The United Nations Security Council, as highest custodian of peace and security in the international community, is subjected to change in the international environment, but is in itself not inclined to, or likely to change in the near future. This is because its structure is entrenched in international law, which also upholds the pre-eminence of state sovereignty in the prevailing international relations environment. The pre-eminent position bestowed upon the UNSC by the UN Charter and an entrenched international adherence to its current structure, mainly due to conflict’s close association with reality politics and international power structures associated with a pre-dominant interest driven international system of states, make international consensus on changing the UNSC near impossible. This environment is, therefore, subject to the competitive pursuit of state interests and influenced by power relations, as Realists contend. However, this behavioural nature of the international system continues to be challenged in order to conform to the principles that underwrite the philosophies, the theories and the structures of human rights, humanitarian principles, idealism and their correlating systems of law in democracy. South Africa’s diplomatic positioning in this regard since 1994 assumes a structural approach by calling for change in the international system, to broaden international community, and specifically African, contributions to and participation in global governance. As concerns the UNSC, the South African diplomatic agenda has targeted the ingrained hegemony of the Council’s permanent core, the Permanent Five, and their veto. In theory, South Africa subscribes to the Ezulwini Consensus, which is a common African position that demands two permanent seats for the continent. The country has, in line with its diplomatic endeavour, also pronounced itself ready to assume such a seat in a transformed Council, even though Africa has not collectively endorsed (a) candidate(s). In the interim, South Africa is using strategic diplomatic manoeuvres, at the regional as well as global level, to steer the debate on UNSC reform and to lobby for its own permanent inclusion. South Africa, therefore, conducts diplomacy of engagement across the international diplomatic spectrum in support of a diplomacy that seeks to engage rather than isolate or disengage and which is aimed at making a difference in this mediation, creating convergence, also through bridging divergences in the international debate on reform of the UNSC. / Dissertation (MDIPS)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Political Sciences / unrestricted

LL.M. (International Law) / Syria is currently embroiled in a bitter and bloody conflict which began three years ago, in the prime of what was commonly known as the Arab spring. The Syrian people clamoured for new leadership and greater freedoms. However, the hopes of an Arab spring soon faded into a cold, desolate Arab winter. Instead of acceding to the demands of the citizens, the Syrian president has sought to subdue and eliminate them. Resulting in August 2013 of the government forces reportedly unleashed deadly chemical weapons on opposition forces. The United Nations Security Council failed to embark on any action by this point, due to the first veto by Russia and China on 4 October 20113. The death toll subsequently peaked at over 100 000. Whilst on the 24th of November, 2013 following two days of conflict in the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria 160 people were killed. Could the devastation of Syria and its people have been avoided? Is there any organisation responsible for the safety and protection of the Syrian people? The answer lies in an organisation called the United Nations. The United Nations Security Council however has the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security but this is not exclusive. Their primary function (as clearly stated in the United Nations Charter) is the responsibility for maintenance of international peace and security.

Both interventionist and anti-interventionist scholars have advanced the view that the 2011 Libyan conflict probes the need to establish an international organisation to settle disputes between nations with a view to maintaining international peace and security. Ironically, 67 years after the founding of the United Nations, post-colonial African states remain deeply troubled and affected by conflicts that are often exacerbated by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. The 2011 Libyan conflict was not a war for democracy; rather, it represented and demonstrated clearly the asymmetrical relations between Africa and Europe. This study therefore, is anchored on the thesis that the Western Countries—especially Britain and France—within the UNSC ignore the values that are embodied in the Treaty of Westphalia which established state sovereignty. Some Permanent five (P5) members of the UN were typically insensitive to Libya’s sovereignty and to the creed of democracy and this inevitably undermined the national security of the state in favour of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ clause. The outsourcing of the UNSC’s mission, among other things, in Libya to ensure ‘international peace and security’ to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was a critical reason for the loss of human lives and values in the 2011 Libyan pogrom. The introduction of a no-fly zone over Libya and the use of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) contained in UNSC Resolution 1973 clearly stoked the conflict in Libya in order to further the political and pecuniary interests of some of the P5 members. The involvement of NATO and the attendant bombing campaign in Libya served to undermine the militarily weak continent of Africa in its effort to broker peace under the umbrella of the African Union (AU). In order to secure these political and economic interests, the NATO jet bombers declared war against a sovereign UN member state and openly participated in the eventual overthrow and death of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. In essence, this study underscores that the use of Responsibility to Protect in Libya was orchestrated at the highest level of international politics to justify external interference and ultimately, to secure regime change in Libya. The net effect of the outcome of the 2011 Libyan conflict is the post-war imperial control of Libya’s natural resources facilitated by the National Transition Committee established by these imperial forces. The extent of the damage caused by the UN-backed NATO intervention in Libya is also the result of the collective failure of the African Union to assert itself in the Libyan situation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

