The United Nations and Colombia - Essay Example

The United Nations and Colombia The United Nations (UN), headquartered in New York, came into official existence as an intergovernmental organization on 24th October 1945 (Fomerand 1). This followed the then five permanent members’, and majority of the remaining 46 signatories, ratification of the Charter that had been signed earlier on 26th June the same year. The permanent members included France, the US, the Republic of China, the UK and the Soviet Union. Presently under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon as Secretary General, the membership stands at 193 states and two observer states, with six official languages. The Republic of Colombia, which achieved independence from Spain in 1810 and became recognized in 1819, joined the UN on 5th October 1945 (Borda & Castillo 3). It is among the present member states and is located on South America’s northwestern coast. The country has Ambassador Maria Emma Mejia as its permanent representative to the UN. This paper will research on how Colombia started in the UN, how it has maintained itself over the years as a member, its relations with the organization, and the past and current projects it has had with it. Briefly describing the UN, its system is basically structured on five key organs which include the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, the Security Council, the Secretariat and the Economic and Social Council (Fasulo 14). The General Assembly resolves non-compulsory recommendations to countries and makes decisions on the admission of new member states after the Security Council’s proposal. The Secretariat, chaired by the UN Secretary General, provides administrative support to the other bodies, while the International Court of Justice decides and settles disputes between countries that acknowledge its opinions and jurisdiction. The Security Council’s key responsibility is maintaining international security and peace, and the Economic and Social Council coordinates social and economic affairs globally (Fasulo 15). To become a member state of the UN as well as a member of the UN General Assembly, the organization’s main deliberative assembly of which all member states are, Colombia fulfilled the obligations stipulated by the Charter. Part of the requirements state that although membership is open to all states, such states must be sovereign, peace-loving and willing to observe all obligations as contained in the Charter. Further, in conformity with the provisions of Article 4, Chapter 2 of the UN Charter, Colombia was subjected to the General Assembly’s decision after the Security Council’s recommendation before its membership became effective. Since then, Colombia has had active, though not necessarily positive, relations with many bodies of the UN. They include the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Development Program, UN Conference on Trade and Development, UN Industrial Development Organization and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The UN Security Council (the Council) is among the UN’s bodies in which Colombia’s presence, opinions and contributions have elicited mixed reactions from both the permanent and non-permanent members (UN Security Council 4). The country has been elected to the Security Council as a non-permanent member several times. On its most recent tenure in the Security Council, 2011-2012, its key objectives were to consolidate the country’s role and leadership as the South American regional bloc’s representative and also redefine foreign involvement in Haiti. Advocating for these priorities pitched the Colombian government both at odds and in agreement with Brazil and permanent members. By then, Brazil was Colombia’s counterpart from South America in the Security Council. Since then, it has actively participated under various capacities and responsibilities that shaped its relations with the UN. 1947 is the year Colombia held a seat for the first time in the UN Security Council, conspicuously abstaining its vote on the resolution which created Israel after dividing Palestinian territories (UN Security Council 8). It was also opposed to the San Francisco Conference’s right of veto that brought the UN into existence (Schlesinger 69). Colombia was then elected twice to the Council between 1953 and 1958 and although absent from the Korean War discussions, it supported the US’ initiative. Among the Latin American countries, it was also the only one that sent troops in support of the mission. As a member, the country also supported the proposal that international waterways should be navigated freely following the aspirations of Egypt to control the Suez Canal that erupted into conflict those years. The country joined the Council again in 1989 for the fifth time, representing the Non-Aligned Movement this time. That also marked the first time it was the representative of such a large diplomatic bloc. Colombia also voted in condemnation of the US’ bringing down of Libya’s warplanes and rejected the argument that the downing was a legitimate mechanism of self-defense principles that the Non-Allied bloc had established. Then, it was in support of the economic embargo against Iraq for illegally occupying Kuwait. In one of its contradictions, Colombia’s vote favored the resolution that sanctioned the deployment of a joint force but, however, its delegation refused to conform to some of the text’s passages that it claimed were not specific on the military operation’s limits (UN Security Council 11). Some of Colombia’s participation in the Council’s peacekeeping mandate can be seen in cases that are highly relevant because of their recent occurrences. They include the conflict between Israel and Palestine; South Sudan’s secession; Somalia’s piracy; the intervention in Libya; and the role the Council played in Haiti (Borda & Castillo 2). Colombia’s membership in the Council for the period 2001-2002 took place in an era that saw international terrorism rising. After the 9/11 terrorist attack against the US and the subsequent Afghanistan invasion, Colombia’s tenure coincided with a period in which international terrorism was a prioritized agenda for the Council. The country’s delegation was instrumental in the discussions on international law violations, particularly on Israel’s part in the West Bank’s and the Gaza’s Occupied Territories. Regarding its relations with the Council, the absence of a long-term and comprehensive foreign policy plan in Colombia’s current government implies that its continuous participation in the Council is due to historical convention (Borda & Castillo 6). Viewed in another perspective, it means that its participation is not due to efforts to renew Colombia’s international strategy, which has, nonetheless, ensured continuity. Colombia has generally chosen to maintain positions that conform to those of the US during votes. In the cases of Haiti and Somalia, the country joined Brazil, alongside the non-permanent members, to seek a link to cooperation, security, state-building and development