LESSON NOTE ON UNITED NATIONS

 

The United Nations

The United Nations officially came into existence (October 24, 1945) The Charter was signed by the representatives of the 50 countries (June 26, 1945). Poland was not represented at the Conference, but signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States. That was when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States and by a majority of other signatories. The great powers (Britain, China, France, Soviet Union, and the United states) were given veto power in the Security Council. The Soviets wanted a vote in the General Assembly for each of its 16 constituent republics.

The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. To maintain international Peace and security

2. To develop friendly relations among Nations

3. To cooperate in solving international Economic, Social, Cultural and Humanitarian problem and to promote respect for human rights

4. To work as a Centre for achieving the goals written above

 PRINCIPLES OF UNITED NATIONS

1. Based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members.

2. All members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with present charter of the United Nations.

3. All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered.

4. All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

5. All members shall give the United Nation assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter of the United.

6. This organisation shall ensure that states which are not members of the United Nations act in accordance with these principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.

7.Nothing contained in the present Charter of the United Nations shall authorize the United Nations in the present matters which are essentially within t the domestic jurisdiction of any states or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter-VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

 MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Article-3 of the charter, there are two types of the members of United Nations such as :-

ORIGINAL MEMBERS:-Those members who participated in San Francisco Conference and signed the Charter at that time are known as Original Members. These were 51 in number.

NEW MEMBERS:- According to Article-4 of the Charter new members can also join United Nations. Every nation who is committed to peace and is eligible to fulfill the obligations included in the charter can become the member of United Nations.

                                    

 

EXPULSION OF MEMBERS NATION FROM UNITED NATIONS

Under Article-6 of the Charter of the United Nations a nation which is unable to fulfill the obligations of United Nations or violates the Charter can expelled from the membership of the United Nations. The recommendation to expel a member is made by Security Council to the General Assembly with 2/3 majority which must include 5 permanent members and if the recommendation is accepted by the General Assembly, then the concerned member is expelled from the United Nations.

POSITION OF OBSERVER:-Those countries that are not the member of United Nation can take part in the meeting of General Assembly as observers on the recommendation of General Assembly.

 

COMMITTEES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 It works through its committees. There are seven committees of General Assembly which are as follow:

 

* Political and security committee

* Economic and Financial committee

* Trusteeship Committee

* Administrative and Budgeting Committee

* Social, Humanitarian and cultural Committee

* Legal committee

* Special committee

* Special political committee

 

 

§  The General Assembly: is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation. The General Assembly discusses any matter arising under the UN charter and make recommendation to UN members (except on disputes or situation which are being considered by the Security Council). In the Assembly each nation large or small has one vote and important discussions are taken by two-thirds majority vote. Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend and address. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.  The work of the General Assembly is also carried out by its six main committees the Human Rights Council, other subsidiary bodies and the UN Secretariat. The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office.  

THE BENEFITS COUNTRIES DERIVE FROM THEIR MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION

 

Why do states want to become or remain members of this august body? What is in it for them? Listed below are some of the benefits nations derive from their membership of the United Nations Organization and why it is on the wish of the nations of the world.

Note, however, that the United Nations will not sit down unconcerned when conflict, famine or any natural calamity erupts in any part of the world because that nation does not belong to the body. They will find a way to help to bring the situation down. For example, Palestine does not have an official membership in the UN but there will be an intervention from the body if any conflict erupts in that region.

 

Ø  Prevention of conflict

One of the major reasons for the establishment of the UN is to ensure the prevention of the eruption of conflicts. The United Nations Charter, which was coming after the failure of the League of Nations to prevent the Secord World War, has a central role of conflict prevention. Though the role of the United Nations in conflict prevention does not usually appear in the front pages of global newspapers, the organization has been effective in preventing many violent conflicts. Various tools are deployed in engaging local, national and international political actors to find peace before they escalate into conflict.

The United Nations, through the Security Council has intervened to prevent conflicts from occurring. Where there is a threat to peace, and the Security Council gets wind of it, it first recommends that parties settle cases by peaceful means. Member-countries benefit from membership of the UN when mediation by the Security Council helps to avert armed conflict in their countries.

