Question
The focus of this paper is on the question of legitimacy and representativeness in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on its performance in the Syrian civil war.
Makes an attempt to critically review the role of the United Nations Security Council in the Syria civil war.
Examines the inability of the UNSC to resolve the Syria civil war which has led to worsening the security situation by referring the adopted resolution in Security Council from the beginning of Syrian conflict till today. (Try to raise some examples of its failures in this case)
Demonstrates that the UN is perceived as the primary global collective security organization to maintain world peace and security in the world. But to what extent the UN Security Council has demonstrated deficiencies during latest important international crises ,in this case ‘Syrian War’, to be solved by joint international effort, which is questionable in international community and almost approached current international order to a revision.Focuses on the challenges that prevent the Council from being equitably representative and explores proposed reforms to this effect.
Solution
The Role of The United Nations Security Council In The Syrian Civil War
Table of Contents
United Nations Security Council (UNSC)…………………………………………………………………………3
Syrian Civil War…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
UNSC Failed Measures in Syria…………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Causes of UNCS’s Inability to Act……………………………………………………………………………………7
UNSC as Geopolitical Instrument………………………..………………………………….……7
UNSC as Geopolitical Instrument…………….…………………………….……………………8
Blocked unified support for UNSC’s Intervention.…………….…………………………………9
Veto Power by Russia and China………………………………….……………………….……….10
Other Challenges Affecting UNSC’s Ability Act………………………………..…………………………. 13
National Interests………………………………………………………….………….….………13
International Community Failure to Address Issues Prior to Unrests…………………………………… 14
State self Interest…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Need for Reform…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
Suggested Institutional Reforms in the UNSC………………………………………………………………. 16
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
The Role of the United Nations Security Council in the Syrian Civil War
United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six organs of the United Nations (UN) with a mission of maintaining global peace and security. According to Chapter V of the UN Charter, the UNSC is authorized to determine inhuman acts and threats to peace and call up the groups for dialogue. It is also authorized to utilize diplomatic methods and develop measures, techniques, and terms to be used in resolving the underlying circumstance[1]. There are five permanent members in the UNSC: the US, the UK, Russia, France, and China. Additionally, the UNSC comprises of ten non-permanent members who the General Assembly elects after every ten years. The rotation and represent5ations in this body are based on geographical diversity. Nonetheless, nations that are not members of the UN and the UNSC can go to meetings through a spectator status if the circumstances discussed specifically affect their interests, but they cannot cast a ballot[2].
Syrian Civil War
After the Arab Spring’s initial uprising in 2011, Syria got into complex civil unrest that has affected the nation for nearly a decade. Moreover, the civil unrest has been challenging to the international community, especially its ability to intervene and stop the war. The nation has had numerous violations of the international human rights norms and various proxy wars that have hindered it and international actors intervening in the unrest to reach a consensus on how to bring to and end the ongoing war[3]. Additionally, networks are competing to reach their respective geopolitical interests in Syria, and the struggles due to the worsening situation have diluted the fundamental humanitarian necessity of protecting human life from those who threaten it. As the war Syrian Civil War intensifies, more than half a million civilians in the country have been killed, especially by pro-regime forces, while around twenty-three million Syrians, which is more than half the country’s prewar population, have been displaced from their homes[4].
Considering the circumstance in the country, it is evident that it is vital for the international community to fully engage in resolving the conflict. Additionally, it is apparent that the conflict has a detrimental impact on the global community[5]. Specifically, the proxy wars that involve various national forces, many international and national militia, several armed opposition groups, worldwide foreign fighters, and different terrorist groups have contributed to the failed attempts to end the bloodshed in Syria[6]. The civil unrest in the country has potential dangers to the upkeep of global peace and universal stability of security. It also demonstrates how nation actors may contribute to the circumstances that affect the global system based on the geopolitical objectives of their eternal motivation. With the UNSC as the body relied upon in maintaining international peace and security, this paper will discuss how the lack of internal understanding inside the platform is a fundamental obstacle to increasingly viable coordination to stop the Syrian Civil war and the fundamental cause for its inability to act.
UNSC Failed Measures in Syria
As the Syrian regime raised its savage activities in the light of global quietness, the UNSC issued a Presidential Statement on March 21, 2012, showing a grave concern regarding the ongoing situation in the country[7]. Additionally, on March 27, 2012, the newly named UN-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan suggested a plan with six points according to the UNSC’s resolution 2042 that Syrian President Assad agreed to[8]. Since the start of the conflict, this was the first adopted resolution by the UNSC, and it approved the involvement of little spectator group on April 14, 2012[9]. Moreover, using the UNSC’s resolution 2043, the body developed a larger 90-day UN Supervision Mission (UNIMIS) to follow up the Annan Plans’ execution and truce. However, the plan ended at the end of April because both armed radical and Syrian authority forces had already undertaken several truce infringements.
After the Annan plan failed in April 2012, the UNSC made other consistent choices from September 13, 2013, regarding the circumstance in Syria, for instance, its resolution 2118[10]. This was a quick response to the use of a prohibited mass destruction weapon, while the resolution for biological weapons had genuine importance of a continued chance to consider various areas of joint efforts to end the civil unrest in the country. After the resolution for biological weapons, the Presidential Statement of the UNSC regarding the need for dire humanitarian access invited father advancement to encourage the groups involved to enable an impeded and safe humanitarian access to people living in the territories under their control and across crisis lines[11]. Despite the UNSC’s announcement, attacks on civilians in Syria continued …………for help with this assignment contact us via Email Address: consulttutor10@gmail.com
[1] UNSC. “About the United Nations Security Council.” Accessed May 11, 2018. http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/, p. 2.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Laub, Zachary. “Syria’s War: The Descent Into Horror.” Council on Foreign Relations 19 (2020), p. 1.
[4] Laub, Zachary. “Syria’s War, p. 1.
[5] United Nations. “At Security Council, UN Chief Pushes For Creation Of Body To Determine Perpetrators Of Chemical Attacks In Syria”. April 13, 2018. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/04/1007261, p. 1.
[6] United Nations. “At Security Council, p. 2.
[7] Hartberg, Martin, Dominic Bowen, and Daniel Gorevan. “Failing Syria: Assessing the impact of UN Security Council resolutions in protecting and assisting civilians in Syria.” (2015),p. 4.
[8] Hartberg, Martin, Dominic Bowen, and Daniel Gorevan. “Failing Syria,p. 5.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Heydemann, Steven. “The Syrian Conflict: Proxy War, Pyrrhic Victory, and Power‐Sharing Agreements.” Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 20, no. 2 (2020), p. 157.
[11] Heydemann, Steven. “The Syrian Conflict: Proxy War, Pyrrhic Victory, and Power‐Sharing Agreements,p. 158.