17 May 2018: Theodor Meron, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, called on the UN Security Council to serve the interests of the UN membership as a whole instead of prioritizing its members’ own interests. During an open debate presided over by the president of Poland, Meron and other panelists discussed issues in upholding international law, the evolution of international criminal justice, and cooperation between international organs to resolve disputes.

The Security Council’s annual open debate on maintenance of international peace and security took place on 17 May 2018, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on the theme of ‘Upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security.’ Chairing the debate, Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, pointed out that if the membership calls an act of aggression a “conflict,” without properly defining the victim and the aggressor, and if the membership calls a threat a “challenge” without defining the source of that threat, “then we are helpless in terms of selecting legal steps to react.”

Meron suggested that the Council develop and adopt objective criteria to assess all credible allegations of international crimes. He observed that international criminal justice “is still very much in its infancy, and it is in a highly vulnerable stage of development at present.” He explained that international courts are designed to try only a small number of alleged perpetrators. He also encouraged the Council to refer possible violations of international law to appropriate judicial actors for further action, instead of acting as a gate-keeper, risking “becoming stymied in debates about whether or not egregious atrocities occurred” and who is responsible.

Hisashi Owada, President Emeritus of the International Court of Justice, said the “crucial” question is how the Council and the Court should work together to resolve disputes. He suggested that the Council seek the Court’s legal opinion on issues at the root of a given conflict, as was the procedure during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, resulting in the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Owada also recommended that the Council refer more legal disputes to the Court.

Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Chef de Cabinet, delivering a statement on behalf of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, noted that international criminal accountability is still a relatively new area of work for the UN, and highlighted three areas of “room for improvement”:

• the Security Council needs to ensure that international humanitarian law, international human rights laws and other relevant rules, norms and standards are fully included in any accountability process;
• the institutions in charge of criminal accountability need sustainable funding; and
• Member States should engage with the UN Secretariat when establishing or supporting an accountability mechanism, to ensure conformity with UN standards and policies.

During the debate, which lasted until late evening, UN Member States extensively discussed the use of force, and “States’ expansive interpretation of the Charter and international law,” as noted in the UN’s meeting summary. [UN press release] [UN meeting summary] [UN Secretary-General statement] [UN Security Council programme] [Meeting record]