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Who are the Non-Members of the United Nations?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2017

Yuen-Li Liang
Yuen-Li Liang*
Affiliation:
Division of Development and Codification of International Law, United Nations Secretariat
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Type
Notes on Legal Questions Concerning the United Nations
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , April 1951 , pp. 314 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 1951

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References

1 UNCIO, Report of the Rapporteur of Committee 1/2, Doc. 1178, Vol. 7, p. 326.

2 Article 2, paragraph 6 of the Charter.

3 Article 35 of the Charter. See also Articles 11, 32 and 50. Mention should also be made of Article 93, which provides that a state which is not a Member may become a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice on conditions to be determined in each case by the General Assembly and the Security Council.

4 It may be noted that invitations to accede to an international convention had been extended in a previous case to all non-member states. By resolution 211(III) of Oct. 8, 1948, the General Assembly invited all states non-members to sign or accept the Protocol bringing under International Control Drugs Outside the Scope of the Convention of July 13, 1931. General Assembly, 3rd Sess., Pt. I, Official Records, Resolutions, p. 62. In pursuance of this resolution, and in accordance with the provision of General Assembly resolution 54(I) (General Assembly, 1st Sess., Pt. II, Official Records, Resolutions, p. 81), the Secretary General invited the following non-member states (excepting Spain) who were parties to the agreements, conventions and protocols on narcotic drugs concluded in 1912, 1925, 1931 and 1936: Albania, Austria, Ceylon, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Rumania, San Marino and Switzerland.

5 See the survey in O. Schechter,“The Development of International Law through the Legal Opinions of the United Nations Secretariat,” British Year Book of International Law, Vol. 25 (1948), pp. 91, 115-122. When the question arose which states should be invited to take part in the United Nations Maritime Conference which met in Geneva in 1948, the Economic and Social Council by resolution 35(IV) of March 28, 1947, requested the Secretary General to invite the following governments to participate in the Conference: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Rumania, Switzerland, Transjordan and Yemen. Economic and Social Council, 4th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 8. In the case of the United Nations Conference on Road and Motor Transport, the Economic and Social Council, by resolution 147B (VII) of Aug. 28, 1948, instructed the Secretary General “…to invite to participate in the Conference … the States not members of the United Nations which were invited to participate in the United Nations Maritime Conference; … ” Economic and Social Council, 7th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 8.

6 Article 3 of the Charter.

7 Article 4 of the Charter.

8 Afghanistan, Burma, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Sweden, Thailand, Yemen.

9 Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Korean People’s Republic, Nepal, Portugal.

10 See this JOURNAL, Vol. 43 (1949), pp. 288-311, for a note on this question.

11 In order to be admitted to membership in the United Nations, the applicant must first of all fulfil the requisite conditions; one of them is that it be “a State.” See Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of May 28, 1948, on Conditions of Admission of a State to Membership in the United Nations (I.C.J. Reports, 1949, p. 62), this JOURNAL, Vol. 42 (1948), p. 927.

12 Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Charter provides:“ The admission of any such State to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.” See Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of March 3, 1950, on Competence of the General Assembly for the Admission of a State to the United Nations (I.C.J. Reports, 1950, p. 10), this JOURNAL, Vol. 44 (1950), p. 582.

13 Security Council, 1st Year, 2nd Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 4, pp. 64-67;ibid., 2nd Year, Spec. Supp. No. 3, pp. 8-13.

14 The Chinese representative stated that he did not insist that “the Mongolian People’s Republic being a small country, must maintain diplomatic and commercial relations with all nations.” Security Council, 1st Year, 2nd Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 4, p. 65.

15 Security Council, 2nd Year, Official Records, Spec. Supp. No. 3, p. 11.

16 Ibid., 1st Year, 2nd Sess., Supp. 4, p. 70.

17 Ibid., 3rd Year, Supp. for August, 1948, pp. 109-117.

18 Security Council, 3rd Year, Official Records, No. 105, pp. 3-22. This motion for postponement was defeated. A formal motion recommending Ceylon’s admission was rejected (nine votes in favor, two against, one of the negative votes being that of a permanent member).

