United Nations General Assembly Resolution Research Articles

The Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 17 December 2014 and the duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law

AbstractWhile international humanitarian law envisages the possibility of holding formal thematic discussions, only United Nations General Assembly resolutions prompted the depositary of the Geneva Conventions to consult the High Contracting Parties on the opportuneness of conflict-specific conferences. Recalling the precedents of 1999 and 2001 – convened on the basis of the support expressed by the States Parties during related consultations – this article focuses on the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 17 December 2014, which is likewise related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The result of the conference consists of a declaration reflecting the willingness of the States Parties to further implement Article 1 common to the four Geneva Conventions.

The Legalizing and Legitimizing Function of UN General Assembly Resolutions

Larry Johnson recently called for more thought to be given to "innovative and inventive non-use of force measures which the UN General Assembly could employ in situations where the Security Council has been blocked". This paper considers the possible impact of such resolutions given the limits of the General Assembly’s powers. It questions whether resolutions recommending non-use of force collective measures could have any permissive effect and, in particular, whether they can legally justify measures by Member States that would otherwise be contrary to international law.After exploring several possible legal justifications, it concludes that collective measures recommended by the General Assembly are limited by the existing treaty and customary international law obligations of Member States. General Assembly resolutions cannot legalize conduct that is otherwise illegal.The paper further suggests that the legitimizing function of General Assembly resolutions should not be overestimated. The weight or force of a resolution will depend on the circumstances of its adoption, including the number of States voting for its adoption. It also concludes that even if a resolution has a legitimizing function, the justification of a measure as being "illegal but legitimate" must be seen as deeply troubling and totally unsatisfactory.

Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators.

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE) to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify “significant concentrations” of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores), and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here and elsewhere.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Territorial Integrity of Ukraine

On March 27, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The resolution was adopted in response to the March 16, 2014 referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, and it affirmed the territorial integrity, unity, sovereignty, and political independence of Ukraine, calling on states to desist and refrain from actions that undermine the unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Communicative Power Europe? How the EU Copes with Opposition in International Negotiations

The European Union (EU) is becoming increasingly active in international negotiations, not the least because speaking with one voice is a chance for Member States to increase their leverage. Yet in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the EU is a comparatively small group which often faces opposition from considerably larger groups, most notably the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. Since the EU is smaller in size than its counterparts, being influential on the basis of voting alone is unlikely to work well. Thus, this article inductively examines how the EU can be turned into an effective communicative power that manages to influence UNGA resolutions. Most importantly, bypassing a larger opposition requires bilateral lobbying, whilst facing the opposing group en bloc in multilateral negotiations should be avoided. On this basis, even smaller groups can become effective communicative powers by disseminating novel arguments or making normative appeals.

Eastern and Southern Ukrainees Right to Secede and Join the Russian Federation: A Secessionist Manifesto

This article aims to answer a multi-faceted question: do the people occupying the region of Eastern and Southern Ukraine have the right to secede from Ukraine and merge with the Russian Federation? It also evaluates the legal status of the economic sanctions imposed upon the Russian Federation for its alleged interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine. Public International Law provides no definitive answer to the first question, although “conventional wisdom” denies a right of secession. The denial turns primarily on two United Nations General Assembly Resolutions: (1) the UN General Assembly Declaration on Decolonisation, and (2) the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Friendly Relations of 1970, and the creation of “law by fiat”. The matter is exacerbated by the claim that the term “people” used in relevant international covenants recognising a “right of self-determination” is insusceptible of definition. Historical illustrations of secession, falling short of statistical validity, and competing legal theories among scholars, further confound the meaning of legal texts. By contrast, public international law arguably provides a definitive answer to the second question. Without a United Nations (U.N.) Security Council Resolution, members of the U.N. may not impose economic sanctions against another member state to cause a change in the internal affairs of that state. In the case of the Russian Federation; the economic sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation primarily by the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (E.U.) constitute violations of public international law. This article proceeds from the assumption that the international legal system does not repose on a foundation of empirical validity, but rather upon sets of authoritative statements, insusceptible of verification. In this context, the article seeks to construct an argument, based upon best interpretive practices, canons of statutory construction partially embodied in the “Vienna Convention On The Law Of Treaties” of 1969, and the implied right of secession contained in the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Friendly Relations of 1970. International Court of Justice (ICJ) decisions and historical incidents of secession are used in support of the argument. This article makes no pretension that its “reasoning” is correct, since that claim would contravene the basic premise that law, to borrow a phrase, is not only a “dismal science”, but no science at all. Rather, the ambition of the article is modest: to construct an argument based upon interpreting documents in their “best light”, without getting bogged down in traditional doctrinal analysis, or the mud of history.

