ABSTRACT
We have seen, in chapter four, that the Trusteeship Council has served its purpose in terms of the Charter. But its very success in bringing to nationhood so many countries and peoples previously under trust has considerably diminished its role. 70However, we believe that this institution is still relevant today and that the initial philosophy present at its inception is universal in time and in space – that is, the idea of holding in trust some shared or common values of mankind and humanity. Thus, we propose, instead of simply discontinuing this organ, to reinterpret (extensively) its mandate; we suggest that the Trusteeship Council should hold in trust for humanity its common heritage and its common concerns: the environment; the protection of the extra-territorial zones and the resources of the sea and of the seabed; the climate and the rights of future generations, as well as the rights of peoples in situations where there has been a complete breakdown of the State. This seems to be a feature of the post-cold war era with which both the General Assembly and the Security Council seem to be unable to deal. Of course, this major extension in the Trusteeship Council’s mandate would have to be accompanied by a new definition of the organ’s place in the United Nations institutional order; i.e. a more clearly structured hierarchical position vis-à-vis the Assembly and enhancement of its role as a body coordinating United Nations activities in the areas under its trust. Malta’s position was submitted to Member States in an aide-mémoire, reproduced as Annexe Π on page 142.
