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 Headquarters Kathmandu, Nepal
political organization of eight
countries in Southern Asia. In Membership 8 member states

terms of population, its sphere 6 observers

of influence is the largest of

any regional organization:
almost 1.5 billion people, the
combined population of its Establishment December 8, 1985
member states. It was
Website
established on December 8,
http://www.saarc-sec.org/
1985 by India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan. In April 2007, at the Association's
14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member.

History

In the late 1970s, Bangladeshi president 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 Colombo in 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 Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, agreed on five areas of cooperation:

 Agriculture and Rural Development

 Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Meteorology
 Health and Population Activities
 Transport
 Human Resource Development

1
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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 United States of
America and South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. The
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
August 2, 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 4 March 2007, 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 Kashmir dispute and the 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 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

2
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

due to political and economic concerns on both sides. India has been constructing a
barrier across its borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1993, SAARC countries
signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region, in Dhaka. Eleven years
later, at the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad, SAARC countries devised the South
Asia Free Trade Agreement which created a framework for the establishment of a 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 2007.

Membership

Current members Observers

 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan  People's Republic of China

 People's Republic of Bangladesh  European Union
 Kingdom of Bhutan  Islamic Republic of Iran
 Republic of India  Japan
 Republic of Maldives  Republic of Korea
 State of Nepal
 United States of America
 Islamic Republic of Pakistan

 Democratic Socialist Republic of

Sri Lanka

Countries Desire Observer Status

 The People's Republic of China - Bhutan does not even have diplomatic relations
with China.
 The Islamic Republic of Iran,

 The Russian Federation

 Union of Myanmar has also expressed an interest in joining as an observer.

 The Commonwealth of Australia along with Mauritius, SAARC will consider

allowing Australia to join as an observer.

3
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

 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

4
 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 Pacific Rim
countries or regions (styled 'member Headquarters Singapore
economies') to discuss the regional
Type Economic forum
economy, cooperation, trade and
investment. The membership is claimed Member countries 21
to account for approximately 41% of
the world's population, approximately
56% of world GDP and about 49% of Establishment 1989

world trade. The activities, including

Websitehttp://www.apec.org/
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 heads of government of all APEC members except Chinese
Taipei, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. The most recent summit,
APEC Australia 2007, was concluded in Sydney on September 9.

History

In January 1989, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke called for more effective
economic cooperation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first meeting of
APEC in the Australian capital Canberra in November, chaired by Australian Foreign
Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by political ministers from twelve countries, the
meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South
Korea.

The initial proposal was opposed by countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) which instead proposed the East Asia Economic Caucus which would

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

exclude non-Asian countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The
plan was opposed and strongly criticized by Japan and the United States.

The first APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting occurred in 1993 when US president Bill
Clinton, after discussions with Australian prime minister Paul Keating, invited the heads
of government from member economies to a summit on Blake Island. He believed it
would help bring the stalled 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 Bogor, APEC adopted the Bogor Goals that aimed to reduce
trade 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 Pacific
Ocean. By convention, APEC uses the term member economy to refer to one of its
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.

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.

6
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

In addition to India Mongolia, Pakistan, Laos, Colombia, 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 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Guam has also been 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 capacity
building. As part of the accord, the summit committed to develop and implement APEC
transparency standards, reduce trade transaction costs in the Asia-Pacific region by 5
percent over 5 years, and pursue trade liberalization policies relating to information
technology goods and services.

The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce, small and medium
enterprise development, and contemplation of free trade agreements and regional trade
agreements.

At the summit held on November 19, 2006 in Hanoi, APEC leaders called for a new start
to global free-trade negotiations while condemning terrorism and other threats to security.
APEC also criticized North Korea for conducting a nuclear test and a missile test launch
that year, urging the country to take "concrete and effective" steps toward nuclear
disarmament. Concerns about nuclear proliferation in the region was discussed in
addition to economic topics. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of
Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.

