Nations Security Council Research Articles

Unilateral Sanctions under International Law and Effectiveness of Blocking

INTRODUCTION. This article discusses modern international legal concept of unilateral sanctions. The authors contribute to the emerging discussion on the qualifying of unilateral sanctions under international law.MATERIALS AND METHODS. In this study we took into account the works of both Russian and foreign scholars in the field of international economic law, as well as analyzed documents and materials of international organizations (United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO) and others) in order to assess the compatibility of unilateral sanctions with international law. General scientific methods of cognition (analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction), special legal methods (formal-legal, technical-legal, method of legal analogy) and comparative legal method were used in the presented research.RESEARCH RESULTS. Presented analysis has shown that widely used term “unilateral sanctions” leads to abusive and inappropriate use of international legal term. Analysis of compatibility of unilateral sanctions with other types of coercive measures such as countermeasures, UN Security Council sanctions, retortions, reprisals have shown that unilateral sanctions do not fall under the meaning of all mentioned measures. In addition, unilateral sanctions should not be justified under the WTO security exceptions. The use of extraterritorial unilateral sanctions contradicts one of the fundamental principles of international law – principle of non-interference in internal affairs. Existing blocking unilateral sanctions mechanisms are not efficient enough to compensate negative effect posed by unilateral sanctions.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Authors concluded that unilateral sanctions in most of the cases do not satisfy cumulative criteria of legitimate countermeasure. Unilateral sanctions are not equivalent to the United Nation Security Council sanctions, as there are no “checks and balances” in the decision-making process in the form of determining the degree of threat to peace and security and taking into account humanitarian exceptions. Although there is some correlation between unilateral sanctions and retortions or reprisals, retortions and reprisals posses criteria of legality and proportionality, while, unilateral sanctions are introduced at the state’s discretion without any standard. Furthermore, the authors argue that to avoid abusive use of the WTO security exceptions WTO panels have to rely on the well-balanced approach used by the Panel in Russia – Transit case. This approach shows that the context of security exception should be understood as encompassing only military and closely related to military issues and does not cover political, economic, cultural or any other interests and relations. Existing blocking mechanisms of unilateral sanctions require separate qualification under international law including compatibility with the legitimate countermeasures.

UN General Assembly Resolution 76/262 as a strengthening of the collective response to the use of the veto right in the UN Security Council

The article describes the legal nature of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 76/262 (A/76/L.52) entitled "Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council", adopted on April 26, 2022. We have analyzed this topic due to its relevance and the emergence of a new procedure of the United Nations General Assembly, aimed at increasing of the transparency and accountability of the United Nations Security Council, as a result of the ineffective activity of the Security Council in crisis in which our world finds itself today, in particular due to armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which have led to complex humanitarian consequences. Many states and scientists have been expressing their interest in the issue of Security Council reform for a long time. We deeply researched the Resolution which is the first in a long time and a significant legal instrument that changes the existing mechanism of the functioning of the United Nations and has revived the discussions on the need for a complete reform of the Security Council in accordance with Resolution 62/557 of December 15, 2008. The purpose of the article is an overview of the new Resolution 76/262, namely the reasons and expediency of its adoption, cases of application and its effectiveness in modern conditions. The methodological basis of the study are the following general scientific and special methods of cognition of legal phenomena: the method of the philosophical level – the dialectical method; empirical methods – comparative, observation and description methods; general logical methods – analysis, synthesis; specially-legal method. The article analyzes the main provisions of Resolution 76/262, the reasons for its adoption, examines cases of its application, and draws conclusions about the effectiveness of this resolution. We have differentiated the procedures provided for by Resolution 76/262 "Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council" and Resolution 377 (V) "Uniting for Peace". We have reviewed the international legal conceptual foundations of the need to apply the resolution. The topic of reforming the United Nations against the backdrop of the current world security crisis is very important and relevant for further research by domestic scientists in order to formulate their own proposals, approaches and scientific justifications in the modern Ukrainian science of international public law, as well as for the scientific enlightenment of society in this of knowledge.

