United Nation Organisation

(UGC NET Detailed Notes)

International Relations (Unit 5)

UGC NET POLITICAL SCIENCE

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United Nation Organisation

Table of Contents

THE ORIGIN OF THE UN
IMPORTANT ORGANS OF THE UN
The General Assembly
The Security Council
The Economic and Social Council
The Secretariat
The Secretary-General
International Court of Justice (The World Court)
COLLECTIVE SECURITY
The Concept and Its Application
Limitations of Collective Security
UN PEACEKEEPING
UN PEACEMAKING
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE UNITED NATIONS
UN REFORM PROPOSALS
Minor Reforms
Major Reforms
Other Reforms

The Second World War created deep resentment against war among people.
World leaders felt the need to form a global organization to prevent future wars of such magnitude.
In 1941, efforts began to create an international organization.
After discussions and negotiations, the United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 with fifty-one member-states.
The UN was not the first international organization; the League of Nations was formed in 1919 after World War I.
The League of Nations failed to maintain peace due to structural and functional weaknesses.
The founders of the UN aimed to avoid the mistakes of the League of Nations.
Despite its shortcomings, the UN has remained an effective and successful organization for over six decades.

THE ORIGIN OF THE UN

The London Declaration of 12 June 1941 was the first formal attempt to create the UN, with nations fighting against Hitler announcing their intention for a world free of wars and based on social and economic equality.
The Atlantic Charter of 14 August 1941 emphasized the need for an international body to maintain peace and security.
On 1 January 1942, the anti-Axis coalition (26 countries) met in Washington DC to affirm the Atlantic Charter, where US President Franklin Roosevelt coined the term ‘United Nations’.
The Washington Declaration also stressed the need to unite for peace.
On 30 October 1943, Britain, US, China, and the Soviet Union announced in Moscow the need for a general international organization based on sovereign equality.
This pledge was followed by the Tehran Declaration of 1 December 1943, calling for the participation of all nations to create a family of democratic states.
A Great Power Conference was held at Dumbarton Oaks in 1944, where the Draft Charter of the UN was prepared.
The draft was discussed and amended in several conferences in Washington DC and Yalta in 1944-1945.
The Draft Charter was signed by 51 states on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, and after ratification, the United Nations Organization was established on 25 October 1945.
Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter elaborated its purposes and principles:
- Article 1: To maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations based on equal rights and self-determination.
- Article 2: Based on the principle of sovereign equality of all members; members should refrain from the use of force inconsistent with the UN purposes.
The purposes and principles of the UN are maintained through the activities of its different organs.

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