ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SAARC)

The South Asian Association

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) is an economic and HYPERLINK
political organization of eight "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K
countries in HYPERLINK athmandu" \o "Kathmandu"
Headquarters
Kathmandu, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N
epal" \o "Nepal" Nepal

8 member states
Membership
6 observers

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D
ecember_8" \o "December 8"
Establishment
December 8, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1
985" \o "1985" 1985

Website
HYPERLINK "http://www.saarc-sec.org/" \o
"http://www.saarc-sec.org/" http://www.saarc-sec.org/
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia" \o "South Asia" Southern Asia. In terms of
population, its HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_of_influence" \o
"Sphere of influence" sphere of influence is the largest of any HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_organization" \o "Regional organization" regional
organization: almost 1.5 billion people, the combined population of its member states. It
was established on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_8" \o

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"December 8" December 8, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985" \o "1985"

1985 by HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" \o "Pakistan" Pakistan,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" \o "Bangladesh" Bangladesh,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" \o "Sri Lanka" Sri Lanka,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal" \o "Nepal" Nepal, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives" \o "Maldives" Maldives and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan" \o "Bhutan" Bhutan. In HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2007" \o "April 2007" April 2007, at the
Association's 14th summit, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" \o
"Afghanistan" Afghanistan became its eighth member. The SAARC comprises 3% of the
world's area, 21% of the world's population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global
economy, as of 2019.

History

In the late HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s" \o "1970s" 1970s,

Bangladeshi president HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziaur_Rahman" \o
"Ziaur Rahman" Ziaur Rahman proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South
Asian countries. The Bangladeshi proposal was accepted by India, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka during a meeting held in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo" \o
"Colombo" Colombo in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981" \o "1981"
1981. In August 1983, the leaders adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional
Cooperation during a summit which was held in New Delhi. The seven South Asian
countries, which also included HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal" \o
"Nepal" Nepal, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives" \o "Maldives"
Maldives and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan" \o "Bhutan" Bhutan,
agreed on five areas of cooperation:

Agriculture and Rural Development

Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Meteorology

Health and Population Activities

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Transport

Human Resource Development

Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping at the behest of India on November 13,
2005, and became a member on April 3, 2007. With the addition of Afghanistan, the total
number of member states were raised to eight (8). In April 2006, the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America" \o "United States of America"
United States of America and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea"
\o "South Korea" South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. The
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" \o "European Union"
European Union has also indicated interest in being given observer status, and made a
formal request for the same to the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in July 2006. On
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2" \o "August 2" August 2,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006" \o "2006" 2006 the foreign ministers
of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South
Korea and the European Union. On HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_4" \o "March 4" 4 March HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007" \o "2007" 2007, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" \o "Iran" Iran requested observer status.

Ineffectiveness

SAARC's inability to play a crucial role in integrating South Asia is often credited to the
political and military rivalry between India and Pakistan. It is due to these economic,
political, and territorial disputes that South Asian nations have not been able to harness
the benefits of a unified economy. Over the years, SAARC's role in South Asia has been
greatly diminished and is now used as a mere platform for annual talks and meetings
between its members.

Political issues

SAARC has intentionally laid more stress on "core issues" mentioned above rather than
more decisive political issues like the HYPERLINK

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_dispute" \o "Kashmir dispute" Kashmir dispute

and the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_civil_war" \o "Sri
Lankan civil war" Sri Lankan civil war. However, political dialogue is often conducted
on the margins of SAARC meetings. SAARC has also refrained itself from interfering in
the internal matters of its member states. During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits,
extreme emphasis was laid upon greater cooperation between the SAARC members to
fight HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism" \o "Terrorism" terrorism.

Free trade agreement

Over the years, the SAARC members have expressed their unwillingness on signing a
free trade agreement. Though India has several trade pacts with Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan
and Sri Lanka, similar trade agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh have been stalled
due to political and economic concerns on both sides. India has been constructing a
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Bangladeshi_barrier" \o "Indo-
Bangladeshi barrier" barrier across its borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1993,
SAARC countries signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region, in
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaka" \o "Dhaka" Dhaka. Eleven years
later, at the 12th SAARC Summit at HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad" \o "Islamabad" Islamabad, SAARC countries
devised the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Free_Trade_Agreement" \o "South Asia Free
Trade Agreement" South Asia Free Trade Agreement which created a framework for the
establishment of a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade_area" \o "Free
trade area" free trade area covering 1.4 billion people. This agreement went into force on
January 1, 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to
20 per cent by HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007" \o "2007" 2007.

Membership

Current members Observers

HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

of_Afghanistan.svg" \o "Flag of of_the_People's_Republic_of_China.svg"

Afghanistan" HYPERLINK \o "Flag of the People's Republic of
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" China" HYPERLINK
\o "Afghanistan" Islamic Republic of "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" \o
Afghanistan "China" People's Republic of China

HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_Bangladesh.svg" \o "Flag of of_Europe.svg" \o "Flag of Europe"
Bangladesh" HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_U
\o "Bangladesh" People's Republic of nion" \o "European Union" European
Bangladesh Union

HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_Bhutan.svg" \o "Flag of Bhutan" of_Iran.svg" \o "Flag of Iran"
HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan" \o "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" \o
"Bhutan" Kingdom of Bhutan "Iran" Islamic Republic of Iran

HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_India.svg" \o "Flag of India" of_Japan.svg" \o "Flag of Japan"
HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" \o
"India" Republic of India "Japan" Japan

HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_Maldives.svg" \o "Flag of the of_South_Korea.svg" \o "Flag of South
Maldives" HYPERLINK Korea" HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives" \o "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

