THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION

 Origin of the UNO:

When second world war was in full swing, leaders of some
countries were anxiously giving thought for the creation of international
organisation which would help in eliminating wars in the world. The
preparatory meetings and conferences visualized the shape of world
organisation to come and put forward blue prints for the same. The
important conferences and meetings were held from 1941 to 1945. Such
as London declaration-1941, Atlantic charter-1941, Declaration of the
UN-1942, Casablanca conference-1943, Moscow conference-1943,
Teheran conference-1943,Britain woods conference-1944, Dumbarton
Oakes confernce-1944,Yalta conference-1945, jurists meeting
Washington -1945,and final San Francisco conference-1945.
After this the UNO formally came into existence on 24 th October
1945.It was ratified by 51 signatory countries. UNO was founded on the
ashes of the league of nations.
Preamble:
It has 190 member states. Its aims are set forth in its preamble.
The following is the text of preamble of united nations.
We the people of United nations determined
 To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which
twice in our life time has brought untold sorrow to mankind.
 To reaffirm faith in the fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and worth of human person, in the equal rights of men and women
and nations large and small.
  To establish condition under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
law can be maintained.
 To promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom, and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together
in peace with one another as good neighbors.
 To unite our strength to maintain international peace and security
 To ensure by acceptance of principle and of methods, that armed
forces shall not be used, save in the common interest
 To employ international machinery for the promotion of economic
and social development of all people.
 Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish to these ends
Accordingly our respective govt through their representatives
assembled in the city of san Francisco, who have exhibited their full
powers found to be in good and due form have agreed to the present
charter of the united nations and do hear by establish an international
organisation to be known as the United nations.
Purposes of the UNO:
Article I of the charters sets forth of the following 4 purposes,
 To maintain international peace and security, and to take effective
collective measures for the prevention, removal of threats of peace
and to settle inter national disputes peacefully.
 To develop friendly relations among nations based on the principle
of equal rights and self determination of peoples and to take other
appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace
  To achieve international co-operation in solving international
problems of economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.
respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, religion
 To be center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the
attainment of these common ends.
Basic principle:
Article II of the charter states that the organisation and its
members shall act in accordance with the following principles:
 The organisation is based on the principles of sovereign equality of
all its members.
 All members shall fulfill in good faith the obligations embodied in
the charter.
 All members shall setter their international disputes by peaceful
means.
 All members shall refrain in their international relations from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any sate
 .
 All members shall give the UN every assistance in any action it
takes in accordance with the present charter and shall refrain from
giving assistance to any state against which the united nations is
taking preventive or enforcement actions
 The organisation shall ensure that which are not the members of
UN act in accordance with the principles for the maintenance of
international peace and security
  Nothing contend in the present charter shall authorize the United
nations to intervene in the domestic jurisdictions of any state
Organs of UNO:
 1) General assembly:
The general assembly is the deliberate organ of the united nations. it is
composed of all the members of the UN. each members may send up to
five representatives, but has only one vote. the assembly meets regularly
in annual sessions and in such sessions as occasion may require. special
sessions are convened by the secretary general at the request of the
security council of a majority of the members of the UNO. the assembly
adopts its own rules of procedure. it elects president for each session.
Functions:
1.It discusses any question relating to any organ of the UN.it makes
recommendations for promoting international co-operation and
international law.
.
2.It exercises advisory functions over the other organs. the annual report
of the secretary general is to be placed before the regular annual session
of the G.A.
3.It is authorized to scrutinize and approve the budget of the U.N. It
fixes the annual contribution to be paid by each member state.
4.It elects secretary general, judges of the international court of justice,
on permanent members of the security council,ECOSOC,trusteeship
council and members of ad-hoc committees
 2)security council:
It is the important organ of the UN.it is an instrument for preserving
international peace and security. it consists of 15
members.china,UK,USSR,USA are the permanent members. the ten non
permanent members are elected by the the general assembly for a term
of two years.
Functions:
1.It has the power to discuss and investigate any dispute and make
recommendations to the member states to settle their disputes by
peaceful manner.
2.It can decide upon measures necessary for the maintenance of peace,
order, security.
3.It takes part in the election of the secretary general and judges of
international court.
4.It has been vested with the power to amend the charter.
 Economic and social council:
It consists of 54 members chosen by the general assermbly.one third of
its members are elected every year to serve for the term of 3
years.throgh this council the UN tries to achieve international co
operation in solving international problems of
econaomic,social,cultural,and humanitarian character and by prompting
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
Functions:
1.To promote higher standards of living by bringing economic
development
2.To find out the solution of interaction social,health,economic and other
related problems
3.To observe for maintenance and promotion of human rights and
fundamental freedoms
4.To ensure equal treatment for all members in social, economic and
commercial matters.
 Trusteeship council:
It consists of the permanent members of the security council plus those
nations which administer trust territories. its term is 3 years. regular
meeting are held twice a year. each members has 1 vote and decisions
are made by simple majority.
Functions:
1.Supervice the admistration of trust territories
2.To consider report submitted by the administering authority
3.To accept and examine petitions in consultation with the administering
authority
4.To organize periodic visits to trust territories
5.To formulate a questionnaire on the political, economic, social and
educational advancement of the inhabitants of each trust territory
 International court of justice:
This court is the judicial organ of the UN.the statues of the international
court of justice forms an integral part of the charter of the UN.it consists
of 15 judges.thier term is 9 years and they are elected by the security
council and general assembly.
 The secretariat:
 Its functions are carried by secretary general. it is subdivided into
8 departments, each of which is headed by under secretary.
 Functions:
 1.program planning, financial, personal. legal and general services
for the allocation of resources.
 2.to arrange for dissemination of information on UNs activities and
decisions among the public
 To provide service missions to countries, area, locations
 To provide technical assistance to the developing countries
 To organise conferences, meetings, seminars on topics concerning
to international community.
 To provide information through statistical publications, bulletins,
analytical work of the UN
 To conduct studies
 To publish editorials, translation and documents and maintain
official documents.
 To facilitate deliberations and decision making by other organs
 To submit reports and other documents to the general assembly
Secretary general:
Secretary general is the chief administrative officer of the secretariat. he
is appointed by the general assembly on the recommendation of security
council.
 Significance of UNO:
There are several achievements to the credit of the united nations.
1.A great achievement of UNO is the declaration of human rights. the
declaration was adopted on December 10,1948.
2.The UNO mediated in Palestine and consequently the state of Israel
was brought into existence in 1949.
3.It mediated in Indonesia, resulting in the withdrawal of the Dutch
forces and the establishment of the republic of Indonesia.
4.It was due to the intervention of the UNO that cease-fire was brought
about between India and Pakistan in 1947.
5.In 1950 the UNO intervened actively in the war between North Korea
and south Korea.
6.In 1956 the Anglo-French and Israeli forces attacked Egypt. it was due
to the intervention of the UNO that those forces were ultimately
withdrawn from Egypt.
7.The UNO played an important role in Congo. it employed military
forces to set up a unified central government in that country and it was
mainly due to its efforts that the situation was stabalised.
8.In 1960 the west Iran issue was successfully solved and its peaceful
transfer to Indonesia was brought about.
9.In 1962 the Cuban crisis was resolved by the intervention of the UN
secretary general
10.In 1963 the dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia on the question
of north Borneo and Sarawak was successfully resolved by the U?O
11.In 1963 USA, Britain and USSR signed the partial test ban(nuclear)
treaty. the treaty bans all nuclear tests on the ground, in the atmosphere
and underneath the sea. but no ban has been imposed on underground
tests.
12.The achievements of the specialised Agencies in the economic,
social, educational and health fields are very significant.
13.Recently the UN has been able to play a constructive role in resolving
some of the major regional conflicts of this decade. the Iraq war went on
for 8 years, and the UN watched it helplessly. but recently succeeded in
bringing about a cease fire in the once seemingly endless conflict.
Similarly the UN watched the soviet interventions in Afghanistan for
about nine years. but recently the UN sponsored Geneva agreement has
set in motion a process which may ultimately lead to a solution of the
afghan problem.
14.UNO has tried to promote conditions for better economic, social and
humanitarian development. it has encouraged international cooperation
in economic and financial fields seeking to reduce barriers through
multilateral negotiations.
15. In 1974,the new international economic order was established to
redress injustice
16.In 1979 the GA endorsed the holding of global negotiations in raw
materials,energy,trade,development and finance
17.UN has sought to aid technical cooperation for the development of
member states effectively. for the purpose loans and grants were made
through IBRD,IMF,IFC to the developing countries.
18.It has encouraged to promote scientific and technological activities in
developing countries
19.The GA declared 1985 as international youth year. efforts were made
to create awareness of youth problems and aspirations.
20.UN is promoting a network of nuclear arm agreements. the notable
agreements including international atomic energy agency(1956),the
limited test ban treaty 1963,NPT 1979 etc
21. It has contributed to the ending of apartheid by condemning
racialism in south Africa
22.It has exerted international pressure on Israel and contributed to the
improvement in the condition of Palestinians.
Challenges of UNO:

