By Anna Baxter
One World TrustDecember 2004
On the 2nd December a High-Level Panel of the United Nations (UN) released the Report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, called A more secure world: our shared responsibility. The report contained recommendations on changes that could be made within the UN system so that it might better address today's security challenges. It was commissioned by the Secretary General to attempt to address the deep divisions among Member States on the nature of the security threats faced today, and the appropriateness of the use of force to address those threats. (For more information on the composition of the Panel see Note A)
When the United Nations was created in 1945 its main concern was to ensure that the horrors of the World Wars would never be repeated. Accordingly, its attention was primarily devoted to the threat of aggressive wars between states. The past sixty years, however, have witnessed massive changes in political geography. Whilst progress on life expectancy and per capita income has been made in some areas of the developing world, large areas of the world continue to experience life threatening poverty as a daily reality. In recognition of the impact that these changes have had on security, the report calls for a broader, more all-encompassing conception of the threats and challenges that we face.
The report has a number of sections addressing key security concerns, the most important of which are summarized below.
Collective security:
One of the aspirations of the UN, as expressed in the Charter, is to provide collective security for all. The report highlights the continuing relevance of the idea of collective security today, emphasizing the mutual vulnerability of weak and strong that results from increasing global economic integration. Whilst the duty of the State to protect and provide for the welfare of its own people is recognized, historical evidence demonstrating that the state can also be unable or unwilling to perform this role is taken into account. The report insists that the principles of collective security require the international community to step in to assist in the provision, or development of the capacity to provide, necessary protection where needed. Past failures of collective action are recognized, with the report noting that ‘early warning is only effective when it leads to early action for prevention.'
A broader conception of security:
In stark contrast to more traditional conceptions of security the report identifies six clusters of threats with which the world must now be concerned as elements that can feed into each other to produce deadly cycles of civil violence. (For more information see Note B)
Sustainable development and security:
Emphasis is placed on the importance of promoting development as the ‘indispensable foundation for a collective security system that takes prevention seriously.' The report calls on all States to recommit to the goals of eradicating poverty, achieving sustained economic growth and promoting sustainable development. More specifically it calls for donor countries to establish a timetable for reaching the 0.7 per cent gross national product target for Overseas Development Assistance, for greater debt relief and improved access to global markets for poorer countries, for more resources to be channeled to stemming the AIDS pandemic, and for new initiatives to assist in the development of public health systems and to help tackle global warming.
Conflict prevention:
The Panel emphasize the need for conflict prevention efforts by UN to be improved. One of their most significant recommendations is for the Security Council to be more ready to use the authority invested in it by the Rome Statute to refer cases to International Criminal Court. They also recommend that more resources be channeled through the Department of Political Affairs for diplomacy and mediation, and that sanctions be used to better effect. National leaders and parties to conflict are encouraged to make constructive use of the option of preventative deployment.
The use of force:
On the question of the use of force in cases where there is a perceived threat, but that threat is not immediately imminent, the Panel make it clear that they consider Article 51 of the UN Charter to provide adequate guidance. They recommend that in such cases the evidence should be presented to the Security Council, which can then decide whether or not to authorize action. If they decide not to authorize action, other options should be explored further, before potentially revisiting the military option. The Panel are clear that they do not endorse unilateral preventative action.
Collectively endorsed military action, on the other hand, when all other preventative efforts have failed, is seen by the panel as a cornerstone of effective collective security. The report defines five criteria of legitimacy to govern the use of force (for more information see Note C). The Panel recognizes the need to develop the capacity of the Security Council to respond when a decision has been taken to use force, and makes recommendations to those Member States that have significant military capacity to place it at the disposal of the UN. Recommendation
Peacekeeping:
Recognizing the central importance of peacekeeping efforts to long-term, lasting peace, the report highlights the need for more effective coordination between the various bodies engaged in peacekeeping. The Panel recommends that national authorities be at the heart of coordination efforts, and that robust donor coordination efforts be made.
Making the UN more effective:
The report recommends changes to the structure of the Security Council (for more information see Note D here)It also recommends the establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission. This commission would address the lack of any place in the UN system specifically designed to avoid State collapse and the slide to war, or to assist countries in their transition from war to peace. It should, they propose, work in partnership with national governments to provide proactive assistance in such cases.
Terrorism:
The Panel suggest a definition of terrorism that emphasizes that acts of terrorism constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity (for more information see Note E). The report emphasizes the need to address the causes of terrorism and extremism as well as strengthening prevention efforts.
Nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons:
The Panel recommends that new enthusiasm be directed towards disarmament, and that efforts be made to reduce the supply of nuclear weapons. They also recommend improvements to the enforcement capacity of the Security Council and better public health defenses to combat the threat of biological weapons.
Note A) Composition of the High Level Panel:
Anand Panyarachum, former Prime Minister of Thailand CHAIR, Robert Badinter (France), Joí£o Baena Soares (Brazil), Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway), Mary Chinery Hesse (Ghana), Gareth Evans (Australia), David Hannay (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay), Amre Moussa (Egypt), Satish Nambiar (India), Sadako Ogata (Japan), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian Federation), Qian Qiqian (China), Salim Salim (United Republic of Tanzania), Nafis Sadik (Pakistan) and Brent Scowcroft (United States of America).
Note B) A Broader Conception of Security (Synopsis to Part two)
The six clusters of threats, identified in the report, as elements that can feed into each other to
produce deadly cycles of civil violence are;
• Economic and social threats, including poverty, infectious diseases and environmental degradationNote C) Criteria to define the use of force (207)
• Inter-state conflict
• Internal conflict, including civil war, genocide, and other large-scale atrocities
• Nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons
• Terrorism
• Transnational Organised Crime
• seriousness of threatNote D) Reform of the Security Council (251-254)
• proper purpose
• last resort
• proportional means
• balance of consequences
The Panel offer two suggestions, Models A and B, of how the Security Council might be reformed. Their suggestions are guided by a desire to increase the involvement in decisionmaking of those who contribute most to the UN financially, militarily and diplomatically (in line with Article 23 of the Charter) and make the decision-making process more democratic, accountable and representative of the broader membership.
• Model A provides for six new permanent seats, with no veto being created and three new two-year non-permanent seats, divided among the major regional areas.
• Model B provides for no new permanent seats but creates a new category of eight fouryear
renewable-term seats and one new two-year non-permanent (and non-renewable) seat, divided among the major regional areas.
Note E) Description of Terrorism (164 (d))
‘Any action, in addition to actions already specified by the existing conventions on aspects of terrorism, the Geneva Conventions and Security Council resolution 1566 (2004), that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such an act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a Government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.'
More Information on the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
