Extension of UNIFIL mandate - S/RES/2004 (2011)

S/RES/2004 extends the mandate of UNIFIL at the request of the Lebanese government for a period of a year, until August 30, 2012. The resolution has all of the usual characteristics that a peacekeeping resolution has, it urges all parties to refrain from violence, to respect the boundaries established by the mission beforehand and condemns all acts of terrorism from all parties. There are also calls for the completion of an investigation launched in May, as well as the recalling of the importance of comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. All in all, the resolution contains all the usual suspects for an extension of mandate that does not rock the boat.

Dealing with Sudan security under the UN - S/RES/2003 (2011)

S/RES/2003 deals with the issues around the construction of security and peace in Sudan and the countries in the region. The document explores the extension of mandate of the UNAMID and addresses some issues surrounding the mission of that specific operation. There is also a call for the missions in the area, UNAMID, UNISFA and UNMISS to work in cooperation with each other aiming at constructing a comprehensive approach for the situation in Sudan. One of the important aspects is also its call for the cessation of hostilities and further calls for human rights reporting efforts to be taken by different United Nations personnel.

Addressing Somalia and its Arms Embargo - S/RES/2002 (2011)

S/RES/2002 addresses questions related to the arms embargo that is established in Somalia and Eritrea and the terms of cooperation that are to be set among the institutions that act on the issues. The core of the resolution deals with the mandate of the Monitoring Group  that ought to work for the implementation of the resolution and its arms embargo, there is also an expansion of the individuals and entities that might be included in the the embargo. There is the usual concerns on the different protections for minorities and evocations of the different resolutions that aim to defend them.

UN mission in Iraq extension of mandate - S/RES/2001

S/RES/2001 addresses issues surrounding the UN mission in Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has its mandate renewed through the resolution that also congratulates the current efforts that have been made by them. The resolution reinforces the efforts being taken by the mission on the ground while also expressing the importance of the stability and security, independence and territorial integrity of the country. In this regard, there very little novelty in the resolution other than the extension of the mandate and requirement for reviews and reports.

UN mission in the Ivory Coast and elections - S/RES/2000 (2011)

S/RES/2000 mainly addresses questions surrounding the UN mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) related to efforts for the construction of stable peace process and the upcoming legislative elections. There is an extension of the mandate, as well as multiple calls for the mission to take the specifics of minorities groups, such as children and women on the ground. The mandate of the mission is revamped and includes elements such as the protection of UN personnel and electoral assistance.

Presidential Statement on Syria trying to address violence - S/PRST/2011/16

Almost a month after the introduction of the European draft resolution on the violence in Syria, the Security Council agreed on issuing a Presidential Statement on the matter, in a tone considerably lighter than the original resolution and without much traction trying to enforce the measures that are described on it. The text of the Presidential Statement adopts a language that tries to promote an even-handed approach, aiming at protecting both the Syrian State Institutions and the protesters that are trying to reform the state. The result is a statement with very little teeth that tries to bite both sides of the apple without compromising any of the parts of the conflict. Another worrying element is that the representative of the Arab Community in the Council, Lebanon, removed itself from the statement eroding part of the legitimacy of the text.

UNSC dealing with Children in Armed Conflicts - S/RES/1998 (2011)

S/RES/1998 explores the elements of the United Nations system that deal with the protection of children in armed conflict. It is a mostly bureaucratic document that calls upon the Member States to develop action plans that deal with the issue in the areas of conflict. The resolution mostly calls upon different parties to cooperate among each other to mitigate the question of children in armed conflict in the areas. The overarching goal of the document urges different actors to work towards the implementation of the international law measures on children in armed conflict. There is little innovation in the resolution, it mostly recalls other established documents in international law.

Sanctions Regime for Acts of Terrorism - S/RES/1989 (2011)

S/RES/1989 establishes new guidelines for sanctions that are established against Al-Qaeda members, it delineates the line between the sanctions against Taliban set under S/RES/1988 and these ones. The sanctions regime is set to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and this resolution sets some changes related to the period after the death of Osama Bin Laden. The document contains two annexes, one that deals with the Monitoring Team that is established in the resolution and another one dealing with the Office of the Ombudsperson. There are detailed discussions related to the process of listing and de-listing individuals and entities as well as the reviewing process.

