Evaluation of ECOWAS Interventions Under the Article 53 of the UN Charter

Year 2024, Issue: 59, 1 - 20, 12.07.2024

Naim Demirel

https://doi.org/10.54049/taad.1514101

Abstract

The task of maintaining international peace and security, which is one of the main objectives of the
United Nations (UN), is given primarily to the Security Council in accordance with Article 24 of the
UN Charter. However, articles 52 and 53 of the Charter grant certain powers to regional agreements
and organizations to maintain peace and security in their regions. The complexity of UN peacekeeping
operations and the diversity of situations in which states find themselves make it difficult to conduct
operations. The unsuccessful operations of the UN in Rwanda, Somalia and Yugoslavia caused the
trust in the UN to be shaken, which revealed the lack of capacity of the UN in ensuring international
peace and security and increased the importance of regional organizations.
Although ECOWAS has not previously received the approval of the UN Security Council for any
intervention it carries out in its region, the UN has shown positive reactions to ECOWAS’s activities
with many decisions. The Council envisaged the cooperation of the regional organization and the
UN by strengthening the operations in the regions where ECOWAS intervened with the mission it
established. In this way, the Council subsequently became involved in the operations carried out by
ECOWAS in the relevant regions and continued its mission of maintaining international peace and
security in an observer capacity.
It is not clear whether the interventions carried out by ECOWAS are in accordance with international
law. The UN must clarify the issue of authority in its decisions regarding interventions and, if necessary,
state through interpretation that the relevant article of the UN Charter has changed due to uniformity
in practice. This will clarify the role of the UN in cooperation with regional organizations.

Keywords

ECOWAS, UN Charter Article 53, regional organizations, use of force, international peace and security

Ethical Statement

This article is not usbject to Ethics Committee permission.

ECOWAS MÜDAHALELERİNİN BM ŞARTI MADDE 53 KAPSAMINDA DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract

Birleşmiş Milletler’in (BM) esas amaçlarından olan uluslararası barış ve güvenliğin korunması görevi,
BM Şartı’nın 24. maddesi uyarınca öncelikli olarak Güvenlik Konseyi’ne verilmiştir. Ancak, Şart›ın
52. ve 53. maddeleri, bölgesel anlaşma ve örgütlere kendi bölgelerinde barış ve güvenliğin korunması
konusunda birtakım yetkiler tanımaktadır. BM’nin barışı koruma operasyonlarının karmaşıklığı ve
devletlerin içinde bulunduğu durumların farklılığı, operasyonların yürütülmesini zorlaştırmaktadır.
Ruanda, Somali ve Yugoslavya’daki başarısız operasyonlar BM’ye duyulan güvenin sarsılmasına
neden olmuş, bu da uluslararası barış ve güvenliğin sağlanmasında BM’nin kapasite eksikliğini ortaya
çıkarmış ve bölgesel örgütlerin önemini artırmıştır.
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), bölgesinde gerçekleştirdiği hiçbir müdahalede
önceden BM Güvenlik Konseyi’nin onayını almamasına rağmen, BM birçok kararı ile ECOWAS’ın
faaliyetlerine olumlu tepkiler göstermiştir. Konsey, ECOWAS’ın müdahalede bulunduğu bölgelerde
operasyonları daha sonra kendi kurduğu misyon ile güçlendirerek bölgesel örgüt ile BM›nin iş birliğini
öngörmüştür. Bu şekilde Konsey, ECOWAS’ın ilgili bölgelerde yürüttüğü operasyonlara sonradan dâhil
olup uluslararası barışı ve güvenliği koruma misyonunu gözlemci sıfatıyla sürdürmüştür.
ECOWAS’ın gerçekleştirdiği müdahalelerin uluslararası hukuka uygun olup olmadığının cevabı açık
değildir. BM’nin, müdahalelere ilişkin aldığı kararlarda yetki meselesine açıklık getirmesi ve gerekirse
yorum yoluyla BM Şartı’nın ilgili maddesinin uygulamadaki birlik sebebiyle değiştiğini ifade etmesi
gerekmektedir. Bu, BM’nin bölgesel örgütlerle iş birliğinde rolünü netleştirecektir.

Keywords

ECOWAS, BM Şartı Madde 53, bölgesel örgütler, kuvvet kullanma, uluslararası barış ve güvenlik

Ethical Statement

Bu makale Etik Kurul iznine tabi değildir.

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