The APEC Australia 2007 summit was held in 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

7
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

anticipated protestors and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful
and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof diplomatic motorcade
manned by members of the Australian televsion program The Chaser, one of which was
dressed to resemble the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

8
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO) is an Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
intergovernmental mutual- Secretariat Beijing, China (PRC)
security organization which RATS Tashkent, Uzbekistan
was founded in 2001 by the Working languages Russian, Chinese
leaders of China, Russia, 6 member states
Membership
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 4 observer states
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Except for Uzbekistan, the
other countries had been Establishment 15 June 2001
members of the Shanghai
Website
Five, founded in 1996; after
http://www.sectsco.org/
the inclusion of Uzbekistan
in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

Origins

The Shanghai Five grouping was originally created April 26, 1996 with the signing of the
Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai by the heads of states
of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. April
24, 1997 the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border
Regions in a meeting in Moscow. Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group
occurred in Almaty (Kazakhstan) in 1998, in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in 1999, and in
Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in 2000.

In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai, China. There the five member nations
first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the
Shanghai Six). Then all six heads of state signed on 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,

9
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Russia and the PRC, the organisation's two leading nations, signed the Treaty of Good-
Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in 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' Central Asian security-related
concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and
extremism.

At the June 16-17 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional
Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established. On 21 April 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 PRC and Russia, called Peace Mission 2005 started on August 19, 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 Chelyabinsk Russia, near the Ural
Mountains and close to Central Asia, as was agreed upon on April 2006 at a meeting of

10
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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
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 Collective Security Treaty
Organisation (CSTO), in the 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 2008 in Beijing.

Economic cooperation

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

member states on 23 September 2003. At the same meeting the PRC's Premier, Wen
Jiabao, proposed a long-term objective to establish a 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
September 23, 2004.

On 26 October 2005, the 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 30 November 2006, at The
SCO: Results and Perspectives, an international conference held in Almaty, the
representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is developing plans
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

11
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Among other nations of the wider region, Mongolia became the first country to receive
observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit. Pakistan, India and Iran received observer
status at the 2005 SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 5, 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 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 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 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 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
SCO member states. In turn, Musharraf was formally invited to the sixth summit of the
SCO to take place in Shanghai in June 2006.

The SCO has also encouraged 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 Greece
and Turkey as members of NATO. So far, India has not made an official membership
application, but has unofficially made its interest in joining known.

Belarus has also applied for observer status in the organisation and has been promised
Kazakhstan's support towards that goal. However, Russian Defense Minister 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

12
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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 NATO and the
United States and in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to
intervene in areas near both Russia and China. Some observers also believe that the
organisation was formed as a direct response to the threat of missile defense systems by
the United States, after the United States reversed course in its nuclear policy and began
promoting National Missile Defense.

The 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 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 Bishkek, have been viewed as "thinly veiled swipes at Washington".

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

Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan

Observors: Iran, Mangolia, Afghanistan, Belarus

13
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

Economic Cooperation Organization

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental international

organization involving ten Asian nations. It provides a platform to discuss ways to
improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The nations
involved are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The common objective is to establish a
single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. ECO's secretariat
and cultural department are located in 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 Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), founded in
1962, which ended activities in 1979. In the fall of 1992, the ECO expanded to include
seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 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 17

July 2003 in Islamabad.

Organization

The following organs exist:

14
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

 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.
 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.
o Directorate of Industry & Agriculture
o Directorate of Trade & Investment
o Directorate of Energy, Minerals & Environment
o Directorate of Transport and Communications
o Directorate of Economic Research & Statistics
o Directorate of Project 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

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 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.

15
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

United Nations Security Council

History
Org type: Principal Organ
The Security Council held its first Acronyms: UNSC
session on 17 January 1946 at Security Council President (rotating)
Church House, London. Head:

Significant changes in the Status: Active

Council’s composition Established: 1946

Website: http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/

1. In 1965, amendments to articles 23 and 27 of the Charter came into effect, increasing
the number of elected members from six to ten.
2. In 1971, the General Assembly voted to remove the Republic of China representative,
establishing that a delegate from the 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.

