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Expulsion from the United Nations

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Expulsion from the United Nations is a procedure under Article 6, Chapter II of the United Nations Charter when a member state of the United Nations can be expelled from the organization. This can be done when a member state has persistently violated the principles of the United Nations Charter.[1] No state has ever been expelled from the UN, although the exclusion of the Republic of China (replaced by the People's Republic of China) through General Assembly Resolution 2758 had a similar effect.[2][3]

Separately, Article 5 of the Charter allows for suspension of a state's membership through the same procedure.[3][1]

History

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During the existence of the United Nations' predecessor, the League of Nations, the Soviet Union was expelled from the organization as the initiator of the Winter War with Finland.

No state has ever been expelled from the United Nations. According to the Repertory of practice of United Nations organs, at least two attempts have been made to expel a state: South Africa for its policy of apartheid in 1974, and Israel for its occupation of the Palestinian territories. Neither attempt was successful.[4][5]

Republic of China

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Further information: China and the United Nations § Republic of China in the United Nations (1945–1971)

After the Chinese Civil War and the retreat of the government of Republic of China to Taiwan, the PRC lobbied for the exclusion of the Republic of China from the United Nations. Particularly, in 1971 the PRC through its proxies passed along a letter from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that Taiwan was a part of its territory that was returned after World War II, and that Beijing would "have absolutely nothing to do with the [UN]" if it adopted a position of "'two Chinas', 'one China, one Taiwan,' or 'the status of Taiwan remaining to be determined'".[6] This claim was reiterated again during debates in the United Nations General Assembly.[6] At the time, it was viewed as a question of representation (of which government should represent China in the UN) rather than a question of admission of the PRC.[7] Eventually, the Republic of China was stripped of its 26-year-long UN membership and replaced by the PRC in the United Nations Security Council. The expulsion occurred despite the fact that the Republic of China had been one of the founding members of the United Nations, with diplomatic recognition of other UN members. Nonetheless, the mention of the Republic of China rather than People's Republic of China among Security Council members in the United Nations Charter has been retained since.

Proposed expulsion of Russia

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After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and adoption of General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1, the presence of Russia in the United Nations Security Council has been questioned. Although the membership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the predecessor to Russia, is enshrined in Article 23 of the United Nations Charter and its veto power cannot be revoked because of Article 27 of the Charter, some have argued that Russia could not veto a resolution proposing its expulsion under Article 6 of the Charter because Article 27 obliges members of the Security Council to abstain from voting in certain disputes to which they are a party.[8] That provision, however, only applies to decisions of the Security Council under Chapter VI and Article 52(3) of the Charter, not to expulsions. Since Russia would presumably veto its own expulsion, the issue of any potential expulsion of Russia from the United Nations is therefore moot.[9][10][11]

Proposed expulsion of Israel

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On November 4, 2024, amidst the Israel–Hamas war, Malaysia said it was developing a proposal to expel Israel from the United Nations.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Frequently asked questions". United Nations Office at Vienna. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ Schermers, Henry G.; Blokker, Niels M. (2018). International Institutional Law: Unity within Diversity (6th ed.). Leiden / Boston: Brill Nijhoff. p. 216. ISBN 9789004381681.
  3. ^ a b Tams 2024, p. 542.
  4. ^ Tams 2024, pp. 550–551.
  5. ^ van de Riet, Joris (2023-02-11). "No, Russia Can (Still) Not be Removed From the UN Security Council: A Response to Thomas Grant and Others: Part One". Opinio Juris. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  6. ^ a b "The Distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to Limit Taiwan's Access to the United Nations" (PDF). German Marshall Fund. March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  7. ^ Evan Luard (October 1971). "China and the United Nations". International Affairs. JSTOR. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  8. ^ Ariel Cohen and Vladislav Inozemtsev. "How to expel Russia from the UN". The Hill. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  9. ^ van de Riet, Joris (2022-03-22). "No, Russia cannot be removed from the UN Security Council". Leiden Law Blog. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  10. ^ Peters 2023, p. 164.
  11. ^ Chappell, John; Svoboda, Emma (2022-02-11). "Must Russia Abstain on Security Council Votes Regarding the Ukraine Crisis?". Lawfare. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  12. ^ "Malaysia seeks Israel's expulsion from the United Nations". South China Morning Post. 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  13. ^ "Malaysia backs expelling Israel from UN". Middle East Monitor. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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