The Evolving Role of the General Assembly vis-à-vis the Security Council in the Maintenance of Peace

Abstract

In recent years, the UN Security Council has proved unable to respond to pressing global security crises. The General Assembly has been stepping up, passing robust resolutions including on Syria, Myanmar and Russia/Ukraine, and most recently committing to meet every time a veto is cast in the Security Council. This article considers whether the Assembly’s recent interventions have altered its position in the UN system vis-à-vis that of the Security Council. It first reviews the Assembly’s powers as described in the UN Charter, then reviews the Assembly’s evolving practice, and then elaborates how, legally, that practice shapes the Assembly’s competence. The article concludes that the Assembly’s recent interventions have not further expanded its powers, but have shifted the status quo pertaining to the relative roles of the General Assembly and Security Council. The final part of the article proceeds on the assumption that we may now look to the Assembly to intervene more routinely in global crises, and considers what we should thus look to the Assembly to usefully do.