Addressing inequality and exclusion – the opinion of people affected by leprosy in Africa and Asia, as to what should be included in any post Millennium Development Goal framework

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), international targets set in September 2000 by 189 nations, commit to working towards a measurable reduction in poverty and achieving basic needs and rights for all, by 2015. The UN Declaration (UN General Assembly Resolution 55/2, United Nations Millennium Declaration) on which the MDGs were based upholds the principles of human dignity, equality and equity. It states that every individual has the right to a basic standard of living that includes freedom from hunger, violence, oppression and injustice. However, although the Declaration highlights the need to ensure that the most vulnerable are included in the development process, the lack of specific reference to leprosy, neglected tropical diseases or disability has meant that some of the world’s most marginalised people have not been included in development programmes. The UN recognises that ‘there is an urgent need to address the absence of more than 10 per cent of the world’s population in the implementation, review and evaluation of the Goals and their targets, evaluation mechanisms and indicators. The lack of a disability perspective is undermining the objective of the Goals, which is to measure human development benchmarks on the way to more inclusive and equitable global development.’ More than one billion people are still affected by the chronic disabling results of Neglected Tropical Diseases, particularly those living in remote rural areas, urban slums or conflict zones. 232,857 new cases of leprosy were reported in 2012, an increase on the previous year and millions of people still suffer the physical, social and economic consequences of the disease. Disability and stigma mean many people affected by leprosy are socially excluded, and fail to benefit from mainstream development programmes. As development becomes a numbers game and measures of success are confined to MDG indicators, gaps between the rich and the poor grow. Oxford research on the

United Nations General Assembly resolutions of interest

United Nations General Assembly resolutions of interest

Eastern and Southern Ukrainees Right to Secede and Join the Russian Federation

This article aims to answer a multi-faceted question: do the people occupying the region of Eastern and Southern Ukraine have the right to secede from the Republic of Ukraine and merge with the Russian Federation. It also evaluates the legal status of the economic sanctions imposed upon the Russian Federation for its alleged interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Ukraine. Public International Law provides no definitive answer to the first question, though “conventional wisdom” denies a right of secession. The denial turns primarily on two United Nations General Assembly Resolutions: (1) the UN General Assembly Declaration on Decolonisation, and (2) the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Friendly Relations of 1970. The matter is exacerbated by the claim that the term “people” used in relevant international covenants recognising a “right of self-determination” is insusceptible of definition. Historical illustrations of secession and competing legal theories among scholars further confound the meaning of legal texts.By contrast, public international law provides a definitive answer to the second question. Without a UN security council resolution, members of the UN may not impose economic sanctions against another member state. In the case of the Russian Federation, the economic sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation primarily by the United States and the European Union constitute violations of public international law. This article proceeds from the assumption that the international legal system does not repose on a foundation of empirical validity, but rather upon sets of authoritative statements, insusceptible of verification. In this context, the article seeks to construct an argument, based upon canons of statutory construction partially embodied in the Vienna Convention of 1969, to applicable international covenants, and the implied right of secession contained in the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Friendly Relations of 1970. This article makes no pretension that its “reasoning” is correct, since that claim would contravene the basic premise that law is not only a “dismal science”, but no science at all. Rather, the ambition of the article is modest: to construct an argument based upon interpreting documents in their “best light”, without getting bogged down in traditional doctrinal analysis, or the mud of history.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age

Although it provides limited normative guidance, the General Assembly’s recent resolution, “The right to privacy in the digital age,” signals both renewed international interest in the human right to privacy as well as a commitment by United Nations (UN) institutions to explore the meaning of this right in the digital age.

