommendations,
or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance
with Articles
41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.
i. Security Council may investigate dispute and recommend solution
h. Article 41. The Security Council may decide what measures
not involving the
use of armed
force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it
may call upon
the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures.
These may include
complete or partial interruption of economic relations
and of rail,
sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of
communication,
and the severance of diplomatic relations.
i. Council may call for trade embargo on country endangering
peace and
security, isolate country by cutting off communications and/or severing
diplomatic relations.
i. Article 42. Should the Security Council consider that measures
provided for in
Article 41 would
be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate, it may take
such action
by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or
restore international
peace and security. Such action may include
demonstrations,
blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces
of Members of
the United Nations.
i. Council may authorize use of force to maintain or restore
peace and
security; demonstrations, blockade, military assault
j. Article 43.1. All Members of the United Nations, in order
to contribute to the
maintenance
of international peace and security, undertake to make available to
the Security
Council, on its call and in accordance with a special agreement or
agreements,
armed forces, assistance, and facilities, including rights of
passage, necessary
for the purpose of maintaining international peace and
security.
i. All member states agree to make their resources available
to Security
Council
6. Secretariat
a. provides services for all other UN organs; administrative/support
staff, handles
day-to-day operations
b. Secretary-General has broadest powers of all UN officials
i. chief administrator, not head of UN
ii. nominated by Security Council, appointed by General Assembly
to 5-
year term.
c. Sec-Gen is very influential position
i. Charter gives Sec-Gen power to advise Security Council of
any situation
that might threaten world peace and security; any member state can do
the same; Security Council evaluates situation and decides what action
should be taken
ii. General Assembly and Security Council instruct Sec-Gen to investigate
situation and present report with recommendations, which they use to
reach decision
iii. Sec-Gen is administrator, does not form policy or issue resolutions,
but
very influential with those who do; important position
7. This is how UN itself is supposed
to work, according to its Charter.
Role of Regional Organizations (not part of UN)
1. Define regional org
a. organization formed by nations having common regional interests;
often
security, economic
or social purpose; independent of UN
b. examples:
i. NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (www.nato.int)
(1) NATO is an Alliance that consists of 19 independent member
countries.
(2) formed in 1950 to provide for collective defense of its members
against possible attack; an armed attack against one or more
member nations is considered an attack against all members
(3) current members: Belgium, Canada, Czech Rep, Denmark,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United
Kingdom, United States
(4) Plus "Partnership for Peace" arrangement with nations of Eastern
Europe: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyz
Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan
(5) indicative of mentality of world: nations formed NATO to defend
themselves primarily against Russia and its allies; now formed
"Partnership for Peace" with same nations (its former enemies)
and remainder of Europe
(6) represents desperate desire by some to achieve peace, strategic
move by others to win victory over enemies
ii. A few other regional orgs
(1) European Union
(2) League of Arab States
(3) Organization of American States
(4) many, many others
2. UN relies on regional orgs:
a. Regional orgs represent collective interests of several
member states and
provide recommendations
to UN
b. Regional orgs implement UN resolutions
c. military enforcement as appropriate
3. Statement made by the President
of the Security Council at its meeting on 28 January
1993 [quoted in S/25996, 15 June 1993, Report
of the Secretary-General]
a. Bearing in mind the relevant provisions of the United Nations
Charter, the
pertinent activities
of the General Assembly and the challenges to international
peace and security
in the new phase of international relations, the Security
Council attaches
great importance to the role of regional arrangements and
organizations,
and recognizes the need to coordinate their efforts with those of
the United Nations
in the maintenance of international peace and security.
b. While reaffirming its primary responsibility for the maintenance
of international
peace and security
and being aware of the variety of mandate, scope and
composition
of regional arrangements and organizations, the Security Council
encourages and,
where appropriate, supports such regional efforts as
undertaken by
regional arrangements and organizations within their
respective areas
of competence in accordance with the purposes and
principles of
the United Nations Charter.
