THE - THE The United Kingdom - The United Nations

Edited by Erik Jensen and Thomas Fisher with a Foreword by The Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher

M MACMILLAN © Erik Jensen and Thomas Fisher 1990 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1990

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place, WCIE 7DP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published 1990

Published by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world

Typeset by Footnote Graphics, Wanninster, Wilts

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data The United Kingdom - the United Nations. 1. United Nations. Policies of British government I. Jensen, Erik II. Fisher, Thomas 341.23'41 ISBN 978-1-349-11376-7 ISBN 978-1-349-11374-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-11374-3 This book is dedicated to Javier Perez de Cuellar and to all who have worked and continue to work to make the United Nations more effective. Contents

Foreword by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher ix Acknowledgements x List of Illustrations xii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms XIV Notes on the Contributors and Editors xviii

1 Introduction 1 The United Kingdom and the United Nations: An Evolving Relationship Erik Jensen

2 Founding the United Nations: Principles and Objects 21 Lord Gladwyn

3 Britain and the Security Council 48 Sir Anthony Parsons

4 UN Peace-keeping: From Observers to the Peace Prize 69 Sir Brian Urquhart

5 Decolonisation: Cooperation and Confrontation at the 90 United Nations John Sankey

6 International Law: The Court, Commission and Judges 120 Sir Ian Sinclair

7 Constructive Criticism: The United Nations and 147 Human Rights Ben Whitaker

8 The North-South Dialogue: Britain at Odds 159 Sir Peter Marshall

9 The Specialised Agencies: Britain in Retreat 209 Douglas Williams

Vll viii Contents

10 The Vision of Keynes: The Bretton Woods Institutions 235 Hans Singer

11 The Environment: Pioneers and Scepticism 246 Maurice Strong

12 The United Nations Association: The People's Voice 254 Lord Ennals

13 Present and Future: A British Perspective 274 Sir Crispin Tickell

Appendices: I United Kingdom Membership of the Specialised and Other United Nations Agencies and Organisations 288 II United Kingdom Financial Contributions within the 290 III United Kingdom Involvement in United Nations Peace-keeping 295 IV Cases at the International Court of Justice to which the United Kingdom has been a Party 296 V Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the United Nations 297

Bibliography 298

Index 307 Foreword

I have been very encouraged to find that the United Nations has increasingly been coming to play the role which its founders envisaged for it, both in dealing with international disputes and in confronting new problems such as global climate change. The Organisation's growing confidence and effectiveness are a very hopeful sign for all of us and one which Britain will do everything possible to sustain. A very great deal is owed to the United Nations -General, who has made a matchless contribution to the Organisation's work. This revival of the United Nations could not have taken place unless the foundations on which the Organisation is built were solid. This book shows, through the accounts of those closely involved, how Britain has played a central role in laying those foundations and building on them. Our participation in creating the Charter itself, in writing the International Bill of Human Rights, in promoting the development and humanitarian undertakings of the United Nations, and in maintaining international peace through the Security Council and peace-keeping operations, provides material for a fascinating study. I am very grateful to Dr Jensen for his initiative in launching this compilation of essays: and to the distinguished contributors who have done justice to the theme. With the much more constructive relationship which is emerging between East and West, I hope that the 1990s will prove to be the decade in which the United Nations comes into its own.

Margaret Thatcher December 1989

ix Acknowledgements

The Prime Minister has honoured this volume with a foreword. That in itself underwrites the value of a book about Britain and the United Nations. The recent revival of the United Nations and the resurgence of interest in United Nations' affairs points up the need for a study of the British experience; little has been written on the subject since the publication in 1957 of Professor Goodwin's work, and nothing comprehensive. Although I received early encouragement for the project, the crucial problem of finding time for the extensive editorial work was resolved only when Thomas Fisher, having just completed his degree, volunteered his services. We were able to start working together at the end of 1987. We are grateful first and foremost to those who contributed chapters. In spite of many other demands on their time they responded generously to the request for material, and they have made possible a unique collection of insights based on privileged personal experience. The views expressed are, of course, the authors' and editors' own and do not necessarily reflect either those of the United Kingdom Government or those of the United Nations: in no sense is this an official document. The text is supplemented by illustrations showing the contributors in action. In addition there are pictures of works offered to the United Nations by British artists: no other country has its sculpture so strongly represented in the precincts of the main UN centres. The project would never have become a reality had it not been for widespread support of many kinds. Sir Anthony Parsons and Pro• fessor Adam Roberts were most encouraging and gave invaluable advice and criticism; so did Professor Geoffrey Best and Richard Sandbrook in different ways. Members of the Foreign and Common• wealth Office were consistently supportive: Duncan Slater, David Gore-Booth, Peter Williams, Tony Brenton, Andrew Barlow, Nick Thorne and Sarah Foulds; Sally Morphet of the Research Depart• ment was especially helpful, not least with the indices. We should like to thank them all and also those who helped in other ways: in London, Anne-Marie Crehan, Pauline Kay, Anne Meyer, Molly Owen, Carmen Steele and Carole Spurgeon, and, at Princeton, Kathy Sessions, Susan White and David Armitage, who so willingly

