THE UNITED

NATIONS
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 History
 Origins of the UN
 Charter of the UN
 Purposes of the UN
 Principles of the UN
 Structure of the UN
 INCEPTION
 Immanuel Kant’s Perpetual
Peace: A Philosophical
sketch outlined the idea of a
League of Nations to control
conflict and promote peace
between states
 Early Efforts
 Geneva Conventions: Establishing
laws dealing with Humanitarian relief
during wars.
 Hague Conventions : Establishing
Rules of Wars and Peaceful
Settlement of Disputes,1899 and
1907.
 Inter-Parliamentary Union: Solve
disputes through peaceful
means.1889
 First International Peace
Conference
 1899 1st International Peace
Conference (The Hague):
 1) the Convention for the Pacific
Settlement of International Disputes
and
 2) the Permanent Court of
Arbitration (1902)
 The League of Nations
 Established in 10th January 1920 under the Paris
Peace Conference that ended the war. Part-I of
Treaty of Versailles.
 “to promote international cooperation and to
achieve peace and security”.
 ’’An International Organization whose aim was to
prevent future war through Disarmament, Open
Diplomacy, International Co-operation,
Restrictions on the right to wage war, and
penalties that made war unattractive’’.
 Its capital was in Geneva.
 The League of Nations
 Primary goals, as stated in
its Covenant, included preventing
wars through Collective
Security and Disarmament.
 Settling international disputes
through Negotiation and Arbitration
 Reasons of Failure
 Lacked its own Armed Forces.
 Italian invasion of Abyssinia (1935)
 Spanish Civil war B/W Republicans
and Nationalists.(1936-39)
 Second Sino-Japanese war 1937.
 Global representation.
 Collective Security.
 United Nations: Name
 The term UN was coined by Franklin
D. Roosevelt;
 first used in the “Declaration by
United Nations” of 1 Jan. 1942 when
representatives of 26 nations
pledged their governments to
continue fighting together against
the Axis Powers
 Origins of the UN Charter
 1941 The Atlantic Charter
 1942 Declaration by United Nations
 1943 The Moscow Conference
 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Proposals
 1944 Yalta conference
1941 The Atlantic Charter
 The Atlantic Charter
(14 Aug.1941)
 Principles laid down by President
Rosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill
 The Charter did not contemplate the
establishment of an organization of
States to replace the League
 The need of creating a collective
security system and establishing
strong economic and social
cooperation between the States
 Goals of the Atlantic Charter
-No territorial gains, neither by the U.S. nor by Britain.
– Any territorial adjustments that were made, would have to
be in accord with the wishes of the people involved
– All people would have a right to self-determination.
– The trade barriers would be lowered after the war’s
conclusion.
– Global economic cooperation and an advancement on social
welfare, were to be made.
– Participants would work to create a world that was free of
want and free of fear.
– Freedom of the seas -another goal that the participants
would work together to attain; and,
– Disarmament of aggressor nations was a central goal.
Declaration by United Nations
(1942)
Roosevelt, Churchill, Litvinov
(USSR),T. V. Soong (China) signed a
short document which later came to
be known as the United Nations
Declaration
representatives of 22 other nations
added their signatures.
 Declaration by United Nations
(1942)
 The original 26 signatories: US, UK,
USSR, China, Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic,
El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala,
Haiti, Honduras, India, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland,
Union of South Africa, Yugoslavia
 Declaration by United Nations
(1942)
 the basis of the modern UN.
 The term United Nations became synonymous with the Allies and
was considered to be the formal name that they were fighting
under.
 The declaration affirmed "that complete victory over their enemies
is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious
freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own
lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in
a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to
subjugate the world". The principle of "complete victory"
established an early precedent for the Allied policy of obtaining
the Axis' powers' "unconditional surrender".
 The defeat of "Hitlerism" constituted the overarching objective,
The declaration, furthermore, "upheld the principles of self
determination,"
Declaration by United Nations
(1942)
The Moscow Conference (1943)
 The Declaration of the Four Nations (U.S.,
Soviet Union, UK, China) recognized:
 “the necessity of establishing ...a general
international organization, based on the
principle of the sovereign equality of all
peace-loving States and open to
membership by all such States, large and
small, for the maintenance of international
peace and security”
 Dumbarton Oaks Proposals (Washington
Conversations on International Peace and Security
Organization (Oct. 7, 1944)
 Representatives of the same 4
Governments met to lay down the
foundations of the future world
organization
 Purposes of the Organization: to
maintain international peace and security,
develop friendly relations among nations,
promote cooperation in economic and
social matters
 Basic organs: the Assembly, the Council,
the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary
General, and the Court of Justice
 Dumbarton Oaks Proposals
(October 7, 1944)
 Another important feature:member
states were to place armed forces at