The UNGA—a talking shop? Exploring rationales for the repetition of resolutions in subsequent negotiations

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is frequently criticized as being an inefficient talking shop. Such criticism is partially due to the fact that UNGA resolutions are not legally binding, and partially due to the considerable share of resolutions that are debated repeatedly in multiple UNGA sessions. This article shows that more than half of the resolutions on the negotiation agenda of the UNGA in a given year are not novel, but have been discussed in the same arena in the past. As this increases the negotiation workload and also the capacity requirements of the member states, the widespread phenomenon of repetitions is puzzling. Therefore, the article examines the reasons behind reoccurring resolutions. It distinguishes between incrementalist and symbolic rationales and sheds light on the different motivations for repetitions in a series of case studies. This reveals that both rationales matter for repeating resolutions and that neither symbolic politics nor incrementalism are confined to specific types of issues or actors.

The European Union in the United Nations: an effective external actor?

ABSTRACTAlthough the EU has become an increasingly prominent actor on the international stage, only EU member states and not the EU itself formally enjoy full membership in most international organizations. In the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the EU only has observer status and its formal autonomy and authority are limited. On this basis one might expect that it lacks cohesiveness to turn into an effective external actor in UNGA negotiations. Nevertheless, the member states often develop common negotiation stances for UNGA resolutions. The paper argues that having a common position is essential, but not sufficient for the EU to turn into an effective external actor in international negotiations. In order to exert influence over UNGA resolutions the EU needs to adopt tied-hands strategies if EU member states' votes are crucial, or unbiased argumentative strategies in situations where passing resolutions do not require the support of EU members.

The United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems

This article reviews the background and content of the Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2012, to consider its objectives and potential. As with similar international agreements, the Principles and Guidelines is not legally binding and requires further legislative action to be implemented. This article demonstrates how urgent the need for legal aid reform is and raises realistic expectations about what the international instrument can achieve in this regard. In stressing the urgent need for reforms of legal aid systems, the discussion uses the European Union as an example because of the extensive comparative analysis available and because of the recent European Union Roadmap for Criminal Procedural Rights that aims, inter alia, to improve access to legal aid. To strengthen further the argument, attention also will be paid to the problems surrounding legal aid in the United States, which will indicate some of the Principles and Guidelines’ limitations. Furthermore, the path of implementation of an earlier United Nations General Assembly Resolution will be outlined to articulate what reasonable expectations can be placed on the Principles and Guidelines’ approach to ensuring access to legal aid.

The Law of Transboundary Aquifers: Many Ways of Going Forward, but Only One Way of Standing Still

The international community has been considering international legal norms and policies for the management of transboundary aquifers for more than ten years. In 2008, the International Law Commission provided a framework with the adoption of the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers, which are now formally annexed to a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution. Since 2008, the topic of the law of transboundary aquifers has thrice been placed on the agenda of the UNGA Sixth Committee with a specific mandate to discuss the future form of the Draft Articles. This article explores the options before the international community regarding the future form of the Draft Articles and considers the possible advantages and disadvantages of each option. The article also discusses the extent to which the actual form of the Draft Articles matters in itself, or whether their impact ultimately will depend on other factors.

Inside the System, Outside the Box: Palau’s Pursuit of Climate Justice and Security at the United Nations

AbstractThis commentary, which presents an expanded version of the keynote address at the 2012 Conference on ‘Global Climate Change Without the United States’, outlines Palau’s role in attempting to motivate international action on climate change. It explains two initiatives: the passage of a United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution highlighting the security implications of climate change, and the attempt to obtain an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the responsibility of states for climate change. The two avenues are located ‘inside the system’ in that they target well-established organs of the UN system. However, they are ‘outside the box’ because they seek to bypass and ultimately jump-start the international negotiation process that has unfolded under the auspices of the UNFCCC.