Beyond retribution: Individual reparations for IHL violations as peace facilitators

Abstract Three decades after the United Nations Security Council invoked its Chapter VII powers to create the ad hoc criminal tribunals, there can be little doubt that the prosecution of individuals responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) contributes to restoring and maintaining peace. While there is little doubt that the reparatory function of justice is just as crucial as retribution, under international law today, reparations for IHL violations remain harrowingly insufficient or borderline non-existent. In scholarship and strategic litigation, various attempts have been made to distil an individual right to reparations from black-letter IHL. This article argues that such approaches are doomed to fail, as procedural aspects of international obligations rarely, if ever, emerge through the evolution of an existing customary international obligation, let alone via the crystallization of a new customary international norm. They are usually triggered by a political shift that makes States adopt novel regulations setting forth the jurisdictional ramifications of enforcing a pre-existing right or obligation. This article thus advances a two-fold argument. First, it asserts that States’ increased compliance with the obligation to provide compensation for violations of IHL attributable to them would contribute to “the restoration and maintenance of peace” just as much as the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations thereof. Second, it argues that the individual right to claim reparations for IHL violations can only be established through a political decision of States, and that the establishment of an international mechanism for Ukraine might be an important precedent for the evolution of the current international system.

The Velvet Revolution's Best Supporting Actors: Shirley Temple Black and U.S. Embassy Prague, 19891

Abstract This article discusses the contours of U.S. diplomacy in Czechoslovakia before and during the Velvet Revolution of 1989, showing how the U.S. embassy in Prague, in collaboration with the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) and State Department, crafted U.S. policy. Drawing on recently available primary materials (including declassified U.S. telegrams, Czechoslovak archival documents, unpublished memoirs, and original interviews), this article highlights the role of the U.S. embassy during the period from August to November 1989, including how key officials, above all Ambassador Shirley Temple Black, analyzed political developments, assisted Czechoslovak dissidents, and pursued extensive engagement with the Communist government. The article provides the first scholarly, granular account of U.S. diplomacy in Czechoslovakia during the November 1989 upheavals and contributes to the historiography on U.S. foreign policy and the end of the Cold War.

The Russian approach to peacekeeping

Abstract Peacekeeping is a central element of Russian foreign policy. The country has been deploying peacekeeping troops under highly controversial circumstances for more than three decades. A major power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia obviously plays an important role in defining the standards by which peacekeeping is and may be done. When Russian troops invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked aggression on 24 February 2022, Russian politicians initially referred to them as ‘peacekeeping troops’. This led UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to declare his concern about ‘the perversion of the concept of peacekeeping’. This article offers a discussion of the Russian approach to peacekeeping as this has been and is being expressed in both recent conceptual thinking and implementation. Relying on a large pool of Russian policy documents and scholarly works, the article finds that Russia is likely to execute more operations with a lowered threshold for intervention and under conditions of greater flexibility. It is a more pragmatic approach. Operations will increasingly be designed comprehensively across the physical, cyber and cognitive domains and will include the use of private military companies. This will almost inevitably bring Russian interests to clash even more with the interests of western states.

The Supply of Weapons to a Victim of Aggression: The Law of Neutrality in Light of the Conflict in Ukraine

Abstract The relationship between the customary law of neutrality and the contemporary rules of the jus ad bellum is notoriously unclear, especially when an international armed conflict stems from an act of aggression, but the United Nations (UN) Security Council has not mandated or authorized any measure pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The issue has emerged once again during the recent international armed conflict in Ukraine, in which states not participating in the conflict have disregarded, among other things, the customary prohibition to supply weapons to either belligerent by supplying weapons to Ukraine – that is, the state victim of armed aggression – despite the deadlock in the Security Council. These acts of unilateral unneutral support have not been characterized by the supplying states as being pursuant to exceptions to the law of neutrality or by Russia or other states as being violations of it. This raises the question whether the law of neutrality still bears relevance whenever an act of aggression occurs. In the uncertainty as to the legal regime applicable in this case, the Ukrainian conflict offers an important instance of state practice that might help shed light on the applicability of the customary prohibition to supply weapons, as well as of the law of neutrality in general, when the international conflict is initiated by an act of aggression.

