INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE Dersi The United Nations and Global Governance soru detayı:

CEVAP:

Similar to the League system, the General Assembly is the only UN body where all member states are equally represented. In other words, regardless of their size or power, each member state has only one vote. Compared to the Security Council, where the P5 states have veto rights, the General Assembly is considered to be relatively a democratic UN organ due to its “one state- one vote” formula and the majority rule in its decision-making process. As such, the General Assembly is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of states. Nevertheless, this does not mean that all states are equal in terms of their economic, political, or military power (Hurd, 2014: 106 and 115).

According to Article 4(2), the General Assembly is authorized to approve the admission of any new state to the UN membership upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Currently, in addition to 193 member states, two states in the UN have “non-member observer status.” Besides the Holy See (Vatican), the General Assembly granted Palestine the non-member observer status in December 2012 by adopting the Resolution 67/19 on “the Status of Palestine in the United Nations” with 138 votes in favor, 9 against, and 41 abstentions.

The General Assembly has subsidiary organs such as boards, commissions,committees, councils, panels, and working groups. The majority of its work takes place in six main committees, each of which is responsible for a specific topic. The First Committee deals with disarmament and international security; the Second Committee with economic and financial matters; the Third Committee with social, humanitarian and cultural matters; the Fourth Committee with special political and decolonization matters, the Fifth Committee with administrative and budgetary questions; and the Sixth Committee with legal matters. 

The General Assembly also fulfills important elective functions. The General Assembly has the authority to elect the non-permanent members of the UNSC, all members of the ECOSOC, and non-administering members of the Trusteeship Council. The General Assembly has a joint responsibility with the Security Council for the election of judges to the ICJ, the appointment of the Secretary-General, and the admission of new states to UN membership (Bennett, 1995:66).

The General Assembly has also several significant powers and functions. The most significant function of the General Assembly is to consider and make recommendations on any subject. Article 10 mandates the General Assembly to discuss any matter within the scope of the Charter. However, its recommendations are non-binding on member states (Bennett, 1995:65). Its agenda has expanded over the years. The items on its agenda include conflict situations, development, poverty, human rights, global warming, international justice, and administrative and financial matters (Karns, Mingst, and Stiles, 2015:113)

Another function of the General Assembly is to operate as a central coordinating body among other UN bodies and agencies. The Assembly reviews annual reports sent from other principal UN organs—namely, the UNSC, the ECOSOC, and the Trusteeship Council. In addition, it receives periodic reports from other UN agencies (Bennett, 1995:65). 

The General Assembly also has a mandate to consider and approve the budget of the UN and apportion the expenses among member states. The Assembly is authorized to consider and approve financial and budgetary arrangements for specialized agencies (Article 17). The UN budget is the only issue on which the General Assembly can take binding decisions. Finally, the General Assembly and the Security Council also have joint responsibility for revision to the UN charter. The General Assembly can propose amendments by a two-thirds majority.The General Assembly and the Security Council also have the authority to call for a general conference to revise the Charter.

General Assembly resolutions serve as an important source of the UN’s normative influence around the world. First, its statements and resolutions serve a significant norm-creating function. Second, they contribute to the legitimization of new ideas and policies (Hurd, 2014:110) 

Article 11 of the Charter authorizes the General Assembly to consider the general principles regarding the maintenance of international peace and security and make recommendations. The General Assembly can also discuss any question related to the maintenance of international peace and security that are brought by a member state or by the Security Council and make recommendations to the concerned parties or the UNSC.

One exception is the provision of Article 12. If the UNSC is exercising its functions with regard to any dispute or situation, the General Assembly is not allowed to make recommendations about that situation without the request of the UNSC. On the other hand, the General Assembly can call the attention of the UNSC to situations that may endanger international security. However, General Assembly resolutions are recommendations and therefore not legally binding. Because of this, some scholars argue that the Assembly’s power, although broad, is “shallow” (Hurd, 2014:108).