173
Aliev U.G
BMT XAVFSIZLIK KENGASHINI ISLOHOT QILISH VA UNING
SAMARADORLIGINI YAXSHILASH MUAMMOLARI
------------------------------------------------------
Aliev U.G.
PROBLEMS OF REFORMING THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL AND
IMPROVING ITS EFFECTIVENESS
------------------------------------------------------
Алиев У.Г.
ПРОБЛЕМЫ РЕФОРМИРОВАНИЯ СОВЕТА БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ ООН И
ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЕГО ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ
------------------------------------------------------
Problems of reforming the UN Security Council and improving its effectiveness
Abstract:
In 1945, the allied Powers took the most important decision to establish
a universal international organization - the United Nations, whose task was to save
future generations from the scourge of war. The most important legal result of the
Victory was the Charter of the United Nations (hereinafter - the UN) – a universal
international treaty initiated by the USSR, Great Britain and the United States (later
also by the People’s Republic of China and France), aimed at saving future generations
from the disasters of a new world war by creating UN mechanisms for maintaining
international peace and universal security. To implement this task, a permanent div
was created - the UN Security Council, which was entrusted with the main
responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
However, during the entire period of its activity, the UN Security Council was
often paralyzed and could not significantly influence the world situation. This was
caused by the “cold war” and the inter-bloc confrontation between the USSR and the
United States, the practice of unilateral actions of states or groups of states on a range
of issues assigned by the UN Charter to the exclusive competence of the Security
Council.
174
The article discusses possible models for improving the activities of the div,
namely, the expansion of its membership, the problems of working methods, including
the use of the veto, and also analyzes the positions of the Member states of the
Organization on the reform of the UN Security Council. In conclusion, the need for
reforms of the Security Council system to ensure peace and cooperation of the States
of the world community is emphasized.
Keywords:
UN, Security Council, reform, permanent members, non-permanent
members, veto, terrorism
By universal recognition, the United Nations has become the most effective and
universal system for regulating international relations at the global level in the entire
history of mankind. But even this fact does not turn the UN into an ideal mechanism,
all the functions of which would be fully realized. Therefore, since the second half of
the last century, the world community has begun to discuss the special need to reform
the Organization
1
.
Some UN institutions eventually cease to reflect the real political balance of
power, many of the most important decisions are no longer respected by States, and
direct violations of international law occur periodically with the connivance of the
Organization. One of these problematic bodies is now the Security Council, which is
entrusted by the UN Charter with “the primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security”
2
.
The reform of the UN collective security system should begin with the Security
Council and its mechanisms. Such a reform cannot be carried out without the broadest
support of the UN members. However, it is not possible to solve this problem perfectly,
so the adoption of some intermediate or temporary model of reform is the most
acceptable
3
.
The structure of the UN Security Council, regulated by Chapter 5 of the Charter,
still reflects the global political balance of power during the Second World War. The
main feature of the status of States with permanent membership in this div is the
ability to veto decisions on the merits. The right of veto is never explicitly mentioned
in the UN Charter, but its operation is assumed to be logical based on Article 27:
“Decisions of the Security Council on all other issues [not procedural-approx. the votes
1
Shaforostova K. I., Reform of the UN Security Council: A detailed analysis of options / / International Student Scientific
Bulletin. – 2018. – № 5.; [Electronic resource] URL: http://eduherald.ru/ru/article/view?id=18543 (Date of access:
03.04.2021)
2
The UN Charter of 1945, [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text (Date of
access: 27.03.2021)
3
Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization for 2008 / / United Nations [Electronic resource] URL:
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/ru/content/secretary-generals-reports-submitted-security-council-2008
(Date
of
access: 02.04.2021)
175
of the 9 members of the Council, including the concurring votes of all the permanent
members of the Council, are considered accepted.”
1
The issue of Security Council reform has been studied in the science of
international law from various perspectives. However, the authors usually address the
problems of implementing the powers of the Security Council, expanding its
membership and using the right of veto (Attached is a table with the permanent
members of the UN Security Council who use the right of veto) when making decisions
on the merits (O. Sorokina
2
, S. V. Dodonova
3
, R. A. Kalamkaryan
4
, D. Ya. Kapustin
5
,
S. N. Snegina
6
, Yu. N. Maleev
7
).
