Reading material for UNSC

1. Situations under which the UN Security Council has determined a threat to international
peace and security
Most of the matters to which the UN Security Council turns its attention at present (such as
peacekeeping, peace-building, genocide, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction) are not
mentionedin the UN Charter (Luck, 2008:62). De Chazournes (2005:16) notably refers to one of the
conclusionsof the meetingof the UN SecurityCouncil at the level of headsof state and government,
on 31 January 1992, that “The absence of war and military conflict amongst Statesdoes not in itself
ensure international peace andsecurity.The non-militarysourcesof instabilityinthe economic,social,
humanitarianandecological fieldshavebecomethreatstopeace andsecurity.”Yamashita(2007:564)
andMalone (2007:120-121) explainthatconsensusinthe UN SecurityCouncil onthe ‘threattopeace’
concept has changed over the years: during the Cold War period,with the exception of the cases of
Apartheid in South Africa and racism in Southern Rhodesia, the threat concept was restricted to the
two categories of interstate wars and internationalised wars. The 69 concept expanded during the
post-ColdWarperiodtoincludemassivehumanrightsviolationsorhumanitariancrises,international
terrorismand Weapons-of-Mass-Destruction(WMD) proliferation,andintrastate conflictswhichare
feared to impinge on regional stability in terms of intensity, geographical coverage and human
suffering.Farrall(2007:85) upholdsthatthe UN SecurityCouncil tendstoavoidarticulatingthe precise
nature of threatsto internationalpeace andsecurityanddiscernstwobroadcategories:those witha
clear international or transboundary dimension and those arising from an internal crisis.
Israel and Palestine conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rooted in a century-long territorial dispute over the Holy
Land, a Middle Eastern region with great religious and historical significance to Christians,
Jews, and Muslims.
In 1947, after years of Arab-Jewish violence, the UN General Assembly voted for the
establishment of two states in Palestine, one Jewish and the other Arab. Shortly after, the
Jewish community in Palestine declared Israel an independent state, prompting hundreds of
thousands more Jews to emigrate, and precipitating a war launched by neighboring Arab
states.
For their part, Palestinian Arabs say Jews have usurped their ancestral homeland with help
from Western powers, including the United States and the United Kingdom. They refer to
Israel’s establishment and its defeat of allied Arab armies in the 1948 war as the Nakba,
which the United Nations estimated uprooted more than seven hundred thousand
Palestinians.
In the decades since, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute has continually flared into conflict,
including multistate wars, armed uprisings (intifadas), and terrorist acts. A major turning

2. point was the 1967 Six-Day War, which culminated in Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem,
the West Bank, and Gaza. In its aftermath, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242,
which called for Israel to withdraw from occupied lands to secure and recognize borders in
exchange for peace. The resolution lacked details, but nonetheless was a milestone,
becoming the basis for future diplomacy to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Today, the region is home to some two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and three
million in the West Bank. Although most of Israel’s 9.2 million residents are Jewish, there
are around two million Arab citizens. International diplomatic efforts to broker a political
settlement have made limited headway.
Israel views some Palestinian militant groups as existential threats, particularly Hamas, the
Islamist organization that governs Gaza and has vowed to destroy Israel. Its suicide
bombings and rocket attacks usually target Israeli civilians. Israel wants these groups to
disarm and the Palestinian state to be demilitarized, but accepts that Palestinians should
have a strong police force. The Palestinians seek an end to Israel’s military occupation and
want full control over their own security, but accept limitations on their arms. Israel wants
to maintain the ability to act in Palestinian territory against threats to its security.
The UN Security Council called for "full adherence to the ceasefire" in the conflict between
Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in its first statement since violence erupted on May
10. Security Council members also stressed "the immediate need for humanitarian
assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza." An earlier draft said
that "Security Council members condemned all acts of violence against civilians, including
acts of terror, as well as acts of provocation, incitement and destruction."
End of conflict. Both sides seek a peace agreement that would end their conflict and honor
the claims of each side, and lead to peace and normalization of Israel’s relations with all
Arab states, as provided for in the Arab League’s Arab Peace Initiative.