2 Comments

In my mind longtime peace wagers Daniel Berrigan, Daniel Ellsberg & Francis Boyle are priceless thinkers and influencers from an era where substance had more effect on manufacturing consent. It's tragic these brilliant influencers have almost become extinct with no proteges in sight while the sociopaths proliferate. Thanks so much for amplifying Boyle's voice here!

Expand full comment

How does the United Nations initiate actions under the Uniting for Peace Resolution?

Perplexity.ai answered my question as follows:

The United Nations can initiate actions under the Uniting for Peace Resolution in the following way:

If the Security Council fails to exercise its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security due to a lack of unanimity among its permanent members (i.e. a veto by one of the P5 members), the General Assembly can convene an emergency special session to consider the matter.

During this emergency session, the General Assembly can make recommendations to UN members for collective measures to restore international peace and security. These measures can include, in cases of a breach of peace or act of aggression, the use of armed force when necessary.

However, the General Assembly cannot directly authorize the use of force or enforcement action - that power remains solely with the Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Some specific actions the General Assembly can take under Uniting for Peace include:

- Calling for ceasefires, withdrawals of forces, arms embargoes, or other non-coercive measures

- Establishing investigative mechanisms or fact-finding missions

- Requesting advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice

- Allocating funds from the UN budget or calling for voluntary contributions towards mitigation efforts

- Recommending collective measures like economic sanctions or severance of diplomatic relations

So, in essence, while lacking enforcement powers, the Uniting for Peace Resolution allows the General Assembly to circumvent Security Council paralysis and make recommendations for resolving threats to international peace and security when the Council is deadlocked.

--

Calling for the nations of the world to sanction Israel while the genocide continues seems to be a good first step, but with no enforcement mechanism, they can only fund reporting on the sanctions and whether they are achieving the desired results, unless I'm missing something.

Expand full comment