Fine Tuning the Tribunal for Rwanda - S/RES/1995 (2011)

S/RES/1995 addresses some technical issues that have emerged from the operation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda mainly related to a latter from the President of the Tribunal that needed to addressed. It mostly deals with small tweaks such as allowing a judge to work part-time and a calling for maintaining appropriate staffing and staff retention in the Tribunal. It also deals with the idea of tackling the questions related to the tribunal and other international law mechanisms that are to be in place in the near future.

Mandate Extension for Iran's Panel of Experts - S/RES/1984 (2011)

S/RES/1984 address a bureaucratic role of the organization in extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts that deal with the sanctions established to try to change the behavior of the Iranian authorities. It is interesting to point out that the resolution does not mention the country or any other identifying elements. The relationship with the sanctions that Iran is under is established through the citing of previous resolutions that deal with the Iranian situation. Other than those references, there is little that distinguishes this specific resolution from other extensions of mandates of Panel of Experts.

Dealing with Afghanistan through the UN mission - S/RES/1974 (2011)

S/RES/1974 addresses questions related to the stabilization of Afghanistan and the long-term work of the UN mission that exists in the ground (UNAMA). In this regard, they grant an extension of the mandate of the mission and reaffirms several agreements that have been established in the past. It also puts forward the importance of the UN efforts through the civilian side of the operation and the importance of the access for humanitarian assistance in the country.

No More Security Need for the Special Court for Sierra Leone - S/RES/1971 (2011)

S/RES/1971 is a resolution completely focused on altering the needs and requirements for action take became outdated or unnecessary in the changing international context. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was providing security services for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but they are deemed not required any more by the authorities that command the efforts in the area.

UNMIT gets a mandate extension and elections supervision duties - S/RES/1969 (2011)

S/RES/1969 deals mainly with the tasks that are delegated to the UN mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) as they relate to the preparations for the 2012 elections in the country as well as the efforts on peacebuilding and institution building. It extends the mandate of the mission until late February 2012 and it also includes several elements that call for national capacity building in the country, specially when it comes to the development of judicial infrastructure and police capacities on the ground. Overall, it’s goals are closely related to continue the previous work of the organization in the country.

Arms and rough diamond controls under UNOCI - S/RES/1980 (2011)

S/RES/1980 deals with the extension of the mandate of the UN mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) and it seeks to expand the goals of the mission on the ground, dealing with the current obstacles that they face. There are several calls for the mission to be concerned in the ground and also tries to enhance the authority and legitimacy of the new president that was instated after previous UN resolutions, such as S/RES/1975. There are several discussions and demands related to arms embargo and the demobilization of militias. It is a resolution that tries to encompass all the issues that are pending for the stabilization of the Ivory Coast.

Expansion of Sanctions after Elections in the Ivory Coast - S/RES/1975 (2011)

S/RES/1975 tries to address the issue of violence and lawlessness in a post-electoral environment in the Ivory Coast. To achieve this goal, the resolution augments the sanctions regime that was already in place in the country and take action related to the freedom of the press and the humanitarian situation on the ground. Those efforts are shown amidst calls for cooperation from all parties, condemnation of the violence as well as calls for the end of violence, combined with a strong call for the lifting of the siege of a hotel. The strong wording of the resolution closely relate to the broad mandate that was defined under S/RES/1609.

Inter-mission Cooperation in Africa - S/RES/1981 (2011)

S/RES/1981 exists to govern the extension of the transfer and redeployment of troops and assets from the mission in Liberia to the Ivory Coast. It is based on letter provided by the Secretary-General as it relates to the role of the redeployed assets in the region. The document contemplates an extension of the authorization for the redeployment of the assets.

3 Infantries, 1 Aviation Unit and 2 Military Helicopters - S/RES/1968 (2011)

S/RES/1968 mainly regulates and extends the period that there will be redeployed troops from the mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to the mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI). There is very little added to the deployment of troops, but only the call to extend the possibility of the redeployment while calling for the States that contribute with both military and police troops to do so in order to enable the deployment to take place.