How is a veto justified? Within the discipline of International Relations, discourse analysis is gaining a higher status. However, there is a surprising lacuna in the literature as a discursive approach to the veto in the United Nations Security Council, is yet to be taken. This is unfortunate, given the Security Council’s prominence. The way in which the council members make meaning through their word choice has profound effects for politics in the international system. There is, nonetheless, a growing debate on the functioning of the council, and the veto-power is an important object of contestation. Motivated by current veto-restraining initiatives, this thesis performs a discourse analysis on the 19 cast vetoes between 2005-2016. The actors of relevance are the permanent Security Council members China, Russia, and the US, and the study demonstrates how the concepts of sovereignty, intervention and legitimacy are employed in the discursive construction of the legitimate veto. The thesis further argues that there are patterns and reoccurring themes in the way meaning is created that can be summarized into a contra-discourse —a veto-discourse —contrasting the dominating discourse within the Security Council.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After being sidelined for a number of years, South Africa finds itself readmitted to the international community. One of the many issues at stake now is the reform of the United Nations Security Council. This study looks at South Africa's aim to make substantial changes in the international system, with the Security Council being one of the target institutions. This is a mammoth task for South Africa and the study points out the challenges that go with engaging in this process. The study points out an element of ambiguity in South Africa's foreign policy and the challenges that go with making multilateralism a cornerstone of such a policy. While it is not yet clear as to whether South Africa will succeed in changing the behaviour of states and the practice of multilateral institutions, it is at the moment participating in debates that might lead to such changes. South Africa's participation in the Open Ended Working Committee on the reform of the United Nations Security Council constitutes one move among others to ensure a change in the practice of the Security Council. The limits of making multilateralism a cornerstone of foreign policy are outlined with the aim of making policy-makers aware of the implications of the broad scope of their ambiguous foreign policy. While it is necessary to avoid engaging in assignments that might be difficult to manage, the need for South Africa to focus only on what is achievable and not to try and punch above its weight is one aspect this paper emphasises. The paper ends by making recommendations, which include (among others) that South Africa should attempt to secure a seat in the reformed Security Council should such an opportunity arise, but only after a careful consideration of her abilities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Na jare van politieke isolasie is Suid-Afrika weer 'n volwaardige lid van die internasionale gemeenskap. Die hervorming van die Verenigde Nasies (VN) se Veiligheidsraad, het binne die konteks van buitelandse beleid, een van die land se vernaamste uitdagings geword. Hierdie studie plaas Suid-Afrika se hervormingspogings van die internasionale stelselonder die soeklig, en fokus veralop die rol van die VN Veiligheidsraad. Die omvang van dié proses kan nie onderskat word nie, en die studie poog om die vernaamste uitdagings van hierdie hervormings te identifiseer. Die opdrag poog om te wys op 'n mate van teenstrydigheid wat in Suid- Afrika se buitelandse beleid te bespeur is, asook die uitdagings verbonde aan die vestiging van multilaterale betrekkinge as hoeksteen van sodanige beleid. Hoewel daar nog nie duidelikheid bestaan oor die mate van sukses wat die land behaal het met betrekking tot die gedrag van state en die praktyk van multilaterale betrekkinge nie, neem dit tans deel aan debate wat mag lei tot beleidsverandering in hierdie velde. Suid-Afrika se deelname aan die VN Veiligheidraad se Ope Werkskonunittees, rakende die hervorming van hierdie liggaam, is een voorbeeld van die land se verbintenis tot die verandering van Veiligheidsraad praktyke. Die beperkings rakende mulilaterale betrekkinge, 'n steunpilaar van internasionale beleid, word uitgelig ten einde beleidsmakers bewus te maak van die omvattende aard van 'n dikwels, onduidelike, buitelandse beleid. Die opdrag benadruk die feit dat Suid-Afrika sal moet poog om slegs betrokke te raak in internasionale aksies wat binne sy vermoëns val. Dit word afgesluit met 'n aantal aanbevelings. Een hiervan is 'n pleidooi dat Suid-Afrika permanente lidmaatskap van die 'n hervormde Veiligheidsraad verkry indien die geleentheid dit voordoen. Sodanige deelname kan egter eers geskied na deeglike oorweging van die land se vermoës binne hierdie sfeer.