x Acknowledgements xi gave of his time to discuss editorial matters. We are most grateful to Jacques Graubart for his interest and practical help and to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for their timely generosity in covering many of our inevitable expenses. Finally, Humphrey Fisher deserves especial thanks; he has always been glad to give support and guidance and has never hesitated to offer his assistance. E.J. T.F. London December 1989 List of Illustrations

Unless otherwise mentioned all photographs are courtesy of the United Nations.

1. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, addressing the General Assembly. 2. Lord Gladwyn, then Sir Gladwyn Jebb, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, at Lake Success. 3. Sir Anthony Parsons with reporters at the height of the Falklands crisis. 4. Sir Brian Urquhart being briefed by an UNTSO observer during a tour of southern Lebanon. 5. John Sankey (second from left) with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of India and the President of Tanzania. (Private collection) 6. Sir Ian Sinclair (lower left) at a meeting of the Special Committee on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States. 7. Ben Whitaker (at right) at a session of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. (Courtesy of Photo L. Bianco) 8. Sir Peter Marshall (at left) accompanying the Archbishop of Canterbury at a meeting with the ILO Director-General in Geneva. (Private collection) 9. Douglas Williams casts his vote at the FAO. (Courtesy of Publifoto, Roma) 10. Hans Singer (at left) speaking at the SUNFED discussions. (Courtesy of Leo Rosenthal) 11. Maurice Strong addressing participants in a 'Whale Celebration' during the Stockholm Conference. 12. Lord (David) Ennals (second from left), when Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in informal discussion at the United Nations. 13. Sir Crispin Tiekell presiding over a meeting of the Security Council; the Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, is seated on his right.

xii List of Illustrations xiii

14. Erik Jensen at the United Nations Office in London. (Courtesy of Crown Picture Service) 15. Thomas Fisher on assignment with the British Development Division in the Pacific, Fiji. (Private collection) 16. Sir Julian Huxley (at left) in discussion with Lord Boyd Orr. 17. Barbara Hepworth's 'Single Form' in the courtyard before the United Nations, New York. 18. Henry Moore's 'Reclining Figure: Hand' outside the United Nations' building in New York. 19. The unveiling of Edwina Sandys' 'Family' in the park of the Palais des Nations, Geneva. 20. Edwina Sandys' 'Women Free' with the sculptor outside the United Nations Office at Vienna. (Courtesy of Richard D. Kaplan) 21(a/b). Panels of English oak, given by the United Kingdom, in a conference room at the United Nations Headquarters. 22. United Nations Headquarters, New York. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

AAPSO Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation ANC African National Congress (South Africa), or African National Council (Southern Rhodesia) BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BYIL British Yearbook of International Law CEWC Council for Education in World Citizenship CFF Compensatory Financing Facility (IMF) CIEC Conference on International Economic Cooperation CIIR Catholic Institute for International Relations Cmd. Command paper (of the UK government) COl Central Office of Information (UK) Cominform Communist Information Bureau COS Chiefs of Staff COW Committee of the Whole (of the UN General Assembly) DHSS Department of Health and Social Security (UK) DoE Department of the Environment (UK) DPI Department of Public Information (UN) EAC European Advisory Commission ECE UN Economic Commission for Europe ECLA UN Economic Commission for Latin America ECOSOC Economic and Social Council (UN) EEC European Economic Community EOKA Ethnike Organosis Kypriakou Agonos (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) ESAF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (IMF) FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK) FLOSY Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen G7 Group of Seven (most industrialised countries: Canada, , Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States)

