Author: Anna Dickmann-Peña

Published: 20 April 2021 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Anna Dickmann-Peña

In 1947, the United Nations envisaged the creation of two States in the former British Mandate for Palestine: an independent Arab State and an independent Jewish State. While the State of Israel was established on 14 May 1948 and became a member of the United Nations on 11 May 1949, there is still no independent Arab State. On the contrary, the territories that were to form part of the Arab State – the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. At a meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC) in Algiers on 15 November 1988, the PNC declared “in the name of God and in the name of the Palestinian Arab people the birth of the State of Palestine on our Palestinian soil with Holy Jerusalem as its capital.” The declaration, however, did not change the situation on the ground. Nevertheless, the “State of Palestine” has been recognized over the years by 139 States, but not by Germany. In 2012, “Palestine” was accorded non-member observer State status in the United Nations. Subsequently, the “State of Palestine” acceded to numerous multilateral treaties, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

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Published: 23 December 2020 Authors: Stefan Talmon and Anna Dickmann-Peña

On 14 October 2006, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in response to the country’s development and testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in flagrant disregard of relevant Security Council resolutions. In order to oversee the implementation of the sanctions, the Council, in resolution 1718 (2006), established a Committee consisting of all Council members (DPRK Sanctions Committee or 1718 Committee). According to the Guidelines for the work of the Committee, all decisions are made by consensus. The Chair of the Committee is encouraged to consult with Committee members before submitting an issue for decision. If consensus cannot be reached, the Chair may undertake such further consultations as may facilitate agreement. If despite best efforts no consensus can be reached, the Chair may bring the issue to the attention of the Council. In 2019-2020, the Committee was chaired by the Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, Ambassador Christoph Heusgen. (more…)