Helicopters and Troops from Liberia to Ivory Coast - S/RES/1967 (2011)

The S/RES/1967 deals with details of inter-mission cooperation between the UN mission deployed in Liberia and in the Ivory Coast. In this sense, there is a discussion and determination of how the two mission will deal with the re-deployment of forces currently located in Liberia to the Ivory Coast, establishing deadlines and number of troops and equipment that is going from one mission to another. The arrangement has since been expanded at different times, but this resolution is part of this effort to exchange deployed forces.

The end of UNMIS means the start of UNMISS - S/RES/1997 (2011)

S/RES/1997 is one of rarest resolutions that the United Nations Security Council ever issues. The document order the withdrawal of the troops of the UNMIS from the country and it to be deployed to the new missions in the region, the UNMISS and UNISFA. This is one of the rare moments in the workings of the Council in which the mandate of a mission was not extend, but rather let to expire. Nonetheless, the UN presence in the region did not change as a result of this change, since from the writing of the resolution one can assume that all the assets will just be redeployed.

An UN mission formed before the country - S/RES/1996

South Sudan is a new country that has many birth-certificates within the archives of the United Nations Organization, one of them is S/RES/1996, which establishes the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). It is dated before the establishment of the new republic and due to this fact it calls for its actions to be adopted after the proclamation of the new independent state. It sets out to determine the very broad mandate of the mission in the country as well as the several calls for cooperation among the relevant regional actors. The tasks assigned to the mission are related to basic elements of governance, such as specific actions related to institution-building in the region and core government functions, such as basic services.

South Sudan membership - S/RES/1999 (2011)

S/RES/1999 is one of the most important and most simple resolutions that the United Nations Security Council can issue. The resolution only states that they have examined the application of the Republic of South Sudan and that it recommends that the General Assembly to admitted the country to membership. There is very little information on the resolution, the important elements regarding the application of the country to the organization are not on the resolution but rather in other documents sent to the organization.

Dealing with Somali Pirates - S/RES/1976 (2011)

S/RES/1976 addresses the issues of Somali piracy that took place in the coastal region of the country earlier in the year. The largest portion of the document is dedicated to the call for establishment of domestic law that address piracy and armed robbery at sea. The overall resolution aims at addressing the lack of law enforcement capability from the countries in the region while seeking for help from the broader international community. All in all, the resolution has an strong tone but still put forward constraints to the possible actions that can be taken by the enforcers of the law enforcement actions.

UN Mission Interaction in Africa - S/RES/1609 (2005)

The resolution 1609 deals with the integration of the mission of the United Nations in Ivory Coast, (UNOCI) with its nearby missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia and also with the change of the mandate related to the first mission. The overall goal of the resolution is to integrate the efforts of the different portions of the military efforts that are taking place in the region. The mandate that is developed through the resolution encompasses most of the activities possible that might take place in the efforts of the peacekeeping mission and the peace-building in the nation. In this regard, it is a pretty extensive mandate that goes from issues of elections to the actual building of the authority of the State.

Relief Coordination in Somalia - S/RES/1972 (2011)

S/RES/1972 should be seen as a UN response to humanitarian issues that took place in Somalia. The response mainly consists on lifting temporarily some of the sanctions that are currently imposed on the country, as a way to provide some humanitarian relief for the local population. This lifting of the sanctions is to be highly regulated through reports to the Council and the efforts of an Emergency Relief Coordinator.

DPRK takes the “dis” out of Disarmament - I Think Therefore IR

From my note on North Korea's chairmanship of the Conference on Disarmament, I expanded the comment on another blog. I Think Therefore IR is an effort from mostly University of Exeter graduate students to bring discussions related to IR in general and IR theory to a general audience.

