The United Nations of the Future. What role for international law?

Professor Nico SchrijverGrotius Centre for International Legal Studies,

Leiden University

Sir Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures 2010-11

The international architecture for global governance

and global justice

Sir Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures 2010-11

Lauterpacht Lecture III

Thursday 24 February 2011

Major substantive changes

• From negative to positive peace• From military towards

comprehensive security• From Cold War human rights

rhetoric towards universality and indivisibility

• From external to internal self-determination and good governance

• From economic towards sustainable development

UN Charter as a special treaty

• Its purposes and principles

• General public interests

• Widespread ratification

• Conciseness

• Long history

• Primacy

• Special legal status

Diversity of sources of ‘UN law’

• Charter

• Normative ‘soft law’ on human rights, self-determination, peace and security, development and environment

• ‘Hard law’, including treaty law and peremptory norms

Current problems in global governance (I)

• Poor organisation of consultation and decision-making on international affairs

• Representativeness and effectiveness

• Weak transparency, legitimacy and accountability

• Role of civil society

• Role of business sector

Current problems in global governance (II)

• Fragmented rather than comprehensive approaches

• No coherence

• Significant gaps, e.g. environment

• Risk of ad hoc groups such as G-8 or G-20 taking over part of mandate UN

UN under attack

• Security Council – representative?

• General Assembly – “we the peoples”?

• ECOSOC – merely sleeping beauty

• Trusteeship Council – empty shell

• International Court of Justice – world court?

• Secretary-General – secretary or general?

Security Council reform (I)

• Composition

• Functioning

• Implied powers or mission creep?

• Acting ultra vires?

• Primus inter pares? Relationship with regional organisations

• Relationship with the GA and ICJ

Review of recent reform proposals (I)

Review of recent reform proposals (II)

(Inter-)Regional Organisations on the Security Council?

• European Union

• African Union

• ASEAN plus

• Organisation of American States

• Organisation of Islamic Conference

Alternative Idea for Composition Security Council

• China, France, Russia, UK, USA (P-5)• India• Japan• Brazil• South Africa• European Union• African Union• ASEAN plus• Organisation of American States• Organisation of Islamic Conference• One elected member from each region (4)Total 18

Current human rights architecture

• General Assembly• Security Council• ECOSOC• UN Secretary-General• International Court

of Justice• Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights

• Human Rights Council

The Establishment of theHuman Rights Council in 2006

• UNGA Res. 60/251, 15 March 2006

• Membership: from 53 to 47

• Election by simple majority in GA

• Suspension of membership by two third majority

• Merely advisory and recommendatory powers

Human Rights: from Commission to Council

Former Commission

New Council

Africa 15 (28%) 13 (28%)

Asia 12 (23%) 13 (28%)

Latin America 11 (21%) 8 (17%)

Eastern Europe 5 (9%) 6 (13%)

Western Europe & Others

10 (19%) 7 (15%)

Total 53 (100%) 47 (100%)

• Human Rights Committee (civil and political rights)

• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

• Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

• Committee Against Torture

• Committee on the Rights of the Child

• Committee on the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families

• Committee on the Rights of Persons with a Disability

• Committee on Forced Disappearances

UN treaty bodies

Global Governance of Economic and Financial Affairs

• Role Bretton Woods institutions

• Multiplicity of actors

• North – South dialogue in stalemate

• International cooperation for development

Current structure environmental governance

1. United Nations Environment Programme

2. UN Commission on Sustainable Development

3. UN Specialized Agencies (FAO, World Bank, IFAD, WMO, IMO, UNESCO)

4. Other UN institutions and organs

5. Treaty secretariats

6. Commodity organisations

• Poor organization and environmental consultation and decision-making

• Fragmentation and proliferation

• Integration of environment, development still to be achieved

• Interaction between local, national, regional and global levels

• Drastic measures necessary for redesigning the international architecture for environmental governance and global resource management

Features of environmental governance

• Environmental Security Council

• Green UN police forces

• International environmental Ombudsman

• Upgrading UNEP into Specialized Agency

• Single treaty body for environmental conventions

• UN World Environment Organization (UN WEO)

Alternative Ideas for improving global environmental governance

Post-UN era? Who is the ultimate guardian of general public interests?

• Civil society and corporate sector• World peoples’ assembly• Regional organizations on the

Security Council– EU, AU, OAS, ASEAN

• Stand-by police force and UN army• New World Environment

Organization• Towards a World Court on Human

Rights• Improving compulsory jurisdiction

International Court of Justice