3. Similarly, there was no amendment to article 23 following the collapse of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. In much less contentious circumstances the
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 World War II:

16
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

 The Republic of China

 The French Republic
 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
 The United States of America

Two of the original members, the Republic of China and the Soviet Union, were later
replaced by recognized successor states, even though Article 23 of the Charter of the
United Nations has not been accordingly amended:The People's Republic of China, The
Russian Federation

The five permanent members of the Security Council are the only nations recognized as
possessing nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 2004, four of
the five permanent members were also the world's top four weapons exporters when
measured by arms value; China was seventh.Each permanent member has the power to
veto any substantive resolution.

Elected members

Ten other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms starting on 1
January, with five replaced each year. The members are chosen by regional groups and
confirmed by the United Nations General Assembly. The African bloc chooses three
members; the Latin America and the Caribbean, Asian, and Western European and
Others blocs choose two members each; and the Eastern European bloc chooses one
member. Also, one of these members is an Arab country, alternately from the Asian or
African bloc.

Veto power

Under Article 27 of the UN Charter, Security Council decisions on all substantive matters
require the affirmative votes of nine members. A negative vote, or 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.

17
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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 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 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 Korea in 1950 during the
Korean War and the use of coalition forces in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. Decisions taken
under Chapter Seven, such as 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.

18
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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. 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 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court recognizes that the Security
Council has 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 Court “the situation prevailing in Darfur since 1 July 2002”;since
Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute, the Court could not otherwise have exercised
jurisdiction. Australia and New Zealand have called on the Council to refer Robert
Mugabe's alleged crimes to the International Criminal Court.

Security Council Resolutions are legally binding if they are made under 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 International Court of Justice (ICJ), however, has asserted that all
UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding, in its 1971 Namibia non-binding
advisory opinion. This assertion by the ICJ has been countered by 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,
respectively. The whole aim of separating these chapters is to distinguish between
voluntary and binding measures. Whereas the pacific settlement of disputes provided by

19
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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
VII, even though the ICJ went to some length to give the opposite impression.[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 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

The designated Security Council Chamber in the United Nations Building, designed by
the Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg, was the specific gift of Norway. The mural
painted by the Norwegian artist Per Krogh depicts a phoenix rising from its ashes,
symbolic of the world reborn after World War II. In the blue and gold silk tapestry on the

20
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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 nuclear club
whose powers are unchecked. While the 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 Paul Martin, Canada advocated this approach.

Another criticism of the Security Council involves the veto power of the five permanent
nations. As it stands, one veto from any of the "Big Five" (Russia, China, the United
States, the United Kingdom and 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
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

21
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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 Darfur crisis, in which Arab Janjaweed militias, supported by the Sudanese
government, committed repeated acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide 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 human rights issue. Another
such case occurred in the Srebrenica massacre where Serbian troops committed genocide
against Bosnian Muslims in the largest case of mass murder on the European continent
since World War II. 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. World federalist Dieter Heinrich points out that the
powerful Security Council system does not have distinctions between the legislative,
executive, and judiciary branches: the UN Charter gives all three powers to the Security
Council.

Membership reform

The G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India and 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 Brazil, Germany, India and 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

22
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

largest contributors of troops to UN-mandated peace-keeping missions. This project has

found opposition in a group of countries called Uniting for Consensus.

Former UN Secretary-General 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 Brazil, Germany, India, Japan (known as the G4 nations), one
seat from Africa (most likely between Egypt, Nigeria or South Africa) and/or one seat
from the Arab League. On 21 September 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

1. The UN has failed to live up to the expectations of the people of the world;
Bosnia, Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Vietnam etc
2. UN is victim of unilateralism by the five powerful memebers and their veto

3. 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

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

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

6. UN needs functional and structural changes

7. No standing force to execute its orders

23
 ORGANIZATIONS: SAARC, APEC, SCO, ECO, UN

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

9. 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

10. The International Court of Justice should be empowered

11. Annual budget of UN should be mandatory

12. UN should sincerely struggle for peace, deneuclearization and disarmament

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

14. 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

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

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

17. 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

24