Chapter 3: United Nations and Regionalism

Historical and Normative Background

The issue of regionalism was one of the most delicate questions which the San Francisco Conference had to deal with. There were proposals regarding the inclusion of some provisions for regional groupings for general purposes. Regional groupings and commissions within the United Nations reflect a general trend to come together and collaborate on a regional basis.

Historical Background

There were three changes made at the San Francisco Conference regarding the regional groupings or agencies. First, a provision stressing the desirability of using regional arrangements and agencies for the peaceful settlement was inserted. Second, the requirement of Security Council authorization for enforcement action under regional arrangement were waived in the case of measures taken against an enemy state under Article 107 of the Charter or under “regional arrangements directed against the renewal of aggressive policy” by any such state. Third, by the terms of Article 51 of the Charter, “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations” was safeguarded. This provided the legal basis for the use of force by a single member or a group of members in case of an armed attack without any requirement of the Security Council authorization. Historically, there was a movement of political regionalism in the American continent since 1933. In 1945, there were two developments which sealed the fate of the regional solutions idea. The first one is the InterAmerican Conference on Problems of War and Peace held in Mexico City. It was in favor of the regional solutions. The second one is the Yalta Conference. The formula of the Yalta Conference which gave five permanent members of the Security Council, inter alia, to prevent effective regional measures by using their veto power, won the day. Regional systems were vindicated in two respects: collective resort to the right of self-defence in case of an armed attack, and priority of regional arrangements in the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Problem of Definition

The aim of regionalism is to pursue and promote common goals in one or more areas. This area ranges from promoting a sense of regional awareness or community to the regional groups formalized by intergovernmental arrangements and organizations. Contemporary regional systems are based on multilateral treaties with institutionalized regional arrangements. Other two concepts which were not defined in the Charter are “arrangements” and “agencies”. They can be used synonymously or viewed as alternatives. The UN works with regional organizations in several ways. The Secretary-General summarizes this collaboration in a separate report to the General Assembly every year. The cooperation covers a variety of areas from peacekeeping to economic and social development, from humanitarian issues to human rights. The regional organizations support UN activities by providing information, collaborating in the implementation of programmes and projects, organize conferences, and develop policies.

Regions in the United Nations

Regional groupings and commissions within the United Nations reflect a general trend to come together and collaborate on a regional basis.

Electoral Groups

Although its origins date back to the end of the Second World War, five regional groups took its present shape in 1963. The aim of it was to achieve a more equitable representation in the Security Council and other bodies. These five regional groups are Africa (GAFS), AsiaPacific (GASS), Eastern Europe (EEC), Latin America and Caribbean (GRULAC), Western Europe and Other States (WEOG). Although they are called “regional”, its post-war origins can be observed in the decision of creating groups called “Eastern Europe” and “Western Europe and Other States”. Although Europe is a geographical region, “Eastern” and “Western” Europe are clearly political ones reflecting post-Second World War arrangements. After more than 25 years from the dissolution of the political split in Europe, electoral system still is not reformed accordingly. The purpose of these groupings is to allocate seats on the UN bodies equitably. The intergovernmental structure of the UN does not leave room for the regional voting. In other words, every member state of a body in the UN system votes for itself, even though it becomes a member of a certain body through an election process making the regional groupings an essential part of it.

Regional Commissions

There are five regional bodies established under the ECOSOC: - Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), established in 1947, Geneva; - Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), established in 1947 as Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East and renamed in 1974, Bangkok, - Economic Commission For Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC),established in 1948, Santiago, - Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), established in 1958, Addis Ababa, - Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which replaced the former UN Economic and Social Office in Beirut in 1973, Baghdad. There are three types of membership, namely, full membership, associate membership and observer status. Membership of the countries displays some differences from the electoral groups. Regional commissions have a plenary body, and decisions are taken by a majority of those present and voting. Although there are some small differences, principal functions and purposes of the commissions are as follows: - to initiate and participate in measures for facilitating regional economic development, - raise the level of economic activity in the respective region, - maintain and strengthen economic relationships among the states of the region and with other states, - to investigate and study economic and technological problems and developments, - to collect, evaluate and disseminate economic, technological and statistical information.

Maintaince of International Peace and Security

The UN Charter devotes Chapter VIII to the role of regional arrangements and agencies only in the framework of the maintenance of international peace and security.

