UN voting record

Assignment due Thursday , April 19 , 2007

Write a 2-3 page answering the following questions

What explains the vote on the resolutions debated in the General Assembly (Discuss the vote in each resolution separately and then generalize regarding patterns in the voting as a whole . Discuss at least two patterns in the voting

There are several factors that can be noted in the voting of member nations in the general assembly . If we take a look at aid issues such as the cancellation of third world debt , we see a large support coming

from the international community . The same can be said for other areas that are clear cut as to where the publicly popular votes lie . These include actions in the war on terror and drug trafficking which most countries view as one sided . The same can be said of environmental and peace-related resolutions such as those pertaining to nuclear proliferation and environmental standards . Most countries view these issues as no brainers ' when it comes to voting except for a select few who really have great stakes in voting against the majority . The more contentious issues lie in political disputes such as that between Palestine and Israel , or reformations in the Security Council . These are contentious because they hit close to home where the sovereignty of the member nations are concerned . A lot of countries would rather Israel and Palestine simply discuss matters between themselves , opting for bilateral agreements between the two rather than U .N . action . This is because a lot of countries are conservative when it comes to dealing with disputes between other countries . They wouldn 't want any actions made by the Security Council to trickle down to their own affairs when the time comes . Also , there 's a very sticky situation when you talk about reforms in the Security Council . Countries are very wary of any resolutions that might backfire on them so they take any changes to how the Security Council works in deep consideration before voting one way or the other

Did your own position change during debate on any of the resolutions Why or why not

For some of the issues , yes my vote did change . I was initially against any reforms made on the Security Council . I feared that any changes might affect the scope by which the Council could act and it might well affect the sovereignty of my country . However , after it was discussed how the Security Council had handled the issue in Afghanistan and that in Iraq over the last few years , I realized that Security Council action has been inadequate largely because of the lack of collective power that can act for the benefit of everyone . The characterization of internal conflicts between its members also piqued my attention so much so that I was swayed towards a yes vote to the necessity of reforms in the Security Council

Were the interests of your country furthered by the debates in your bloc and in the General Assembly ? if...