The United Nations Security Council : the Maltese experience

Abstract

One of the principle organs of the United Nations Organization is the Security Council which is composed of five Permanent members - China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - and ten Non-Permanent Members which are elected from African and Asian States (5), from the Eastern European States (1), from the Latin America and the Caribbean (2), and the Western European and other states (2). The demise of the Cold War and the changes that have been taking place in the past decade have ushered in an urgency to accelerate the discussions and exchanges on the review of the strengthening and effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council. In particular, these discussions have focused on the review of the membership of the Security Council and other related matters. It is to be recalled that already in 1983 the members of the Security Council in their constant endeavours to enhance the effectiveness of the Security Council and against the background of a precarious international situation, launched a process that succeeded to initiate and facilitate exchanges in an important subject. Malta's role in the process was the climax of the membership in the Security Council. Through the years of 1983 and 1984, Malta was a non-Permanent Member of the Council having been elected from the Western European and other States Group. It was the first time and the only time Malta has occupied this important post throughout its history as a member of the United Nations. The Chapters of this dissertation trace these two important years in the annals of Malta as a member of the United Nations. Although one of the smallest countries to sit on the Council since the latter's establishment in 1945, and notwithstanding its limitations, particularly its limited human resources, Malta was able to extend its leadership and negotiation skills. This was carried out with a disposition for work and dedication in upholding the purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations. During its two-year term of office on the Council, the Maltese Delegation succeeded in piloting two consensus documents, which were endorsed by the whole Membership of the Security Council and later by the United Nations General Assembly. It is relevant to point out that many of the points included in those papers are today the subject of discussions on the ongoing review of the role of the Security Council in this post-Cold War era particularly in the field of preventive diplomacy including fact-finding and inquiry missions. The main goal of this work is to give the reader a detailed retrospect of Malta's term on the Council. Moreover it attempts to show how a small state like Malta can ably participate and contribute to debates and issues, which involve the mutual participation of global powers such as the United States, Russia, China and Britain. In this context, it is perhaps relevant to give an outline of the main chapters of this dissertation in order to give a clear analyses of Malta's two years on the United Nations Security Council.