Experts, despite all the restraint in the issue of UN reform, do not deny the
problems and note: “The mechanism for joint problem solving in the Security Council
does not always work effectively, not all its resolutions are implemented, and
opportunities are not used enough”
8
. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said
in April 2018 that the UN Security Council no longer reflects the real picture of the
world and inevitably loses its ability to resolve major international crises. A new stage
in the discussion of the problem can be associated with the following facts: 1) calls for
Russia’s exclusion from the Security Council have become increasingly frequent
9
; 2)
In September 2017, the United States announced a new UN Reform Declaration, which
was signed by more than 130 countries
10
. This document, consisting of 10 points and
posted on the official website of the US Mission to the UN, contains nothing but well-
known statements: the need for reform as such; the need to reduce duplicate UN bodies;
support for the Secretary-General’s aspirations in this direction, etc. But despite the
broad support of the majority of countries, some of the most influential states refused
1
The UN Charter of 1945, [Electronic resource] URL: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text (Date of
access: 02.04.2021)
2
Sorokina O. Yu., The powers of the UN Security Council and the actions of regional organizations to maintain peace /
O. Yu. Sorokina // International. publ. and private law. - 2008. - no. 2. - p. 35-37.
3
Dodonova S. V., International legal foundations for strengthening the collective security system: abstract of the cand.
legal sciences': 12.00.10 / S. V. Dodonova; Rus. university Druzhby Narodov. - M., 2006. - p. 16.
4
Kalamkaryan R. A., The Security Council and the International Court of Justice: contribution to the cause of ensuring
international security and law and Order / R. A. Kalamkaryan / / State Law and Law. - 2007. - No. 6. - p. 74-84.
5
Kapustin D. Ya., The United Nations and the international legal framework for maintaining international peace and
security / D. Ya. Kapustin // International. law. - 2006: - No. 4. - p. 5-31.
6
Snegina S. N., Evolution of the UN's activities for the maintenance of international peace and security: abstract of the
cand. legal sciences': 12.00.10 / S. N. Snegina; Center perspekt. economy, research. Academy of Sciences Rep. Tatarstan.
- Kazan, 2006. - p. 26.
7
Maleev, Yu. N. The UN Security Council and issues of international governance / Yu. N. Maleev / / International law.
- 2006. - No. 1. - p. 24-47.
8
Kalyadin A., Reform, which will help the UN Security Council/ A. Kalyadin // International life. - 2016. - No. 6,
[Electronic resource] URL: https://interaffairs.ru/jauthor/material/1500 (Date of access: 27.03.2021)
9
Russia
is
being
expelled
from
the
UN
Security
Council.
[Electronic
resource]
URL:
https://svpressa.ru/politic/article/195531/ (Date of access: 03.04.2021)
10
Declaration of Support for United Nations Reform (September 18, 2017). [Electronic resource] URL:
https://usun.usmission.gov/declaration-of-support-for-united-nations-reform/ (Date of access: 03.04.2021)
176
to sign this document, citing the fact that global changes in the system cannot be made
by empty declarations, but it is quite possible to shift the political positions of some
countries.
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a statement at
the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, where he stressed that Uzbekistan
supports the gradual reform of the UN Security Council
1
.
Furthermore, the joint statement on further deepening and expanding the strategic
partnership between the Republic of Uzbekistan and Japan noted that the parties
reaffirmed the importance of the reform of the UN Security Council in order to
transform it into a more effective div that should ensure high representativeness and
reflect the real situation in the international community of the 21st century.
The same opinions were supported at the meeting of the leaders of Uzbekistan
and Germany. Uzbekistan and Germany, as reliable, important and long-term partners,
noted that our countries closely cooperate within the framework of international
structures, such as the UN, OSCE, on global and regional issues. Uzbekistan supports
Germany’s desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council
2
.
Since 1993, an open-ended working group has been established at the General
Assembly, dealing specifically with the problem of reforming the UN Security Council
and developing resolution 53/30 of November 23, 1998
3
. An important component of
this resolution is the provision that it will not be so easy to reform the UN Security
Council now, since in order to make serious decisions on this issue, including
resolutions, it is necessary that at least two-thirds of the participants in the General
Assembly vote for it. Later, many more attempts at reform were made, including the
issue of equitable representation on the Security Council being put on the agenda at the
sessions of the General Assembly. But as can be seen from the current state of the UN
Security Council, not all such events have been successful.