DPRK takes the “dis” out of Disarmament

The United Nations’ members are trusting its Conference on Disarmament to the North Koreans. If that does not sound strange enough to you, allow me to remind you that since their first missile test in 2006, the country is under UN Security Council sanctions based on S/RES/1718. A sanctions regime that was reinforced and augment in S/RES/1874, that established a Panel of Experts as a response to actual nuclear test. So what was announced on June 28th, 2011 through a press release is that a country that is currently under Security Council sanctions for weapons proliferation violations will be chairing a United Nations organ whose mission is to stop the proliferation of weapons. This action undermines the credibility of the Conference on Disarmament and of the UN system as whole. It shows that the very organization that established the sanctions regime does not take it into consideration when voting for leadership roles.

Read more

Extension of Panel of Experts - Sudan - S/RES/1982 (2011)

S/RES/1982 is one of the simplest resolutions possible at the United Nations Security Council. It extends the mandate of a Panel of Experts appointed in 2005 and renewed several times before. In this case it is a Panel that deals with issues related to the situation in Sudan. In this regard, it is one of the bureaucratic necessities that existed in the UN system to allow one of its parties to have a longer shelf-life.

Quick Response to South Sudan Referendum - S/RES/1978 (2011)

S/RES/1978 is a short and straight forward response to the referendum that took place in South Sudan and voted for the transformation of that region into an independent country. In this regard, the main goal of the resolution can be seen as assuring the international community and the interested parties in South Sudan that the United Nations will support the results from the ballot box and that it will assist in implementing those results. The resolution extends the mandate of the mission in Sudan temporarily, until July 9; a time in which we can probably expect a new resolution to be released establishing a new mission on the region, possibly under a different name.

Mandate Extension and Elections in the DR Congo - S/RES/1991 (2011)

S/RES/1991 addresses questions related to the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while working through some of the peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts that the UN mission, MONUSCO. The fundamental concern expressed throughout the resolution is indeed with the safety of the electoral process and the possible human rights violations that have taken place in the region. It recognizes the challenges that lay ahead of the mission, otherwise there would be no point in extending the mandate, while congratulating of previous efforts. This is a very common occurrence among UNSC resolutions, but the generality of the sentence does apply to S/RES/1991, as it really discuss the security improvement and as well as the concerns.

Cooperation between Peacekeeping Mission - S/RES/1992 (2011)

S/RES/1992 (2011) deals with an interesting aspect of cooperation between peacekeeping operations. The United Nations currently has missions deployed in bordering Liberia and Ivory Coast and there are issues in the region that are shared by the two missions. Some of these border issues are being addressed through inter-mission cooperation arrangements and by the exchange of military personnel between the two deployed forces.

Renewing 1973's UNDOF in the Middle East - S/RES/1994 (2011)

S/RES/1994 is another exercise in extension of mandate in a UN peacekeeping operation that has been going on for a while. In this case it is the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force that is placed in the border between Israel and Syria since S/RES/338 (1973) and has been in place since the end of the Yom Kippur War and remains there since. This time frame makes the UNDOF one of the oldest peacekeeping operation established by the UN.

Extending the former Yugoslavia tribunal - S/RES/1993 (2011)

S/RES/1993 is a simple resolution that resides in the realm of bureaucratic necessities in order to extend the life of temporary institutions. In this resolution they address the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and its judges. The whole enterprise gets its life extended until December 31, 2012 this extended time is designed to conducted and finish the trails of the individuals under the tribunal .

New Peacekeeping Operation in Sudan UNISFA - S/RES/1990 (2011)

S/RES/1990 creates a new peacekeeping mission in Africa, this time in south Sudan to deal mainly the backlash of the possible of the creation of a new country. The efforts of the mission are closely related to the political development that is taking place in the country towards pacification. The mandate is related to redeployment of forces, de-mining operations, delivery of aid and also building a policy force. The force is designed to be up to 4,200 in military numbers and it is supposed to last six months.

DPRK Sanctions Panel of Experts - S/RES/1874 (2009)

S/RES/1874 deals the establishment of a Panel of Experts to address the issues of non-proliferation and nuclear weapons in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in addition to the sanctions from S/RES/1718. The resolution is a response to nuclear test that Korea conducted in May of 2009 and has some of the same calls that took place in the previous resolution. There is a call for inspection for all cargo to and from the DPRK and there are new directions that the sanctions regime should take through the Panel of Experts.

