The Necessity of a Role for the ECOSOC in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

Abstract

The maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion and protection of human rights are two of the objectives of the United Nations enshrined in the Charter. These objectives have existed largely side by side and the contributing role of human rights violations to conflict creation as well as the significance of their protection to securing conflict resolution has been somewhat overlooked. In this article, particular focus is placed upon the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) given that it is the UN body from which much of that organisation's human rights standards have emanated. However, human rights are also forming an ever-increasing aspect of Security Council deliberations on the maintenance of international peace and security. Recent humanitarian interventions demonstrate that the Security Council has a mandate to act in the face of massive human rights violations, and such interventions have been justified on the basis that such violations constitute a threat to international peace and security. This article provides an overview of the relationship between the Security Council and the ECOSOC. This article highlights and analyses the growing input of the ECOSOC into the Security Council deliberations with regard to the latter's mandate of peace and security. It concludes with the assertion that there is need for continued, if not greater, dialogue between the Security Council and the ECOSOC. In particular, it argues that Article 65 of the Charter ought to constitute the primary mechanism of communication between the ECOSOC and the Security Council. Such revitalisation is necessary in order to reflect the increased interrelationship between human rights and peace and security.