United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, after reaffirming resolutions 660, 661,

662 Year 662 ( DCLXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 662 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became ...

, 664, 665,

666 666 may refer to: * 666 (number) * 666 BC, a year * AD 666, a year * The number of the beast, a reference in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament Places * 666 Desdemona, a minor planet in the asteroid belt * U.S. Route 666, an America ...

, 667,

669 __NOTOC__ Year 669 ( DCLXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 669 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, 670, 674 and 677 (all 1990), the council noted that despite all the United Nations efforts,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

continued to defy the Security Council.

Details

The United Nations Security Council, invoking

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military an ...

, offered Iraq one final chance to implement Resolution 660 (1990) which demanded that Iraq withdraw its forces unconditionally from

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

to the positions in which they were located on 1 August 1990, the day before the

invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

began. On 29 November 1990, the Security Council passed Resolution 678 which gave Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline. The Resolution requested Member States to keep the council informed on their decisions. This was the legal authorization for the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, as Iraq did not withdraw by the deadline. Cuba's position was nuanced as it had voted for or abstained on previous resolutions relating to the Iraqi invasion, but did not support Resolution 678 because of its authorization of "all necessary means." Resolution 678 was adopted by 12 votes with two opposing (

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

) and one

abstention Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...

from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The authority granted to Member States in this case contrasts with the disputed legality of U.S. actions in the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

of 2003.

Sticks and carrots

The United States government strenuously lobbied governments represented on the UN Security Council, including the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

and

, to support a resolution authorizing UN members states to use "all necessary means" for removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait. China, which had usually vetoed such resolutions authorizing action against a state, abstained in exchange for a promise from the US government that sanctions would be eased, and that the

Chinese foreign minister The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (; ''Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Wàijiāobù Bùzhǎng'') is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and one of the country's most imp ...

would be received in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. Various members of the council were rewarded with economic incentives as a result of their 'yes' vote, and those who initially opposed the resolution were discouraged from voting 'no' with the idea of economic penalties, particularly by the United States. The US successfully obtained a commitment from the Saudi government to provide $1 billion to the Soviets in aid through the winter. After Yemen voted against the resolution, the US,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

halted aid programs to Yemen, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

expelled Yemeni workers. Following the US government's fruitless effort to persuade the Yemeni government to support the resolution, US diplomats bluntly informed Yemeni officials "That was the most expensive no vote you ever cast"—referring to ceasing more than $70 million of US government foreign aid to Yemen.

Criticism

International law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

experts, such as Professor Burns H. Weston, have argued that the UN security council resolution set a "dubious precedent" by backing away from the "peaceful and humanitarian purposes and principles" enshrined in the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

, a cornerstone of international law. It did this by failing to vest in the UN the responsibility and the accountability for the military force that was deployed to the region but instead allowing the United States to manage world policy essentially in a unilateral manner.Weston, B. (1991),
Security Council Resolution 678 and Persian Gulf Decision Making: Precarious Legitimacy
"

American Journal of International Law ''The American Journal of International Law'' is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations. It is published quarterly since 1907 by the American Society of International Law (ASIL). The ''Jo ...

, 85(3), 516–535. doi:10.2307/2203110

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 1990 0678 0678 History of Kuwait 1990 in Kuwait 1990 in Iraq Gulf War 0678 November 1990 events

Details

Sticks and carrots

Criticism

See also

References

External links