UNITED NATIONS
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| United Nations |
It is an international organisation of the
nations that have committed themselves to
maintain world peace and security, and
working for the betterment of humanity and
society.
The UN is the successor organisation to the
League of Nations, which was founded on
10th January, 1920 after the World War I. The
league was dissolved in April 1946 and UN
took its place with initial successes. League of
Nations could not stop the World War 2.
Yalta Conference of the 'Big Three' (Roosevelt,Churchill and Stalin) decided to organise a United Nations Conference on the proposed world organisation.
US President Franklin D Roosevelt gave the name United Nations.
FACTS ABOUT UN(United Nations)
Some important facts during the development
of UN are as follows
To prepare the format of the UN, a meeting
of representatives of prominent countries
was held from 21st August to 7th October,
1944 at Dumbarton Ox building in
Washington.
On 26th June, 1945, UN Charter was signed
by 50 nations. Poland signed on 15th
October, so The UN has 51 original founding
members.
The UN officially came into existence on
24th October, 1945, after the requisite
number of ratifications of the Charter were
deposited with the UN Department of
States. The UN Day is thus, celebrated on
24th October each year.
India was a founding member of the UNO
despite it being a British Colony. India was among the original mernbers of the UN that signed the declaration by UN at Washington on 1st January, 1942.
First Regular Session of the UNO was held
in London in January 1946, and Trygve Lie
(Norway) was elected the first Secretary General of the UNO.
HEAD QUARTERS OF THE UN
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York city,designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighbourhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East river. The UN General Assembly first met in war torn London on 10th January, 1946.
LOGO AND FLAG OF THE UN
The original UN logo was created by a team of designers, led by Oliver Lincoln Lundquist. The UN logo was approved on 7th December, 1946. The UN logo has been incorporated into the logos of several UN family members.
The logo is also used on United Nation's stamps.
The UN General Assembly adopted the UN flag on 20th October, 1947.
What is the Logo of United Nations?
The design is a map of the world representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole. It is inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalised branches of the olive tree, in gold on a field of smoke-blue with all water areas in white. The projection of the map extends to 60" South latitude, and includes five concentric circles.
What are the Languages of UN?
The official languages of the United Nations are 6, namely Arabic, Chinese,English, French, Russian and Spanish.
English and French were the only official languages in 1945, later in 1948 Spanish, in 1968 Russian and in 1973 Chinese was added by General Assembly in 1973, and by Security Council in 1982. Although, Arabic is not used as working language.
What are the Purposes of UN?
The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, are
- To maintain international peace and security.
- To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
- To cooperate, in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- To be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in attaining these common ends.
PRINCIPLES OF UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations acts in accordance with the following principles
It is based on the sovereign equality of all its members.
All members are to fulfil in good faith their Charter obligations.
All members settle their international disputes by peaceful means and
without endangering international peace, security and justice.
They are to refrain their international relation from the threat or use of force against any other state.
They are to give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter.
Nothing in the Charter is to authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE UN
Article I1 of the UN Charter specifies how new members can be added to the UN. Here, two conditions have been mentioned @Membership is open for all peace-loving countries, which accept the obligations contained in the charter and in the judgement of the organisation.
(ii)Membership will be affected by General
Assembly based on a recommendation of the Security council.
Recommendation for membership from the Security council requires affirmative votes from at least 9 out of the 15 members and none of the 5 permanent members voting against it. After this, the recommendation should be approved by the General Assembly by two-thirds vote.
THE UN CHARTER (CONSTITUTION)
The charter of the UN is also known as UN Charter. The charter of the United Nations was signed on 26th June 1945, in San Francisco at the conclusion of the United Nations conference on International organisation. It came into force on 24th October, 1945.
AMENDMENTS TO THE UN CHARTER
The Charter may be amended by a veto of two-third of the members of the General Assembly and ratification by two-third of the members of the United Nations, including the five permanent members of the Security Council. So far,four Charter Articles have been amended, one of them twice.