 Domestic jurisdiction:
The charter does not authorise the united nations to intervene in matters
which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. this
provision of the charter creates problems. sometimes it becomes difficult
to determine whether a matter is of domestic jurisdiction or has become
the concern of the whole world. for example, the freedom struggle of
Bangladesh in 1971 was interpreted by vested interests as a matter
falling within the domestic jurisdiction of Pakistan. The struggle of
Tamils in Sri Lanka is another example. such conflicts have threatened
world peace but the UNO cannot effectively intervene in them.
 self defense:
Article 51 of the charter recognises the inherent right of individual
or collective self defense. but what would justify a state to resort to force
in self defense is open to different interpretations. An aggressive war
may be justified in the name of self-defense.
 Veto:
The provision of veto in the proceeding of the security council acts as a
stumbling block in the proper functioning of the united nations. the
purpose of the veto was to guarantee unanimity of opinion and action of
the big powers. but today veto instead of being a symbol action of
concord has become a cause of discord.
 lack of compulsory jurisdiction:
A serious limitation on the functioning of the United Nations is
that the jurisdiction of the international court of justice is not
compulsory. in order to strengthen the united nations, it is essential that
the jurisdiction of the court must be compulsory.
other causes:
The rivalry of the USA and the USSR has reduced the importance
of UNO. it has become a pawn in the game of power politics of the
super power. these states dominate the world economically and
militarily. the underdeveloped nations are so weak that they find it
difficult to assert their independence. the UNO has never been able to
take action against the USA or Russia even when they have blatantly
violated the charter. Every issue in the UNO is decided neither on its
merits nor principles. but on the considerations of power politics.