"Maldives" Republic of Maldives _Korea" \o "Republic of Korea" Republic

of Korea
HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_ HYPERLINK
of_Nepal.svg" \o "Flag of Nepal" "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
HYPERLINK of_the_United_States.svg" \o "Flag of the
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal" \o United States" HYPERLINK
"Nepal" State of Nepal "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stat
es" \o "United States" United States of
HYPERLINK
America
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_Pakistan.svg" \o "Flag of Pakistan"
HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" \o
"Pakistan" Islamic Republic of Pakistan

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_
of_Sri_Lanka.svg" \o "Flag of Sri Lanka"
HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" \
o "Sri Lanka" Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka

Countries Desire Observer Status

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China.svg" \o
"Flag of the People's Republic of China" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \o "People's Republic of
China" People's Republic of China - Bhutan does not even have diplomatic relations with
China.
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iran.svg" \o "Flag of Iran"
The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran" \o "Islamic
Republic of Iran" Islamic Republic of Iran,

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia.svg" \o "Flag of

Russia" The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Federation" \o
"Russian Federation" Russian Federation
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Myanmar.svg" \o "Flag of
Burma" HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Myanmar" \o "Union of
Myanmar" Union of Myanmar has also expressed an interest in joining as an observer.
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" \o "Flag of
Australia" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Australia" \o "Commonwealth of
Australia" Commonwealth of Australia along with Mauritius, SAARC will consider
allowing Australia to join as an observer.

South Asia is the poorest, most illiterate, most malnourished, and least gender sensitive
region
All SAARC countries have a low ranking in HDI
Member countries have inherent problems
Lack of able and sincere leadership
Investment in the education is lowes in the world, only Maldives perform good
Natural and chronic poverty
Intra-regional trade is very low
Rural infrastructure is shabby
Weak energy sector
The South Asian Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) cannot be implemented in
its letter and spirit despite of years’ efforts
SAPTA signed in 2006 is yet to bear fruits also but so far the progress is slow
There is no issue in having foreign observers but SAARC has failed to even develop a
united vision of the region.
It lacks ‘region-ness’

India and Pakistan arch rivalery is main stumbling blocks in the way of unity

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) is a forum for 21
HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipe
dia.org/wiki/Sin
Headquarters
gapore" \o
"Singapore"
Singapore

Type Economic forum

Member countries 21

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipe
Establishment dia.org/wiki/198
9" \o "1989"
1989

Website HYPERLINK "http://www.apec.org/" \o

"http://www.apec.org/" http://www.apec.org/
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Rim" \o "Pacific Rim" Pacific Rim countries or
regions (styled 'member economies') to discuss the regional economy, cooperation, trade
and investment. The membership is claimed to account for approximately 41% of the
world's population, approximately 56% of world GDP and about 49% of world trade. The
activities, including year-round meetings of the members' ministers, are coordinated by
the APEC Secretariat.

The organization conducts the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM), an annual
summit attended by the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_government" \o "Heads of government" heads of
government of all APEC members except HYPERLINK

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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Taipei" \o "Chinese Taipei" Chinese Taipei, which

is represented by a HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_Taipei_Representatives_to_APEC" \o
"List of Chinese Taipei Representatives to APEC" ministerial-level official. The most
recent summit, Papua New Guinea in 2018.

History

In HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1989" \o "January 1989" January

1989, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Australia" \o
"Prime Minister of Australia" Australian Prime Minister HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hawke" \o "Bob Hawke" Bob Hawke called for more
effective economic cooperation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first
meeting of APEC in the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian" \o
"Australian" Australian capital HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra" \o
"Canberra" Canberra in November, chaired by HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Foreign_Affairs_(Australia)" \o "Minister for
Foreign Affairs (Australia)" Australian Foreign Affairs Minister HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Evans" \o "Gareth Evans" Gareth Evans. Attended
by political ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments
for future annual meetings in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore" \o
"Singapore" Singapore and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" \o
"South Korea" South Korea.

The initial proposal was opposed by countries of the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations" \o "Association
of Southeast Asian Nations" Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which
instead proposed the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia_Economic_Caucus" \o "East Asia Economic
Caucus" East Asia Economic Caucus which would exclude non-Asian countries such as
the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States" United
States, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" \o "Australia" Australia
and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand" \o "New Zealand" New

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Zealand. The plan was opposed and strongly criticized by HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" \o "Japan" Japan and the United States.

The first APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting occurred in 1993 when HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" \o "President of the
United States" US president HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton" \o
"Bill Clinton" Bill Clinton, after discussions with HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Australia" \o "Prime Minister of
Australia" Australian prime minister HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Keating" \o "Paul Keating" Paul Keating, invited the
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_government" \o "Heads of
government" heads of government from member economies to a summit on
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Island" \o "Blake Island" Blake
Island. He believed it would help bring the stalled HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay_Round" \o "Uruguay Round" Uruguay Round of
trade talks on track. At the summit, some leaders called for continued reduction of
barriers to trade and investment, envisioning a community in the Asia-Pacific region that
might promote prosperity through cooperation. The APEC Secretariat, based in
Singapore, was established to coordinate the activities of the organization.

In the summit of 1994 in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogor" \o "Bogor"

Bogor, APEC adopted the Bogor Goals that aimed to reduce trade HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff" \o "Tariff" tariffs to below five percent in the Asia-
Pacific region, by 2010 for industrialized economies and by 2020 for developing
economies. In 1995, APEC established a business advisory body named the APEC
Business Advisory Council (ABAC), comprised of three business executives from each
member economy.

Member economies

APEC currently has 21 members, including most countries with a coastline on the
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean" \o "Pacific Ocean" Pacific
Ocean. By convention, APEC uses the term member economy to refer to one of its

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

members. Members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea,

Malaysia, New Zealand, Philipines, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Republic of
China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Paupa New Guinea, Peoples’s Republic of China, Chile,
Peru, Russia, Vietnam.

