THE UNITED NATIONS

ORGANISATION
 History
• The forerunner of the UN was the League of
Nations.
• The League of Nations founded after World War
1(1919) at the initiative of US president Woodrow
Wilson.
• Inspired by Immanuel Kant’s ideal of an
association of nations that would promote peace.
• The seat of the League of Nations was in Geneva.
• Its main functions was to (try) to maintain peace
and resolve territorial disputes.
SEAT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN GENEVA
• However, the League of Nations, due to its
indecision, could not enforce its sanctions.
• It did not well manage and settle inter-state
relations and disputes.
• It most signally failed in preventing the
Second World War from occurring.
• The final meeting of the League of Nations
was held in Geneva in 1946.
THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE 1943
• At the Tehran Conference in 1943, the Allied
Powers agreed to create a new body to replace the
League.
• At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944, the
UN was formally formulated and negotiated by
the Allies and the Republic of China.
• The Conference was concerned on (i)how to invite
other States to join; (ii) the formation of the UN
Security Council and (iii) the membership of the
Security Council.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE IN 1945
• The San Francisco Conference or the United
Nations Conference On International
Organization(UNCIO) took place from April to
June 1945 in San Francisco, USA.
• Delegates from 51 world countries reviewed and
rewrote the agreements reached at Dumbarton
Oaks.
• The Conference resulted in the creation of the UN
Charter which was opened for signature on the
26th of June.
• This can be taken as the founding date of the
United Nations Organisation.
UNITED NATIONS BUILDING, NEW YORK
 4 PURPOSES

• 1. To preserve world peace.

• 2. To encourage nations to be just in their actions
toward each other.
• 3. To help nations cooperate in solving their
problems.
• 4. To serve as an agency through which nations
can work toward these three goals.
 7 PRINCIPLES
• 1. All members have equal rights.
• 2. Each member is expected to carry out its duties under
the charter.
• 3. Each member agrees to the principle of settling disputes
peacefully.
• 4. Each member agrees not to use force or the threat of
force against other nations except in self-defense.
• 5. Each member agrees to help the UN in every action it
takes to carry out the purposes of the charter.
• 6. The UN agrees to act on the principle that nonmember
states have the same duties as member states to preserve
world peace & security.
• 7. The UN accepts the principle of not interfering in the
internal affairs/domestic problems of member nation, so
long as these actions do not harm other nations.
 STRUCTURING ORGANS
1. General Assembly
2. The Security Council
3. The Economic & Social Council
4. The Trusteeship Council
5. The International Court of Justice
6. The Secretariat
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SECURITY COUNCIL
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
SECRETARIAT
Trygve Lie, Norway
1946-1952
Dag Hammarskjöld
1953–1961
 U Thant
1961 –1972
Kurt Waldheim
1972–1982
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
1982–1992
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
1992–1997
Kofi Annan
1997 – 2007
Ban Ki-moon
2007–present
 IMPORTANT SPECIALISED AGENCIES

• Food and Agriculture Organization(FOA)

• International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)
• International Maritime Organization(IMO)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization(UNESCO)
• World Health Organization(WHO)
• World Bank(WB) & International Monetary
Fund(IMF)
INTERVENTIONS
 ASSESSMENT

Positive Aspects
• Provides channels of communication for inter-
states relations with platforms of discussions
• Provides military assistance for protection in times
of civil war and other internal or regional troubles
• Provides aid in term of food, temporary shelters
for war refugees and adequate financial support
 Negative Aspects
• In spite of promoting human rights, these continue
to be violated by some countries, as for example,
in the genocidal civil wars in the Balkans and
Central Africa in the mid-1990’s.
• Further, a gross human rights abuser like China is
a PERMANENT MEMBER of the UN Security
Council.
• The UN suffers from slow decision-making
because of heavy bureaucracy which is linked to
seniority rather than ability.
• This delay in decision-making resulted in the
above mentioned cases of the Balkans and
Rwanda.
Negative Aspects(contd.)

• Institutional problems include the fact that

whatever decision reached by the General
Assembly can be overturned by the Security
Council.
• Most of the international progress since 1945 has
not involved the UN. Agencies like the World
Bank and the IMF have functioned independently
of the UN to promote greater prosperity.
• The Cold War ended independent of any direct
UN intervention.