i. i.e., Security Council places great importance on regional
organizations
and encourages them to work in cooperation with UN Charter
ii. Why? Because regional orgs have the resources; the UN does not
4. is no UN military, so member
states and regional organizations provide resources
a. any temporary UN task force consists of national forces
under UN flag
i. UNDOF, UN Disengagement Observer Force - separating Israel
and
Syria in the Golan Heights
ii. UNIFIL, UN Interim Force in Lebanon - separating Israel and Arab
forces in southern Lebanon
iii. UNTSO, UN Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine - throughout
Israel and occupied territories to make sure two sides observe the truce
b. troops, weapons, equipment all provided voluntarily by member
states
c. UN has no standing army
d. problem UN has: getting sufficient resources and trained
personnel for these
operations;
a major problem
5. since no UN military, all military
activities must be conducted by member states
a. Security Council
i. issues Resolutions mandating cessations of hostilities or
withdrawal of
national army, for example
ii. sets deadlines
iii. if no acceptable response, Security Council issues Resolution to
authorize military action against offending nation
iv. member states and regional organizations take military action
in behalf
of Security Council
b. Operation Desert Storm against Iraq
i. in response to Security Council Resolutions, President George
Bush
rallied allies to gain support for military action against Iraq
c. Operation Joint Guardian against Kosovo
i. after Security Council Resolutions, President Bill Clinton
and Prime
Minister Tony Blair rallied NATO for military action against Kosovo
ii. some in America claimed this was illegal war, but was conducted
under
authority of UN
iii. is a grave concern about Kosovo action: Security Council authorized
and
NATO (regional org) intervened in internal affairs of independent
nation; serious ramifications, concern expressed by national leaders all
over the world that this set precedent for external intervention in their
internal affairs. Milosovic was duly elected leader of a nation.
UN/NATO labeled him a criminal, issued ultimatum, used deadly force.
Indicted Milosovic before world court; first time happened to a sitting
head of state. this is apparent violation of UN Charter and NATO
Charter, yet conducted under authority of UN and in response to
Security Council resolutions; reality: reflects major change in UN
strategy, intervening in internal matters before affects neighboring
countries; documented policy change.
6. Another significant problem:
inadequate cash flow (member assessments, voluntary;
need tax)
NGOs (not part of UN)
1. define NGOs — Non-Governmental
Organizations
a. in American politics, we'd call these special interest groups
b. are organizations independent of any government that promote
a specific agenda
c. example: The Sierra Club lobbies US government as a non-profit
special
interest lobbying
group, also registered as an NGO with the UN
2. Significance?
a. UN relies on NGOs for expertise, recommendations
b. organizations apply to UN for NGO status; if approved, their
reps can sit in on
UN meetings,
submit position papers, introduce draft resolutions, make
recommendations
c. UN recognizes their expertise as a valuable resource, listens
carefully because
they are specialists
in their fields
d. NGOs are very influential, usually represent international
memberships
e. is common for NGO to bring an issue to UN attention, submit
information and
draft resolutions,
work for passage of resolution
f. i.e., NGOs can get their agenda sanctioned by UN, backed
by UN resolutions
which are binding
on all member states
g. you've seen how effective lobbying efforts are in US; just
as effective at UN
A Basic Problem at UN
Since the UN Charter took effect October 1945, the UN has been relatively
ineffective for a
variety of reasons.
