The United Nations Academic Impact is informed by a commitment to support and advance ten basic principles, out of which the tenth is A commitment to the principles inherent in the United Nations Charter.
Principle number 5 in the United Nations Charter reads: All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any State against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
Test your knowledge about this UN principle of the with the UNAI Quiz!!
Scroll down to the bottom of this article to find the answers.
1. What kind of assistance is implied?
a) Financial assistance.
b) Military assistance.
c) The kind of assistance requested in relation to a given purpose.
2. Does this apply to the International Criminal Court?
a) Yes, if related to a decision of the UN Security Council.
b) No.
c) Not anymore.
3. What happens if assistance is needed after a natural disaster?
a) The country concerned asks for international assistance.
b) The UN coordinates with the country concerned to ask international assistance.
c) The UN decides everything related to the international assistance for the given country.
4. What preventive or enforcement action is implied in this principle?
a) When the UN Security Council impose sanctions such as bans or embargoes.
b) When the UN Security council hosts a briefing by an officer of the UN Secretariat.
c) When the UN Security Council holds informal consultations.
5. Which UN body could decide measures in case of violation of a ban or embargo?
a) The UN General Assembly.
b) The UN Security Council.
c) The UN Secretariat.
Answers:
1.c) In a number of occasions intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations make specific calls to Member States to support actions for a variety of purposes. For instance, the UN General Assembly in its resolution 72/241 entitled A world against violence and violent extremism, through the tenth operative clause, called upon Member States to advocate for and disseminate information on tolerance and mutual respect. In a completely different case, the UN General Assembly through its resolution 72/233 on poverty eradication called Member States to support the effective national efforts of developing countries in this regard through predictable financial resources and technical assistance on bilateral and multilateral bases.
2.a) The UN Security Council when referred the situation in Darfur since 1 July 2002 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court through its resolution 1593 (2005), urged all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully with the tribunal in relation to the investigation. The tribunal as such said that therefore, it is to be expected that any State will deploy [its] best efforts to comply bona fides with Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005), and cooperate fully with the Court.
3.b) Whenever there is a natural disaster usually the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs makes emergency appeals to fund relief efforts. One of the most recent ones is the Central Sulawesi Earthquake Response Plan. On 28 September 2018, a series of strong earthquakes struck central Sulawesi province in Indonesia, affecting 1.5 million people. The Response Plan was developed by the Humanitarian Country Team in Indonesia in consultation with the Government of the country. According to it, US$50.5 million are needed to provide immediate humanitarian assistance. Member States that do provide funding are called donor countries.
4.a) In 2011, the UN Security Council imposed a series of sanctions to Libya through its resolution 1970 (2011), which included an arms embargo (all Member States shall immediately take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, from or through their territories or by their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types), a travel ban (all Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals listed in Annex I of this resolution or designated by the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 24 below), and an asset freezing (all Member States shall freeze without delay all funds, other financial assets and economic resources which are on their territories, which are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the individuals or entities listed in annex II of this resolution or designated by the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 24 below).
5.b) The UN Security Council decided in 2016 to authorize vessels inspection if there is a suspicion of a possible violation of an arms embargo. Through its resolution 2292 (2016), the Council condemned the flows of arms and related materiel transferred to or from Libya in violation of the arms embargo, including to ISIL and other terrorist groups in Libya. Because of such flow of arms, the Council decided to authorize, in these exceptional and specific circumstances for a period of 12 months from the date of this resolution Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations (...) to inspect, without undue delay, on the high seas off the coast of Libya, vessels bound to or from Libya which they have reasonable grounds to believe are carrying arms or related materiel to or from Libya, directly or indirectly. It also authorized Member States to upon discovery of items prohibited (...) seize and dispose (such as through destruction, rendering inoperable, storage or transferring to a State other than the originating or destination States for disposal) of such items.