XIV List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xv

GlO Group of Ten (IMF; now 11 major industrialised countries including, in addition to G7, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) G24 Group of 24 (developing countries, IMF) G77 Group of 77 (developing countries; now over 120) GA General Assembly (UN) GA Res. General Assembly Resolution (UN) GAlT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GB Great Britain GNP Gross National Product Group B OECD grouping at UNCfAD GSP Generalised System of Preferences (GAlT) HMSO Her Majesty's Stationery Office (UK) IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IBRD Internatior.al Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation ICJ International Court of Justice IDA International Development Association (World Bank) IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFC International Finance Corporation (World Bank) lIED International Institute for Environment and Development ILC International Law Commission (UN) ILO International Labour Organisation IMCO Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (now IMO) IMF International Monetary Fund IMO International Maritime Organisation (formerly IMCO) IRO International Refugee Organisation (UN) ITO International Trade Organisation ITU International Telecommunication Union IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IVS International Voluntary Service LNU Union MP Member of Parliament NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation xvi List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

NGO Non-governmental organisation NIEO New International Economic Order (UN) NLF National Liberation Front (Aden) OAU Organisation of African Unity ODA Overseas Development Administration (UK) ODM Ministry of Overseas Development (UK) OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ONUC Operation des Nations Unies au Congo OPEC Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries PCIJ Permanent Court of International Justice PLO Palestine Liberation Organisation PM Prime Minister PRO Public Record Office (UK) PSP People's Socialist Party (Aden) Res. Resolution RIIA The Royal Institute of International Affairs (London) SCR Security Council Resolution (UN) SDR Special Drawing Right (IMF) STABEX Stabilisation of Export Earnings (EEe) SUNFED UN Special Fund for Economic Development (1959; merged into UNDP 1965) SWAPO South West Africa People's Organisation (Namibia) UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Southern Rhodesia, 1965) UK United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) UN United Nations UNA United Nations Association (often for UNA of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) UNAIS United Nations Association International Service (UNA-UK) UNCE United Nations Commission for Europe UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDOF United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (Middle East) UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEF (I and II)United Nations Emergency Force (Middle East) List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xvii

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNFICYP United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population Activities UNGOMAP United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNMOGIP United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNSSD United Nations Special Session on Disarmament (General Assembly) UNTAG United Nations Transition Assistance Group (Namibia) UNTSO United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (Middle East) UPU US/USA United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics VAT Value-added tax VSO Voluntary Service Overseas WCED World Commission on Environment and Development (chaired by Mrs Gro Harlem Brundtland) WFP WFUNA World Federation of United Nations Associations WHO World Health Organisation WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation WMO World Meteorological Organisation WWF World Wildlife Fund (now World Wide Fund for Nature) ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU Zimbabwe African People's Union Notes on the Contributors and Editors

Lord Ennals, PC, joined the League of Nations Union in 1936 and his first post-war job was as Regional Officer of the United Nations Association (UNA) in Manchester. He subsequently became Secre• tary of the Council for Education in World Citizenship (1947-52), Secretary of UNA (1952-57), and Chairman of the Executive Com• mittee of UNA (1984-87). He was Overseas Secretary of the Labour Party before becoming an MP for Dover (1964-70), and Norwich North (1974-83). He served as Minister of State at the DHSS (1968- 70), FCO (1974-76), and as Secretary of State for Social Services (1976-79). He has been Chairman of numerous non-governmental organisations; and at present he is Co-chairman of Global Coopera• tion for a Better World, Chairman of the Asian Committee of the British Refugee Council, and of the Advisory Council of the Ocken• den Venture. Thomas Fisher, after graduating from Christ Church, Oxford in 1987, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. At the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs, Princeton University, he has been concentrating on development studies, and in 1989, he acted as consultant to the British Development Division in the Pacific (ODA, Fiji), evaluating British manpower training programmes in the region. He is at present visiting India and East Africa to help establish VikaSoko, an organisation, of which he is a founding member, seeking to encourage community enterprises. Lord G1adwyn, GCMG, GCVO, CB, entered the Diplomatic Service in 1924 and served in , and the Foreign Office. In 1942 he was appointed the head of the Foreign Office's Economic and Reconstruction Department, which developed the British proposals for the establishment of the United Nations, and he attended the conferences at Quebec, Cairo, Tehran, , Yalta, San Francisco arid Potsdam. In 1945 he became the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the UN, which paved the way for the first General Assembly in London, and h", served as acting Secretary-General of the new organisation. He was Assistant Under-Secretary of State and United Nations Adviser at the Foreign

