World Trade Organization versus United Nations Security Council

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION VERSUS UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
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World Trade Organization versus United Nations Security Council
Introduction
International organizations in the post-war era play an essential role in maintaining order and tranquility among the various countries. The formation of these organizations is based on the events that almost bankrupted nations and the resultant war that led to the disruption at a scale that the countries had never witnessed before. The destruction made the countries rethink the benefits and risks of engaging in war. Consequently, the countries unanimously agreed that the world needs to formulate a better mechanism to resolve disputes between nations and create strong and independent nations. According to the Farlex English Dictionary, an international organization is an alliance involving various countries. It entails an organization of countries designed to perform a certain activity for the common interest of all the member states. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are some of the prominent examples of international organizations (Civil360, 2019). The two organizations share some similarities and differ significantly in how they run their operations.
The WTO is a multilateral organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The entity was formed on January 1, 1995, as a replacement to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (Fergusson, 2009; Spak & Kapterian, 2012; Hillman, 2018; CFI, 2021). Its main role is to facilitate global trade. The entity ensures equity by providing a common platform where countries of different economic powers can discuss trade agreements among the member states and resolve any disagreements (Azevedo). The organization is in charge of 60 global and approximately 300 regional trade agreements. The 60 global agreements are classified under international law. The entity has 164 countries who are members of the organization. In addition, it has observer nations who are not its members and do not engage in free trade. It is the only global entity that regulates trade between nations. The member nations have to sign the relevant agreements that cover goods, services, among several other issues that affect the flow of trade.
On the contrary, the UNSC is a council of the United Nations that handles issues concerning international security. It has five permanent members, including the U.S, the U.K, France, China, and Russia. The council has the authority to oversee binding responsibilities to all of the 193 UN member states to ensure that peace prevails and avert any chances of the world sliding into war (CFR Staff, 2021). Besides the five permanent members, the council also has ten elected members, who occasionally converge to evaluate the dangers to international security, such as civil unrest, natural disasters, and terrorism. It attempts to establish means of averting the crisis (Mcgregor, 2021). The council has largely maintained its structure since its formation in 1946, which has often led to a discussion among its associates regarding the need for changes. Recently, members have presented conflicting interests, which have often interfered with the organization's ability to address major conflicts, such as Syria's civil war, Russia's invasion of Crimea, and ongoing Russia's invasion of Ukraine (Cook, 2022). These competing interests have led some members to question the organization's dedication to meeting its obligations and hence the demand for reforms.
Structure
Structure of the UNSC
As previously noted, the council comprises five permanent members, who are jointly called the P5. Any of these members can sanction or pass a resolution. On the other hand, the council has ten elected members expected to serve two-year non-consecutive terms. These elected members do not have veto powers. The powers bestowed upon the P5 nations emanate from the outcome of World War II, in which the United States and the Soviet Union emerged winners. Together with the United Kingdom, these countries became the major players in shaping the postwar political order. However, as the nations organized themselves to form a United Nations organization, the then United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt advocated for the inclusion of the Republic of China, arguing for the need to have an international security body characterized by four global policemen (CFR Staff, 2021). Similarly, the then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, deemed France as a potential partner to serve as a buffer against a possible German or Soviet attack. The overall functions of this entity include the formation of peacekeeping units, authorization of international sanctions, passage of binding resolutions in other nations, and approval of military action.
Structure of the WTO
On the contrary, WTO was formed from negotiations and everything that the organization does emanate from negotiations. A significant amount of its work originates from the 1986-1994 consultations, the Uruguay Round, and previous talks under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (WTO, 2022). While the UNSC has the P5, who are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the organization, the WTO has the ministerial conference, attended by trade ministers of the member states and other senior staff (IISD). This body is the supreme decision-making unit of the WTO. The ministers meet every two years to make important decisions governing the trade between and among the member states. Unlike in the case of the UNSC, this conference gives all of its members an equal representation irrespective of the their economy’s size or their international trade share. While the Ministerial Conference heads the entity, it has three administrative bodies responsible for its daily operations. They include the “General Council, the dispute settlement body, and the trade policy review body” (CFI, 2021). The overall purpose of the WTO include trade negotiations, implementation and monitoring, dispute settlement, building trade capacity, and outreach services.
