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UN Membership of the “New” Yugoslavia: Continuity or Break?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2017

Yehuda Z. Blum
Yehuda Z. Blum*
Affiliation:
Hebrew University, Jerusalem
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Extract

On May 22, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly admitted three new members—Slovenia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Croatia—all of them, in the past, constituent republics of Yugoslavia. Since June 1991, these three republics—as well as Macedonia—have seceded from the Yugoslav federation, which leaves only the two remaining republics—Serbia and Montenegro—to claim the name of Yugoslavia, as well as its rights and international status, including membership in the United Nations.

Type
Current Developments
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 86 , Issue 4 , October 1992 , pp. 830 - 833
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 1992

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References

1 UN Doc. A/46/PV.86, at 22 (1992).

2 For the history and practical meaning of the term “peace-loving,” see Hans Kelsen, The Law of the United Nations 69–70 (1950); Leland Goodrich, Edvard Hambro & Anne P. Simons, Charter of the United Nations 89–92 (3d rev. ed., 1969). According to Feuer, “[a]u vu de tout ce qui s'est passé depuis 1945, cette condition pourrait faire sourire.” Guy Feuer, Article 4, in La Charte des Nations Unies 165, 170 (Jean-Pierre Cot & Alain Pellet eds., 1985).

3 While, on the formal level, a state is required to be “peace-loving” at the time of its admission to the United Nations, it is generally accepted (although somewhat ironic) that, once admitted, members apparently are no longer formally held to the fulfillment of this condition. For the purposes of suspending or expelling a member state, the Charter has laid down different criteria. Suspension requires that “preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council” against the member in question (Art. 5 of the Charter), while the condition for expulsion is that a member state “has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter” (Art. 6). In both instances, the decision is taken by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting (Art. 18(2) of the Charter) upon the recommendation of the Security Council. No member state has ever been suspended or expelled from the United Nations.

4 UN Press Release No. PM/473 (Aug. 12, 1947), reprinted in [1962] 2 Y.B. Int'l L. Comm'n 101, UN Doc. A/CN.4/SER.A/1962/Add.1. See also 13 Marjorie M. Whiteman, Digest of International Law 201 (1968).

5 UN GAOR 1st Comm., 2d Sess., 59th mtg. at 5 (1947).

6 UN GAOR 6th Comm., 2d Sess., 43d mtg. at 38–39 (1947).

7 Likewise, in 1961 when Syria seceded from the United Arab Republic, which had been formed three years before as a result of Syria's merger with Egypt, the UAR's membership in the United Nations remained unaffected by that secession. Syria, incidentally, resumed its seat without going through the customary admission procedure, on the theory that, as an original member, it did not require readmission and was merely “resuming” its former status within the Organization. See Whiteman, supra note 4, at 204-05; Richard Young, The State of Syria: Old or New?, 56 AJIL 482 (1962).

8 See UN Doc. 1991/RUSSIA (Dec. 24, 1991), a circular letter to the UN membership from the Secretary-General containing, as an appendix and annex, respectively, a letter from Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin to the Secretary-General, and a letter of transmittal signed by the Permanent Repre sentative of the Soviet Union, both dated December 24, 1991.

9 Until the summer of 1991, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics. On September 6, 1991, the State Council of the Soviet Union released the three Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) from its ranks and recognized their independence. N.Y. Times, Sept. 7, 1991, at A4. They were admitted to the United Nations on September 17. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, eight republics (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) applied for UN membership and were admitted on March 2, 1992. Georgia was admitted on July 31, 1992. Belarus and Ukraine were original UN members and conse quently did not require admission upon their accession to independence.

10 Fifth operative paragraph of the first Alma-Ata declaration, reprinted in 31 ILM 148, 149(1992). The twelfth republic, Georgia, while not formally a participant in the meeting, attended as an ob server.

11 The Russian Republic's territory (17.075 million square kilometers) constituted 76% of the total territory of 22.4 million square kilometers of the Soviet Union, and its population (148 million) constituted 51% of the total Soviet population of 288.7 million. If one takes into account that 5 of the 15 pre-1991 republics of the Soviet Union (namely, Ukraine, Belarus and the three Baltic republics), with a combined population of 70.1 million and a territory of 986,000 square kilometers, were already UN members at the time of the Soviet Union's dissolution, Russia's share in the population and territory of the remaining ten republics rises to almost 68% and almost 80%, respectively.

12 See text at note 6 supra (emphasis added).

13 N.Y. Times, Apr. 28, 1992, at Al.

14 The resolution was adopted by 12 votes, with China, India and Zimbabwe abstaining. N.Y. Times, Sept. 20, 1992, at A9.