Accommodation available: China, Western powers and the operation of structural power in the UN Security Council

AbstractThis article focuses on the way that China and the main Western states on the United Nations Security Council have pursued “mutual accommodation” as China's geopolitical weight has grown in recent years. China still only rarely uses its veto and typically avoids taking responsibility for drafting Council products. Western powers are nonetheless careful to acknowledge and accommodate China's interests wherever possible, through tactics like watering down proposed Council products and avoiding confrontational meetings. China reciprocates by not blocking Western actions outright, but can take advantage of Western caution to gain leverage in the Council. In light of their toxic relationship with Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France see avoiding a strategic breakdown in their relations with China as in their strategic interests. Overall, the article highlights how the structural power inherent in the mutual constitution of the capacities and identities of the permanent members of the Security Council influences the social relations of the members and helps them to reach a compromise over many challenging issues The article illustrates this argument with detailed examples from Council diplomacy over Myanmar and Ukraine.

‘Wolf Warriors’ in the UN Security Council? Investigating power shifts through blaming

AbstractWhat shifts in the extent and patterns of China's blaming are observable at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)? This article employs automated content analysis to measure the frequency of blaming by China and other permanent UNSC member states based on a dataset of all speeches (19,623 overall) in the UNSC from January 1995 to May 2022. Furthermore, it uses qualitative text analysis and network analysis to examine the targets of blaming in three different case studies of UN security governance—UN peacekeeping in former Yugoslavia (1998–2008), the UN sanctions regime against North Korea (2007–2017) and the broader peace and security discourse at the UNSC (2008–2018). The study conceptualizes Chinese blaming as a previously unexamined discursive strategy of compulsory power with potential long‐term effects on shifts in productive power. However, the results indicate the absence of blaming‐related shifts in the discursive space of the UNSC: China's rhetoric in the UNSC, compared with other UNSC members, has remained restrained over time. Variance in blaming behaviour between actors and across bilateral and multilateral settings seems to depend on strategic considerations that assess how to exert power most effectively.

Sanctions as a policy tool of Ukraine in countering threats to national security

The article analyzes the effectiveness of sanctions as a tool of Ukrainian policy against Russian aggression. It examines the role of the Security Service of Ukraine in identifying individuals and entities subject to sanctions and presenting them to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. The study employs a polymethodological approach, combining philosophical, general scientific, and legal methods. The findings reveal that sanctions are key preventive measures to respond to threats to national security. It concludes that the Security Service of Ukraine plays a fundamental role in the implementation of sanctions and proposes ways to enhance the effectiveness of these restrictive measures.

The naval Operation Irini of the European Union: a step backwards of the csdp in the fight against the illegal immigration and search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean

Operation Irini is a new EU naval operation, in the framework of CSDP, to address violations of the arms embargo and illicit export of petroleum products in Libya, imposed by the United Nations Security Council. As a second objective, the Operation contributes to the training of Libyan coastguards in their fight against illegal immigration, as well as combating the mafias involved in the smuggling of migrants in the Central Mediterranean. From the outset, the naval operation has had scant resources and, unsurprisingly, its results have been poor in these first three years. In short, this new Operation, in the wake of Sophia’s poor results in the last months of its activity, represents a new setback for the CSDP and for the EU’s ambition to become a relevant actor in contemporary international society. Unfortunately, moreover, allegations of significant violations of migrants’ human rights by Libyan coast guard forces cast a shadow over the EU, which is assisting and training these security forces. Received: 04 September 2023Accepted: 24 January 2024

Empowering Change: The Evolving Role of Women in NATO-led Stability Operations

The participation of women in peacekeeping and stability operations, particularly within the framework of NATO missions, has evolved significantly over the years. This article explores the changing role of women in NATO-led operations, tracing the historical trajectory from the Revolutionary War to present-day peacekeeping efforts. It examines the integration of women into peacekeeping plans, the significance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, and current initiatives aimed at enhancing women's participation in stability operations. Despite progress, persistent challenges and barriers continue to hinder the full realization of gender equality within peacekeeping missions. The article concludes with recommendations for advancing women's roles in peace operations, emphasizing the importance of concerted efforts by international organizations, member states, and civil society to promote gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment in conflict resolution and peacebuilding endeavors.