Cooperation for Maintaining International Peace and Security

Application of the regional principle to the peace and security has raised several questions. At the time the Charter entered into force, the trend in the direction of reliance upon regional arrangements was well under way, and Charter’s entrance into force and establishment of the Security Council did not reverse this trend.

Characteristics of a Regional Organization and Criteria for Regional Enforcement Action Under Chapter VIII

The Security Council was to encourage the settlement of local disputes by regional means and to use regional arrangement for enforcement action. According to Article 52/1: “Nothing in the present Charter precludes the existence of regional arrangements or agencies for dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security as are appropriate for regional action provided that such arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.” Article 52/2 gives priority to the regional arrangements and agencies in solving local disputes before referring them to the Security Council. Finally, both constitution and activities of the organization must be inconsistent with the purposes (Article 1) and principles (Article 2) of the UN. Article 53/1 declares the Security Council’s supremacy over these arrangements or agencies. Article 54 supports this attitude by requiring these organizations to keep the Security Council fully informed of the activities undertaken by them.

Regional Organizations’ Role for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security After 1991

The Secretary-General devoted a chapter to the cooperation with the regional agencies and organizations in his An Agenda For Peace (A(47/277, 17 June 1992) stating ‘regional arrangements or agencies in many cases possess a potential that should be utilized in serving the functions covered in this report: preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping, peace-making and post-conflict peacebuilding’ and ‘regional action as a matter of decentralization, delegation and cooperation with United Nations efforts could not only lighten the burden of the Council but also contribute to a deeper sense of participation, consensus and democratization in international affairs’.Regional enforcement actions became a new important area of cooperation in 1990s. Earlier the Council never used the powers vested in it by Article 53. Moreover, regional organizations were authorized to use force to support UN peacekeeping operations in internal conflicts. Secretary-General took the lead and convened ‘High-Level Meetings’ with regional organizations from all continents involved in security matters starting from 1993. In 2004 report of High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (A/59/565, 2 December 2004), a special attention was paid to the cooperation between the UN and regional organizations. 2005 High-level meeting brought an important development to the framework of cooperation by separating the high-level meetings under Chapter VIII and cooperation with other international organizations under other provisions of the Charter. 2005 High-level meeting brought an important development to the framework of cooperation by separating the high-level meetings under Chapter VIII and cooperation with other international organizations under other provisions of the Charter. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security...” From 2007 on, the debate shifted to capacity building which was one of the challenges determined by the Secretary-General, and one region, Africa, instead of a more comprehensive approach that tried to establish a general and formal partnership between the UN and the regional organizations. This is exactly where the Security Council wants to keep the relationship.

Cooperation in Peacekeeping Operations

Before 1990, there was not a single Security Council resolution referring to regional organizations as a partner for running peacekeeping operations. Nevertheless, since 1990s there has been a consistent increase in the peacekeeping operations organized by regional organizations with the UN’s missions deployed concurrently with or following the regional missions. The most important regional actors are the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). One must bear in mind that, peacekeeping operations were not envisaged by the Charter itself. It causes a lack of clarity of the legal basis and the nature of the relationship between the UN and regional organizations. Peacekeeping operations involving military troops were started by the UN’s General Assembly in 1956 and taken over by the Security Council later. Regional organizations’ participation came much later in 1990s. In the 1990s, peacekeeping operations became a new area of cooperation between the UN and regional arrangements. The increased burden on the UN because of the increasing demand for its peacekeeping missions has caused calls for greater use to be made of the regional organizations. Regional organizations have the local knowledge, expertise, and capability to deploy in a relatively short time. Still, varying capabilities of regional arrangements made it difficult to adopt a universal model with regard to the role they can play in this area. Ad hoc decisions and solutions caused a high level of uncertainty. Obviously, the Security Council, which wanted to keep its superior position regarding the issues related to the maintenance of international peace and security tried to find a way out. Even though the Council was able to take the required decision, it was still unable to enforce it. Consequently, it has authorized the willing and able regional arrangements to apply the Council’s decisions. It was able to take the required decision the Council was unable to enforce it. The way out was authorizing the willing and able regional arrangements. On the other hand, regional organizations are not able to accomplish a successful peacekeeping operation without the support of the UN. Regional organizations function as peacekeepers only as segments of a larger UN peacekeeping mission. UN peacekeeping remains the world’s largest source in this respect. The UN and the Security Council still holds the key to designing the future of peacekeeping cooperation.