the disposal of the Security Council
in its task of preventing war and
suppressing acts of aggression.
 The absence of such force -a fatal
weakness in the League of Nations
machinery for preserving peace.
Dumbarton Oaks
Yalta conference (11 Feb. 1945)
 Churchill,
 Roosevelt and
 Stalin
Yalta conference(11 Feb. 1945)
 “We are resolved upon the earliest
possible establishment with our Allies
of a general international
organization to maintain peace and
security…
Yalta conference(11 Feb. 1945)
 “We have agreed that a Conference
of United Nations should be called to
meet at San Francisco in the United
States on the 25th April, 1945, to
prepare the charter of such an
organization, along the lines
proposed in the formal conversations
of Dumbarton Oaks.”
 The San Francisco Conference
(April 25 – June 26, 1945)
 Representatives of 50 states met to
draw up the UN Charter based on
Dumbarton Oaks proposals by the
Great Powers (China, the Soviet
Union, the UK, the US)
 The Charter – unanimously approved
and signed by all the participating
States, original members of the UN
The San Francisco Conference
(April 25 – June 26, 1945)
 United Nations Charter
 "The Charter of the United Nations which you
have just signed is a solid structure upon which
we can build a better world. History will honor
you for it. Between the victory in Europe and the
final victory, in this most destructive of all wars,
you have won a victory against war itself. . . .
With this Charter the world can begin to look
forward to the time when all worthy human
beings may be permitted to live decently as free
people." (President Truman)
 United Nations Charter
 "If we fail to use it, we shall betray
all those who have died so that we
might meet here in freedom and
safety to create it. If we seek to use
it selfishly - for the advantage of any
one nation or any small group of
nations — we shall be equally guilty
of that betrayal. "
 United Nations Charter
(www.un.org/aboutun/charter)
 Constituting instrument of the
Organization
 Rights and obligations of member
states
 UN organs and procedures
 Preamble
 WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
DETERMINED to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war, which twice in our
lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind,
and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women
and of nations large and small, and to establish
conditions under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties and other
sources of international law can be maintained,
and to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
 Preamble
 AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice
tolerance and live together in peace with
one another as good neighbours, and to
unite our strength to maintain
international peace and security, and to
ensure, by the acceptance of principles
and the institution of methods, that armed
force shall not be used, save in the
common interest, and to employ
international machinery for the promotion
of the economic and social advancement
of all peoples,
 Preamble
 “HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR
EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
Accordingly, our respective Governments,
through 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
hereby establish an international
organization to be known as the United
Nations.”
 Purposes of the UN
 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 help nations work together to improve the
lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease
and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms;
 To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of
nations in attaining these common ends
 UN Principles
 It is based on the sovereign equality
of all members
 All members are to fulfil in good faith
their Charter obligations
 They are to settle their international
disputes by peaceful means and
without endangering international
peace, security and justice
 UN Principles
 Members are to refrain from the threat or
use of force against any other state
 They are to give the UN every assistance
in any action it takes in accordance with
the Charter
 Nothing in the Charter is to authorize the
UN to intervene in matters which are
essentially within the domestic jurisdiction
of any state
 Membership
 Open to all peace-loving nations which
accept the obligations of the Charter
 The General Assembly admits new
member states on the recommendation of
the Security Council
 The Charter provides for the suspension or
expulsion of a member for violation of the
principles of the Charter (no such action
has ever been taken)
 Official languages
 Arabic
 Chinese
 English
 French
 Russian
 Spanish
 Structure of the Organization
 The General Assembly
 The Security Council
 The Economic and Social Council
 The Trusteeship Council
 The International Court of Justice
 The Secretariat
 General Assembly
(www.un.org/ga)
 Representatives of all member states
(193), each of which has one vote
 Decisions on important issues, e.g.
peace and security, admission of new
members, budgetary matters require
a two thirds majority
 Security Council
 Maintenance of international peace of
security
 15 members: 5 permanent (China,
France, the Russian Federation, the
UK, the US); 10 members elected by
the General Assembly for two-year
terms
 Security Council
 Decisions on procedural and
substantive matters require 9 votes
 Permanent members: power of veto
 All members of the UN have are
obliged to accept the decisions of the
Security Council
 Economic and Social Council
(www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc)