Gender Concerns Aid in the Understanding of Peace and Conflict

Centred on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, this study provides insights into the role of gender in peace and conflict, including but not limited to advocating for gender equality, preventing sexual violence, protecting women who are victims of conflict, and promoting women's participation in international peace-related activities. This study highlights the different roles that women play in conflict and challenges the traditional view of women as mere victims of conflict through three cases. While Turkey's national culture contributes to the challenges faced by women in the military, such as sexual harassment. At the same time, there has been a lack of progress in empowering women and integrating them into peace and security institutions. In the case of the African Union, for example, despite a series of documents advocating for women's advancement and gender equality, little progress has been made in two decades when it comes to implementation at the country level. Nepal is an example of women's empowerment in conflict. The transformation of widowhood practices is one of the most noteworthy aspects of the conflict, in which women were able to get what they wanted. The research indicates that though resolution 1325 may not fully increase the social positions of women, women could defend their rights and enhance their powers on their own through conflicts.

How Should The United Nations Security Council be Reformed to Better Ensure International Peace and Security?

How Should The United Nations Security Council be Reformed to Better Ensure International Peace and Security?

How different are offline and online diplomacy? A comparative analysis of public statements and SNS posts by delegates to the United Nations.

This article investigates the evolving landscape of diplomacy in the digital age, focusing on diplomats at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. The central inquiry revolves around how diplomatic actors use digital tools to complement or augment traditional face-to-face diplomacy. We systematically compare a substantial corpus of X posts (tweets) from UN diplomats with their public statements at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), employing advanced computational social science techniques. This study applies a range of large-scale text analysis methods, including word embedding, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis, to investigate systematic differences between offline and online communication. Our analysis reveals that, while the essence of diplomacy remains consistent across both domains, there is strategic selectivity in the use of online platforms by diplomats. Online communication emphasizes non-security topics, ceremonial matters, and prominent policy stances, in contrast to the operational issues common in UNSC deliberations. Additionally, online discourse adopts a less confrontational, more public diplomacy-oriented tone, with variations among countries. This study offers one of the first systematic comparisons between offline and online diplomatic messages. It illuminates how diplomats navigate the digital realm to complement traditional roles. The findings indicate that some elements of public diplomacy and nation branding, directed toward a wider audience far beyond the council chamber, have become an integral part of multilateral diplomacy unfolding at the UNSC.

ELECTION OF JUDGES TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: PROPOSALS FOR REFORM WITHOUT AMENDING THE STATUTE

AbstractIn November 2023 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and Security Council elected (in one case, re-elected) five judges to the International Court of Justice. The electoral system is considered to be overly politicized and to pay lip service to the requirements that judges must be elected on the basis of their qualifications, regardless of their nationality, and that in the body as a whole, the representation of the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world should be assured. Several amendments to the system of nominations and elections have been proposed that would require a reform of the Court's Statute. This article proposes four measures that could be adopted without amending the Statute or encroaching on the prerogatives of national groups, UN organs or Member States: (1) ensure the representation of the principal legal systems, in part by promoting regional diversity on the bench; (2) remove the use of nationality as a factor in casual elections; (3) establish a vetting process and public hearings; and (4) promote a single vote for Security Council members. It argues that the measures proposed would lead to a change in the present culture of nominations and elections towards one that favours the qualification of the judges over political considerations.