19 Security Council, 4th Year, Official Records, No. 39, p. 6.

20 U.N. Doc. S/1382.

21 Security Council, Official Records, Spec. Supp. No. 3, p. 24.

22 Switzerland became a party on July 28, 1948; Liechtenstein on March 10, 1950.

23 Security Council, 5th Year, Official Records, 2nd Ser., No. 20, pp. 485-487.

24 Ibid., 1st Year, 2nd Ser., No. 22, p. 502.

25 By resolution 91(1) of Dec. 11, 1946, the General Assembly determined the conditions on which Switzerland could become a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice as follows: “Switzerland will become a party to the Statute of the Court on the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of an instrument, signed on behalf of the Government of Switzerland and ratified as may be required by the Swiss constitutional law, containing: (a) acceptance of the provision of the Statute of the International Court of Justice; (b) acceptance of all the obligations of a Member of the United Nations under Article 94 of the Charter; (c) an undertaking to contribute to the expenses of the Court such equitable amount as the General Assembly shall assess from time to time after consultation with the Swiss Government.”(General Assembly, 1st Sess., Pt. II, Official Records, Resolutions, pp. 182-183.)

26 It may be pointed out that in its report the Committee of Experts stated that the obligations imposed by Art. 94 of the Charter upon a Member of the United Nations “should apply equally to non-members of the United Nations which become parties to the Statute and to non-parties which are allowed access to the Court.” See Annex to General Assembly resolution 91(1), ibid., p. 183.

27 U.N. Docs. S/1298 and S/1298/Corr. 1.

28 Security Council, 4th Year, Official Records, No. 26, pp. 16,17.

29 U.N. Doc. S/1342.

30 Security Council, 4th Year, Official Records, No. 35, pp. 2-5.

31 The representative of Egypt pointed out that Liechtenstein had a territory, a population,a government and that the customs union with Switzerland itself stipulated that the customs union is “without prejudice to the sovereign rights of the Prince of Liechtenstein.” Ibid., p. 4.

32 Ibid., p. 6.

33 General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, p. 214.

34 Ibid., Resolutions, p. 63.

35 The General Assembly, by resolution 50(I) of Dec. 14, 1946, approved the agreements with the ILO, UNESCO, FAO and ICAO. General Assembly, 1st Sess., Pt. II, Official Records, Resolutions, p. 78. By resolution 124(II) of Nov. 15, 1947, the General Assembly approved the agreements with WHO, UPU, ITU, Bank and Fund. General Assembly, 2nd Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 28.

36 Art.2 further provides that ‘if within six months of the receipt of an application by the Council, no such recommendation has been made, the application shall be dealt with according to Article 2, para. 2, of the Constitution of the Organization.’ U.N. Doc. A/77.

37 U.N. Doc. A/106.

38 The applications of the German Federal Republic, Viet-Nam and Japan have been forwarded to the Economic and Social Council for consideration at its twelfth session. See U.N. Docs. E/1883 and E/1883/Add.l.

39 Resolution 59 (IV) of March 24, 1947, ECOSOC, 4th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 51.

40 Economic and Social Council resolution 94(V) of July 21, 1947, ECOSOC, 5th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 86. For discussion of that application see ECOSOC, 5th Sess., Official Records, Plenary Meetings, pp. 20-21.

41 In answer to a question on the number and importance of similar states, Mr. A. H. Feller (General Counsel, U.N. Secretariat) stated that it was customary to include San Marino, Liechtenstein and the Republic of Andorra in the same category. U.N. Doc. E/SR.125.

42 ECOSOC, 6th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, p. 46. The Third General Conference of UNESCO duly considered this matter in December, 1948, and recommended that the Executive Board of the Organization should consider each application for membership from “diminutive States on its own merits, taking into particular consideration the legal status of the country in question.” Monaco was admitted to membership without opposition. See ECOSOC, 4th Year, 9th Sess., Official Records, Supp. 17, p. 46.

43 Resolution 213 (VIII) of Feb. 11, 1949, ECOSOC, 8th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions,p. 21.

44 Resolutions 121(II), 122(II) of Oct. 31, and Nov. 1, 1947, respectively. General Assembly, 2nd Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, pp. 25-26; and resolution 203(III) of Nov. 1, 1948, General Assembly, 3rd Sess.,Pt. I, Official Records, p. 43. In the course of the discussion in the Second Committee, however, the representative of the Soviet Union challenged Austria’s freedom of action in matters of civil aviation, pending the conclusion of a peace treaty,but no question was raised as to whether Austria was or was not a state. General Assembly, 2nd Sess., Official Records, Second Committee, pp. 91-92.