xviii Notes on the Contributors and Editors xix

Office and, from 1950 to 1954, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. He later served as British Ambassador to France and as a member of the , and became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the and was Liberal spokesman on foreign affairs and defence. Erik Jensen joined the United Nations in 1967. From 1968 to 1969 he spent a year in Nigeria during the Biafra crisis and was Political Officer on the Good Offices Mission to Bahrain in 1970. During the 1970s, while serving as Chef de Cabinet to the Director-General at Geneva, he carried out special political assignments in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and East Timor. In 1980 he became Director for Special Political Questions in New York and led missions to Chad and many other African countries. In 1983 he was appointed Director of the UN office for the UK and Ireland. Before joining the UN he served as an administrator in Sarawak (Malaysia). His book The [ban and Their Religion is a study of the interrelationship between social organisation, the economy and religious belief in a Malaysian society. He was educated at Oxford, where he went on to obtain a doctorate, and at Harvard. Sir Peter Marshall, KCMG, served in the Diplomatic Service from 1949 to 1983. He was first appointed as Third Secretary in the Economic Relations Department of the Foreign Office, and later served in Washington, Baghdad, Bangkok and . In 1965-66 he was Assistant Director of the Treasury Centre for Administrative Studies, and in 1966-69 Counsellor at the UK Mission in Geneva. He later became head of the Financial Policy and Aid Department of FCO (1971-73), Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs at FCO (1973-75) and Minister for Economic and Social Affairs at the UK Mission to the UN in New York (1975-79). In 1979 he returned to Geneva as UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations. He was Deputy Secretary-General (Economic) of the Commonwealth from 1983 to 1988, and is now Chairman of the Commonwealth Trust. Sir Anthony Parsons, GCMG, LVO, MC, served as a in the Arab world and Turkey from the 1940s to the 1960s; he was Political Agent in Bahrain from 1965-69. Appointed in 1969 Head of Chan• cery at the UK Mission to the UN in New York, he specialised in questions dealing with the Security Council. From 1971-74 he was Assistant Under-Secretary at FCO with responsibility for UN and xx Notes on the Contributors and Editors

Middle Eastern affairs, and from 1974-79 Ambassador to Iran. In 1979 he was appointed UK Permanent Representative in New York: his period in that office opened with the negotiations leading up to the independence of Zimbabwe, and ceased just after the Falklands War in 1982. Since his retirement in 1983 from the post of Special Adviser on Foreign Policy to the Prime Minister, he has written and lectured widely on UN matters, with particular reference to the Security Council. John Sankey, CMG, joined the Colonial Office in 1953. His first assignments related to the Eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus. From 1955-57 he attended meetings of the Fourth (Trusteeship) Committee of the UN General Assembly, the Trusteeship Council and the Committee on Information from Non-self-governing Terri• tories. In 1960 he was Assistant Secretary-General of the Kenya Constitutional Conference in Lancaster House. He joined the UK Mission to the UN in New York in 1961 as adviser to Sir Hugh Foot (later Lord Caradon) and was a member of the Special Committee on Decolonisation. In 1964 he joined the Foreign Office and served in Guyana, Singapore and Malta, as well as the Netherlands. In 1979 he became Head of Central Africa Department and Special Counsel• lor for African Affairs. He was the High Commissioner to Tanzania in 1982-85, and in 1985 became UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva. Sir Ian Sinclair, KCMG, QC, became an assistant legal adviser at the Foreign Office in 1950. He was a Legal Counsellor to the UK Mission to the UN in New York from 1964 to 1967, serving as British representative on the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the General Assembly. He was also British representative on the Special Commit• tee on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States, and has been Legal Adviser to UK delegations at numerous international conferences. He was Vice• Chairman of the British delegation to the UN Conference on the Law of Treaties, and Chairman of the British delegation to the subsequent UN Conference on Succession of States in respect of Treaties. He was Legal Adviser to FCO between 1976 and 1984 and served on the International Law Commission from 1982 to 1986. He is currently in practice at the Bar and has written and lectured on international law . Hans Singer was able to leave Germany in 1933 and studied for his PhD in economics at King's College, Cambridge. He held posts at the Universities of Manchester and Glasgow as well as in the Ministry of Notes on the Contributors and Editors xxi