 Coordinates the economic, social and

related work of the UN and the
specialized agencies and institutions
 54 members, who serve for three-
year terms
 International Court of Justice
(www.icj-cij.org)
 The principal judicial organ of the UN
 Settles legal disputes between states
 Gives advisory opinions to the UN
 Open to all member states; not open
to private persons and entities or
international organizations
 Jurisdiction of the ICJ
 Decides disputes by applying:
 International conventions establishing
rules recognized by the contesting states;
 International custom as evidence of a
general practice accepted as law;
 The general principles of law recognized
by nations
 Judicial decisions and the teachings of the
most qualified scholars of the various
nations
 Membership of ICJ
 15 judges elected by the General
Assembly and the Security Council,
voting independently
 Chosen on the basis of their
qualifications; care is taken that
principal legal systems of the world
are represented
 Membership of ICJ
 No two judges can be from the same
country
 Serve 9-year term and may be re-
elected
 They cannot engage in any other
occupation during their term of office
 Secretariat
(www.un.org/documents/st)
 Secretary General – appointed by the
General Assembly on the recommendation
of the Security Council for a five-year,
renewable term
 Administering peacekeeping operations,
mediating international disputes,
surveying economic and social trends,
preparing studies on human rights and
sustainable development
 Secretariat
 Informs the world’s media about the work
of the UN, organizes international
conferences, translates documents into
the official languages
 Staff of 7,500 drawn from 170 countries
 Headquarters: New York; main centres of
activities: Geneva (disarmament, human
rights), Vienna (crime prevention,
international trade law, peaceful uses of
outer space), Nairobi (environment,
human settlements)
 Secretary-General
(www.un.org/News/ossg/sg)
 Symbol of UN ideals and a
spokesman for the interests of the
world’s peoples
 Chief administrative officer of the UN
 Brings to the attention of the
Security Council any matter which
may threaten the maintenance of
international peace and security
 Secretary General
 Consultations with world leaders,
government officials, representatives
of civil society groups, the private
sector and others
 Annual report on the work of the
Organization
The UN Family of Organizations
UN System Agencies
 UN funds and programmes (e.g.
UNICEF)
 Specialized Agencies (e.g. UNESCO,
WHO)
 Related Organizations (e.g. WTO,
World Bank, International Monetary
Fund)
 International tribunals
 International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
 International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR)
 OBJECTIVES

 Peace keeping and Security

• Success rate 2 out of 3 missions, 7 out
of 8 has stable peace
• Decline in Armed Conflicts, Genocides,
Human rights abuses.
• Success eg. Korean Conflict 1950-53,
Gulf War 1990-91.
 Objectives
•Peace keeping and Security
 Disarmament: Three UN bodies
oversee arms proliferation issues:
the International Atomic Energy
Agency, the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty Organization Preparatory
Commission. Both South africa and
Kazakhstan gave up their Nuclear
programe.
 Objectives
 Human Rights
• In 1948 The General Assembly Adopted
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• The document proclaims basic civil,
political, and economic rights common
to all human beings
 In practice, the UN is unable to take significant
action against human rights abuses without a
Security Council resolution, though it does
substantial work in investigating and reporting
abuses
 Objectives
 Economic and Humanitarian
Assistance:
• "to achieve international co-operation in
solving international problems of an
economic, social, cultural, or
humanitarian character“
• Millennium Development Goals,2000
• Sustainable Development Goals 2015
 Objectives
• Millennium Development
Goals,2000:
 Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger
 Achieve universal primary education
 Promote gender equality and
empower women
 Millennium Development Goals 2000:
 Reduce child mortality
 Improve maternal health
 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and
other diseases
 Ensure environmental sustainability
 Develop a global partnership for
development
 Sustainable Development Goals:
• Total of 17 Goals Covering following
areas:
• poverty, hunger, health, education, glob
al warming, gender
equality, water, sanitation, energy, urba
nization, environment and social justice
 CRITICISM
 Ineffectiveness during Cold War
 Rawanda Genocide 1994:
• Hutus and Tutsi tribes
 Iraq Food for Oil Program.
 Srebrenica 1995 : 8000 Bosnian
Muslims were mass murdered by the
Serbs
 US invasion of Iraq
 Sri Lankan Civil War
 Syrian Civil War
 Failed mediation in Bilateral Disputes
 Palestine issue
 Bureaucratic hurdles