The OCGG Government Section's Governance Area on the UN Security Council aims at unifying, effectivizing, and legitimizing global governance in the UN Security Council.

 

edited by Anna Dimitríjevics

Advice to the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change

The Oxford Council on Good Governance presents the following recommendations to the United Nations High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, in order to improve collective responses to the security challenges facing Member States:

Legitimacy Requires Legality

The legality of the use of force should be of foremost consideration. Except for Article 51 cases of self-defence, only use of force authorized by the Security Council should be considered legitimate.

New Members of the Security Council

To preserve the legitimacy and efficiency of the UN system, membership in the Security Council should be adjusted with permanent seats created for Brazil, Egypt, India, Japan and South Africa, and an EU seat replacing those held by France and the UK.

Limiting the Veto Right

Individual veto rights should be reserved exclusively for the current permanent members and the EU for the foreseeable future. Their exercise should be subject to organized self-restraint.

An Independent Fact-Finding Commission

To overcome potential deadlocks in the Security Council in the face of the need for urgent humanitarian intervention, an independent fact-finding commission should be created. The commission could be called into action by the Secretary-General or by a qualified majority in the Security Council. The Security Council would be obliged to decide whether to follow the commission’s recommendations, with veto rights giving place to qualified majority voting solely on these exceptional occasions.

A Standing UN Army

A stand-by UN army should be created from contributions of 5% or more of each member state’s national troops and military budget to cover the costs of UN training and the maintenance of interoperable equipment.

OCGG Government Advice No 2 (PDF)

 

Anna Dimitríjevics, OCGG Analyst, presents advice to the UN High Level Panel on the vital role of the Security Council and the UN Charter in strengthening the legitimacy of the use of force in international affairs in OCGG Government Advice No 2.