AID ACC ASEAN Committee of 24 Acronyms and Short Forms U.S. Agency for International Development Administrative Committee on Coordination Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe Economic Commission for Africa Economic Commission for Europe Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Economic and Social Council Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Group of 77 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services International Bank for Reconstruction and Development CD EC ECA ECE ECLAC ECOSOC ESCAP ESCWA FAO GATT G-77 HHS IAEA IBRD ICAO IDA International Development Association IFC ILO IMO IMF ITU NASA NATO OAS OAU OECD OPEC PAHO PLO SWAPO UNCITRAL International Civil Aviation Organization International Finance Corporation International Labor Organization International Monetary Fund International Telecommunication Union U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Organization of American States Organization of African Unity Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Pan American Health Organization Palestine Liberation Organization South West Africa People's Organization UN Commission on International Trade Law UNCTAD UNDP UNEF UNEP UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNICEF UNIDO UNIFIL UNITAR UNSCEAR UPU WFP WHO WIPO UN Conference on Trade and Development UN Disengagement Observer Force UN Development Program UN Emergency Force UN Environment Program UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UN Children's Fund UN Industrial Development Organization UN Institute for Training and Research UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation Universal Postal Union World Food Program World Health Organization World Intellectual Property Organization Political Affairs SECURITY COUNCIL The UN Charter gives the Security Council primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It authorizes the Council to act to achieve the peaceful settlement of disputes (Chapter VI), and to deal with threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression (Chapter VII). The Council can only make recommendations for actions on matters raised under Chapter VI. In areas covered by Chapter VII, however, it may take decisions which are binding on all member states—including imposition of collective political, economic and military sanctions. The 15-member Council meets as necessary. It is composed of 5 Permanent Members-France, China, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States and 10 nonpermanent members, elected by the General Assembly. Half this number, or five new members, are elected annually to serve overlapping 2-year terms. The 10 nonpermanent members in 1990 were: Canada, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, Finland, Malaysia, Romania, Yemen and Zaire. The Council presidency rotates monthly by alphabetical order among member states; the United States was President in November. Security Council decisions on substantive matters require the affirmative vote of at least nine members of the Council. A negative vote by any Permanent Member, however, constitutes a veto. Council decisions on procedural matters also require at least nine affirmative votes for adoption, and cannot be vetoed. The Security Council met on 69 occasions in 1990. Many meetings concerned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and conditions in Israeli-occupied territories. The Council adopted 37 of 40 resolutions considered; 28 of them were adopted unanimously. The United States voted against, or vetoed, two proposed resolutions. The first instance, on January 17, concerned the search by U.S. military personnel of the Nicaraguan ambassador's residence in Panama. The second instance, on May 31, concerned proposed establishment of a commission to investigate Israeli policies and practices in the occupied territories. A third resolution the United States voted against, a draft Cuban resolution on the Gulf situation, failed to obtain the required number of votes September 13 and was defeated 3 to 5 (U.S.), with 7 abstentions. Eleven UN peacekeeping and peace-monitoring operations were active in 1990. Eight were in existence throughout the year: UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) based in Jerusalem, UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), UN Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG), UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM), and UN Observer Group in Central America (ONUCA). The UN Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP) and the UN Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia successfully completed their mandates during the year. The Security Council extended into 1991 the mandates of five UN peacekeeping forces or observer groups: UNFICYP (Resolutions 657 and 680), UNIFIL (Resolutions 648 and 659), UNDOF (Resolutions 655 and 679), UNIIMOG (Resolutions 651, 671 and 676) and ONUCA (Resolutions 654 and 675). Tasks assigned to ONUCA were augmented to include monitoring, through June 29, 1990, the process of demobilizing elements of the Nicaraguan resistance (Resolutions 650, 653 and 656). UNGOMAP's mandate was extended for 2 months until it completed its mission, and was disbanded in March 1990. (Resolution 647.) The Security Council called for a 6-month review of financing for UNFICYP, including a possible shift to partial funding by mandatory assessed contributions. (Resolution 682.) Gulf Crisis The Security Council responded to the August 2 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by declaring a breach of international peace and security. Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Council demanded an immediate, unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces. (Resolution 660.) During the ensuing 4-month period, the Security Council adopted 11 more resolutions addressing various aspects of the crisis, including imposition of a trade embargo against Iraq and Kuwait with only limited exceptions for medicine and food in certain humanitarian circumstances (Resolution 661) and a subsequent resolution authorizing member states to use appropriate measures to enforce trade sanctions. (Resolution 665.) On November 29 the Security Council called on Iraq to comply with all Gulfrelated resolutions adopted since August 2, allowing that country one final opportunity, as a pause of good will, to comply. (Resolution 678.) If those resolutions were not complied with by January 15, 1991, it authorized member states cooperating with Kuwait to use all necessary means to uphold them and restore international peace and security to the area. This measure was widely understood to permit the use of force, if necessary, to liberate Kuwait. Israeli-Occupied Territories The occupied territories became a focus of attention in the aftermath of the Temple Mount incident of October 8. The Security Council voted unanimously to condemn the violence, especially conduct by Israeli security forces resulting in the death of more than 20 Palestinians. (Resolution 672.) It called upon Israel to abide scrupulously by its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Security Council welcomed the Secretary General's decision to send a special envoy to the region and asked that he report his findings and conclusions. Gravely concerned at the continued deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Territories, the Council deplored the Israeli Government's refusal to receive that mission. The Security Council accepted a report from the Secretary General on ways and means of ensuring the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territories which urged Israel to accept de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to territories occupied since 1967. The Security Council also requested the Secretary General to monitor and observe developments. (Resolution 681.) In a note by its President, December 20, the Security Council agreed that an international conference, at an appropriate time, properly structured, should facilitate efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement and lasting peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The note observed, however, that Council members did not agree on the immediate need for such a conference. Other Action The Security Council called upon leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus to reach agreement on a bicommunal Federal Republic of Cyprus (Resolution 649), expressed support for the Secretary General's efforts in connection with a political settlement in Western Sahara (Resolution 658), and endorsed a framework for peace in Cambodia adopted by the five Permanent Members and accepted by representatives of all four Khmer factions. (Resolution 668.) The Security Council considered applications for admission and recommended for membership in the United Nations two states: Namibia and Liechtenstein. (Resolutions 652 and 663, respectively.) It also took cognizance of a freely exercised right to self-determination and terminated UN trusteeship over the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. (Resolution 683.) GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Assembly meets annually from mid-September to late December. The work of the Assembly takes place in seven main committees and in plenary: |