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Regional Groups in the UN 592 Regional Groups in the UN I Regional Groups in the UN of the United Nations Development System, 339, quoted as: GAO 2004; United States 2 vols., Geneva 1969; Kaspersen, A.T./Leira, Government Accountability Office: United H.: A fork in the road or a roundabout? A Nations: Management Reforms Progressing narrative of the UN reform process 2003 – Slowly with Many Awaiting General As- 2005 (Norwegian Institute of International sembly Review, October 2006, GAO-07-14 Affairs), Oslo 2006; Luck, E.C.: Reforming (quoted as: GAO 2006); Volger, H.: UN-Re- the United Nations. Lessons from a History form ohne Charta-Revision? Der Stand der in Progress, New Haven 2007; Luck, E.: Reformbemühungen nach dem Millenniums- Principal Organs, in: Weiss, T.G./Daws, S. Gipfel, in: Schorlemer, S. von (ed.): Praxis- (eds.): The Oxford Handbook on the United Handbuch UNO, Berlin et al. 2003, 733-753; Nations, Oxford 2007, 653-674; Malloch Volger, H.: Mehr Partizipation nicht er- Brown, M.: Can the UN be Reformed? wünscht. Der Bericht des Cardoso-Panels Holmes Lecture 2007, in: Global Govern- über die Reform der Beziehungen zwischen ance 14 (2008), 1-12; Malone, D: Ingredi- den Vereinten Nationen und der Zivilgesell- ents of success or failure in UN reform ef- schaft, in: VN 53 (2005), 12-18; Volger, H.: forts (accessible at www.un-globalsecurity. Die Reform der Vereinten Nationen, in: Vol- org); Müller, J. (ed.): Reforming the United ger, H. (ed.): Grundlagen und Strukturen der Nations: The Struggle for Legitimacy and Vereinten Nationen, Munich/Vienna 2007, Effectiveness, Leiden et al. 2006; South Cen- 487-571; Weiss, T. et al.: UN Voices. The tre: Enhancing the Role of the United Na- Struggle for Development and Social Justice, tions, Geneva 1992; South Centre: For a Bloomington/Indianapolis 2005; Weiss, Strong and Democratic United Nations. A T.G./Crossette, B.: The United Nations: The South Perspective on UN Reform, Geneva Post-Summit-Outlook, in: Foreign Policy 1996; South Centre: The United Nations cri- Association (ed.): Great Decisions – 2006 sis and its reform, in: South Bulletin 97/98, Edition, New York 2006, 9-20; Weiss, T.G./ 28 February 2005, 59-63; Taylor, P. (ed.): Daws S. (eds.): The Oxford Handbook on Documents on Reform of the United Na- the United Nations, Oxford/New York 2007; tions, Aldershot et al. 1997; United Nations - Yale Center for the Study of Globalization General Assembly: Renewing the United (ed.): Reforming the United Nations for Nations: A Programme for Reform, Report Peace and Security, New Haven 2005. of the Secretary-General, 14 July 1997, UN Internet: Homepages on UN reform that Doc. A/51/950; United Nations - General also contain the reports and documents cited Assembly: We the peoples: the role of the above: www.un.org/reform; United Nations in the twenty-first century. www.reformtheun.org; Report of the Secretary-General, 27 March www.globalpolicy.org. 2000, UN Doc A/54/2000; United Nations - General Assembly/Security Council: Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Opera- tions, 21 August 2000, UN Doc. A/55/305-S/ Regional Groups in the UN 2000/809; United Nations - General Assem- bly: Strengthening of the United Nations: an I. General agenda for further change. Report of the Sec- Regional groups exist within the United retary-General, 9 September 2002, UN Doc. Nations system (→ UN System) only as 57/387; United Nations - General Assembly: unofficial groupings (→ Groups and We the peoples: civil society, the United Na- Groupings in the UN). They reflect in tions and global governance. Report of the Panel of Eminent Persons and United Na- part shared ideologies from the early tions – Civil Society Relations, 11 June days of the UN, although today the fo- 2004, UN Doc. A/58/817; United Nations - cus is on regional solidarity. The UN General Assembly: A more secure world: Charter (→ Charter of the UN) does not our shared responsibility. Report of the mention regional groups, although they High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and have become a fixed feature of the UN Change, 2 December 2004, UN Doc. system. The regional groups principally A/59/565; United Nations - General Assem- act as electoral bodies, which take the bly: 2005 World Summit Outcome, preliminary decisions on the composi- 16 September 2005, UN Doc A/RES/60/1; tion of nearly all important UN organs United States General Accounting Office: → United Nations: Reforms Progressing, but ( Principal Organs, Subsidiary Or- Comprehensive Assessments Needed to gans, Treaty Bodies). The composition Measure Impact, February 2004, GAO-04- and structure of the regional groups 592 Regional Groups in the UN have constantly changed during the Or- cial UN journal. The five groups as re- ganization’s existence. Since 1995 at the drawn in 1963 are still in existence to- latest, commentators have been consid- day. ering how the groups could be adapted IV. Geographical Distribution to the changes wrought by the close of the East-West conflict in the late 1980s. The five regional groups in existence since 1963 are the Group of African II. Origins States (GAFS), the Group of Asian States The origins of today’s regional groups (GASS), the Group of Latin American can be traced back to a gentlemen’s and Caribbean States (GRULAC), the agreement concluded by the United Group of Eastern European States (EEC) States and the then Soviet Union in and the Group of Western European and 1946, regarding the distribution of the Other States (WEOG). The composition six non-permanent seats on the → Secu- of the last group, which also includes rity Council between the 51 (46) found- the most important western states out- ing members of the organization (→ side of Europe, shows the extent to History of the UN). The “main groups” which the distribution of 1963 was built recognized were Latin America (2 seats), on the East-West confrontation, which Middle East (1), Eastern Europe (1), at that time divided the UN. The mem- Western Europe (1) and the British Com- bers of the individual groups are listed monwealth (1). While the Soviet Union below: was of the opinion that decisions by the GAFS (53): Algeria, Angola, Be- regional groups were to be endorsed by nin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Bu- the → General Assembly, the United rundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the States viewed the division as a one-off Central African Republic, Chad, the without binding consequences. States Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo- such as India subsequently voiced their Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, dissatisfaction with the division (Bailey Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, 1988). Its basis was however not to be Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, understood as representative, but rather Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Leso- as distributive (in the following years tho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , for example, Greece, Turkey and Yugo- Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Maurita- slavia occupied the “Eastern Europe” nia, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozam- seat). bique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, III. Gradual Entrenching of the Group Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, System Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, the Sudan, The regional group system has since be- Swaziland, United Republic of Tan- come firmly established. In the course zania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zam- of enlarging the Security Council in bia, Zimbabwe; 1963 from 11 to 15 members, a reallo- GASS (53): Afghanistan, Bahrain, cation of the seats was undertaken and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussa- recorded in General Assembly decisions lam, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, De- (UN Doc. A/RES/1990 (XVIII) and mocratic People’s Republic of Korea , A/RES/1991A (XVIII) of 17 December Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ja- 1963). This geographical distribution pan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, was later also applied to the Economic → Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic and Social Council ( ECOSOC) Republic , Lebanon, Malaysia, Mal- (A/RES/2847 (XXVI) of 20 December dives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, 1971) and was ultimately stipulated for Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, “principal organs” of the UN (A/RES/ Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New 33/138 of 19 December 1978). From Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Republic July 1978 the monthly regional group of Korea, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sin- chairs have been published in the offi- gapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, 593.
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