The Rule of Law and Its Application to the United Nations: Conference Report

The rule of law applies to the United Nations and should guide all its activities. As promising as this key statement of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 67/1 may sound, its meaning is not entirely clear. How is the rule of law to be defined, and what is its legal basis at the international level? What does the rule of law mean for the different activities of the United Nations with external effects such as sanctions, peacekeeping and development, what for its internal administration and justice system? The conference on the Rule of Law and Its Application to the United Nations held at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg on 11–12 September 2014 addressed these questions inter alia and took a comprehensive look at Resolution 67/1. The conference provided both the academic perspective and the reality of practice due to the participation of various practitioners and United Nations officials.

The Legalizing and Legitimizing Function of UN General Assembly Resolutions

In his essay on the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, Larry Johnson suggests that the General Assembly can recommend non-use of force collective measures when the Security Council is blocked because of a permanent member casting a veto. He rightly points out that today there is no longer any need to use Uniting for Peace for such recommendations. The General Assembly can and has recommended so-called “voluntary sanctions” in cases where it found a threat to international peace and security to exist. For example, in resolution 2107 (XX) of December 21, 1965 concerning the Question of Territories under Portuguese Administration, the Assembly, making no reference to Uniting for Peace, urged “Member States to take the following measures, separately or collectively:(a)To break off diplomatic and consular relations with the Government of Portugal or refrain from establishing such relations;(b)To close their ports to all vessels flying the Portuguese flag or in the service of Portugal;(c)To prohibit their ships from entering any ports in Portugal and its colonial territories;(d)To refuse landing and transit facilities to all aircraft belonging to or in the service of the Government of Portugal and to companies registered under the laws of Portugal;(e)To boycott all trade with Portugal.”

UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19: Status of Palestine in the United Nations

UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19: Status of Palestine in the United Nations

Evaluation of New Zealand's high-seas bottom trawl closures using predictive habitat models and quantitative risk assessment.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105 on sustainable fisheries (UNGA 2007) establishes three difficult questions for participants in high-seas bottom fisheries to answer: 1) Where are vulnerable marine systems (VMEs) likely to occur?; 2) What is the likelihood of fisheries interaction with these VMEs?; and 3) What might qualify as adequate conservation and management measures to prevent significant adverse impacts? This paper develops an approach to answering these questions for bottom trawling activities in the Convention Area of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) within a quantitative risk assessment and cost : benefit analysis framework. The predicted distribution of deep-sea corals from habitat suitability models is used to answer the first question. Distribution of historical bottom trawl effort is used to answer the second, with estimates of seabed areas swept by bottom trawlers being used to develop discounting factors for reduced biodiversity in previously fished areas. These are used in a quantitative ecological risk assessment approach to guide spatial protection planning to address the third question. The coral VME likelihood (average, discounted, predicted coral habitat suitability) of existing spatial closures implemented by New Zealand within the SPRFMO area is evaluated. Historical catch is used as a measure of cost to industry in a cost : benefit analysis of alternative spatial closure scenarios. Results indicate that current closures within the New Zealand SPRFMO area bottom trawl footprint are suboptimal for protection of VMEs. Examples of alternative trawl closure scenarios are provided to illustrate how the approach could be used to optimise protection of VMEs under chosen management objectives, balancing protection of VMEs against economic loss to commercial fishers from closure of historically fished areas.

Political Aftermath of the ICJ AO on Kosovo

This article will discuss political responses to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the declaration of independence of Kosovo. Firstly, it analyses how the opinion fitted into competing narratives on the independence of Kosovo. Secondly, it sheds light on the attempt of Serbia – pursued a week after the AO – to insist on the re-opening of the status negotiations with Kosovo through the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It will show how Serbia made a shift at the last moment to compromise with the EU states for the sake of its EU integrations ambitions. This resulted in the adoption of the UNGA Resolution welcoming the EU-led dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Thirdly, the article explores the current state of affairs between Serbia and Kosovo, attempting to understand what were the challenges and incentives that lead process forward. One of the agreements reached by the parties during these negotiations – on regional representation and cooperation – will be discussed in more detail. This is not only due to the fact that it explicitly refers to the ICJ’s AO on Kosovo, but also because its adoption and implementation are indicative of the process of the EU-leg dialogue. It also shows how the position of the parties can solidify or evolve and how potential EU membership dangling in front of the parties influenced the dynamics of their relations.