DPRK to chair arms control

Amidst of my series of posts analyzing the sanctions regime that has been established to counter North Korea's advances in pursuing weapons of mass destruction, it was announced that the country has been selected to be the Chair of the Disarmament Conference. It should been common sense that a country that is under UN sanctions for violating arms control agreements is not eligible to chair a conference on disarmament, but the regional rotation has taken precedence. I hope that the international community and public opinion can revisit this decision and remind why S/RES/1718, S/RES/1874 and S/RES/1985 were established in the recent years. The sanctions are still in place and they should be extended to within the UN system itself, because if even the organization that has established the sanctions can't uphold them, what message does that leaves to the other Member States?

Read more:
UN Watch - UN names North Korea chair of arms control agency

Korean Nukes and Sanctions in the Council - S/RES/1718 (2006)

S/RES/1718 (2006) was written in the context of the test of a nuclear weapon by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and as such contains a considerable imposing language towards the test, but with little change of the status quo. The tone of the resolution calls for a return to the level of negotiations that existed before the nuclear test, with calls for return to the NPT, six-party talks. There is the establishment of Sanctions Committee and some punitive elements, but the main elements relate to the return to the previous negotiations that were taking place.

Panel of Experts on DPRK Non-proliferation - S/RES/1985 (2011)

S/RES/1985 is one of document that extends the mandate of a bureaucracy inside the United Nations, while providing very little changes or guidance for the related organs. In this case, it deals with the Panel of Experts that addresses questions of nuclear non-proliferation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, even though these wordings are largely absent from the whole document. The documents is written in vague terms, mainly constructing their points from references to previous resolution instead of enunciating the mandate.

Dealing with Taliban UN style - S/RES/1988 (2011)

The main point of S/RES/1988 is to try to adjust the sanctions that have been previously established on members or contributors to Taliban, in face of the changed international scenario since the death of Bin Laden and also the evolution in the security situation on the ground. The document has a heavy administrative component, in the sense that it establishes guidelines and procedures that govern the inclusion and exclusion of names on the list of sanctioned members. The bulk of the clauses deal with these nuts and bolts and the details related to the operational aspects of the sanctions regime that are established on individuals and entities that sponsor acts of terror.

Renewing the Mission in Cyprus - S/RES/1986 (2011)

S/RES/1986 is one of the type of resolutions that became commonplace in the United Nations Security Council, which congratulates their previous efforts while extending the mandate of the mission being discussed. In the case they are dealing with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) which had its mandate first established in S/RES/186 (1964) and after the period the region still feels the need to maintain the mission on the ground. The mandate was set to expired on July 15th, 2011 and with this resolution it was extended until December 15th, 2011, while calling for continuous review and reporting by the mission and the Secretary-General on it to the Council.

Syria is not Libya. The resolution on Syria is not like the ones on Libya.

One of the main arguments for China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and others that oppose the adoption of the UNSC resolution dealing with Syria is that it will open the same door that S/RES/1970 and S/RES/1973 did when dealing with Libya. As careful readers of this blog might have concluded these resolutions are similarities, but are very far apart when it comes to actual mechanisms envisioned to change the behavior of their targets. There are clear similarities between the two resolutions on Libya and the proposed draft on Syria, but at the same time there are substantive differences that make the resolution completely different in character and severity of condemnation.

Re-appointment of the SG - S/RES/1987 (2011)

In these past days, the news was divulged that Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was elected unanimously to a send five-year mandate. S/RES/1987 (2011) is the Council resolution that expresses the support for it as the process goes. The re-appointment was no surprise to the UN observers, since the organization was still following the regional rotation which traditionally grants two five-year terms to the candidates, as was the case with Kofi Annan or Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. There is little reason to believe that the re-appointment will change the status quo of the organization.

