1. Conservative Approach: The conservative view considers the existing Charter "practically untouchable" and believes in improving "collective security" as defined in Chapter VII. Key positions include: US Position: Prioritizes its own interests, supports better management and the creation of an Inspector General, favours enlarging the Security Council (to include Germany and Japan, mainly for financing peace-keeping), and associates the UN with regional organizations like NATO for peace enforcement. The US remains reluctant to allow full application of Chapter VII and views collective security restrictively.
2. Secretary-General's Position (Boutros Ghali): Advocated for the full implementation of 'collective security' as envisaged in 1945, including the use of the Military Staff Committee (Article 47) and the conclusion of special agreements (Article 43) for providing armed forces. He also proposed 'peace enforcement units' under the command of the Secretary-General and wider use of 'preventive diplomacy'. The report candidly recognized the Security Council's incapacity to deal with threats from a major power.
Radical Approach: The radical approach criticizes the principles of the present system and proposes an overhaul. It reflects increasing doubts about the value of the Charter's collective security system, especially in intra-State conflicts. Radical proposals include:
* Establishing an Economic Security Council
* Modifying the Charter with less reluctance.
* Reforming the IMF and World Bank.
* Developing a new global security system (e.g., regional models like CSCE/CSCM).
* The creation of a consultative parliamentary assembly at the world level.
Future Outlook: The author asserts that no major or minor reform has any chance of being implemented now, primarily because the Charter's amendment procedures (requiring a two-thirds majority including all five permanent Security Council members) preclude agreement. However, he concludes that the continuing deterioration of the global situation, driven by economic integration, rising inequality, and intra-State conflicts, will inevitably lead the political establishment to define a new global institutional structure. This future debate will become highly political, opposing the defence of democracy and human rights against nationalism and fascism. (408 words)
(Summary of the article titled “The UN as an organisation. A critique of its functioning” by Maurice Bertrand, published in 6 EJIL (1995) pp-349-359)
UN Charter Failures and Public Frustration
The provided document offers a critical look at the United Nations (UN), arguing it has fallen short of its charter's essential goals: to maintain international peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in resolving global challenges. This perceived underperformance is identified as the root cause of growing public frustration.
Peacekeeping Operations Failures Cited
The author specifically highlights that public frustration stems directly from "catastrophic humanitarian situations" and, notably, the widespread failure of peace-keeping operations. These operational shortcomings are key factors undermining the UN's role in peace and security.
Global Problem-Solving and Cooperation Challenges
Beyond immediate security issues, the UN's mandate includes fostering international cooperation to tackle complex global problems. Failures in this area, alongside security lapses, fuel public discontent. The document mentions escalating issues like rising inequality and intra-State conflicts as drivers of future global instability, indirectly linked to the UN's cooperative role.
UN Frustration Causes: Option Analysis
To identify the primary drivers of frustration, let's examine each option in light of the document's critique:
Option 1: The inability to define a new institutional structure and the spread of poverty.
The document discusses future institutional needs and global economic issues like inequality (related to poverty). However, these are presented in the context of future outlooks rather than as the primary, direct causes of current public frustration with the UN's operational performance.
Option 2: The persistent reliance on Chapter VII enforcement and the lack of a Central World Bank.
These points relate to specific reform proposals and discussions within the UN. They are not identified in the text as the fundamental reasons for the broad public frustration stemming from core mandate failures.
Option 3: The failure of peace-keeping operations and the spread of unemployment at a world level.
This option directly includes the "failure of peace-keeping operations," which is explicitly stated as a major cause of public discontent. The inclusion of "the spread of unemployment at a world level" aligns with the UN's broader mission to achieve international cooperation in addressing significant global problems. While not named explicitly, widespread unemployment is a critical global issue that, if unaddressed by the UN's cooperative efforts, would logically contribute to frustration.
Option 4: The supremacy of the US position and the rejection of the Economic Security Council.
The US position and the concept of an Economic Security Council are features of reform discussions, not the root causes of the widespread public frustration with the UN's primary performance failures.
Conclusion on Key UN Frustration Drivers
In summary, the document attributes growing public frustration with the UN primarily to its shortcomings in fulfilling its foundational charter roles. The most direct and relevant causes highlighted are the significant failure of peace-keeping operations and the challenges in achieving effective international cooperation to address critical global problems.
Similar Questions
- The author's view of Hohfeld's contribution to legal scholarship can best be described as:
- The phrase "literal inaccuracy in its every phrase" is used by the author to critique the Declaration's statement, suggesting a conflict between its rhetorical power and its:
- In formulating Principle VI (a), the ILC clarified the term "waging of a war of aggression" because:
- The debate within the International Law Commission regarding the creation of an international judicial organ (Part IV) centered on the following contrasting positions:
- Based on the passage, the primary problem the author identifies with the current discourse surrounding "rights" is the:
- The International Law Commission (ILC) concluded that its task, as directed by General Assembly resolution 177 (II), was primarily:
- Principle IV of the Nuremberg Principles concerning superior orders, differs from Article 8 of the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal by:
- The Tribunal, in its judgment, was constrained from making a general declaration that the acts of persecution and murder committed in Germany before 1939 were "crimes against humanity" primarily because:
- A primary point of divergence between the US Conservative position and the Secretary-General's Conservative position on security matters, according to the summary is:
- According to the critique's conclusion, the immediate, insurmountable barrier preventing the implementation of any reform, major or minor, is:
Important Questions from Non Grammar
- The author's view of Hohfeld's contribution to legal scholarship can best be described as:
- The phrase "literal inaccuracy in its every phrase" is used by the author to critique the Declaration's statement, suggesting a conflict between its rhetorical power and its:
- In formulating Principle VI (a), the ILC clarified the term "waging of a war of aggression" because:
- The debate within the International Law Commission regarding the creation of an international judicial organ (Part IV) centered on the following contrasting positions:
- Based on the passage, the primary problem the author identifies with the current discourse surrounding "rights" is the:
