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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
The Uniting for Peace resolution together with the UN Charter prescribes a certain role for the General Assembly with regard to international peace and security. Larry Johnson addresses that role, but he does not consider a second question: how does the Uniting for Peace resolution affect the UN Security Council? The normative role of the Council is influenced not only by the Charter, but also by general international law. In this comment, I explore the normative role of the Council in fulfilling the Charter’s purpose to maintain international peace and security. I argue that the text of the Charter and the prior practice of both the Assembly and the Council help to determine the proper division of these organs’ respective tasks within the Charter system. I conclude that the Council alone exercises the constant control needed to enforce measures of collective security effectively, and that the Assembly is limited to recommending the consequences for states when threats or breaches of the peace occur.
1 Uniting for Peace, GA Res. 377A(V) (Nov. 3, 1950).
2 Johnson, Larry D., “Uniting for Peace”: Does it Still Serve Any Useful Purpose?, 108 AJIL Unbound 106 (2014)Google Scholar.
3 UN Charter art. 39.
4 UN Charter art. 28.
5 UN Charter art. 29.
6 UN Charter art. 11, para. 2.
7 UN Charter art. 11, para. 1.
8 UN Charter art. 18, para. 2.
9 UN Charter art. 14, art. 11, para. 1-2.
10 Certain Expenses of the United Nations (Article 17, Paragraph 2, of the Charter), Advisory Opinion, 1962 ICJ REP. 151, 166 (July 20).
11 GA Res. 2145 (XXI) (Oct. 27, 1966).
12 SC Res. 269 (Aug. 12, 1969).
13 SC Res. 276 (Jan. 30, 1970).
14 UN Charter art. 1, para. 1.
15 UN Charter art. 24, para. 1.
16 UN Charter arts. 33-38.
17 UN Charter arts. 39-51.
18 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Summary of Advisory Opinion (July 9, 2004).
19 Rep. of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change, UN Doc. A/59/565 (Dec. 2, 2004); GAOR, 59th Sess. (2004).
20 UN Rep. of the Security Council, Security Council Working Methods: A Tale of Two Councils?, No. 1/2014 (Mar. 25, 2014).
21 GA Res. 498(V) (Feb. 1, 1951).
22 GA Res. 998 (ES-I) (Nov. 4, 1956).
23 GA Res. 1004 (ES-II) (Nov. 4, 1956).
24 GA Res. 1237 (ES-III) (Aug. 21, 1958).
25 GA Res. 1474 (ES-IV) (Sept. 20, 1960).
26 GA Res. 2253 (ES-V) (July 4, 1967).
27 GA Res. 2254 (ES-V) (July 14, 1967).
28 GA Res. 2790 (XXVI) (Dec. 6, 1971).
29 GA Res. ES-6/2 (Jan. 14, 1980).
30 GA Res. ES-7/2 (July 29, 1980); GA Res. ES-7/3 (July 29, 1980); GA Res. ES-7/4 (Apr. 28, 1982); GA Res. ES-7/5 (June 26, 1982); GA Res. ES-7/6 (Aug. 19, 1982); GA Res. ES-7/7 (Aug. 19, 1982); GA Res. ES-7/8 (Aug. 19, 1982); GA Res. ES-7/9 (Sept. 24, 1982).
31 GA Res. ES-7/2 (July 29, 1980).
32 GA Res. ES-8/2 (Sept. 14, 1981).
33 GA Res. ES-9/2 (Feb. 5, 1982).
34 GA Res. ES-10/14 (Dec. 8, 2003).
35 The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought and Practice Since 1945 (Vaughan Lowe et al. eds., 2010).
36 GA Res. 68/262 (Mar. 27, 2014).
37 Int’l Law Comm’n, Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 53rd Sess., Apr. 23–June 1, July 2–Aug. 10, 2001, UN Doc. A/56/10; GAOR, 56th Sess. (2001).