Empowering the UN Security Council Reforms to Address Modern Threats

Empowering the UN Security Council: Reforms to Address Modern Threats provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities associated with empowering the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to fulfil its primary responsibility: to maintain international peace and security.

Across ten chapters, this timely book addresses several areas of possible reform, without amending the UN Charter, to improve the representative character of the UNSC, empower its elected members, restrain the use of the veto, and enhance the UNSC's ability to respond to modern threats including aggression and mass atrocity crimes. It explores the UNSC's relations with internal and external partners, including tapping the potential of the UN General Assembly, reinforcing the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, as well as strengthening cooperation with regional arrangements.

Now, more than ever, there is a realistic possibility borne out of the imperative of necessity to reform the UN Security Council to better ensure international peace and security for future generations. Bringing together an international cast of experts from multiple disciplines and all five regions of the world, Empowering the UN Security Council offers a roadmap toward a more legitimate and effective UNSC.

Mona Ali Khalil is a public international lawyer with 25 years of United Nations service including as a Senior Legal Officer in the UN Office of the Legal Counsel. She is the Director of MAK LAW International advising governments and intergovernmental organizations on their rights and responsibilities under international law. She is an Affiliate of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. She has an AB in Government and an AM in Middle East Studies from Harvard University, as well as an MS in Science in Foreign Service and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.

Floriane Lavaud is a senior partner at Withers in New York. Her practice focuses on public international law, international arbitration, and complex litigation, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East. With nearly 20 years of experience, Ms. Lavaud advises and represents clients, including pro bono clients, on a broad range of legal issues including before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. She has a Masters in Law from Paris-Panthéon-Assas University and an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Foreword, Mohamed ElBaradei

Introduction, Mona Ali Khalil and Floriane Lavaud
PART I: EMPOWERING THE MEMBERSHIP
Chapter 1: Respecting the UN Charter, Tareq AlBanai
Chapter 2: Empowering the Elected Members, Syed Akbaruddin
PART II: FULFILLING THE RESPONSIBILITY
Chapter 3: Improving the UN Response to Aggression and Mass Atrocities, Alexander Marschik
Chapter 4: Ensuring Criminal Accountability, Adama Dieng
PART III: RESTRAINING THE VETO
Chapter 5: Restoring the Legitimacy of the Security Council, Ian Johnstone
Chapter 6: Restraining the Use of the Veto, Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo and Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga
PART IV: REIMAGINING THE PARTNERS
Chapter 7: Tapping the Full Potential of the General Assembly, Mona Ali Khalil
Chapter 8: Reinforcing the International Court of Justice, Catherine Amirfar and Floriane Lavaud
Chapter 9: Enforcing the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, Fatou Bensouda
Chapter 10: Strengthening Regional Cooperation, Boštjan Malovrh
Conclusion