Decision-Making Processes
WTO's Decision-Making Process
The WTO's decision-making approach still follows the guidelines established in the GATT formation. The entity functions as a member-driven organization in which all nations have an equal voice. Under normal circumstances, the organization makes decisions on the basis of consensus, whereby a resolution is attained when no member objects to a decision. However, under rare circumstances, the WTO agreements permit the making of decisions based on voting, in which a decision is based on the supermajority vote (Georgetown University Law Library, 2021). Two of the entity's most essential decision-making organs are the Ministerial Conference and the General Council. Like in the case of the Ministerial Conference, the General Council comprises all the WTO members and undertakes the daily decision-making initiative between the ministerial conferences (World Trade Organization, 2021). A majority of the member states have a permanent representative or an ambassador who serves on the council. This council meets in three different levels: the Dispute Settlement Body, the Trade Policy Review Body, and the General Council, where it deals with all matters that are unrelated to disputes or trade policy. Below the General Council are three subordinate councils, individually responsible for managing different trade areas and ultimately reporting to the General Council. These councils include the Goods Council, the Services Council, and the TRIPS Council. These subordinate committees, in turn, have their specific sub-committees and working groups.
UNSC Decision-Making Process
Unlike the WTO, in which all member states contribute to the decision-making process, the UNSC has only a few members making decisions for the rest of the member states. However, like in the case of WTO, decisions are made through voting in accordance with Article 27 of the UN Charter and Rule 40 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure (Security Council Report, 2020). According to article 27, an affirmative vote of nine members confirms the resolutions of the Security Council, in which case each member has a single vote. However, there are votes on procedural issues and votes on all other matters. Article 27 proceeds to further stipulate that the compatible votes of the permanent members are necessary in order to adopt certain substantive positions. When handling procedural matters, a negative vote that a permanent member cast does not render the decision invalid (Stavropoulos, 1967). The decision is adopted if it garners nine affirmative votes. On the contrary, the article stipulates that non-procedural decisions require a veto system of voting. However, despite the clearly laid down procedure, the decision-making process in this entity tends to be complex, making it seem as though it is tainted. Before the council institutes a response to any conflict, it has to evaluate the briefings by the Secretariat, which detects and provides a warning of the forthcoming security threats as highlighted under Article 99 of the UN Charter (Ramcharan). The situation is further complicated in the event that a member of the Security Council is involved in the conflict. For example, in the current Ukraine invasion scenario, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, which would have directed that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all its troops (United Nations, 2022). The presence of such challenges based on the vested interests of the P5 members makes the decision-making process more complex under the UNSC compared to WTO.
Enforcement
WTO's Enforcement
The WTO enforces its rules via a dispute settlement system applied when international trade disputes arise between the member states (WKO, 2019). This dispute settlement system operates on the rules and procedures established in the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), which is administered by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) (World Trade Organization, 2022). This body comprises representatives of all WTO members. The WTO members are expected to lodge complaints by specifying the WTO agreements that have been violated. There are several agreements that the member can use to prove their case. Some of them include the GATT 1994, Agriculture, WTO, Government Procurement Agreement, and Rules of Origin, General Agreement on Trade in Services, Customs Valuation, and Pre-shipment Inspection. The dispute settlement system is only reserved for governmental and separate customs territories that are members of the WTO. The WTO guidelines state that a member is not obligated to show that it has a specific legal or economic interest in the subject matter of the dispute. For example, in the EC-Bananas dispute, which comes across as the longest dispute in WTO history, the United States launched a complaint that the European Union (EU) treated certain exporters, notably from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific nations preferential treatment. The U.S launched the complaint despite not being an exporter of bananas to the EU. Therefore, the dispute settlement system considers any complaint by a member and commences the dispute settlement process.
UNSC's Enforcement
The UNSC enforces its rules through the Charter of the United Nations, which mandates all Member States to comply with the council's requirements. Unlike in WTO, where the affected member launches a dispute with the dispute settlement system, in the UNSC, the Security Council takes the lead in determining the presence of a threat (United Nations Security Council). The council then calls upon the member states involved in the dispute to settle it through peaceful means. It proceeds to recommend the warring countries' methods to settle their differences. However, if the member states fail to reach an agreement, the Security Council can then opt to impose sanctions or may even recommend the military intervention to restore peace and security. This rol...