Effectiveness of UN Security Council in Maintaining Peace and

Security: Case Study (Israel-Palestine and Ruwanda Issue)

1st Essay in the Subject of International Organizations

BA LLB 2nd year

14th June,2015

2329 words

Prince Yadav

Kathmandu School Of Law(KSL)

Purbanchal University

1
 Abstract

There are various sorts of problem that arises due to various complex challenges
they may be weapons of mass destruction i.e. nuclear, chemical and bio-logical;
the persistence of poverty; conflict that can hinder peace in the world; and failed
state. None of these problems can be managed by state action alone. So to wrestle
with these problems state needs to work together with non –state actors such as
International organization. UN is one widely recognized international organization
working with different states around the world for certain purpose. UN is a ‘multi-
purpose 'international organization having its objective determined by its charter,
but this essay will take into account peace keeping purpose of UN. This paper will
look into issue of Israel-Palestine and issue of Rwanda and will try to analyze
whether UN Security council is effective to meet its primary objective of peace
keeping in these two issues and the prime factor that is hindering effectiveness of
UN Security council.

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 Effectiveness of UN Security Council in Maintaining Peace and
Security: Case Study (Israel-Palestine issue and Ruwanda Issue)
The United Nations is an international organization 1 founded in 1945 directed
to specific goals including collective security, peace-keeping, health,
environmental and human rights concerns".2.  It is currently made up of 193
Member States. 3 The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by
the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. Due to the
powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United
Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century,
such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human
rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender
equality, governance, food production, and more. One of the purpose of UN to
work on maintenance of international peace and security has been quite logically
placed at the head of the the list of the purpose of UN because in the absence of
peace and the security non e of its other purpose can be realized. The UN provides
a forum for its members to express their views in the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and
committees. By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting
negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism for governments to find
areas of agreement and solve problems together.
If we see the structure of UN it is composed of six branches however the
trusteeship council is passive because it already had finished its work. The
branches of UN are General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social
Council, International Court of Justice, Trusteeship Council and Secretariat having

1
An International organization is "a body that promotes voluntary cooperation and coordination between or among
its members ".It can be categorized as intergovernmental organization and supranational organization.UN is an
intergovernmental organization.
Available at: Carleton.ca/ces/eulearning/introduction/what-is-the-eu/extention-what-are-international-organizations/,
accessed on June 11, 2015.
2
JOHN RIBEIRO NORLEY MATTHEW , 'Is the United Nations an Effective Institution?'(Feb 2013),
Available at: http://www.e-ir.info/2013/02/23/is-the-united-nations-an-effective-institution/ accessed on June 8 ,
2015.

3
Available at: http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html accessed on June 8 ,2015

3
their defined works.4As it is already stated that the paper will mainly focus on
peacekeeping role of Security Council of UN. The Security Council is the United
Nations' most powerful body of UN having primary responsibility, under the UN
Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. 5  It has 15
Members6 ;5 permanent (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United
Kingdom and the United State) and 10 non-permanent members which are elected
by General Assembly for two year terms7.
Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter8, all Member States are obligated to
comply with Council decisions. The Security Council takes the lead in determining
the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression 9. It calls upon the parties
to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment
or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing
sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international
peace and security. The Council also establishes UN Peacekeeping
10
Operations and Special Political Missions.  It has a Presidency, which rotates, and
changes, every month.11
Functions and Powers of Security Council is determined in charter of UN which
are12:
1. to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the
principles and purposes of the United Nations;
2. to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international
friction;

4
M.R. Upadhyaya,' Basic Outline of INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION',Pairavi Prakashan,Kathmandu,October
2013,p34.
5
See the UN charter article 23(1)
6
Ibid article 23
7
Article 23(2)
8
The United Nations Charter is the foundational Treaty of this International Organization, signed
in SanFrancisco, on 25 June, 1945.
9
Article 39
10
Peacekeeping is one among a range of activities undertaken by the United Nations to maintain international peace
and security throughout the world. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/peace.shtml,
accessed on 2nd June 2015.

