• The United Nations Organization (UNO) came into existence in October 1945 after World War II, replacing the League of Nations, which had failed to restrain aggressive dictators like Hitler and Mussolini.
• The UN was formed to overcome the weaknesses of the League of Nations.
• The UN Charter was drawn up in San Francisco in 1945, based on proposals from an earlier meeting at Dumbarton Oaks (USA) in 1944, involving the USSR, USA, China, and Britain.
• The aims of the UN:
  • Preserve peace and eliminate war.
  • Remove the causes of conflict by encouraging economic, social, educational, scientific, and cultural progress, especially in under-developed countries.
  • Safeguard the rights of individual human beings, and the rights of peoples and nations.
• Despite the carefully framed Charter, the UN was unable to solve many issues, particularly those arising from the Cold War.
• However, the UN played an important role in international crises by:
  • Arranging ceasefires and negotiations.
  • Providing peacekeeping forces.
• The UN’s successes in non-political work have been significant, including:
  • Care of refugees.
  • Protection of human rights.
  • Economic planning.
  • Addressing world health, population, and famine issues.

The United Nations (UNO) has seven main organs

• General Assembly
• Security Council
• Secretariat
• International Court of Justice
• Trusteeship Council
• Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
• International Criminal Court (ICC), inaugurated in March 2003.

General Assembly

• Composed of representatives from all member nations, each having one vote.
• Meets annually, starting in September, for about three months; special sessions can be called during crises.
• Discusses international problems, considers the UN budget, and elects Security Council members.
• Decisions often require a simple majority, but two-thirds majority is needed for significant issues (e.g., admitting new members, maintaining peace).
• All speeches and debates are translated into six official UN languages: English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.

Security Council

• Functions in permanent session to address crises and can take economic or military action against aggressors.
• Approves applications for UN membership, requiring a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
• Originally had 11 members, with 5 permanent members (China, France, USA, USSR, and Britain) and 6 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
• In 1965, non-permanent members increased to 10.
• Decisions need 9 votes out of 15, including all 5 permanent members; a veto from a permanent member can prevent action.
• The ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolution (1950) allows the General Assembly to intervene if the Security Council is blocked by a veto.
• In 1971, People’s Republic of China replaced Taiwan as the representative on the Security Council after the USA refrained from vetoing.

Secretariat

• The administrative body of the UN, with over 50,000 employees.
• Prepares minutes, translations, and information.
• Headed by the Secretary-General, appointed for a five-year term by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.
• The Secretary-General is from a neutral country to ensure impartiality.
• Previous Secretaries-General: Trygve Lie (Norway), Dag Hammarskjold (Sweden), U Thant (Burma), Kurt Waldheim (Austria), Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru), Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt), Kofi Annan (Ghana), Ban Ki-moon (South Korea).

International Court of Justice

• Located in The Hague, with 15 judges elected for nine-year terms.
• Adjudicates disputes between states, though its rulings are effective only when both parties agree to accept them.
• Example: Nicaragua vs. USA (1984), where the USA refused to accept the ruling.
• Security Council can enforce decisions but never has in practice.

Trusteeship Council

• Replaced the League of Nations Mandates Commission to oversee territories and prepare them for independence.
• Helped many mandated territories gain independence by 1970.
• Namibia remained a problem, with South Africa refusing to grant independence.
• In 1990, Namibia gained independence after pressure from black African nationalism and global opinion.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• Composed of 27 members, elected by the General Assembly.
• Coordinates projects related to health, education, and social and economic matters.
• Oversees about 30 specialized agencies, including ILO, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNRWA.
• By 1980, 90% of the UN’s annual expenditure was devoted to ECOSOC activities.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

• Proposed since 1937 but developed slowly due to Cold War tensions.
• In 1994 and 1995, the Security Council set up special war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and Bosnia.
• Slobodan Milosevic was the first head of state to be tried for crimes against humanity.
• In 1998, the Rome Statute established the ICC to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
• The USA withdrew from the agreement in 2002 under President Bush, citing concerns over politicized prosecutions of US personnel.

