Issue 4/2012 - The UN and the Observer Status

VEREINTE NATIONEN
GERMAN REVIEW ON THE UNITED NATIONS
Volume 60 | 2012 | No. 4
The UN and the Observer Status
Anja Papenfuss
(p. 145)
Editorial: From Merely Taking Part to Active Participation
Sven Mißling
(pp. 147–153)
The Status of Palestine within International Organizations
Palestine’s ability to become a member of international organizations such as the UN, the
WHO or UNESCO has often been called into question because its quality as a state is still
contested. Similarly, the Prosecutor of the ICC recently found that Palestine did not have a
right to make submissions under the Rome Statute due to its contested status in
international law. However, regardless of whether Palestine is a state or not, it has an
observer status at the UN and therefore benefits from special observer rights which are not
granted to other observers within the UN. In 2011, UNESCO admitted Palestine as a
member. While there is currently an on-going debate about Palestine’s statehood both at the
UN as well as in legal scholarship, it can be argued that the question of statehood is not as
essential for Palestine’s effective participation in international organizations as one may
presume.
Jelka Mayr-Singer / Julia Villotti
(pp. 154–158)
The European Union – A New Big Player at the United Nations?
The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009 fundamentally changed the
rules regarding the EU’s external representation. In order to establish the Union as a
cohesive force in international relations, the responsibility of representing the European
Union in international organizations shifted from the Presidency of the Council of the
European Union, formerly a rotating position, to the High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Moreover, the existing observer status of the European
Union in the General Assembly was upgraded by a General Assembly resolution in May 2011.
The article looks at the legal framework for EU representation in two UN bodies, namely the
General Assembly and the Security Council, both from a European as well as from a UN
perspective. Whereas in the General Assembly the EU has now significantly enhanced its
status the same cannot be said with regard to the Security Council. In the latter the EU is
now more visible but it needs to develop a far more coherent stance in order to exert greater
influence.
Marco Kalbusch
(pp. 159–163)
Observer Status and the Holy See – Relic of the Past or Innovative Approach?
The Holy See, the highest authority of the Catholic Church, has worked with the United
Nations since its inception, at different levels and with different degrees of intensity. It is a
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member of different Specialized Agencies, party to several international treaties that were
developed within the framework of the UN, and enjoys specific rights as an observer.
Although not a state, the Holy See is treated as a non-Member State by the organization. As
such, it participates in the organization’s normative work and contributes substantively to the
protection of human rights, disarmament and non-proliferation. With the Christian vision of
humanity, human dignity and the protection of the right to life at the core of its work, the
Holy See has earned criticism on selected social issues. However, the General Assembly
seems to have an interest in keeping the Holy See involved and strengthened its observer
status.
Thomas Fitschen
(p. 164)
50 Years Essay | 50 Years VEREINTE NATIONEN: Forum – Intermediary – Knowledge
Repository
Kirsten Haack
(pp. 165–170)
Amidst Visions, Stability, and Crisis Management.
Ban Ki-moon’s First Five Years as UN Secretary-General
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s first term of office was not an easy one considering the
long shadow that his charismatic predecessor Kofi Annan had cast (and for many still casts).
However, reviewing Ban’s work from 2007 through 2011, shows that he was by no means
without success. Some of his achievements include, for example, a leading role in calling for
a transition in the Middle East during the Arab Spring, and a move towards greater
bureaucratic transparency and accountability. However, his leadership style, described by
some as an ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ or ‘Asian style,’ has been found to be too hesitant and
too reserved to meet the expectations for a UN Secretary-General in the 21st century.
Indeed, Ban’s Secretary-Generalship highlights the question of whether the global
community requires a leader who promotes, as Annan has done, so-called ‘UN values’ –
values that represent the global community beyond the interests of nation-states and their
governments.
FROM THE UNITED NATIONS
REPORTS
»Environment
Jürgen Maier
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – UNCSD (Rio+20) |
(pp. 171–173)
20th–22nd June 2012
•
•
•
•
Green Economy Only Vaguely Recognized as Concept
UNEP Strengthened, not Upgraded
New Panel Shall Substitute CSD
Sustainable Development Goals Envisioned
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»Social Affairs and Human Rights
Udo Moewes
Committee against Torture | 46th and 47th Session 2011
•
•
462 Individual Complaints since 1987
Deplorable Conditions of Detention in Many Countries
»Legal Affairs
Maral Kashgar
International Court of Justice | Activities 2011
•
•
•
(pp. 173–175)
(pp. 176–178)
›Stage Victory‹ for Macedonia in Name Dispute
ICJ Commands Demilitarized Zone in Border Dispute
Greece Joins Germany and Italy in Lawsuit on State Immunity
» Miscellaneous
Gerrit Kurtz
2nd JUNON Research Colloquium 2012: ›Human Beings and Individuals at the United Nations‹
(p. 179)
Norman Weiß
Conference ›The UN in the Focus of Politics, Media and Research‹ 28./29. June 2012
180–181)
50 Years Retrospective: From Issue 2/1992
(pp.
(p. 181)
Who is Who
(pp. 182–183)
New Appointments within the UN System: Dieng, Feltman, Haq, Jeremic, Kim, Landgren,
Launsky-Tieffenthal, Reske-Nielsen, Takasu, Toyberg-Franzen, Weisbrod-Weber, Wu
Book Reviews
(pp. 184–187)
Daniel Maul
Dan Plesch: America, Hitler and the UN. How the Allies Won World War II and Forged a
Peace (2011)
Andrea Liese
D. John Shaw: The World’s Largest Humanitarian Agency (2011)
Sandy Ross. The World Food Programme in Global Politics (2011)
Ekkehard Griep
Christoph Schwegmann (Ed.) Bewährungsproben einer Nation: Die Entsendung der
Bundeswehr ins Ausland (Litmus Test of a Nation: Foreign Deployment of the German Armed
Forces) (2011)
United Nations Documents
English Abstracts
Imprint
(pp. 188–190)
(p. 191)
(p. 192)
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