11
Available at: http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/main-organs/index.html accessed on June 8 ,2015.
12
See the UN Charter article 24

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 3. to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of
settlement;
4. to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate
armaments;
5. to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and
to recommend what action should be taken;
6. to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not
involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
7. to take military action against an aggressor;
8. to recommend the admission of new Members;
9. to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic
areas";
10.to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-
General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of
the International Court of Justice.
Recognizing these functions and power, Security Council had taken various
possible steps to discontinue and avoid different kind of conflict that is occurring
and the problems that can arise in coming day of future impeding peace and
security of world. But there is always question whether this particular branch of
UN is effective to maintain international peace or how much effective is Security
Council in attaining continued international peace. So here if we look into Israel-
Palestine issue UN is showing its interest since its inception. The question of
Palestine and Israel has commanded the attention of the UN since the organization
was founded. An 11-member Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) 13 was
formed at the first special session of the Assembly in April 1947. The majority of
the committee members recommended that Palestine be partitioned into an Arab
State and a Jewish State, with a special international status for the city of Jerusalem
under the administrative authority of the United Nations.14

13
The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) was created on 15 May 1947in
response to a United Kingdom government request that the General Assembly "make
recommendations under article 10 of the Charter, concerning the future government of Palestine".
14
See "THE PLAN OF PARTITION AND END OF THE BRITISH MANDATE", Available at:
https://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/index-of-countries-on-the-security-council-agenda/israel-palestine-
and-the-occupied-territories.html accessed on May 28, 2015.

5
 The UN General Assembly voted the original partition of the land in November
1947 but this partition plan was refuted by Palestinian Arabs and Arab states on the
ground that it violated the provision of UN charter, which granted people the right
to decide their own destiny. They said that the Assembly had endorsed the Plan
under circumstances unworthy of UN and that the Arabs of the Palestine would
oppose any scheme that provided for dissection, segregation or partition of their
country, or which gave special and preferential rights and status to a minority.
After the denial by Arabs of Palestine, war between Palestinians and Jewish began
which resulted in Israel control on much of the territory allotted to the Arab State
by the partition resolution, including the western part of Jerusalem. Egypt and
Jordan respectively administered the remaining portion of Gaza and the West Bank
of the Jordan River (which included East Jerusalem or the old city). More fighting
took place in October 1948 and March 1949, during which Israel took over other
areas, some allotted to the Arab State. In 1950, Jordan brought the West Bank
including East Jerusalem formally under its jurisdiction pending a solution to the
problem. The hostilities also created a major humanitarian crisis, with almost
750,000 Palestinians being uprooted from their land and becoming refugees. 15
Later for many years, successive Israeli governments refused to consider a
Palestinian state, while most Arabs denied the legitimacy of Israel. In the 1970s
both sides began to recognize the need for compromise. The Palestinians proposed
a separate state, claiming as their homeland the territories outside the 1948
ceasefire lines, territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. This idea found
widespread support in the international community, and Israel was called on to
withdraw from this land, as affirmed in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and
33816.
But the Council has taken no significant action since 1967, when it passed
Resolution 242 calling on Israel to relinquish the territories acquired during its war

15
Ibid
16
See "Israel, Palestine and the Occupied Territories", Available athttps://www.globalpolicy.org/security-
council/index-of-countries-on-the-security-council-agenda/israel-palestine-and-the-occupied-territories.html
accessed on June 8 ,2015.

6
with Syria and Egypt. Clearly saying these resolution were not implemented
because of its vagueness and unclear nature. Thus the conflict did not came to an
end which resulted in killings of many peoples violating their Human Rights .So
many others resolution were passed by Security Council in order to prevent these
problems .And if we take a glance to to resolution passed from1955 to 2013 in this
particular issue there are 77 resolution passed against Israel and 1 resolution
against Palestine .17The resolution against Israel were mainly concerned with its
unlawful attacks on its neighbors; its violations of the human rights of the
Palestinians, including deportations, demolitions of homes and other collective
punishments; its confiscation of Palestinian land; its establishment of illegal
settlements; and its refusal to abide by the U.N. Charter and the 1949 Fourth
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Among these all resolution Israel has violated 32 resolutions that included
condemnation or criticism of the governments' policies and actions. 18 The
resolutions Israel violated were either about its annexation of East Jerusalem or
settlements in the territories. Israel also ignored UN Security Council resolutions
that called for Israel to cease using harsh measures against the Palestinian
population and to cease expelling Palestinians.But Security Council is unable to
enforce resolution because of loop holes in UN itself like Israel's deputy chief of
mission at the UN, Aharon Yaakov, said that there are big differences between the
decisions that refer to Israel and those that refer to Iraq. "Israel is the only
democracy in the region and is fighting for its existence, while Iraq is a brutal
dictatorship that attacked its neighbors and violates human rights, including the use
of chemical weapons against its own citizens,"19

Another subsequent reason for the failure of UN Security Council in demolishing

the Israel-Palestine issue may the profligate use by the United States of its veto
power in resolution against Israel.In between 1972-1991 ,the United States have

17
See UN RESOLUTIONS TARGETING ISRAELAND THE PALESTINIANS, Available at:
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stat/un.html accessed on June6,2015.