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" \o "Flag of India"

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India has requested
membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan and
Australia. Officials from the member economies are in the process of discussing whether
to allow India to join. There is a concern among Western countries that India's entry
might tilt the balance of power in APEC in favor of Asia.

In addition to India HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mongolia.svg" \o "Flag of Mongolia"
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia" \o "Mongolia" Mongolia,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Pakistan.svg" \o "Flag of
Pakistan" HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" \o "Pakistan" Pakistan,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Laos.svg" \o "Flag of Laos"
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos" \o "Laos" Laos, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Colombia.svg" \o "Flag of Colombia"
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia" \o "Colombia" Colombia,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ecuador.svg" \o "Flag of
Ecuador" HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador" \o "Ecuador" Ecuador
are among a dozen countries seeking membership in APEC by 2008. Colombia applied
for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organization
stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was further
prolonged to 2007 due to the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_Financial_Crisis" \o "1997 Asian Financial
Crisis" 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Guam.svg" \o "Flag of Guam"
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam" \o "Guam" Guam has also been

PAGE 5
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

actively seeking a separate membership, citing the example of Hong Kong, but the
request is opposed by the United States, which currently represents Guam.

Summit developments

The summit also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States,
emphasizing the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_building" \o "Capacity building" capacity
building. As part of the accord, the summit committed to develop and implement APEC
transparency standards, reduce trade HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transaction_cost" \o "Transaction cost" transaction costs in
the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent over 5 years, and pursue HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade" \o "Free trade" trade liberalization policies
relating to information technology goods and services.

The agenda of that year was focused on HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism" \o "Terrorism" terrorism and commerce,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_and_medium_enterprise" \o "Small
and medium enterprise" small and medium enterprise development, and contemplation of
free trade agreements and regional trade agreements.

At the summit held on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_19" \o

"November 19" November 19, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006" \o
"2006" 2006 in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi" \o "Hanoi" Hanoi,
APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade negotiations while condemning
terrorism and other threats to security. APEC also criticized HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea" \o "North Korea" North Korea for
conducting a HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test" \o "2006 North Korean
nuclear test" nuclear test and a HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_missile_test" \o "2006 North Korean
missile test" missile test launch that year, urging the country to take "concrete and
effective" steps toward HYPERLINK

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 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_disarmament" \o "Nuclear disarmament" nuclear

disarmament. Concerns about HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_proliferation" \o "Nuclear proliferation" nuclear
proliferation in the region was discussed in addition to economic topics. The
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States" United
States and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russia signed
an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.

The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APEC_Australia_2007" \o "APEC

Australia 2007" APEC Australia 2007 summit was held in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney,_New_South_Wales" \o "Sydney, New South
Wales" Sydney from 2-9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed to an "aspirational
goal" of a 25% reduction of energy intensity correlative with economic development..
Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-
concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protestors and potential terrorists.
However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with
ease by a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APEC_Australia_2007" \l
"Chaser_incident" \o "APEC Australia 2007" spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by
members of the Australian televsion program HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chaser" \o "The Chaser" The Chaser, one of which
was dressed to resemble the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda" \o
"Al-Qaeda" Al-Qaeda leader HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden" \o "Osama bin Laden" Osama bin
Laden.

PAGE 5
 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN
HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedi
Shanghai Cooperation a.org/w/index.php?
Organisation title=Secretariat_of
_the_Shanghai_Co HYPERLINK
The Shanghai Cooperation
operation_Organis "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beiji
Organisation (SCO) is an
ation&action=edit" ng" \o "Beijing" Beijing,
HYPERLINK
\o "Secretariat of HYPERLINK
the Shanghai "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peopl
Cooperation e's_Republic_of_China" \o
Organisation" "People's Republic of China"
Secretariat China (PRC)
HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedi "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tash
a.org/w/index.php? kent" \o "Tashkent" Tashkent,
title=Regional_Anti HYPERLINK
- "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbe
Terrorist_Structur kistan" \o "Uzbekistan" Uzbekistan
e&action=edit" \o
"Regional Anti-
Terrorist
Structure" RATS
HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedi "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russi
a.org/wiki/Working an_language" \o "Russian
_language" \o language" Russian, HYPERLINK
"Working "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chine
language" Working se_language" \o "Chinese
languages language" Chinese
6 member states
Membership
4 observer states

HYPERLINK
PAGE 5
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_
15" \o "June 15" 15 June
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental" \o "Intergovernmental"
intergovernmental mutual-security organization which was founded in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001" \o "2001" 2001 by the leaders of HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \o "People's Republic of
China" China, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russia,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan" \o "Kazakhstan" Kazakhstan,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" \o "Kyrgyzstan" Kyrgyzstan,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan" \o "Tajikistan" Tajikistan and
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan" \o "Uzbekistan" Uzbekistan.
Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five,
founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the
organization.

Origins

The Shanghai Five grouping was originally created HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26" \o "April 26" April 26, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996" \o "1996" 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on
Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai" \o "Shanghai" Shanghai by the heads of states of
Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_24" \o "April 24" April 24,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997" \o "1997" 1997 the same countries
signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow" \o "Moscow" Moscow. Subsequent
annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty" \o "Almaty" Almaty (Kazakhstan) in 1998, in
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkek" \o "Bishkek" Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
in 1999, and in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dushanbe" \o "Dushanbe"
Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in 2000.