Town and Country Planning before joining the UN in 1947, where he helped build up the Economic Affairs Department. He remained at the UN for 22 years, including service with the Economic Commis• sions for Africa and Asia and on many advisory missions. He also helped establish the African Development Bank, the World Food Programme and the UN Special Fund. Since 1969 he has been a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and Professor of Economics (now Emeritus) at the University of Sussex. He is the author of numerous books, articles, and contributions to reports dealing with problems of international cooperation in trade, development planning and the transfer of technology. Maurice Strong, OC, FRSC, was born in Canada. After 18 years in industry he became the head of Canada's External Aid Office, later the Canadian International Development Agency (1966-70). He was Secretary-General of the UN Conference on the Human Environ• ment in Stockholm, 1972, and the first Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. In 1975 he became President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Petro-Canada, the national oil com• pany. He has also been Chairman of the Canada Development Investment Corporation, of the Board of Governors of the Inter• national Development Research Centre, and has been associated with numerous other non-governmental organisations. From 1985 to 1987 he served as Executive Coordinator of the UN Office for Emergency Operations in Africa. He was a member of the World Commission on Environment and Development and is the President of the World Federation of UNAs. Since 1986 he has been Chairman and President of American Water Development Inc. Sir Crispin TickeD, GCMG, KCVO, joined the Diplomatic Service in 1954 and served at the Hague, Mexico and Paris. He was a member of the Planning Staff at the Foreign Office (1961-64) and head of the Western Organisations Department at FCO (1972-75). From 1970 to 1972 he served as Private Secretary to successive Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster, and from 1977 to 1981 as Chef de Cabinet to the President of the Commission of the European Community. He was a Fellow at the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University from 1975 to 1976, after which he published Climatic Change and World Affairs (1977); in 1981 he was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. He was appointed Ambassador to Mexico in 1981, Deputy Under-Secretary of State at FCO in 1983 and Permanent Secretary of the Overseas Development Administration in 1984. xxii Notes on the Contributors and Editors

Since 1987 he has been the UK Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. Sir Brian Urquhart, KCMG, MBE, joined the UN in 1945 as personal Assistant to Gladwyn Jebb (later Lord Gladwyn). From 1946 to 1949 he served as Personal Assistant to the first Secretary-General, and in the 1950s he was active in establishing the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 1956 he took part in organising the first United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East. As a member of the Office of the Under Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs from 1954 to 1971, he provided service as Assistant to the Secretary• General's Special Representative in the Congo (1960) and as UN Representative in Katanga (1961-62). In 1972 he became Assistant Secretary-General and in 1974 Under Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs. Since his retirement in 1986 he has been Scholar-in• Residence at the Ford Foundation. Ben Whitaker practised as a barrister from 1959 to 1967 and lectured in law at London University (1963-64). He was a Labour MP for Hampstead (1966-70), and served as Junior Minister of Overseas Development (1969-70). He became Executive Director of the minority Rights Group in 1971, an office which he held for 17 years. From 1975 to 1988 he was a member of the UN human Rights Sub• Commission (Vice-Chairman in 1979), and Chairman of the UN Working Group on Slavery from 1976 to 1978. He has also been a member of numerous non-governmental committees. Since 1988 he has been the director of the Gulbenkian Foundation (UK). He has written widely on human rights, including the UN reports on slavery (1982), genocide (1985), and many other current issues. Douglas Williams, CB, CVO, joined the Colonial Office in 1947, and first attended the UN General Assembly in 1955. After being posted to the Ministry of Overseas Development in 1967, he was closely involved with the World Bank and the regional development banks. He was a member of the British delegation to UNCTAD in 1972, and he attended numerous meetings of many UN organisations. He also participated in the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD and was a member of the Geneva Group. After retiring in 1977 as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Development, he was for four years a member of the Economic and Social Committee of the EEC. He is the author of The Specialised Agencies and the United Nations: The System in Crisis, 1987.