Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations must constantly adapt to an ever-changing world situation. The Charter itself anticipated this need for flexibility by not giving a precise definition of regional arrangements and organizations, thus enabling diverse organizations and structures to contribute, together with the United Nations, to the maintenance of peace and security.
The growing interaction between the United Nations and regional organizations has its origins in Chapter VIII of the Charter. With this objective in mind, the Secretary-General met in August 1994 with the heads of several regional organizations with which the United Nations had recently cooperated in peacemaking and peace-keeping efforts. In the January 1995 Supplement to "An Agenda for Peace" (A/50/60-S/1995/1), a typology of current modalities for cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations was set forth.
Currently, such cooperation takes five different forms. First, there is consultation, which is practised on a regular basis and, in some cases, is governed by formal agreements. Secondly, there is diplomatic support, by which a regional organization can participate in United Nations peacemaking activities through diplomatic efforts of its own. For instance, OSCE provides technical input on constitutional issues relating to Abkhazia. Conversely, the United Nations can support a regional organization in its efforts, as it does for OSCE over Nagorny Karabakh. Thirdly, the United Nations and regional organizations can engage in operational support. A recent example is the provision by NATO of air support to UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia. Fourthly, there is co-deployment: United Nations field missions have been deployed in conjunction with the Economic Community of West African States (ECWAS) in Liberia and with CIS in Georgia. Finally, there can be joint operations, such as the current human rights mission of the United Nations and the OAS in Haiti.
However, given the diversification of the forms of cooperation being established between regional organizations and the United Nations, the basic principles of the Charter should be borne in mind. Article 24 confers on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and Article 52 stipulates that the action of regional organizations must in all cases remain consistent with that principle.
The modalities of this cooperation must be refined and adapted to the diversity of local situations. The range of procedures that can be employed is wide and varied, but they all have the same advantage: they facilitate the Security Council's work and delegate responsibility to the concerned States and organizations of the region concerned, thereby promoting the democratization of international relations.
In this regard the recent adoption by the General Assembly in its resolution 49/57 of 9 December 1994 of the Declaration on the Enhancement of Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional Arrangements or Agencies in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security encourages regional arrangements and agencies to consider ways and means to promote closer cooperation and coordination with the United Nations, in particular in the fields of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and post-conflict peace-building, and, where appropriate, peace-keeping.
Cooperation with the Organization of American States
Cooperation with the Organization of African Unity
Cooperation with the Caribbean Community
Cooperation in the European areac
Cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Cooperation with the League of Arab States
To return to the Table of Contents