A UN resolution is a formal expression of the opinion or will of one of the United Nations principal organs, such as the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council or Human Rights Council. Resolutions are issued as individual documents, and they may have an annex with supporting documentation.
Each draft resolution is written as a single sentence, with commas and semicolons separating the different parts (see our sample resolution). The heading gives the date, an alphabetical list of delegations that have contributed to the draft (sponsors) and the name of the issuing body (e.g., the Security Council).
Once a draft has attracted the requisite number of sponsors, the penholder (the delegation that holds the presidency of the month) circulates it to all members for comment. This process is often lengthy, and the draft can evolve considerably before it is ready to be debated. During the course of discussions, the sponsoring delegations will likely combine clauses from a number of drafts and proposals from other Member States to form a single document that covers the entire topic. This reflects the way in which the real UN works, and it is important for representatives to work together to build consensus on a single proposal before bringing it to the floor of their Committee or Council.
In this case, Hurd says that Washington’s insistence that the Gaza resolution is non-binding flies in the face of well-established interpretations of charter provisions and Security Council precedent. Furthermore, Hurd notes that it further contributes to the perception that international law is simply an instrument of political power for the U.S. and its allies.