1. UN agencies are conglomerates
of people from all nationalities/cultures
a. contrary to all we're hearing today, this is not one world
b. think about how each culture has its own standards and values
i. orientals, Africans, Asians, North Americans, South Americans
ii. this is not one world
iii. I believe human nature is such that the world will never become a
single
culture under human government; but that doesn't mean people won't try
to make it happen
c. these major cultural differences result in gross inefficiency
and ineffectiveness
in UN
2. Veto power in Security Council
a. five permanent members on Security Council: France, Great
Britain, China,
Russia, United
States
b. these five members can veto any Security Council resolution
or action
i. they were the victorious allies of World War II, reserved
veto power for
themselves as world powers
ii. at the time, it seemed prudent
c. but something happened at end of WWII that most people did
not anticipate: the
Cold War began
d. the world quickly polarized into two camps headed by United
States and Soviet
Union
e. most nations in world aligned with one or the other
f. very common: when Security Council considered action against
an ally of
United States,
our representative would veto the resolution; likewise with ally
of Soviet Union
3. Result
a. UN became a prime example of inefficiency and ineffectiveness
b. UN became a laughingstock, few took it seriously
c. But that has all begun to change in recent years
An Agenda for Peace (quotes)
1. On 31 January 1992, Security
Council issued a statement, asking Secretary-General to
prepare an "analysis and recommendations on
ways of strengthening and making
more efficient within the framework and provisions
of the Charter the capacity of the
United Nations for preventive diplomacy, for
peacemaking and for peace-keeping."
a. Security Council statement was issued after a joint meeting
of Security Council
and heads of
state.
b. conclusion from meeting: only way to create international
peace and security is
to make the
UN effective
c. this began long process of restructuring the UN
d. notice: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping
were the terms
used by UN Charter
2. Secretary-General responded
by developing a proposal entitled "An Agenda for Peace"
a. since he submitted his report, Security Council has been
considering it and
issuing resolutions
to implement its recommendations
b. this is how system operates: Secretary-General does research
and develops a
proposal, then
Security Council evaluates and revises as need, and issues
resolutions
c. at this point, appears Security Council is accepting proposals
with only minor
changes, so
is appropriate for us to examine the original document, "An
Agenda for Peace."
Excerpts from"An Agenda for Peace," showing paragraph numbers of original document
Introduction
"2. The adversarial decades of the cold war made the original promise
of the
Organization impossible to fulfil. The January 1992 Summit therefore
represented an
unprecedented recommitment, at the highest political level, to the
Purposes and Principles of
the Charter."
"3. In these past months a conviction has grown, among nations large
and small, that an
opportunity has been regained to achieve the great objectives of the
Charter — a United
Nations capable of maintaining international peace and security, of
securing justice and human
rights and of promoting, in the words of the Charter, "social progress
and better standards of
life in larger freedom." This opportunity must not be squandered. The
Organization must
never again be crippled as it was in the era that has now passed."
[Cold War era]
I. The Changing Context
"14. Since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, over 100 major
conflicts around the
world have left some 20 million dead. The United nations was rendered
powerless to deal
with many of these crises because of the vetoes — 279 of them — cast
in the Security
Council, which were a vivid expression of the divisions of that period."
"15. With the end of the cold war there have been no such vetoes since
31 May 1990
[approximately 2 years], and demands on the United Nations have surged.
Its security arm,
once disabled by circumstances it was not created or equipped to control,
has emerged as a
central instrument for the prevention and resolution of conflicts and
for the preservation
of peace. Our aims must be:
. . . diplomacy to remove the sources of danger before violence
results;
. . . peacemaking aimed at resolving the issues that have led to conflict;
. . . peace-keeping,
to work to preserve peace, however fragile, where fighting has
been halted and to assist in implementing
agreements achieved by the peace-makers.
. . . assist
in peace-building: . . . rebuilding the institutions and infrastructures
. . .
and building bonds of peaceful mutual benefit
among nations formerly at war;
And in the largest
sense, to address the deepest causes of conflict: economic despair,
social injustice and political oppression."
"17 . . . Respect for [the State's] fundamental sovereignty and integrity
are crucial to any
common international progress. The time of absolute and exclusive sovereignty,
however,
has passed; its theory was never matched by reality. It is the task
of leaders of States today
to understand this and to find a balance between the needs of good
internal governance and
the requirements of an ever more interdependent world."