on a level that was more conceptual. That put the country at odds with the permanent members who were calling for less ambitious and short-term strategies. Viewed from the Council’s perspective, Colombia has implemented strategies that are sensible, as much as they may not seem aligned (Borda & Castillo 6). Although the strategies do not dictate agreeing on all matters with non-permanent members, they also do not imply siding with permanent member. Simply, the fact that its foreign policy aligns unconditionally with the US is not applicable to its behavior in the Council (Borda & Castillo 6). The UN World Food Program (WFP) is one body with which Colombia is currently running a project (OHCHR 1). A population of about 40 million makes the country Latin America’s third most populous. However, 23 million out of this population re poor, with a further six million extremely poor, mainly due to its five-decade conflict which has been a threat to economic growth and vital infrastructure. The WFP offers food assistance food-insecure groups and internally displaced persons (IDP) who were affected by violence. The joint initiative between the Colombian government and the WFP has revealed that by February 2014, more than half a million Colombians required annual food assistance. However, most of them fail to register as IDPs either because of fear of stigmatization or genuinely not meeting the strict registration criteria. Consequently, without registration, they are not able to access social and humanitarian services that the government offers. Therefore, apart from offering food aid, the WFP in Colombia also targets to eradicate the barriers to registration and reach the IDPs and violence victims that government programs fail to cover. Further, the WFP is attempting to create bridges that will facilitate the progressive identification of such victims and transfer social based services and programs to them (Fomerand 19). Another significant role the WFP plays in conjunction with the Colombian government if supporting and protecting communities that host IDPs, those exposed to the risk of being displaced and those that are blockaded and confined. In this sense, the cooperation is a project that combines other inputs with food to assume the role of an agent of change in disadvantaged people’s lives. The immediate beneficiaries are those who lost everything and the ones who remain the most vulnerable. By addressing the needs of vulnerable and IDP populations that cannot access social and humanitarian government programs the project’s operation can be seen to focus on some critically strategic elements (OHCHR 1). It ensures that the emergency support provided to the newly-displaced is continuous. It also relies on joint coordination and programming between the UN system, key government installations as well as the private sector whose efforts focus on consolidating the operations of WFP with an emphasis on food security, health and nutrition. In the December 2010 collaboration with the Colombian government, UN agencies in the country mobilized $6 million in support of the government’s initiative in response to humanitarian needs following floods and landslides that were caused by heavy rainfall. The full amount ($6 million) came from the emergency response fund of the UN. Colombia is not a member of the UN Human Rights Council, but the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was established in the country following the Commission’s request and the Colombian government’s agreement in 1996. Colombia’s commitment to human rights, which has also served to enhance its relations with the UN, was manifested in the 2013 renewal of the agreement, whose operations are based in Bogota and eight additional offices in the country (OHCHR 1). Among the comprehensive strategies implemented by the OHCHR in Colombia include monitoring the situation of human rights. From the observations, it is able to advice the authorities on the measures, programs and policies to be formulated and implemented with regards to protecting and promoting human rights. This is mainly in the perspective of internal violence and armed conflict, where the Commission submits annual reports on the country’s situation to Human Rights Council (OHCHR 1). OHCHR also cooperates with the Colombian government to offer advice and technical assistance aimed at promoting respect for human rights in Colombia, with an emphasis on international humanitarian law. OHCHR also coordinates with non-governmental organizations in Colombia that are centered on human rights to facilitate propagation of information of international humanitarian law and standards. This has mainly been achieved by institutionalization of education programs on human rights, which mainly focuses on the youth. Another key program of the Commission is to strengthen the judicial system’s capacity to conform to human rights decisions. This program is applicable to both special and indigenous courts as it provides advice and assistance towards implementing anti-discrimination initiatives and legislation. In conclusion, the UN is one of Colombia’s most prominent and functional foreign relations. Colombia is among the earliest member states to join the UN after it officially came into being, and has remained a significantly active member since then (Schlesinger 48). It constantly follows up on the procedures and impacts of the organization’s initiatives in areas of development, humanitarian affairs, social, economic and security issues. After satisfactorily fulfilling the joining criteria, the country has been elected on several occasions to the organization’s top organ, the Security Council, with critical agendas to handle. As a result of maintaining its own standards and opinions by virtue of the rights afforded by being a sovereign state, Colombia has had both positive and negative reactions from fellow member states, permanent and non-permanent (Weiss & Daws 83). The country is remembered for opposing the veto rights that at the conference that were part of the San Francisco Conference that officially formed the organization. In exercising its sovereignty, the country has also been outstanding in its membership by making independent decisions that oppose those of the US, which it is politically aligned to. Works Cited Borda, Sandra and Carlos Castillo. Colombia in the UN Security Council. Berlin: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2011. Print. Fasulo, Linda. An Insiders Guide to the UN. Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2004. Print. Fomerand, Jacques. The A to Z of the United Nations. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009. Print. Schlesinger, Stephen. Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations. Colorado: Westview Press, 2003. Print. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). OHCHR in Colombia. 2014. Web. UN Security Council. Sixty-sixth year: Summary Record of Meeting 6477. New York: UN, 2011. Print. Weiss, Thomas G., and Sam K. Daws. The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Read More