United Nations General Assembly Resolution 47/1

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 47/1 was adopted on 22 September 1992 following Security Council Resolution 777. The resolution decided that Serbia and Montenegro could not continue the membership of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia but must join as new members if they wished to participate in the United Nations.

Background
During the Yugoslav Wars, after the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in April 1992 the remaining member republics of Serbia and Montenegro reconstituted themselves together as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ("The new Republic").

The new Republic declared itself the successor state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and claimed to continue its membership of the United Nations.

Initially US government and the European Community discussed a number of conditions related to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as the withdrawal of the Serbian army from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the facilitation of humanitarian aid.

In June 1992, James Baker (US Secretary of State) called for the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the UN as a punishment for the "outrageous, barbaric and inhuman" actions of Serb troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina. That call was part of an effort by Washington to brand Slobodan Milosevic (Serbian head of state) as an international outcast, a step that would open the door to international military intervention.

In July 1992 an arbitration commission established by the European Community considered that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a new nation but could not be considered a successor to Socialist Federal Republic.

Reaffirming a number of resolutions on the subject, the Security Council, through resolution 777, considered that the nation known as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had ceased to exist and therefore recommended to the General Assembly to exclude the new republic from the General Assembly until it had been granted a new membership in the United Nations.

Debate
At the time of the vote in the General Assembly, the Prime Minister of the new Republic Milan Panic tried to prevent the resolution from being adopted, arguing that his government was doing its utmost to stop the war. Several countries, however, concluded that even if Panic was sincere about the efforts for peace in the region, his government had been unable to control the Serbian militias in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Alia Izetbegovic, president of Bosnia-Herzegovina, said: "I do not question [Panic's] intentions to try to influence Belgrade's politics, but I doubt if he has a chance to get anything."

The resolutions established a precedent that a federation had ceased to exist where 4 out of 6 member states had left; and that the 2 remaining member states could not automatically continue the membership of the former federation.

The resolution has been incorrectly described as an “expulsion of a member of the UN”, but it was not, because Serbia and Montenegro had never been members in their own right. Although it had the practical effect of ending their former partial contribution as 2 of 6 members, through the participation exercised by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Technically it was a recognition and declaration that a state (the new Republic) was not a member.

The resolutions were criticised by the Ambassador of the new Federal Republic who, inter alia, quoted a letter from the Secretariat Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Legal Counsel, to the Permanent Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which opined that the resolution did not end "Yugoslavia's" membership. According to the letter, "Yugoslavia" would remain a member of the UN.

[The letter did not explain how a state which did not exist could be a member.]

The resolution in brief
The resolution considers that the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia can not "inherit" the UN membership of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and that it must therefore apply for admission to the United Nations. Likewise, it cannot participate in the work of the General Assembly or any organisation within the UN.

A/RES/47/1 was adopted with 127 votes in favor, 6 against, 26 abstentions and 20 absences. (71% of all members, 80% of members present.)

Voting in detail
In favor

Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Yemen.

Against

Kenya, Swaziland (since 2018 renamed to Eswatini), Tanzania, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Abstentions

Angola, Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Ghana, Guyana, India, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire.

Absent

Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Georgia, North Korea, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

Consequences
The Serbs reacted with rebellion and despair to resolution, with Serbian nationalists blaming Panic. Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic said the resolution had no influence over the war in Bosnia because "Yugoslavia has nothing to do with that war."

The new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia joined the UN in 2000, after fulfilling the requirements of Article 4 of the United Nations Charter: "Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.".

In 2003 The new Republic was re-negotiated into a looser association between Serbia and Montenegro, and its name changed to Serbia and Montenegro.