Notes:
1. in balancing internal national
governance and needs of an interdependent world,
international needs supercede national sovereignty.
2. UN Charter, Chapter 1, Article
2.1 "Principles": "The Organization is based on the
principle of the sovereign equality of all
its Members." October, 1945; UN Charter.
3. now Sec-Gen states, "The time
of absolute and exclusive sovereignty ... has passed."
1992, "An Agenda for Peace"
4. Key term: "exclusive sovereignty";
a nation no longer has exclusive sovereignty over
its affairs, because UN now considers a nation's
internal affairs a potential threat to
international peace and security, justifying
intervention.
5. a critically important change.
II. Definitions
"20 . . .
— Preventive
diplomacy is action to prevent disputes from arising between parties, to
prevent existing disputes from escalating
into conflicts and to limit the spread of the
latter when they occur.
— Peacemaking is action to bring hostile parties to agreement . . . .
— Peace-keeping is the deployment of a United Nations presence in the field . . . ."
"21 The present report in addition will address the critically related
concept of post-conflict
peace-building — action to identify and support structures which will
tend to strengthen
and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict."
Note:
1. clarifies definitions of preventive
diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping;
introduces concept of "peace-building."
2. notice how it begins to intrude
on internal affairs of a nation:
a. "preventive diplomacy" aims to prevent disputes from arising,
prevent existing
disputes from
escalating
b. "peace-building" is post-conflict support of structures
which tend to strengthen
and solidify
peace
c. I suggest these necessitate involvement in nation's internal
affairs
3. is beginning of departure from
Charter's declaration of sovereignty of the nation
4. "An Agenda for Peace" submitted
to Security Council in 1992, after Gulf War
5. since then, UN philosophy gradually
changing; can see increased emphasis on UN
becoming involved in nation's internal affairs
if they may eventually disrupt peace with
its neighbors.
6. this was justification for
military action against Kosovo, a sovereign nation with
internal problems
7. Paragraph 17: "The time of
absolute and exclusive sovereignty . . . has passed."
Use of Military Force
"42 . . . The Security Council has not so far made use of the most coercive
of these measures
— the action by military force foreseen in [UN Charter] Article 42.
In the situation between
Iraq and Kuwait, the Council chose to authorize Member States to take
measure on its behalf.
The Charter, however, provides a detailed approach which now merits
the attention of all
Member States."
[Note: In the past, due to UN's ineffectiveness and Security Council
veto power, UN has
never used provisions of Charter which authorize it to use military
force directly (Article 42).
Sec-Gen is now emphasizing its importance.]
"43 Under Article 42 of the Charter, the Security Council has the authority
to take military
action to maintain or restore international peace and security. While
such action should
only be taken when all peaceful means have failed, the option of taking
it is essential to the
credibility of the United Nations as a guarantor of international security."
[Note: Quoted Article 43 earlier; states Member States must have resources
standing by for
use by UN. Prior to publication of "An Agenda for Peace," Sec-Gen had
issued several
appeals to Member States for them to provide lists of resources they
would make available.
Most nations simply refused to do so.]
[43 Continued] "Member States [should] make armed forces, assistance
and facilities
available to the Security Council . . . not only on an ad hoc basis
but on a permanent
basis. Under the political circumstances that now exist for the first
time since the Charter was
adopted, the long-standing obstacles to the conclusion of such special
agreements should no
longer prevail. The ready availability of armed forces on call could
serve, in itself, as a means
of deterring breaches of the peace since a potential aggressor would
know that the Council had
at its disposal a means of response. [also recommends placing Military
Staff Committee in
charge of these forces.]
[Note: states that problems of Cold War no longer prevent use of these Charter provisions.]
Peace-enforcement Units
"44 The mission of forces under Article 43 would be to respond
to outright aggression,
imminent or actual. Such forces are not likely to be available for
some time to come. Cease-
fires have often been agreed to but not complied with, and [sending
forces to restore a cease-
fire] can on occasion exceed the mission of peace-keeping forces. .