In the Millennium Declaration of 2000 All States expressed their determination
to intensify efforts “to achieve a comprehensive reform of the Security Council in all
its aspects”
4
. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome
5
The heads of State and Government
of the UN member States expressed support for the early reform of the Security Council
1
[Electronic resource] URL: https://president.uz/en/lists/view/1063 (Date of access: 05.04.2021)
2
[Electronic resource] URL: https://uza.uz/uz/posts/zbekiston-va-germaniya-prezidentlari-muzokara-tkazdi-28-05-2019
(Date of access: 04.04.2021)
3
United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 53/30, "Question of equitable representation on and increase in the
membership
of
the
Security
Council
and
related
matters",
1998,
[Electronic
resource]
URL:
https://www.un.org/ru/ga/53/docs/53res_nocte.shtml (Date of access: 01.04.2021)
4
United Nations Millennium Declaration: United Nations General Assembly Resolution of 8 Sept. 2000 / / United Nations
[Electronic resource] URL: https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/declarations/summitdecl.shtml (Date of access:
23.02.2021)
5
2005
World
Summit
Outcome
/
/
United
Nations
[Electronic
resource]
URL:
https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/declarations/outcome2005_ch1.shtml (Date of access: 26.02.2021)
177
as an integral part of the overall efforts to reform the UN in order to make it more
representative and effective, and thereby ensure increased legitimacy of its decisions.
Discussions on the reform of the Security Council have been going on almost
since the first years of the UN's existence
1
. The issue of reform was repeatedly
considered within the Organization, where special working groups were created for
this purpose. In particular, in the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges
and Change, “A safer world: our shared responsibility”, 2004
2
, which was created to
develop models for the reform of the Security Council, it is emphasized that the Council
was created in such a way as to be not just a representative, but a responsible div.
As we can see, despite the presence of quite constructive considerations, no
changes are taking place yet. However, it should be noted that States are ready to start
negotiations on reform, as was demonstrated at the intergovernmental negotiations at
the UN headquarters in New York on February 19, 2009
3
, after that, negotiations on
the substance of the reform began on March 4.
Under heavy pressure from troop-contributing countries, the Council’s working
methods have become more transparent and the Council itself somewhat more
accessible to non-member States, but its reliance on informal consultations rather than
open meetings as a decision-making venue remains prominent
4
.
Of course, the difficulty of solving this issue is due to the clash of political
interests of different States. But on the other hand, in the scientific and journalistic
literature, many options for implementing the reform have been proposed, and most of
them may indeed be acceptable only for a part of the world, but not for all or at least
most of the States. In this regard, we will try to consider the most common points of
view on the reform and collect the key provisions in one visual table. For convenience,
we will sort these proposals based on three key criteria: the composition of the Security
Council, the question of the status of the veto, and the “instruments” for implementing
Security Council decisions.
Composition of the Security
Council
Right of veto
Instruments
1
Maleev, Yu. N. The UN Security Council and issues of international governance / Yu. N. Maleev / / International law.
- 2006. - No. 1. - p. 24.
2
A safer world is our shared responsibility: UN General Assembly resolution of 2 Dec. 2004 / / United Nations [Electronic
resource] URL: https://www.un.org/ru/events/pastevents/a_more_secure_world.shtml (Date of access: 29.03.2021)
3
After 15 years of preliminary discussions, States have declared their readiness to start negotiations on Security Council
reform. [Electronic resource] URL: https://news.un.org/ru/story/2009/02/1140781 (Date of access: 31.03.2021)
4
David M.Malone, The UN Security Council: from the Cold War to the 21
st
Century, 2004, p. 641
178
Replace the State’s membership
in this div with regional
international organizations.
Revocation of the
right of veto.
Strengthening the power
apparatus
(transfer to the disposal
of the Security Council
of the national forces)
1
.
Introduce a new category of
countries-elected for a longer
term, but with the possibility of
immediate re-election
2
.
Restrictions on the use
of the veto in the
discussion of certain
topics (genocide,
terrorism, etc.). It is
assumed that States
will comply with
these restrictions on a
voluntary basis
3
.
Removing a number of
issues from the
competence of the
Security Council to the
General Assembly for
decision-making by a
majority vote, which
will weaken the position
of countries with the
right of veto
4
.
