United Nations Security Council (Prelims- IR)
Why in News?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that India, Brazil and African countries should be represented in the UN Security Council on a permanent basis to ensure the representativeness of the global majority.
The United Nations
- The United Nations is an international organisation founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States.
- All UN Member States are members of the General Assembly. States are admitted to membership by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
- If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the General Assembly for consideration. A two-thirds majority vote is necessary in the Assembly for admission of a new State.
- The United Nations Charter established six main organs of the United Nations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established under the UN Charter when the Organization was founded in 1945.
United Nations Security Council
- The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members).
- All members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council.
- While other organs of the United Nations make recommendations to member states,
only the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member states are then obligated to implement under the Charter.
- The Security Council, the United Nations’ principal crisis-management body, is empowered to impose binding obligations on the 193 UN member states to maintain peace.
Security Council’s structure
The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members (five permanent and ten elected members ), and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council has five permanent members—the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom—collectively known as the P5.
Any one of them can veto a resolution. Russia has been the most frequent user of the veto, blocking 158 resolutions since the Security Council’s founding.
The United States has used the veto ninety-two times; it last vetoed a resolution on April 18, 2024, which called for full UN membership for Palestine. (The Palestinians are a non-member observer state at the United Nations).
The United States has historically used its veto power to protect Israel from the Security Council decision. The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates and changes every month.
The Security Council’s five permanent and ten elected members meet regularly to assess threats to international security, including civil wars, natural disasters, arms proliferation, and terrorism.
The Security Council’s presidency rotates on a monthly basis to ensure some agenda-setting influence for its ten non-permanent members.
Criteria for eligibility: contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and equitable geographical distribution.
The history of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel (Prelims- IR)
Why in news?
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel – which have been exchanging fire across the border of Israel and Lebanon since the start of the war on Gaza since October 2023 – has descended into “war”.
About Hezbollah:
- Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite political party and paramilitary group formed in 1982 to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
- The group was formed by Muslim clerics with Iranian funding.
- During the 1990s, Hezbollah fought against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. Elimination of the state of Israel has been a primary goal for Hezbollah from its inception. Hezbollah opposes the government and policies of the State of Israel.
- Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024 has dealt the militant group a severe blow.
Timeline of Israel and Hezbollah conflict:
The conflict between the two goes back nearly half a century.
1982 – Invasion and formation
Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982, ostensibly in response to attacks launched on it by the Palestine Liberation Organization from southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s civil war had been raging for seven years by then.
[The May 17 Agreement of 1983 ended the state of war between Israel and Lebanon, and provided for an Israeli withdrawal from the country.]
1983 – Attacks On October 23, 1983, the bombing of several barracks buildings in the capital, Beirut, killed more than 300 French and American peacekeepers.The bombing was claimed by the Islamic Jihad group, believed by many to be a front for Hezbollah.
1985 – Growth of Hezbollah
By 1985, Hezbollah, along with allied groups, was able to force the Israeli army to withdraw to the Litani River in south Lebanon.
Israel declared what it called a “security zone” along swaths of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Policing that security zone was the Christian-dominated South Lebanon Army (SLA), typically reported as an Israeli proxy force, which continued to support the occupation of South Lebanon until Israel’s withdrawal in 2000.
1992 – Politics
In 1992, after Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1992) ended, Hezbollah entered parliamentary politics, winning eight seats in Lebanon’s 128-seat assembly.
1993 – Seven-Day War
In July 1993, Israel attacked Lebanon in what it called “Operation Accountability”, known as the Seven-Day War in Lebanon.
The assault came after Hezbollah responded to Israeli attacks on a refugee camp and village in Lebanon by attacking northern Israel, causing casualties.
1996 – April Aggression and Qana
on April 11, 1996, Israel launched another 17-day offensive intended to force Hezbollah beyond the Litani River and out of the striking range of Israeli targets.
The Lebanese call the April Aggression was called “Operation Grapes of Wrath” by Israel.
On April 18, Israel shelled a United Nations compound near the village of Qana in occupied southern Lebanon.
[Four Fijian soldiers, assigned to the UN interim peacekeeping force were also seriously injured.]
2006 – July War
In a 2006 operation into Israeli territory, Hezbollah killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two soldiers.
Hezbollah demanded the release of Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the Israeli soldiers.
April 18, 1996
Israel shelled the UN compound, killing 106 civilians out of the hundreds who were there to escape fighting between Hezbollah Israel. In July War broke out, lasting 34 days.
2009 – Updated manifesto
In 2009, Hezbollah updated its manifesto, committing to its integration into a democratic form of government that represented national unity rather than sectarian interests.
The 2009 manifesto doubled down on the idea of resistance against Israel while showing how entrenched Hezbollah was becoming in all layers of Lebanon.
2012 – Syria’s civil war
Hezbollah entered Syria’s civil war in support of the Damascus regime from 2012.
2023 to 2024 – Gaza
In October 2023, Hezbollah launched a rocket campaign on Israel in support of Gaza, which was being bombarded by Israel following a Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel Israel returned fire.
Israel has carried out strikes and assassinations in Lebanon and Syria, killing several senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
September 2024 – pager attack
On September 17, 2024, thousands of hand-held pagers belonging to Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon exploded.
After pager attack
on October 14, 2024 , with the health ministry and official media reporting an Israeli raid on the Christian-majority area far from Hezbollah strongholds.
Present situation regarding the conflict
- After death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasaralla, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, firing a barrage of missiles at the country in the latest escalation.
- Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles on Israel in what Tehran said was a retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and a Revolutionary Guard commander.
Israel is preparing to launch a “major attack” against Iran in response to an October 1 ballistic missile attack against Tel Aviv.