• UN is more successful than the League due to several key differences.
• UN focuses more on economic and social matters, with a wider scope than the League.
• All specialized agencies (except the International Labour Organization, founded in 1919) were established in 1945 or later.
• UN is committed to safeguarding individual human rights, which the League did not address.
• Changes in procedures of the General Assembly and Security Council (especially the ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolution) and increased power of the Secretary-General allowed the UN to take more decisive action than the League.
• The UN has a much wider membership, making it more of a genuine world organization than the League, with additional prestige.
• Both the USA and the USSR were founder-members of the UN, whereas the USA never joined the League.
• Between 1963 and 1968, 43 new members joined the UN, mostly from Africa and Asia.
• By 1985, UN membership reached 159; the League never had more than 50 members.
• After the fall of the USSR, many of its former states joined, bringing membership to 183 by 1993.
• East Timor joined as the 191st member in 2002 after gaining independence with UN help.
• Montenegro joined in 2006, and the Republic of South Sudan became the 193rd member in 2011.
• Despite improvements, some of the weaknesses of the League persist in the UN.
• The UN Security Council has five permanent members, each holding the power of veto to prevent decisive action.
• Like the League, the UN has no permanent army and must rely on forces from its member states.

• UN has had mixed success but is generally more successful than the League in peacekeeping efforts, especially in crises not involving the great powers’ interests, such as the Congo civil war (1960-4) and the Netherlands-Indonesia dispute over West New Guinea.
• In situations involving great powers’ interests, like the Hungarian rising (1956) and the 1968 Czech crisis, the UNwas often ineffective when a great power (e.g., the USSR) ignored or defied it.
• Examining major disputes shows the UN’s varying degrees of success.
• West New Guinea (1946): UN helped arrange independence for the Dutch East Indies, leading to Indonesia. In 1961, fighting broke out, and the UN helped negotiate a peaceful resolution, but did not decide the future of West Irian.
• Palestine (1947): UN decided to divide Palestine, creating Israel, a controversial decision. UN failed to prevent wars between Israel and Arab states (1948-9, 1967, 1973) but assisted with ceasefires and provided aid for Arab refugees.
• Korean War (1950-3): UN took decisive action when North Korea invaded South Korea, but the absence of Russian delegates allowed the USA to turn it into a UN operation. This was largely an American operation, with US troopsplaying a major role.
• The Korean War led to the ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolution, allowing a Security Council veto to be bypassed. UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie faced Russian criticism, leading to his resignation and replacement by Dag Hammarskjold.
• Suez Crisis (1956): The UN succeeded in maintaining peace after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, with Israel, Britain, and France invading. UN peacekeepers helped bring about a ceasefire, enhancing UN prestige and Dag Hammarskjold’s reputation.
• Hungarian Rising (1956): In contrast to Suez, the UN was ineffective when Soviet troops crushed the Hungarian revolt. The USSR vetoed a Security Council resolution, and UN actions failed due to Russian defiance.
• Congo Civil War (1960-4): UN mounted a complex operation with over 20,000 troops to restore order in the Congo. UN faced financial strain, especially as USSR, France, and Belgium refused to contribute.
• Cyprus: Since 1964, UN peacekeepers have been stationed in Cyprus due to the ongoing conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Despite efforts to maintain peace, the UN has failed to find a lasting solution or compromise.
• Kashmir: After the 1947 partition, UN mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. UN continued to monitor the ceasefire line, but the underlying dispute remains unresolved.
• Czech Crisis (1968): When Czechoslovakia sought more independence, USSR troops intervened. The UN was powerless as the USSR vetoed a Security Council resolution.
• Lebanon (1975-87): The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed to monitor the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon. It worked to maintain peace amid violence, terrorism, and frontier violations.
• In 2006, the UN arranged a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. UNIFIL was expanded and maintained relative calm until renewed tensions in 2011.
• Iran-Iraq War (1980-8): The UN brokered a ceasefire to end the long-running Iran-Iraq war, which was facilitated by the exhaustion of both sides.