 

Ø  Peace keeping

In a situation where the Security Council, after trying its best, is unable to prevent the conflict from occurring, they are able to use UN Peace-keeping soldiers to restore peace and keep it from further escalating. The UN has been in Lebanon, Bosnia, Darfur, etc to restore and maintain peace. Member-states benefit from their membership of the UN in times of violent conflicts where both sides of the conflict refuse to see reason. 

Ø  Conflict resolution

Member-states of the United Nations benefit from their membership in the area of conflict resolution. This is able to prevent unnecessary conflicts on the world stage. A very recent case is the near conflict between Ghana and la Cote D’voire when the latter accused the former of exploring for oil in her territorial waters. This matter was taken to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for redress. Membership of the UN therefore helps member-countries to resolve conflicts in peaceful ways and to avoid unnecessary wars.

Ø  Food aid to affected countries

The United Nations has provided food aid to countries experiencing food shortages. Another benefit of belonging to the world organization is that, during food shortages or severe famine, countries can count on the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programmes, all of the United Nations to distribute food aid to affected areas. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) was established by the United Nations with the sole mandate of defeating hunger. A membership of the United Nations will ensure that the FAO intervein before countries slip into famine due to conflict and other economic, political or natural factors.

 

Ø  Health benefits through the World Health Organization (WHO)

Another way in which countries benefit from their membership of the UN is the global fight of the international body against diseases, epidemics and pandemics. A very recent fight is the fight against Corona virus, which is still ravaging the world. The World Health Organization, which is an agency within the United Nations has taken a leading role, giving policy adviser and direction to the entire world. Even before the advent of Covid19, the UN has been in a prolong fight against malaria, which is devastating African countries mostly. It has also been instrumental in the fight against ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2019, for example, the UN, in conjunction with other Non-governmental Organizations, contained the spread of ebola in the North Kivu Province of DRC.

Ø  Promotion of human rights

Another benefit of the membership of the United Nations is the promotion and respect for human rights in member-countries. There are universal values such as the right to life, free speech, the right to engage in legitimate business etc which every member of the United Nations is enjoined to adhere to. Any violations of these values by member countries is frowned upon and some members could be sanctioned for breaches. So membership of the UN helps to promote the value for human rights in member countries.

 

Ø  Recognition of statehood

The United Nations Organization, does not have the power to confer statehood on a country. It does not also have the authority to recognize a state or a government. However, one of the ways of receiving recognition from other members of the comity of nations, is to become a member of the United Nations. One of the benefits of a membership of the United Nations is, therefore, to be recognized by other nations of the world.

Ø  Trial of war criminals

Countries which have experienced war, where citizens have suffered atrocities in the hands of their leaders or other political players, have the opportunity of getting people involved in the atrocities tried as war criminals. This is also a benefit of a country belonging to the UN.

Such trials are able to bring closure to those who suffered during violent conflicts. The victims of war are able to talk about the horrible things they saw and experienced. Countries which belong to the United Nations ensure that those who are responsible for atrocities during armed conflicts are made to pay for their deeds. For example, the former Yugoslavia version of the International Criminal Tribunal brought people who were responsible for war crimes during the Balkans conflict to justice. Also, the former President of Liberia was tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) for his alleged support for the activities of two rebel groups in Sierra Leone. The SCSL was established by the government of Sierra Leone and the Unted NAtions Organization. 

 WEAKNESSES OF THE UNITED NATIONS

1. Tool of big power

2. Domestic Jurisdiction

3. Less representation to Asia and Africa

4. Veto Power

5. Military Alliances

6. Non-sovereign body

7. Lack of permanent Forces

8. Lack of Money

9. Against the principle of Equality

10. No representation to subordinate States

11. Defective Organization

12. Politics of Appointments

13. Lack of Impartiality

14. Charter is too rigid.

 

ACHIEVEMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS

 

1. Maintenance of world Peace

2. Economic and social Progress

3. Promotion of international Cooperation

4. Disarmament

5. Use of Atomic Energy for peaceful Purposes

6. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

7. Codification and development of international Law

8. Freedom for dependent states

9. Rehabilitation of Refugees

10. To end Apartheid

11. Opposition to colonialism

12. Help for children

13. Development of International trade

14. Use of outer space for human welfare

15. Improvement in the condition of women

16. Efforts to solve world food problem

17. United Nations and the problem of growing world population

18. Establishment of U.N. University

19. United nation and protection of environment