My 2009 Article on UN Foreign Policy

The Institutional Conditions for a UN Foreign Policy

This article addresses the institutional capabilities of the United Nations to develop its own foreign policy. Basing the analysis on the works in the field of Foreign Policy Analysis, the article deals with the apparatus necessary for the organisation to craft its own policy. Furthermore the article draws parallels between the national institutions and the institutions of the organisation in order to enlighten the function of the different branches inside the United Nations. The UN Secretariat is dealt as one important instrument for the exercise of an independent foreign policy for the institution.

IPPR Volume 5 Number 1 (October 2009)

pp. 28-41

International Public Policy Review

University College London

Full piece: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ippr/journal/downloads/vol5-1/Fredrico_Bartels_Ferreira.pdf

How the Council Really Authorized Action in Libya. Part 2 - S/RES/1973

Before the ink was a month old in S/RES/1970, the Security Council voted and approved S/RES/1973. This new resolution already claims that the previous resolutions was a failure and that more actions are needed. S/RES/1973 moves from article 41 to Chapter VII as a whole, enforcing a no-fly zone and trying to go a step further than the previous resolutions, but also aiming at softening the current Libyan leadership stranglehold in their population and trying to account for crimes against humanity that ought to be take to the ICC in the current view of the UNSC. Additionally, with the new resolution it comes also a new bureaucracy to handle the tasks put forward at it, in this case is a panel of experts.

How the Council Authorized Action on Libyan. Part 1 - S/RES/1970

Under the titled “Peace and Security in Africa” of S/RES/1970, the United Nations Security Council issued one of two resolutions that currently serves as the basis of support for the action in Libya by Western countries. The resolution itself is based largely on the concept of responsibility to protect, an element that is being developed under the aegis of the United Nations and other international bodies that are still far from being established international law. The concerns on this concept have been explored elsewhere, this piece will focus on how it was applied in the case of Libya. The underlining rational that supports S/RES/1970 is based on alleviating the suffering of local population under the international responsibility to protect while reaffirming their commitment to Libyan sovereignty in all its elements. The resolution acts under Chapter VII, which deals with threats to peace and security, but under the article 41, that deals with means to tackle those threats not involving armed forces.

If HIV/AIDS is a threat to peace and security, what is the limit? - S/RES/1983

S/RES/1983 represents one of those stretches of a fundamental concept so it can fit something else. Or does it sound reasonable that HIV/AIDS is a threat to international peace and security? The resolution makes no reference to any specific situation in which HIV/AIDS had become a threat to international peace and security. In order to make this issue one that is minimally connected to the the main task of the UNSC, which is the maintenance of international peace and security, they focus on area of international conflict. The tone of the whole resolution is closer to a resolution from the Economic and Social Council or the General Assembly rather than other resolutions from the Security Council.

UN Mission in Western Sahara - 1979 (2011)

S/RES/1979 follows the line of many Security Council resolutions that have little actual content and many references to other resolutions to provide the bulk of the substance. The main point of the resolution is to renew the mission in Western Sahara until April 30th, 2012, while calling for more cooperation and action and checking the reports that have been submitted to the Council. The goal is to go through the current work that the UN is developing in the Western Sahara towards a peaceful resolution.

EU Draft on Syria - June 8th, 2011

Today a draft resolution on Syria by the UK, supported by the EU and the US, was circulated in the Council and the Turtle Bay blog and the Inner City Press have made it available to general public. Amidst reports that Russia, China and Brazil are opposed to it, it will be debated in the future on the Council.

Let's Renew Some More - 1977 (2011)

S/RES/1977 follows the line of the previous resolutions that renewed the 1540 Committee mandate and also S/RES/1540 itself. There is the same reaffirmation that proliferation is a threat to international peace and security and it is also acting under Chapter VII. It is followed by the threat of appropriate and effective actions in accordance to the UN Charter, while reaffirming that peaceful pursuits of material related to WMDs should still take place and the consideration that the obligations of these resolutions do not alter the obligations under previous multilateral treaties that address the same issue areas. There is a stress on the need for all Member States to comply to their already established obligations under international commitments related to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. A clause that only tries to call attention to the previous commitments, including their own resolutions and efforts. There a different clause in the preamble stating the concern of the Council when it comes to the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and its means of delivery by non state actors, in association with terrorism. This is one of the most explicit time that the linkage between the non-proliferation efforts and terrorism is made in the resolutions related to S/RES/1540. The preamble also passes by the issues of international cooperation and coordination as means to halt challenges such as illicit trafficking and established legislation related to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Renewing 1540 again - 1810 (2008)