. . I recommend that the
Council consider the utilization of peace-enforcement units in clearly
defined circumstances.
. . . They would have to be more heavily armed than peace-keeping forces
and would need
to undergo extensive preparatory training within their national forces.
Deployment and
operation of such forces would be under the authorization of the Security
Council and would,
as in the case of peace-keeping forces, be under the command of the
Secretary-General. I
consider such peace-enforcement units to be warranted as a provisional
measure under Article
40 of the Charter."
Note:
1. recommending formation of heavily-armed
peace-enforcement units, capable of
imposing peace. Again, a logical and needed
extension of Charter's provisions.
2. These forces would respond
to "outright aggression, imminent or actual."
3. That is, first strike capability
by multi-national UN force.
4. This is intermediate step toward
a standing UN army authorized to intervene either by
show of force or by assault whenever Security
Council perceives a threat to world
peace, either actual or imminent.
Statement by Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright, United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, in the Security Council, on the
Agenda for Peace, January 18, 1995
"The challenge of keeping peace is far different and far simpler than
the challenge of creating
a secure environment in the midst of ongoing conflict. The precedent
of UNPROFOR in
Bosnia, where peace enforcement tasks were given to a lightly-armed
force equipped only for
peacekeeping should not be repeated."
Personnel
"51 Member States are keen to participate in peace-keeping operations.
Military observers and
infantry are invariably available in the required numbers, but logistic
units present a greater
problem, as few armies can afford to spare such units for an extended
period. Member States
were requested in 1990 to state what military personnel they were in
principle prepared to
make available; few replied. I reiterate the request to all member
States to reply frankly and
promptly....
"52 Increasingly, peace-keeping requires that civilian political officers,
human rights monitors,
electoral officials, refugee and humanitarian aid specialists and police
play as central a role as
the military. Police personnel have proved increasingly difficult to
obtain in the numbers
required.... [basis for President Clinton hiring police and sending
them overseas?]
Logistics
"53 . . . A pre-positioned stock of basic peace-keeping equipment should
be established,
so that at least some vehicles, communications equipment, generators,
etc., would be
immediately available at the start of an operation. Alternatively,
Governments should commit
themselves to keeping certain equipment, specified by the Secretary-General,
on stand-by
for immediate sale, loan or donation to the United Nations when required."
VII. Cooperation with regional arrangements and organizations
". . . What is clear, however, is that regional arrangements or agencies
in many cases
possess a potential that should be utilized in serving the functions
covered in this report:
preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping, peacemaking and post-conflict
peace-building. Under
the Charter, the Security Council has and will continue to have primary
responsibility for
maintaining international peace and security, but regional action as
a matter of
decentralization, delegation and cooperation with United Nations efforts
could not only lighten
the burden of the Council but also contribute to a deeper sense of
participation, consensus
and democratization in international affairs."
Note:
1. Emphasizing importance of using
regional orgs, such as NATO, in restoring peace.
2. That is what happened in Bosnia/Herzegovina
conflict and UN/NATO invasion of
Kosovo.
3. Recognizes that many regional
orgs already have military agreements that allow them
to respond to UN needs.
Quotation of Kofi Annan, current Sec-Gen, regarding Peace and Security
"The international community has developed a clearer understanding
both of the limits of
peacekeeping and also of its continuing usefulness. . . . We have also
learned that inaction in
the face of massive violence and threats to international peace and
security is not an
acceptable – or viable – option."
1. quotation from "Renewal Amid
Transition: Annual Report on the Work of the
Organization," 3 September 1997, Kofi Annan
2. inaction no longer acceptable
in face of perceived threats to peace and security
3. aggressive forceful intervention
to maintain peace and security; the UN is taking
control
Conclusion
1. Today we laid foundation; maybe
boring at times, but important understanding
2. Next session:
a. examine how UN is creating the NWO, or forming Global Governance
b. also look at America's role in this process