45 General Assembly, 3rd Sess., Pt. I, Official Records, Resolutions, p. 176.

46 U.N. Docs. A/932 and A/994. The General Assembly has also referred to the Sixth Committee an item entitled “Designation of non-member States to which a certified copy of the Revised General Act of the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes shall be communicated by the Secretary-General for the purpose of accession to this Act.” While the problem involved was similar to the one under consideration, the Sixth Committee recommended to the General Assembly that it defer this item to a later date, in view of the fact that no State Member of the U.N. had as yet adhered to the Revised General Act. See General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Resolutions, 1949, p. 66. At its fifth session, in 1950, the General Assembly “decided to defer until the sixth session consideration of the question.” Ibid., 5th Sess., Supp.20, p. 75.

47 U.N. Docs. A/C.6/L.99 and Corr.l.

48 General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, 208th Meeting, p. 450.

49 See statements by the representatives of Belgium and the United Kingdom. Ibid.,pp. 452-453.

50 Ibid., p. 451.

51 General Assembly Resolution 39(I) of Dec.12, 1946, on Relations of Members of the United Nations with Spain recommended that “the Franco Government of Spain be debarred from membership in international agencies established by or brought into relationship with the United Nations, and from participation in conferences or other activities which may be arranged by the United Nations, or by these agencies, until a new and acceptable government is formed in Spain.” General Assembly, 1st Sess., Pt. II, Official Records, Resolutions, 1946, p. 63. On November 4, 1950, by resolution 386(V) the General Assembly resolved “to revoke the recommendation intended to debar Spain from membership in internationalagencies established by or brought into relationship with the United Nations.” General Assembly, 5th Sess., Official Records, Supp. No. 20, p. 16.

52 General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, pp. 453-454.

53 Ibid., pp. 452, 455.

54 Ibid,., p. 456.

55 In reply, the Assistant Secretary General in charge of the Legal Department said that if the criterion chosen by the authors of the joint draft resolution were adopted, the following non-member states would not be invited: Andorra, the Republic of Korea, Germany, Japan, the People’s Republic of Mongolia, Nepal, the Republic of San Marino, and Spain. General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, p. 454.

56 Ibid., p. 458.

57 Ibid.

58 Ibid., p. 459.

59 Ibid., pp. 450 and 452. Art. XVI of the Final Protocol of the XIIth Universal Postal Congress, signed in 1947, prevents Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain, Spanish Morocco and the Spanish Colonies from adhering to the Convention until such time as relations are again regularized. Spain, Spanish Morocco and the Spanish Colonies were restored to full membership in 1950. On May 13, 1947, the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization voted an amendment to the constitutional instrument of the Organization which would enable it to expel Spain; the amendment must be ratified by two-thirds of the member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

60 General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, p. 455. The representatives of Australia and Cuba accepted this suggestion. Ibid., p. 454. As the words “or may become” might be interpreted as “has the right to become,” the representative of the United Kingdom proposed the addition of “hereafter become.”Ibid., p. 456.

61 Ibid., p. 455.

62 Ibid., pp. 454, 457.

63 Subsequently, on Sept. 28, 1950, by a resolution adopted at its 289th plenary meeting,the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the Security Council, admitted the Republic of Indonesia to membership in the United Nations. U.N. Doc. A/1407.

64 General Assembly, 4th Sess., Official Records, Sixth Committee, p. 456.

65 Ibid., pp. 458-462.

66 Ibid., Plenary Meetings, p. 497.

67 As this Note goes to press the following new developments have occurred: On Feb.20-23, 1951, the Trusteeship Council adopted new rules of procedure granting to Italy the right “to designate a representative who may be present at all sessions of the Trusteeship Council and who may participate without vote in the deliberations relating specifically to the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration” and “in the deliberations of the Council on general questions relating to the operation of the International Trusteeship System.” At the same time the Trusteeship Council decided to request the General Assembly to examine at its sixth session the question of a fuller participation ofItaly in the work of the Trusteeship Council. U.N. Docs. T/847 and T/848.