In 2001, the annual summit returned to HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai" \o "Shanghai" Shanghai, HYPERLINK

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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" \o "China" China. There the five member nations

first admitted HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan" \o "Uzbekistan"
Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the Shanghai Six).
Then all six heads of state signed on HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_15" \o "June 15" June 15, 2001, the Declaration of
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, praising the role played thus far by the Shanghai
Five mechanism and aiming to transform it to a higher level of cooperation. In July 2001,
Russia and the PRC, the organisation's two leading nations, signed the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Good-
Neighborliness_and_Friendly_Cooperation_Between_the_People's_Republic_of_China_
and_the_Russian_Federation" \o "Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly
Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation" Treaty
of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg" \o "Saint Petersburg" St. Petersburg,
Russia. There they signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organisation's
purposes, principles, structures and form of operation, and established it officially from
the point of view of international law.

Activities

Cooperation on security

The SCO is primarily centered around its member nations' HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia" \o "Central Asia" Central Asian security-
related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism" \o "Terrorism" terrorism, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatism" \o "Separatism" separatism and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremism" \o "Extremism" extremism.

At the June 16-17 2004 SCO summit, held in HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashkent" \o "Tashkent" Tashkent, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan" \o "Uzbekistan" Uzbekistan, the Regional

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Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established. On HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_21" \o "April 21" 21 April HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006" \o "2006" 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight
cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.

Grigory Logninov claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military
bloc; nonetheless he argued that the increased threats of "terrorism, extremism and
separatism" make necessary a full-scale involvement of armed forces.

There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The first of these was held in
2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the second in China.

On a larger scale, but outside the SCO framework, the first ever joint military exercise
between the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \
o "People's Republic of China" PRC and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russia, called HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Mission_2005" \o "Peace Mission 2005" Peace
Mission 2005 started on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_19" \o
"August 19" August 19, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005" \o "2005"
2005. Following their successful completion, Russian officials have begun speaking of
India joining such exercises in the future and the SCO taking on a military role.

The joint military exercises in 2007 took place in HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk" \o "Chelyabinsk" Chelyabinsk Russia, near
the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural_Mountains" \o "Ural Mountains"
Ural Mountains and close to Central Asia, as was agreed upon on April 2006 at a meeting
of SCO Defense Ministers. More than 4,000 soldiers participated from China. Air forces
and precision-guided weapons were have likely to be used. Russian Defense Minister
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Ivanov" \o "Sergei Ivanov" Sergei
Ivanov said that the exercises will be transparent and open to media and the public.

In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Security_Treaty_Organisation" \o "Collective
Security Treaty Organisation" Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), in the

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Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and
drug trafficking. Joint action plans between the two organizations are planned to be
signed by early HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008" \o "2008" 2008 in
Beijing.

Economic cooperation

A Framework Agreement to enhance economic cooperation was signed by the SCO

member states on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_23" \o
"September 23" 23 September HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003" \o
"2003" 2003. At the same meeting the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China" \o "Premier
of the People's Republic of China" PRC's Premier, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wen_Jiabao" \o "Wen Jiabao" Wen Jiabao, proposed a
long-term objective to establish a HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade_area" \o "Free trade area" free trade area in the
SCO, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods
in the region. A follow up plan with 100 specific actions was signed one year later, on
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_23" \o "September 23"
September 23, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004" \o "2004" 2004.

On HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_26" \o "October 26" 26 October

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005" \o "2005" 2005, the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow" \o "Moscow" Moscow Summit of the SCO, the
Secretary General of the Organisation said that the SCO will prioritise joint energy
projects; such will include the oil and gas sector, the exploration of new hydrocarbon
reserves, and joint use of water resources. The creation of an Inter-bank SCO Council
was also agreed upon at that summit in order to fund future joint projects. The first
meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing on 21-22 February 2006.
On HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_30" \o "November 30" 30
November 2006, at The SCO: Results and Perspectives, an international conference held
in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty" \o "Almaty" Almaty, the
representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is developing plans

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for an SCO "Energy Club".. The need for this "club" was reiterated by Moscow at an
SCO summit in November 2007. Other SCO members, however, have not committed
themselves to the idea.

Future membership possibilities

Among other nations of the wider region, HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia" \o "Mongolia" Mongolia became the first
country to receive observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit. HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" \o "Pakistan" Pakistan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" \o "Iran" Iran received observer status at the 2005
SCO summit in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astana" \o "Astana" Astana,
Kazakhstan on HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_5" \o "July 5" July 5,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005" \o "2005" 2005. Pakistan and Iran
have been lobbying for full membership, while India and Mongolia have not shown
strong interest in becoming official members.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hui" \o "Li Hui" Li Hui once said that the SCO will not
take in new members before its six members make serious studies. Russia's permanent
representative in the SCO Secretariat HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grigory_Longinov&action=edit" \o "Grigory
Longinov" Grigory Longinov has also claimed that the enlargement of the SCO is
impeded by "an immature mechanism of admission of new members", while Secretary
General HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Deguang" \o "Zhang
Deguang" Zhang Deguang argued that an over-expansion might hinder the intensification
of the cooperation.

In a series of meetings in February 2006 with Chinese officials and media, the President
of Pakistan HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervez_Musharraf" \o "Pervez
Musharraf" Pervez Musharraf argued in favour of Pakistan's qualification to join the
organisation as a full member. China said that it would convey Pakistan’s desire to all

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SCO member states. In turn, Musharraf was formally invited to the sixth summit of the
SCO to take place in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai" \o
"Shanghai" Shanghai in June 2006.

The SCO has also encouraged HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o

"India" India to join the organisation, saying that they would properly consider a
membership application should it decide to join the group. Russia has been said to
support Pakistan's membership only if India joins at the same time; given the disputes
between the two nations, this scenario parallels the simultaneous entry of HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" \o "Greece" Greece and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey" \o "Turkey" Turkey as members of HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO" \o "NATO" NATO. So far, India has not made an
official membership application, but has unofficially made its interest in joining known.