18
Shlomo Shamir ,"STUDY:ISRAEL LEADS IN IGNORING SECURITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTIONS",October11,2002, Available at: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stat/scr.html accessed on
June6,2015.
19
Ibids

7
vetoed on critical resolution that were against Israel in 29 separate cases .If these
resolution have been passed without U.S. veto then these resolutions would have
broadened the record by affirming the right of Palestinian self-determination, by
calling on Israel to abandon its repressive measures against the Palestinian intifada,
by sending U.N. Observers into the occupied territories to monitor Israel’s
behavior and, most serious, by imposing sanctions against Israel if it did not abide
by the Council’s resolutions.20

Source:

Here we can perceive that how U.S. is helping Israel by using veto in anti Israel
resolution passed by the Security Council. . If the United States really wants peace
in the Middle East, it must insist that Israel abide by the judgment of the world
community as expressed in resolutions by the United Nations and there should be
some sorts of transformation in UN Security Council.

If we see andother case i.e. Ruwanda Genocide case the Security Council response
to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 was late and limited, it was possible to find a
connection between large-scale human rights violations and the threat concept. In
Rwanda, the majority Hutu had been holding governmental authority since
independence in 1962. In August 1993, the government and the Rwanda Patriotic
20
See A History of U.S. Vetoes, Available at: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stat/neff-un.html accessed
on June6,2015.

8
Front (RPF), which consisted mainly of exiled Tutsis, signed the Arusha Peace
Agreement toward the creation of a multi-ethnic, multi-party administration. Hutu
extremist forces, opposed to the implementation of this agreement, used the
assassination of the Hutu President Juvénal Habyarimana in an airplane crash on
April 6, 1994, as an excuse to begin massacring Tutsis and moderate Hutus.In this
matterUN Security Council was criticized for failing to deploy a sufficient peace-
keeping force to the region at the end of 1993 when attempts were made to
implement a peace agreement. Among those countries which consistently resisted
the formation of a major force was the United States, which had support from
Britain. "Those who did not even care, who said that Rwanda was a distant African
country and that it is not about us, they must also bear some of the responsibility,"
Mr Carlsson said. His colleague on the Commission, General Rufus Kupolati of
Nigeria, noted that "most of the positions of the United States" during the crisis
"were supported by the United Kingdom". Britain eventually contributed logistical
support to the peace-keepers, but four months after the slaughter occurred. 21Even
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said that UN is still ashamed over its failure to prevent
the 1994 genocide in Ruwanda22

21
See" UN pilloried for failure over Rwanda genocide", Available at:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/un-pilloried-for-failure-over-rwanda-genocide-739072.html
accessed on June 8 ,2015.

22
See"Rwanda genocide: UN ashamed, says Ban Ki-moon"7th April 2014,Available at:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49449#.VXWlRtKqqko accessed on June6,2015.

9
 Conclusion

The UN Security Council is criticized by many sides for failing to carry through its
mandate as the world’s leading collective security body. As it is already
demonstrated above that UN security council ,due to its restrictive administrative
structure, the permanent members of the Security Council themselves have
sometimes prevented the UN from fully carrying out its first two mandates.
Without the unanimous approval, support (or minimally abstention) of all 5 of the
permanent members of the UN's Security Council, the UN's charter only enables it
to "observe", report on, and make recommendations regarding international
conflicts. Such unanimity on the Security Council regarding the authorization of
armed UN enforcement actions has not always been reached in time to prevent the
outbreak of conflict like in Israel-Palestine issue.Focusing on effectiveness of UN
Security Council in peace keeping, UN Security council seems to be not so
effective in case of Israel-Palestine issue and in issue of Ruwanda though it have
done some effective work in Israel – Palestine issue such as it helped the
Palestinians refugees .So as conclusion it can be perceived that UN security
council have contributed to the maintain international peace and security but due
its some weaknesses its is becoming ineffective.

10
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11
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