S/RES/1810 returns to most of the concepts already established in S/RES/1673 and S/RES/1540 when it comes to considering proliferation a threat to international peace and security, stressing the relevance of the 1992 Presidential Statement, reaffirming that it does change the commitments under previous multilateral agreements, calling for cooperation in illicit trafficking and also stating that there can be action against violators under the options of the Charter. The preamble also praises the work already developed by the 1540 Committee and stress the importance of the report that was requested at S/RES/1673 two years before. It also reaffirms that the work of the committee is a long-term task, a detail that first appeared on S/RES/1673 as well. The innovation on this preamble is the portion that deals with the role of the 1540 Committee in terms of dialogue between it and Member States also the committee’s role in trying to enhance coordination efforts at all levels. In a passing note, S/RES/1810 references the issue of financing of proliferation activities being dealt under the Financial Action Task Force. As S/RES/1540 and S/RES/1673, S/RES/1810 acts under Chapter VII of the Charter.

Renewing 1540 - 1673 (2006)

The S/RES/1673 deals mainly with the 1540 Committee renewal and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction inside the organization and its surrounding agencies. The preamble comes from the same basis as S/RES/1540, mainly on the terms of coming from stating that proliferation of any of the three weapons of mass destruction is a threat to international peace and security granting the basis for action under Chapter VII of Charter. It also goes on again reaffirming that the provisions and obligations from other multilateral treaties that deal with those weapons. There are two important innovations from S/RES/1540 to S/RES/1673. Firstly is that not all States have presented the report required by S/RES/1540 that was supposed to be sent within six months, this 2006 resolution calls for States to submit the report. Secondly, there a clause on the preamble that state that the task required by 1540 are a “long-term task that will require continuous efforts at national, regional and international levels,”. With this opening they endorse the work already developed by the Committee related to the national reports already submitted.

Creating a Bureaucracy - 1540 (2004)

In short, the resolution 1540 (2004) created a new bureaucracy to deal with issues related to non-proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction. This bureaucracy is now know as the 1540 Committee and it operates under the authority of the United Nation Security Council, as some sanctions committee and the Counter-Terrorism Committee. As they put it in the forth operative clause: “Decides to establish, in accordance with rule 28 of its provisional rules of procedure, for a period of no longer than two years, a Committee of the Security Council, consisting of all members of the Council, which will, calling as appropriate on other expertise, report to the Security Council for its examination, on the implementation of this resolution”. This being the main action, there are still important elements that complement this resolution and its impacts on the current efforts of non-proliferation.

Initial Effort

At the moment, I will focus on resolutions approved in the current year and work my way back as the resolutions entangle themselves in each other. My idea is to provide the most updated information possible and work with the most recent resolutions. Initially, I will not go through the elements that compose a Security Council resolution and the details that make it an unique bureaucratic document, but if there is need for that in the future I will be more than happy to go through it, not only the obvious elements, but also the type of language used.

What, Why and Who

The goal of this blog is to shed light on the resolutions and documents developed by the United Nations Security Council. The idea is to help people assess the value and the policies that are developed by the organization in those documents. Also, I hope to help people navigate through the bureaucratic maze that the United Nations Security Council and the whole organization has become.

The motivation comes from the bluntness that I have observed in Congress recently, in the sense that the critics and praises of the UN do not go into the depths of the issues and the details that can improve the organization. There is a need to separate the good from the bad when it comes to the work of the United Nations and I hope to contribute to improving how we judge the performance of the UN.

I am a current M.A. student on the International Affairs program with a concentration in US Foreign Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. I did my undergraduate studies in International Relations at PUC Minas, in Brazil. Politically, I consider myself to be a classic liberal, a firm believer in the forces of free market and transparency and accountability as guidance to governmental enterprise.

Commentaries are more than welcome.