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus" \o "Belarus" Belarus has also

applied for observer status in the organisation and has been promised Kazakhstan's
support towards that goal. However, Russian Defense Minister HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Ivanov" \o "Sergei Ivanov" Sergei Ivanov voiced
doubt on the probability of Belarus' membership, saying that Belarus was a purely
European country.

Power balance in a multi-polar world

Together, SCO full and observer members form not only the world's biggest economic
and military power, but also the world's biggest producer and consumer of energy.
Moreover, SCO countries (full members and observers) comprise a hefty 25% of Earth's
land area. Although the declaration on the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation contained a statement that it "is not an alliance directed against other states
and regions and it adheres to the principle of openness", many observers believe that one
of the original purposes of the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO" \o "NATO" NATO and the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States" United States and in
particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas near

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both HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russia and

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" \o "China" China. Some observers
also believe that the organisation was formed as a direct response to the threat of
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_defense" \o "Missile defense"
missile defense systems by the United States, after the United States reversed course in
its nuclear policy and began promoting HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Missile_Defense" \o "National Missile Defense"
National Missile Defense.

The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States"

United States applied for observer status in the SCO, but was rejected in 2005.

At the Astana summit in July 2005, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq foreshadowing
an indefinite presence of U.S. forces in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the SCO urged the
U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawing its troops from SCO member states. Shortly
afterwards, Uzbekistan asked the U.S. to leave the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karshi-Khanabad" \o "Karshi-Khanabad" K-2 air base.

Recently the SCO has made no direct comments against the U.S. or its military presence
in the region. However, several indirect statements at the past summits, including the
2007 summit in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkek" \o "Bishkek"
Bishkek, have been viewed as "thinly veiled swipes at Washington".

Membership: China, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,

Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan

Observors: Iran, Mangolia, Afghanistan, Belarus

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Economic Cooperation Organization

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_organization" \o "International
organization" international organization involving ten HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" \o "Asia" Asian nations. It provides a platform to
discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities.
The nations involved are HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" \o
"Afghanistan" Afghanistan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan" \o
"Azerbaijan" Azerbaijan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" \o "Iran"
Iran, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan" \o "Kazakhstan"
Kazakhstan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" \o "Kyrgyzstan"
Kyrgyzstan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" \o "Pakistan"
Pakistan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan" \o "Tajikistan"
Tajikistan, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey" \o "Turkey" Turkey,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmenistan" \o "Turkmenistan"
Turkmenistan and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan" \o
"Uzbekistan" Uzbekistan. The common objective is to establish a HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_market" \o "Single market" single market for goods
and services, much like the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" \o "European Union" European Union.
ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran" \o "Tehran" Tehran, its economic bureau is in
Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan.

History and role

Economic Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental regional organization

established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic,
technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. It was the successor
organisation of what was the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Cooperation_for_Development" \o "Regional

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Cooperation for Development" Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), founded

in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962" \o "1962" 1962, which ended
activities in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979" \o "1979" 1979. In the
fall of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992" \o "1992" 1992, the ECO
expanded to include seven new members, namely HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" \o "Afghanistan" Afghanistan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan" \o "Azerbaijan" Azerbaijan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan" \o "Kazakhstan" Kazakhstan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" \o "Kyrgyzstan" Kyrgyzstan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan" \o "Tajikistan" Tajikistan, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmenistan" \o "Turkmenistan" Turkmenistan, and
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan" \o "Uzbekistan" Uzbekistan.

The status and power of the ECO is growing. However, the organization faces many
challenges. Most importantly, the member states are lacking appropriate infrastructure
and institutions which the Organization is primarily seeking to develop, to make full use
of the available resources in the region and provide sustainable development for the
member nations.

The Economic Cooperation Organisation Trade Agreement (ECOTA) was signed on

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_17" \o "July 17" 17 July HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003" \o "2003" 2003 in HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad" \o "Islamabad" Islamabad.

Organization

The following organs exist:

The Council of Ministers, which is the highest policy-making body and composed of the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member-states, or other ministerial-level officials. It
meets at least once a year.

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The Council of Permanent Representatives, is composed of the ambassadors of the other

nine member states to Iran, plus the Director General for ECO Affairs in the Foreign
Affairs Ministry of Iran.

The Regional Planning Council

The General Secretariat, consisting of six Directorates under the supervision of the
Secretary General.

Directorate of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry" \o "Industry"

Industry & HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture" \o "Agriculture"
Agriculture

Directorate of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade" \o "Trade" Trade &

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment" \o "Investment" Investment

Directorate of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy" \o "Energy" Energy,

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerals" \o "Minerals" Minerals &
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment" \o "Natural
environment" Environment

Directorate of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport" \o "Transport"

Transport and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication" \o
"Communication" Communications

Directorate of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic" \o "Economic"

Economic Research & HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics" \o
"Statistics" Statistics

Directorate of Project HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research" \o

"Research" Research

Two specialised agencies and two regional institutes also function under the supervision
of the General Secretariat.

The Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank

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The Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank (the Bank) was
established by the three founding members of the Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECO) in 2005; Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Its subscribed capital is 300 million
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Drawing_Rights" \o "Special
Drawing Rights" SDR, which is to be paid by the member countries equally. For the first
five years starting from November 2006 the first President of the Bank is from Turkey
(Mr. Murat Ulus) and the position of the President will pass to other member countries on
a four-year rotation basis after the first five years. The headquarters of the Bank is in
Istanbul, Turkey.The mission of the ECO Trade & Development Bank is to initiate, to
promote and to provide financial facilities to expand intra-regional trade and to promote
the economic development of ECO member countries. The latest summit of ECO was
held in Herrat (Afghanistan) 07.

