UN General Assembly Uniting for Peace Resolution (From the Korean War to the Syrian Conflict)

After the Security Council›s inability to address and deal with the military attack of North Korea on South Korea (1950), due to repeated vetoes of the Soviet Union, the United Nations General Assembly prepared the ground for the intervention of the General Assembly by adopting Resolution 377, known as ‘Uniting for Peace’ Resolution. This resolution implies that in the absence of the consensus among the permanent members of the Security Council for taking appropriate measures in some cases the obligation of maintenance of international peace and security rests with the UN General Assembly. These cases include a threat to peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression. In such a situation, the General Assembly is required to make the necessary recommendations, including the use of military force to members of the United Nations. In addition to the Korean war, the General Assembly, based on this resolution, has made the necessary recommendations in eleven cases including the Suez Canal crisis, the case of the Congo and Namibia. Although this resolution was adopted more than six decades ago, the resolution deserves to be studied because of its importance and the possibility of its application in the current unresolved crises, including the Syrian conflict. It seems, considering the critical situation in Syria such as terrible crimes, killing and displacement of civilians, the United Nations especially the Security Council must make decisions and act seriously. After a long time from the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the Security Council has not reached a comprehensive agreement yet to resolve the crisis. Perhaps the Security Council is unaware of its primary responsibility which is maintaining international peace and security. But it is caught in the scene of conflict between two blocks of the east and the west.