United Nations Security Council Resolutions

United Nations Security Council Resolutions

Challenges in protecting Rohingya refugees: Pathways for international intervention

This study examines the efficacy of international legal frameworks in preventing human rights abuses against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Despite global human rights conventions, the ongoing crisis highlights a stark disconnect between international norms and their enforcement. The study scrutinizes the limitations of key international bodies, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and the challenges posed by national sovereignty and geopolitical dynamics that hinder effective human rights protection. Utilizing qualitative analysis of existing literature, this research identifies the systemic shortcomings within international mechanisms and the inadequate application of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in Myanmar's context. The findings suggest an urgent need for reform within international legal frameworks and the implementation of more effective measures to uphold human rights universally and ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable groups like the Rohingya. The paper concludes with recommendations to strengthen international legal measures, increased accountability for human rights violators, and a more assertive global stance against violations, aiming to bridge the gap between international legal commitments and real-world implementation.

Strategic directions for improving the administrative and legal regulation of the activities of law enforcement agencies as subjects of the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of national security and defense

Introduction. Law enforcement agencies as subjects of formation and implementation of state policy in the field of national security and defense must have an appropriate organizational and legal framework for carrying out their activities. This involves two separate important directions of optimization of the current process of administrative and legal regulation of their activities, which is collectively objectified by the need to review scientific and normative discourses regarding the place and role of law enforcement agencies in the mechanism of ensuring national security of Ukraine. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the strategic directions of improving the administrative and legal regulation of the activities of law enforcement agencies as subjects of the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of national security and defense. Results. Since law enforcement agencies in the researched area are generally divided into those that are independent or structural within the representative body - the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, we believe that the formation of a separate independent authority in the proposed context is generally inappropriate, as well as the granting of such powers to already existing ones. Conclusions. Law enforcement agencies should be provided with the ability to effectively influence various aspects of the country's security from the position of functional unity, which will allow them to strategically and functionally solve issues of national security and defense of Ukraine. We have proposed an author's variation of improving the administrative and legal regulation of the activities of law enforcement agencies as subjects of the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of national security and defense with emphasis on the need to create a specialized state entity - the Center for Coordination and Interaction of Law Enforcement Activities under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, which will represent the institute of law enforcement activities in Ukraine.

Fostering Inclusivity in Peacekeeping

The United Nations Peacekeeping operations involve a diverse array of stakeholders on the decision-making and enforcement side, ranging from senior officials to troops and civilian personnel, whose backgrounds and perspectives significantly impact mission effectiveness. Gender considerations within recruitment does form an important part of UN’s engagement especially within its foundational mandate of Women, Peace, and Security as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. Intersectionality along with cultural contexts within host countries further complicate the recruitment process. Furthermore, while the deliberate inclusion of women is advocated, it often leads to reinforcing stereotypical roles and ‘side streaming; of gender rather than genuine ‘mainstreaming; practices. This paper examines the interconnected challenges of gender stereotypes, cultural understanding, and diversity and inclusivity in peacekeeping recruitment. It argues for a strategic, asset-based, inclusive approach to recruitment and deployment of female peacekeepers, coupled with enhanced cultural sensitivity. Drawing on existing literature and examples, the paper proposes policy recommendations aimed at fostering effective peacekeeping without reinforcing gender stereotypes.

Exploring Self-Construction of the American International Image: A Conceptual Metaphor Perspective

While press releases and cultural transmission materials are common materials for understanding a country's self-construction of international images, to what extent the speeches at international conferences are effective in shaping national images is yet to explore from a perspective of cognitive linguistics? The present study compiles the minutes of 26 meetings of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, from which the speeches by U.S. representatives were selected to establish a corpus, and explores the self-construction of the American international image with conceptual metaphor theory. It is found that JOURNEY metaphor, BUILDING metaphor and so on are instrumental in shaping its image of advocating peace, but SEED metaphor and NEIGHBOR metaphor, etc. reveal its intention to perpetuate the conflict and double standards in dealing with the two conflicting parties.