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United Nations Security Council

History
Org type: Principal Organ
The Security Council held its first Acronyms: UNSC
session on HYPERLINK HYPERLINK
"http://www.un.org/sc/presidency.html"
\o
Head: "http://www.un.org/sc/presidency.html"
Security Council President (rotating)

Status: Active
Established: 1946
HYPERLINK
"http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/" \o
Website:
"http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/"
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_17" \o "January 17" 17 January HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946" \o "1946" 1946 at HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_House" \o "Church House" Church House,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" \o "London" London.

Significant changes in the Council’s composition

In 1965, amendments to articles 23 and 27 of the Charter came into effect, increasing the
number of elected members from six to ten.

In 1971, the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNGA" \o "UNGA" General

Assembly voted to remove the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China" \o "Republic of China" Republic of
China representative, establishing that a delegate from the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \o "People's Republic of

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China" People's Republic of China was the legitimate representative of China. Because
the issue was presented as one that involved which delegation would properly represent
China instead of admission or expulsion of a member, this issue required only action by
the General Assembly.

Similarly, there was no amendment to article 23 following the collapse of the

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1985–1991)" \l
"Dissolution_of_the_USSR" \o "History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)" Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. In much less contentious circumstances the
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_and_the_United_Nations" \o "Russia
and the United Nations" Russian Federation acceded to the former Soviet seat.

Members

Permanent members

The Council seated five permanent members who were originally drawn from the
victorious powers after HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" \o
"World War II" World War II:

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg" \o "Flag of the
Republic of China" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China" \o "Republic of China" Republic of
China

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" \o "Flag of

France" The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" \o "France" French
Republic

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg" \o
"Flag of the Soviet Union" The HYPERLINK

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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" \o "Soviet Union" Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" \
o "Flag of the United Kingdom" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" \o "United Kingdom" United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" \o
"Flag of the United States" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United States" United States of America

Two of the original members, the Republic of China and the Soviet Union, were later
replaced by recognized HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Successor_state" \o
"Successor state" successor states, even though HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_United_Nations" \l "Article_23" \o
"s:Charter_of_the_United_Nations" Article 23 of the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_United_Nations" \o "Charter of the United
Nations" Charter of the United Nations has not been accordingly amended: HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China.svg" \o
"Flag of the People's Republic of China" The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \o "People's Republic of
China" People's Republic of China, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia.svg" \o "Flag of Russia" The
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russian Federation

The five permanent members of the Security Council are the only nations recognized as
possessing HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_nuclear_weapons" \o "List of
countries with nuclear weapons" nuclear weapons under the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty" \o "Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty" Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 2004, four of the five
permanent members were also the world's top four weapons exporters when measured by

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arms value; China was seventh.Each permanent member has the power to HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power" \o "United
Nations Security Council veto power" veto any substantive resolution.

Elected members

Ten other members are elected by the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_General_Assembly" \o "UN General Assembly"
General Assembly for two-year terms starting on HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1" \o "January 1" 1 January, with five replaced
each year. The members are chosen by HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Regional_Groups" \o "UN Regional Groups" regional
groups and confirmed by the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly" \o "United Nations
General Assembly" United Nations General Assembly. The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" \o "Africa" African bloc chooses three members;
the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean" \o
"Latin America and the Caribbean" Latin America and the Caribbean, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" \o "Asia" Asian, and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_European_and_Others_Group" \o "Western
European and Others Group" Western European and Others blocs choose two members
each; and the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe" \o "Eastern
Europe" Eastern European bloc chooses one member. Also, one of these members is an
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_World" \o "Arab World" Arab country,
alternately from the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" \o "Asia" Asian or
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" \o "Africa" African bloc.

Veto power

Under HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power" \l
"Article_27" \o "United Nations Security Council veto power" Article 27 of the
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Charter" \o "UN Charter" UN Charter,

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Security Council decisions on all substantive matters require the affirmative votes of nine
members. A negative vote, or HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veto" \o "Veto"
veto, by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal, even if it has received the
required number of affirmative votes. Abstention is not regarded as a veto despite the
wording of the Charter. Since the Security Council's inception, China (ROC/PRC) has
used its veto six times; France 18 times; Russia/USSR 122 times; the United Kingdom 32
times; and the United States 81 times. The majority of Russian/Soviet vetoes were in the
first ten years of the Council's existence. Since 1984, China has vetoed three resolutions;
France three; Russia/USSR four; the United Kingdom ten; and the United States 43.
Procedural matters are not subject to a veto, so the veto cannot be used to avoid
discussion of an issue.

Role of the Security Council

Under Chapter Six of the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Charter" \o "United Nations Charter"
Charter, "Pacific Settlement of Disputes", the Security Council "may investigate any
dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a
dispute". The Council may "recommend appropriate procedures or methods of
adjustment" if it determines that the situation might endanger international peace and
security. These recommendations are not binding on UN members.

Under HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_VII_of_the_United_Nations_Charter" \o "Chapter
VII of the United Nations Charter" Chapter Seven, the Council has broader power to
decide what measures are to be taken in situations involving "threats to the peace,
breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression". In such situations, the Council is not limited
to recommendations but may take action, including the use of armed force "to maintain or
restore international peace and security". This was the basis for UN armed action in
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea" \o "Korea" Korea in 1950 during the
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War" \o "Korean War" Korean War
and the use of coalition forces in Iraq and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait" \o "Kuwait" Kuwait in 1991. Decisions taken

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under Chapter Seven, such as HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sanctions" \o "Economic sanctions" economic
sanctions, are binding on UN members.

The UN's role in international collective security is defined by the UN Charter, which
gives the Security Council the power to:

Investigate any situation threatening international peace;

Recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute;

Call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt economic relations as
well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications, or to sever diplomatic relations; and

Enforce its decisions militarily, or by any means necessary.