In 1965, the membership of the Security Council was increased from 11 to 15 (Article 23) and the number of affirmative votes needed for a decision was increased from 7 to 9, including the concurring vote of the 5 permanent members for all matters of substance rather than procedure(Article 27).
In 1965, the membership of the Economic and Social Council was increased from 18 to 27, and in 1973, was increased to 54 (Article 61). In 1968, the number of votes required in the Security Council to convene a General
Conference to review the Charter, was increased from 7 to 9 (Article 109).
OBSERVERS AND NON-MEMBERS OF UN
Apart from members, the UN also admits observers.
Observer status is granted by the General Assembly and
does not require approval of Security Council. Presently,there are two non-member permanent observer states-Vatican city and Palestine (Palestine was earlier a non-member entity).Observers have the Right to Speak at UN General Assembly meetings, participate in procedural votes and to sponsor and sign resolutions, but not to vote on resolutions and other substantive matters. At present, the UNO has 193 member countries. In the year 2011, South Sudan was admitted as 193rd member of the UNO. In 2006, Balkan State,Montenegro was admitted as 192nd member of the UN.
Switzerland and East Timor are 190th and 191st members of the UN respectively. Taiwan and Vatican city are not members of the UN.
MAIN ORGANS OF 'THE UN
Article 7 of Chapter-111 of UN Charter says, the principal organs of the United Nations are
1. General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Trusteeship Council
5. International Court of Justice
6. Secretariat
1. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
General Assembly is the main deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the UN. All 193 members are represented in the General Assembly making the only UN Body with universal representation. The General Assembly's regular session begins each year on Tuesday in the third week of September, counting from the first week that contains at
least one working day.
The election of the President of the Assembly, as well as its Vice-Presidents and the Chairpersons of its 6 main committees, takes place at least 3 months before the start of the regular session.
To ensure equitable geographical representation, the presidency of the assembly rotates each year among 6 groups of states-African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American,the Caribbean and Western European and other states.
At the beginning of each regular session, the assembly holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and government, in which member states express their views on the most pressing international issues.
Functions and Powers of General Assembly
The mission and work of the UN are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the General Assembly include
To consider and make recommendations on the principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles of governing disarmament and arms regulations.To discuss any question related to international peace and security except when a dispute or situation is being discussed by the Security Council, to make recommendations on it.To discuss and with the same exception, make recommendations on any question within the scope of the charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
To elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council and additional members of the Trusteeship Council (when necessary).
To elect jointly with the Security Council, the Judges of the international Court of Justice and on the recommendation of the Security Council to appoint the Secretary-General.
Committees of General Assembly
There are six main committees of General Assembly Disarmament and International Security, Economic and Financial ,Social, Humanitarian and Cultural ,Special Political and Decolonisation ,Administrative and Budgetary Legal
2. SECURITY COUNCIL
Chapter-IV of UN Charter includes Security Council's composition, functions, powers, etc. The Security Council held its first session on 17th January, 1946 at Church House, Westminister, London. Since its first meeting, the security Council has taken permanent residence at the UN headquarters in New York city.
The Security Council has the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The Military Staff Committee comprising chiefs of staffs of the permanent members or their representatives assist the council.
Voting Procedure of Security Council
Article 27 deals with the voting procedure. An affirmative vote of 9 members is required for decisions on procedural questions. For all others, apart from the affirmative vote of 9 members, it is required that none of the permanent members Veto the decision.
The approval of the permanent members is necessary in every case of decision. If permanent member abstains, it is not considered a Veto. The use of the Veto power has prevented the UN from dealing with a number of major problems. In a number of cases, the Veto power has been rather misused by the permanent members to further their own national interest.
Members of Security Council
The members of Security Council are as follows
Permanent Members
The five permanent members are USA, UK, Russia, France and China and they are called P5 group. Now Germany is being added to P5 group.
Non-Permanent Members
The 10 non-permanent members are elected for a term of 2 years by a two-third majority of General Assembly.
