The_Rainbow_Warrior-finalv2

The Rainbow Warrior Arbitration Case New Zealand v. France In 1986 PLAINTIFF Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Statement of Issue III. Summary Argument IV. Argument I. II. III. IV. V. V. Conclusion I. Introduction On 10 July 1985, an undercover operation conducted by the French military security service (DGSE) sank the British-registered Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. This Greenpeace ship had been intended to disrupt a nuclear test planned by the French government on the islands of French Polynesia. Two high explosive devices were used to sink the ship, and Mr. Fernando Pereira drowned following the second explosion. Two agents were arrested, prosecuted, and then sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in New Zealand, after both having pleaded guilty of the charges against them. France was also ready to undertake reparations and subsequent meetings took place but the two governments could not come to an agreement. Therefore, in June 1986, the French and New Zealand governments asked the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to work as a mediator. In July, the Secretary-General made a ruling which stated that France should give a formal apology to New Zealand, pay a compensation of US$ 7 million and not impede New Zealand trade and New Zealand should transfer the two convicted French service agents to French authorities who would then bring them to an army base in an isolated island of Hao in the French Polynesia for three years. Also the ruling included conditions for possible arbitration if either party felt that the issues above were not implemented according to the ruling. These arbitration conditions were that: 1) each government chooses a member of tribunal and 2) the two governments appoint the third arbitration tribunal member who will be the chairman 3) if the two governments can not come to an agreement on the third tribunal member, the Secretary-General of the United Nations will make the decision after consulting with the two governments. A tribunal has been requested but New Zealand and France have not been able to appoint the third arbitration tribunal member. The UN Secretary-General, Perez de Cuellar, has concluded that he should be the third member. II. Statement of Issue Issue #I: Should the UN Security General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar be appointed as the third arbitration tribunal member? III. Summary Argument 1) Neutral 2) Holds a degree in Law 3) Has experiences in managing conflicts 4) Excellent Communications skills 5) Intimacy with the conflict Source: Squire Sanders Legal counsel worldwide. IV. Argument 1) Neutral The UN Secrateray General: In the 1981 selection process, Waldheim was vetoed by China while Tanzanian Salim Ahmed Salim was supported by China but vetoed by the US, and the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Saddrudin Aga Khan of Iran, was vetoed by the USSR. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar then emerged as a compromise candidate, having been the only one not to receive a veto in a December straw poll conducted by then Security Council President Olara Otunnu of Uganda. He was elected unanimously by the General Assembly. Also despite pressure from the Peruvian government, he had not campaigned for the role, believing that the “first requirement of a successful incumbency” was to be indebted to noone. a) Experience in work as a diplomat in a lot of countries. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar started his diplomatic career in 1944 serving as a secretary at the Peruvian embassies in France, United Kingdom, Bolivia and Brazil. He was also a member of Peruvian delegation in 1946 for the first period of sessions of the UN General Assembly and also between sessions 250 and 300. Furthermore, in 1971, he was appointed the permanent representative for Peru to the United Nations and he lead their delegations until 1975. b) He is the secretary general. --> Looking at the articles below, it seems that he is perfect. Article 97 chapter 15 UN charter The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary-General and such staff as the Organization may require. The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. He shall be the chief administrative officer of the Organization. Article 100 chapter 15 UN charter In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action, which might reflect on their position as international officials responsible only to the Organization. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities. 2) Graduated in law Mr. Perez de Cuellar received doctorate degrees honoris causa from the following universities: the University of Nice; the Jagiellonian University at Cracow; Charles University at Prague; the University of Sofia; the University of San Marcos at Lima; the Free University at Brussels; Carleton University at Ottawa, Canada; the University of Paris (Sorbonne); the University of Visva-Bharati in West Bengal, India; the University of Michigan; the University of Osnabruck in the Federal Republic of Germany; the Coimbra University at Coimbra, Portugal; the Mongolian State University at Ulan Bator; the Humboldt University of Berlin; the Moscow State University; the University of Malta in Valleta; the Leyden University in the Netherlands; La Salle University in Philadelphia; Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts; the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland; and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. He also served as Professor of International Law at Peru's Academia Diplomatica and Professor of International Relations at Peru's Academia de Guerra Aerea. He is the author of Manual de Derecho Diplomatico (Manual of Diplomatic Law (1964). And In 1981, he works as a legal advisor on the ministry of External relations. Therefore, looking at the above information, it is clear that Mr. Perez de Cuellar has a wide range of experience from many different countries, and consequently will have a global perspective. By having a law degree, he must be an articulate speaker, a thorough thinker, and therefore, he holds the skills to govern the trial. 3) He has experiences in managing conflict In 1973 and 1974, he represented his country in the Security Council, serving as President of the Council at the time of the events in Cyprus in July 1974 (In 1974, following years of intercommunal violence between ethnic Greeks and Turks and an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists aimed at annexing the island to Greece which were engineered by the military junta then in power in Athens, Turkey invaded and occupied one third of the island.). On 18 September 1975, he was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus, a post he held until December 1977, when he rejoined his Foreign Service. On 27 February 1979, he was appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs. From April 1981, while still holding this post, he acted as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on the situation relating to Afghanistan. In that capacity, he visited Pakistan and Afghanistan in April and August of that year in order to continue the negotiations initiated by the Secretary-General some months earlier. In May 1981, he again rejoined his country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs but then continued to represent the Secretary-General in regards to the situation relating to Afghanistan until his appointment in December of that year as Secretary-General of the United Nations. In this charge, he mediated between Great Britian and Argentina in the aftermath of the Falklands War of 1982, and helped to overcome the most difficult challenges of this dispute. 4) Communication skills The person who will be chosen as the third arbitration tribunal member is supposed to speak the languages of the two affected countries, which are France and New Zealand. Therefore, that person should be able to speak both English and French fluently. Mr. Perez de Cuellar fulfills this criteria. He has lived and worked several years in Paris and London because he was the secretary of the Peruvian embassies in France and in the United Kingdom. In addition to that, his language skills are evident because it is highly recommended that the Secretary-General can communicate in both English and French. The skills in these languages are crucial because the member of the tribunal has to discuss and argue with both parties to judge the situation and finally make a decision. 5) Intimacy with the conflict Mr. Perez de Cuellar was asked by the French and the New Zealand governments to mediate their conflict about the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. Both goverments considered him trustworthy and competent to settle the dispute. He was given arguments from both sides and came to a satisfying solution, in which the two opponents agreed on. The Secretary-General also set up the rules, which apply in the case that one party should break the agreement. In that case a tribual, consisting of a representative from either side and a neutral person, should be set up. As the Secretary-General is familiar with the problem and as a neutral person already came out with a satisfying compromise, he should be the person in charge. V. Conclusion The Secretary-General should be the third arbitration tribunal member.