The United Nations has helped prevent many outbreaks of international violence from
growing into wider conflicts. It has opened the way to negotiated settlements through its
service as a centre of debate and negotiation, as well as through UN-sponsored fact-
finding missions, mediators, and truce observers. HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Peacekeeping" \o "UN Peacekeeping" UN
Peacekeeping forces, comprised of troops and equipment supplied by member nations,
have usually been able to limit or prevent conflict, although sometimes not. Some
conflicts, however, have proven to be beyond the capacity of the UN to influence. Key to
the success of UN peacekeeping efforts is the willingness of the parties to a conflict to
come to terms peacefully through a viable political process.

The HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court" \o
"Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court" Rome Statute of the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" \o "International Criminal
Court" International Criminal Court recognizes that the Security Council has
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority" \o "Authority" authority to refer
cases to the Court, where the Court could not otherwise exercise jurisdiction. The
Council exercised this power for the first time in March 2005, when it referred to the

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Court “the situation prevailing in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur" \o

"Darfur" Darfur since 1 July 2002”;since HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan" \o "Sudan" Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute,
the Court could not otherwise have exercised jurisdiction. HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" \o "Australia" Australia and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand" \o "New Zealand" New Zealand have called
on the Council to refer HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe" \o
"Robert Mugabe" Robert Mugabe's alleged crimes to the International Criminal Court.

HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution" \o "United
Nations Security Council Resolution" Security Council Resolutions are legally binding if
they are made under HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_United_Nations" \l "Chapter_VII_-
_Action_with_Respect_to_Threats_to_the_Peace.2C_Breaches_of_the_Peace_and_Acts
_of_Aggression" \o "s:Charter_of_the_United_Nations" Chapter VII (Action with
Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression) of the
Charter. Resolutions made under Chapter VI, however, have no enforcement mechanisms
and are generally considered to have no binding force under international law. The
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice" \o
"International Court of Justice" International Court of Justice (ICJ), however, has
asserted that all UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding, in its HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971" \o "1971" 1971 HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia" \o "Namibia" Namibia non-binding
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advisory_opinion" \o "Advisory opinion"
advisory opinion. This assertion by the ICJ has been countered by HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erika_De_Wet&action=edit" \o "Erika De
Wet" Erika De Wet and others. De Wet argues that Chapter VI resolutions cannot be
binding. Her reasoning, in part states:

Allowing the Security Council to adopt binding measures under Chapter VI would
undermine the structural division of competencies foreseen by Chapters VI and VII,

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respectively. The whole aim of separating these chapters is to distinguish between

voluntary and binding measures. Whereas the pacific settlement of disputes provided by
the former is underpinned by the consent of the parties, binding measures in terms of
Chapter VII are characterised by the absence of such consent. A further indication of the
non-binding nature of measures taken in terms of Chapter VI is the obligation on
members of the Security Council who are parties to a dispute, to refrain from voting
when resolutions under Chapter VI are adopted. No similar obligation exists with respect
to binding resolutions adopted under Chapter VII... If one applies this reasoning to the
Nambia opinion, the decisive point is that none of the Articles under Chapter VI facilitate
the adoption of the type of binding measures that were adopted by the Security Council in
Resolution 276(1970)... Resolution 260(1970) was indeed adopted in terms of Chapter
HYPERLINK
VII, even though the ICJ went to some length to give the opposite impression.
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNSC" \l "_note-8" \o "" [10]

In practice, the Security Council does not consider its decisions outside Chapter VII to be
binding.

Those resolutions made outside these two Chapters dealing with the internal governance
of the organization (such as the admission of new Member States) are legally binding
where the Charter gives the Security Council power to make them.

If the council cannot reach consensus or a passing vote on a resolution, they may choose
to produce a non-binding HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Statement" \o "Presidential Statement"
presidential statement instead of a Resolution. These are adopted by consensus. They are
meant to apply political pressure — a warning that the council is paying attention and
further action may follow.

Press statements typically accompany both resolutions and presidential statements,

carrying the text of the document adopted by the body and also some explanatory text.
They may also be released independently, after a significant meeting.

Security Council Chamber

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The designated Security Council Chamber in the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Building" \o "United Nations Building"
United Nations Building, designed by the Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg, was
the specific gift of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway" \o "Norway"
Norway. The mural painted by the Norwegian artist HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Krogh" \o "Per Krogh" Per Krogh depicts a
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix" \o "Phoenix" phoenix rising from
its ashes, symbolic of the world reborn after World War II. In the blue and gold silk
tapestry on the walls and in the draperies of the windows overlooking the East River
appear the anchor of faith, the wheat stems of hope, and the heart of charity.

Criticisms of the Security Council

There have been criticisms that the five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council (who are all nuclear powers) have created an exclusive HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_club" \o "Nuclear club" nuclear club whose powers
are unchecked. While the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly" \o "United Nations
General Assembly" General Assembly has true international representation, the United
Nations Security Council doesn't. This has led to accusations that the UNSC only
addresses the strategic interests and political motives of the permanent members,
especially in humanitarian interventions - for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in
1991 but poorly protecting resource-poor Rwandans in 1994. Any nation may be elected
to serve a temporary term on the Security Council, but critics have suggested this is
inadequate. Rather, they argue, the number of permanent members should be expanded to
include non-nuclear powers, which would democratize the organization. Still other
nations have advocated abolishing the concept of permanency altogether; under the
government of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Martin" \o "Paul
Martin" Paul Martin, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" \o "Canada"
Canada advocated this approach.

Another criticism of the Security Council involves the HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veto" \o "Veto" veto power of the five permanent nations.