Increase the number of
permanent and non-permanent
members, thereby significantly
expanding the composition of the
div.
Temporary restriction
of the veto for the
violator of the current
Security Council
resolutions
5
.
For example, a State
that does not comply
with the current
resolution will be
prohibited from using
the veto in the next 2-
3 votes.
Increase the number of non-
permanent members only.
Changing the power
of the veto – in order
to reject a decision,
1
Kiku D., Prospects for the reform of the UN Security Council: the right to choose / D. Kiku // International life. - 2015.
- № 10[Electronic resource] URL: https://interaffairs.ru/jauthor/material/1384 (Date of access: 03.04.2021)
2
Kalyadin A., Reform, which will help the UN Security Council/ A. Kalyadin // International life. - 2016. - № 6.
[Electronic resource] URL: https://interaffairs.ru/jauthor/material/1500 (Date of access: 03.04.2021)
3
Yurchenko M. M., UN-70: problems of reformation / M. M. Yurchenko // World Economy and International Relations.
- 2017. - № 5. – [Electronic resource] URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=29215336 (Date of access: 25.03.2021)
4
Mirzayan G., Organization of the United States / G. Mirzayan/ / "Expert". – N 39 – 2017. – p. 47.
5
Privalov A., On the unrealistic reform of the UN / A. Privalov //"Expert". – N 39 – 2017. – p. 10.
179
you will need to put
forward not one, but
two vetoes
1
.
It seems that the solution to the problem lies in the most universal formula of the
combination of these proposals. For its construction, we will determine some aspects
that connect this theoretical problem with reality:
1.
Without the existence of clear criteria on the basis of which new countries
will be attracted to the UN Security Council, the question of justice in relation to the
associated powers will arise. By analogy, India-Pakistan, Brazil-Argentina, Germany-
Japan, etc. Thus, the choice should be as reasonable and legitimate as possible in the
eyes of the world community.
2.
When choosing any criteria for the inclusion of countries in the Security
Council, it should be borne in mind that their indicators that meet these criteria will
inevitably change over time. This means that the legitimacy of countries’ membership
in the Security Council will change accordingly. Based on these considerations, the
representation in this div will have to be reviewed again.
3.
Countries with a strong status will strive to maintain their position, which
they are likely to succeed due to the large influence they have over everyone else.
Therefore, it is unlikely that it will be possible to change the current composition of
countries with the right of veto. But it is possible to organize such a system of voting
on the right of veto, when it is used by one of the permanent members of the UN
Security Council, a group of countries (for example, a composition of five or seven
countries), created once from non-members of the Security Council, will decide the
issue by a simple majority, to prevent future fatal consequences and abuse of the right
of veto by permanent members of the Security Council.
4.
It is unacceptable to expand the Security Council to an enormous size, as
this will lead to a cumbersome div and, as a result, greater inefficiency. This is often
said by representatives of the diplomatic circles of most countries.
5.
Now the principle of equitable geographical distribution, which literally
“breathes” the entire UN Charter, is suffering. For example, African, Latin American,
and Asian countries do not have the right of veto.
6.
The involvement of poorly developed countries does not guarantee their
independence, and as a result, their effectiveness in the work of the div, since the
1
Mirzayan G., Organization of the United States / G. Mirzayan/ / "Expert". – N 39 – 2017. – p. 46.
180
practice of “buying” their votes in international organizations is widespread. The issue
will become purely financial.
Thus, we have now found out that in order to objectify the process of admitting
new members to the UN Security Council, it is necessary to develop a number of
criteria on the basis of which the selection of countries would be made. Such criteria
have been proposed many times before, and the most notable among them are those
proposed by the United States of America back in 2005. These criteria include: “The
scale of the national economy; the size of the population; military power; commitment
to democracy and human rights; the ability of the country’s armed forces to participate
in UN peacekeeping missions; opportunities for financial participation in peacekeeping
activities; financial contribution to the UN system and the country’s activities in the
fight against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”
1
.
Certainly, such criteria may cause dissatisfaction of some political forces, since, for
example, due to the provision on the military power of the state, the often-nominated
candidacy of Japan may be rejected due to the “pacifist” article 9 of the state
Constitution, which prohibits having a military army. However, this is also the
difficulty of the much-needed reform of the Security Council-it is necessary to find a
compromise that is equally acceptable for the whole world, and not for a specific
political grouping of countries.
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