5 non-permanent members retire every year. Retiring members cannot be re-elected immediately Non-Council Member States
More than 60 UN member states have never been members of the Security Council.
A state which is a member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate,
without a vote, in its discussions when the council considers that the country's interests are affected.
Both members and non-members of the UN, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the council, may be invited to take part, without a vote in the council's discussions. The council sets the, conditions for participation of non-member states.
UN Peace-keeping Operations
United Nations Peace-Keeping Operations are a crucial instrument at the disposal of the international community to advance the peace and security.
The role of UN Peace-keeping was recognised in 1988, when it was given the Nobel Peace Prize. Peace-keeping operations are deployed with the authorisation of the Security Council and the cogent of the host government and lor the main parties to the conflict. Peace-keeping has traditionally involved a primarily military model of observing cease fires and the separation of forces after inter-state wars.
Depending on the mission, the force commander or the Chief Military observer is responsible for its military aspects. The United Nations has no military forces of its own and member states provide the military and civilian personnel required fore each operation Functions and Powers of Security Council Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council include the following To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations. To formulate plans for establishing a system to regulate armaments.
To call upon the parties to settle disputes by peaceful means.
To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to
international friction and to recommend the methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement.
To determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken.
To call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it deems necessary or desirable to prevent an aggravation of the situation.
To call on members of the United Nations to take measures not involving the use of armed forces such as sanctions, to give effect to the council's decisions.
To resort to the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Chapter X of the UN Charter deals with Economic and Social Council. It will consist of 54 members of the UN elected by the General Assembly, 18 (one-third) of whom are elected every year to serve a 3-year term.
It also holds a four-week substantive session in July,alternating between New York and Geneva. That session includes a high-level segment, attended by ministers and other high officials, to discuss major economic, social and
humanitarian issues. ECOSOC coordinates economic, social and related work of the 14 United Nations specialised agencies, functional commissions and 5 regional commissions. It serves as the central forum for discussing
international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.
4. TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
Chapter XI1 of the UN Charter deals with the International Trusteeship System.
The council was established to help trust territories become self-governing or independent and was composed of the five
permanent members of the Security Council plus those nations who administer Trust Territories. By 31st October,1994, all the Trust Territories had achieved self-government
or independence either as separate states or by joining
neighbouring independent states. The last such territory to
achieve independence was the Pacific Islands, which was then being administered by the US, following Palau's independence on 31st October, 1994.
The Security Council terminated the Trusteeship Council and the Trusteeship Council formally suspended its operations on 1st November, 1994. By a resolution adopted on 25thMay, 1994, the council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required by its decision or the decision of
its President or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.
5. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)
Chapter XIV of the Charter deals with the International Court of Justice. It is the core judicial organ of the UN. The court was set-up by a statute, an integral part of UN kharter.
All UN members are party to the statute to decide legal disputes submitted to it by states and to render opinion on legal questions referred to it by recognised international
organs and agencies. It was established in 1945 and it is based in The Hague, Netherlands.
The court decides cases in accordance with
International treaties and conventions
International customs General Principles of Law recognised by civilised nations
Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly
qualified publicists as a subsidiary means of determining the rules of law.
The official languages of the court are English and French. In accordance with its statute, the court decides disputes by applying International conventions establishing rules expressly recognised by the contesting states.
International custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law. The general principles of law recognised by nations. Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most qualified scholars of the various nations.
The jurisdiction of the court extends to cases referred to it by the parties and matters specified in the UN Charter or treaties in force.
Membership of ICJ
The court is composed of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, voting independently.
ICJ elects its President and Vice-President for a term of 3years.
The President of the ICJ may cast the second deciding vote.
In case of a tie, they are chosen on the basis of their qualifications and care is taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are represented in the court. Two judges may not be from the same country.
The judges serve a 9-year term and may be re-elected. They cannot engage in any other occupation, during their term of office.
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