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As it stands, one veto from any of the "Big Five" ( HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" \o "Russia" Russia, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China" \o "People's Republic of
China" China, the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" \o "United
States" United States, the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom"
\o "United Kingdom" United Kingdom and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" \o "France" France) can halt any possible action the
Council may take. One nation's objection, rather than the opinions of a majority of
nations, may cripple any possible UN armed or diplomatic response to a crisis. For
instance, John J. Mearsheimer claimed that "Since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security
Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the
other Security Council members." However, Russia (and the Soviets) issued 122 vetoes
while the United States only issued a total of 81 vetoes since the formation of the
Security Council. The practice of the permanent members meeting privately and then
presenting their resolutions to the full council as a fait accompli has also drawn fire;
according to HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_Childers_(UN)" \o
"Erskine Childers (UN)" Erskine Childers, "the vast majority of members -- North as well
as South -- have made very clear...their distaste for the way three Western powers behave
in the Council, like a private club of hereditary elite-members who secretly come to
decisions and then emerge to tell the grubby elected members that they may now rubber-
stamp those decisions."

Other critics and even proponents of the Security Council question its effectiveness and
relevance because in most high profile cases, there are essentially no consequences for
violating a Security Council resolution. The most prominent and dramatic example of this
became the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_crisis" \o "Darfur crisis"
Darfur crisis, in which HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab" \o "Arab"
Arab HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janjaweed" \o "Janjaweed" Janjaweed
militias, supported by the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan" \o "Sudan"
Sudanese government, committed repeated acts of HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing" \o "Ethnic cleansing" ethnic cleansing
and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide" \o "Genocide" genocide

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against the indigenous population. Thus far, an estimated 300,000 civilians have been
killed in what is the largest case of mass murder in the history of the region, yet the U.N.
has continuously failed to act against this severe and ongoing HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights" \o "Human rights" human rights issue.
Another such case occurred in the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre" \o "Srebrenica massacre" Srebrenica
massacre where Serbian troops committed genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the
largest case of mass murder on the European continent since HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" \o "World War II" World War II.
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica" \o "Srebrenica" Srebrenica had
been declared a U.N. "safe area" and was even protected by 400 armed Dutch
peacekeepers, but the U.N. forces did nothing to prevent the massacre.

Other critics object to the idea that the U.N. is a democratic organization, saying that it
represents the interests of the governments of the nations who form it and not necessarily
the individuals within those nations. HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_federalist" \o "World federalist" World federalist
Dieter Heinrich points out that the powerful Security Council system does not have
distinctions between the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches: the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Charter" \o "UN Charter" UN Charter gives all three
powers to the Security Council.

Membership reform

The HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4_nations" \o "G4 nations" G4 nations

( HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" \o "Brazil" Brazil, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" \o "Germany" Germany, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India and HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" \o "Japan" Japan) support one another’s bid for
permanent seats on the Security Council. There has been discussion of increasing the
number of permanent members. The countries who have made the strongest demands for
permanent seats are HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" \o "Brazil"
Brazil, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" \o "Germany" Germany,

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HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India and HYPERLINK

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" \o "Japan" Japan. Indeed, Japan and Germany are
the UN's second and third largest funders respectively, while Brazil, the largest Latin
American nation, and India, the world's second most populous country, are two of the
largest contributors of troops to UN-mandated peace-keeping missions. This project has
found opposition in a group of countries called HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniting_for_Consensus" \o "Uniting for Consensus"
Uniting for Consensus.

Former UN Secretary-General HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan"

\o "Kofi Annan" Kofi Annan asked a team of advisors to come up with recommendations
for reforming the United Nations by the end of 2004. One proposed measure is to
increase the number of permanent members by five, which, in most proposals, would
include HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" \o "Brazil" Brazil,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" \o "Germany" Germany,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" \o "India" India, HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" \o "Japan" Japan (known as the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4_nations" \o "G4 nations" G4 nations), one seat from
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" \o "Africa" Africa (most likely
between HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt" \o "Egypt" Egypt,
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria" \o "Nigeria" Nigeria or
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa" \o "South Africa" South
Africa) and/or one seat from the HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League" \o "Arab League" Arab League. On
HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_21" \o "September 21" 21
September HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004" \o "2004" 2004, the G4
nations issued a joint statement mutually backing each other's claim to permanent status,
together with an African country. The United States, France, and the United Kingdom
declared that they support this claim. Currently the proposal has to be accepted by two-
thirds of the General Assembly (128 votes).

Why UN Fails / Criticism

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The UN has failed to live up to the expectations of the people of the world; Bosnia,
Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Vietnam etc

UN is victim of unilateralism by the five powerful memebers and their veto

Article 2(7) of UN prohibits it to take any action against an iternal matter of any member
state; France maintained that Algeria was its internal issue, Russia used same for
Chechnys

UN cannot take any action against its big 5 powers; lie Bush overrun UN resolution and
attack Iraq

UN is critically dependent in the aid of super powers and hence cannot annoy them

UN needs functional and structural changes

No standing force to execute its orders

Veto power is itself contrary to UN article 2 (1) which grants ‘sovereign equality’ to all
members states

UNSC should be enlarged; Asia has only one permanent seat while its most populas of all
continents, Africa and North America have no seat at all while Europe has two seats

The International Court of Justice should be empowered

Annual budget of UN should be mandatory

UN should sincerely struggle for peace, deneuclearization and disarmament

UN’s notion of ‘collective security’ should prevail over unilaterism and US doctrine of
pre-emption

US violated resolution 1441 of UN regarding Iraq that has only mandated to ‘disarm’ not
to attack it. UN should take strict notice of such henious violations

UN must address ‘Larger Freedom’ also that includes poverty, global security,
development and peace

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Asia has always been neglected; Ban Ki Moon is eighth UN chief and first from
Asia ,,,,,,,

The three pillars of UN; security, human rights, and development should be given
attention and UN restore its prestige as a ‘conflict resolving’ platform rather than a
puppet in the powerful hands

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