On November 1994, for the first time in the history of the UN, one of the UN organs amended its rule of procedure in order to suspend its activity. The aim of this summary is to return to the past, the present and the future of this organ, the Trusteeship Council. We will examine what the Trusteeship Council is, what it did, and what it can or should do.
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As written in the UN Charter, the trusteeship council is one of the 6 organs of the UN. The council suspended its work in 1994 with the independence of the last remaining Trust Territory, Palau. It was established to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories administered by 7 Member States, and to ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government or independence. The Trusteeship council is the heir of the Permanent Mandate Commission of the League of Nations; The Trust territories were possessions of the defeated nations of World War I. To achieve these goals, the Council examined annual reports from the administering authorities, reviewed petitions from people of Trust Territories and provided periodic visits to the different Trust Territories.
The outcome of the Trusteeship is widely described as a success: First, the Charter's goal of self-government and independence for Trust Territories have been reached. Second, the Trusteeship contributed at the highest official levels to a climate of world opinion fostering decolonization. Without denying this success, it is important to note that the decolonization was a broader movement : Many countries became independent outside the Trusteeship program.
Now that the Trusteeship Council has reached its aims, should it be eliminated or should it be reconstituted ? The arguments for a complete disbandment of the Trusteeship are that the new functions would be difficult to list in a legal point of view, or that the new organ would inevitably duplicate the function of an existing institution. A response to these argument lies in the following propositions :
1. The Trusteeship Council could be reconstituted to serve as a forum through which states could exercise their collective trusteeship for the integrity of the global environment, as well as such common areas as the oceans, atmosphere and outer space.
2. The Trusteeship Council could have a mandate to raise the organization's awareness of genocide and its prevention.
These goals are precise enough to be listed in a legal point of view. Moreover, duplicating the functions of an institution which is inefficient is sometimes more productive than trying vainly to reorganize the institution. The third Committee, the sixth Committee and the Security Council have failed to prevent genocide, although it was within their scopes.
The Trusteeship is therefore still needed. Should it tackle the environmental problem or the genocide question ? One of the main reason of the success of the Trusteeship was the small number of countries involved in the process. They were therefore clearly and visibly accountable for the international scene. Whereas the environment would involve all members, the questions regarding genocide would involve countries with group tensions and/or inter-group wars. Therefore, if the Trusteeship tackles questions regarding genocide, its spirit and its efficiency could be preserved.
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The success of the Trusteeship Council and the new challenges faced by the UN has led to the debate on the reconstitution of the Trusteeship. The trusteeship Council is a good opportunity to create a new and efficient dynamic on issues that are presently not well-handled by the UN. The trusteeship could tackle for example the environment or the genocide issue. However, the issue on which the Trusteeship would be more efficient is the awareness of genocide and its prevention. The international community favors the 'environment Trusteeship' since establishing the framework of a powerful organ dealing with genocide - and therefore sovereignty - is highly controversial and difficult.