LL.M. (International Law) / After witnessing the catastrophic effects of the First World War, the pursuit of a global regulatory body charged with the responsibility of maintaining global peace and security was the talk of the day and a body which became known as the League of Nations soon surfaced. However, with the manifestation of the Second World War the essential failure of the League of Nations was evident and led to the creation of a new body along with a dream to prevent the same kind of disastrous conflict the world had just witnessed for a second time from occurring again. The idea that a single body would in essence control the fate of world security matters was brought to life and the United Nations Security Council essentially emerged, reflecting the power balance that ensued at the end of World War 2 – the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, China and France suddenly became the most powerful nations in the world. With the existence of regional organisations pre-dating that of both the League and the United Nations, the debate as to the ideal relationship between the global body and regional bodies developed. Despite the fact that the UN Charter essentially instilled a hierarchy, with the Security Council holding primacy over matters of security governance4 whilst allowing regional organisations to act unilaterally only in limited circumstances,5 this debate has continued to the present day. Since the conception of the United Nations, the traditional role of regional organisations in matters of security governance were mostly limited to peacekeeping and preventative diplomacy and the inaction of the Security Council during the Cold War saw an increase in the activity of these bodies, albeit in these forms.

This thesis argues that a tension exists between a new individualized norm of security within the counter-terrorism context and human security framework of the United Nations Security Council, focusing on the implications of the resolution 1267 counter-terrorism regime. This topic is of particular relevance as the threat of terrorism continues to grow and evolve. While the human security framework has been well studied, the individualization of security through counter-terrorism is a more recent development, and its tensions and implications have not been fully considered. This thesis uses a discourse analysis in order to demonstrate that counter-terrorism is constructed as a norm, and that there has been a shift in norms within the UN Security Council in relation to counter-terrorism and human rights. It will trace how a set of norms has emerged in order to make terrorism a part of the Security Council’s agenda, and how and why these have changed. In order to trace these norms, terrorism has been separated into two stages: state-sponsored and international terrorism, where terrorism was viewed as a threat stemming from state-governments and; transnational terrorism, where it was viewed as a trans-border threat arising from individuals. Within these stages, the objectives, targets and tools of the Council’s counter-terrorism policies will be studied in order to demonstrate how they work together to reinforce a norm. The analysis will be used to show how the case of Kadi v. Council and Commission came about in the transnational terrorism stage as a direct result of the Security Council’s counter-terrorism regime and its alleged breach of human rights. The Kadi case demonstrates that a tension does exist between the norm of individualization of security within the counter-terrorism context and the human security framework.

Throughout the years many have called for a reform of the United Nations and more specifically its most influential body the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council has the authority to pass resolutions with the sole purpose to preserve the peace around the globe, in theory at least. As there are conflicts that have been going on for a decade without any kind of solution from the Security Council and with huge humanitarian toll, just like Syria and Yemen, the need for a reform is clearly needed for the Security Council to be able to act better in conflict solving. In the Council five members have veto rights which are also permanent members and are not elected. As this has been considered unfair, both the notion of a permanent member and also the notion of a veto, some reform proposals have been brought up by organizations or countries to change the Security Council. This work is concerned with the Weak Veto reform proposal as analysing possible reforms using discourse analysis can predict possible future behaviour of states and can introduce a different view on the future of international organizations.

LL.M. (International Law) / Since 1945 there has been a noticeable broadening of what constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Traditionally, the definition of “threat to international peace” was limited to a conflict among nations, which were conflicts common in the world. The core threat to international peace used to be organized inter-state conflicts only. Today however, the nature of threats to international peace has changed drastically to include internal conflicts – as there are examples of cases where these have spread across the borders or have led to massive refugee situations. In this dissertation, I review the mandate of the United Nation’s inter alia the changing definition of ‘threat to international peace’.

"Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter deals with the pacific settlement of disputes. This is the chapter that contains the basis for keeping the peace between nations. The purpose of this paper is to determine, as nearly as possible, the extent to which it has been successful in keeping the peace. The following material has been divided into three parts or sections. Section II is a discussion of the six articles of Chapter VI. This discussion was considered necessary in order that the different cases that have been before the Security Council could be discussed intelligently. In Section III an attempt is made to summarize the most important cases that have been before the Council. An effort was made to secure a sampling sufficient to justify the remarks and conclusions in Section IV"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1948." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: Marian D. Irish, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references.