Lecture 1d: The UN: Structure and

Organization – the UN General

Assembly
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Key questions for this topic

• What is the United Nations? (UN)

• What are the aims of the UN?
• What are the key UN organs?
• How did the Cold War affect the functioning of these organs (and by
extension, the UN)?
 Outline of Lecture

1. The UNGA and its evolution due to

A) The Cold War
B) The change in the make-up of the UN as a
whole (expansion)
Key Phases:

• 1) From 1945 – 1950, the UNGA had little powers based on

the UN Charter.

• 2) Between 1950 – late 1950s, the General Assembly gained

preeminence and played a bigger role in major world
developments.

• 3) From late 1950s – early 1980s it declined in importance

and was marginalised.

• 4) The late 1980s – 2000 saw its revival but in ups and downs.
 The General Assembly
Function and Problems

Elect heads of UN bodies

Involved in matters of the UN budget

Any member can propose any agenda

to be discussed, resolution passed
after discussion

One member, one vote, no veto  is

this system fair?

Vanuatu, Belize and Luxembourg

have more votes than USA and China
 The General Assembly

Remember: One member, one vote, no veto

For resolutions to be passed, either a simple

majority or two-third majority (for major
decisions)
 The General Assembly
Structure

The UNGA is a world forum where all states can air their views.

o It mainly discusses global issues and recommends appropriate action.

o It also elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council.
o It can pass resolutions (a recommendation that a particular state takes a
certain course of action). These resolutions express the priorities and
sentiments of the international community and can set the norms of
international behaviour. (moral authority) Unlike the UNSC, these
resolutions are NOT binding (see next slide).
o The UNGA is involved in the admission of new members after the
Security Council recommends them.
 Articles from the UN Charter UNGA

Article 9 (Membership)
“1. The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the United
Nations.

Article 10 (Role as world forum)

“The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the
scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any
organs provided for in the present Charter, and, except as provided in Article
12, may make recommendations to the Members of the United Nations or to
the Security Council or to both on any such questions or matters.”

Article 12 (The UNGA limited by the UNSC)

“1. While the Security Council is exercising in respect of any dispute or
situation the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, the General
Assembly shall not make any recommendation with regard to that dispute or
situation unless the Security Council so requests.
 Articles from the UN Charter UNGA

Note that while resolutions by the UNSC are binding, the UNGA’s are not.

Article 25

“The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the
decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter.”

Assessment: Nature of its authority is more moral than real; it carries the
weight of the world’s opinion and there are no military sanctions
 The General Assembly
The North-South Divide
More developing countries by 60s and 70s due to decolonization

G77 (group of developing countries) called for more aid from developed
countries, but rejected

Developing countries voted in blocs to go against big countries in GA, for

instance Resolution 3375

USA angered by 1985  stopped paying its dues to the UN

 The Phases of the Cold War

1947 – mid 1960s (post CMC) – The first Cold War

Mid-1960s – 1979 – Détente (thawing of tensions)

1979 – 1988 – The second Cold War

1989 – 1991 The Cold War started to come to an end

1991 onwards - Post-Cold War

 The Phases of the Cold War
1) 1945 – late 1950s – US dominated UNGA with
its allies
2a) Mid-1960s – UNGA grew in size. Now the
majority of members were ex-colonies who resented
the West (their ex-colonial masters) – see Congo
case study.
b) The US began to lose interest in the UNGA (and
the UN in general), culminating in Reagan’s anti-UN
stance in the 1980s.
3) 1991 onwards - Post-Cold War period. UNGA no
longer an arena for the superpowers to compete and
hence lost influence accordingly.
 The Phases of the Cold War
1) 1945 – late 1950s – US dominated UNGA with
its allies

Introduction of the Uniting for Peace resolution

which allowed the UNGA to pass binding
resolutions when the UNSC was deadlocked due to
the veto.
 Uniting for Peace Resolution
1950: veto powers in UNSC forced USA to push the General Assembly to
start handling issues related to peace and security

Passed by 52 to 5

Particularly significant during Cold War era

Successes: Suez (1956) and Congo Crisis (1960)

Uniting for Peace resolution

• Process by which it is used:

• 1) UNSC deliberates on a situation
• 2) One of the Big 5 in the UNSC uses a veto
• 3) UNSC is deadlocked
• 4) Someone from the UNGA/UNSC proposes they use/invoke
the UFP
• 5) The motion is supported by a few others (7 states who
support)
• 6) The matter is turned over to the UNGA who would
operate like the UNSC during this crisis.
Uniting for Peace Resolution

• The Uniting for Peace Resolution in theory allowed the GA to

exercise responsibility in coming up with a security resolution should
the SC be unable to act, even able to recommend if necessary the use
of force – real extension of UNGA’s powers This was controversial
because despite the USSR’s objection, the proposal was passed by
the UNGA!)
• See your notes for examples of its use. You are expected to know only
its use in 1956 Hungary, 1956 Suez and 1960 Congo.
• Note that while the UFP was invoked 12 times between 1950 – 2000,
not all of them involved the use of force. The notable attempts were
Korea (1950) and Suez (1956)
• 1945 – 1950 UNGA had very few powers.
• After 1950, the UNGA occasionally had power if the UNSC was
deadlocked due to a veto AND a country suggested using the UFP.
 The Phases of the Cold War
2a) Mid-1960s – UNGA grew in size. Now the
majority of members were ex-colonies who resented
the West (their ex-colonial masters) – see Congo
case study.
b) The US began to lose interest in the UNGA (and
the UN in general), culminating in Reagan’s anti-UN
stance in the 1980s.
 UNGA grew in size membership and
composition
The “Package deals” of the mid-1950s resulted in
phenomenal growth of the GA. By 1964, the GA has
grown from 51 member states to 116. The growth in
size led to formation of 6 blocs:

Afro-Asian bloc (50 votes), Latin American bloc (20

votes), Atlantic bloc (6 votes), British-
Commonwealth bloc (10 votes), Arab bloc (10
votes), Communist bloc (9 votes)
 Consequence of change in membership and
composition:

USA started to lose its dominance over the UN (unlike the 1940s and
50s and gradually withdrew its support for the UN e.g. 1971, US did
not lobby successfully to stop communist China’s entry into the UN
and the Security Council

Development and intensification of the North – South Divide due to

lack of realism on the part of the developing countries and the benign
neglect of the USA which considered the GA increasingly not aligned
to its ideals and interests e.g. 1975 UNGA resolution to declare
Zionism as a form of racism over US opposition.
 Consequence of change in membership and
composition:
This led to the US abandoning the UNGA (and the UN in general)
during the Reagan administration which condemned the UNGA for
being anti-American and anti-Israel in mid-1980s. The USA passed
the Kassebaum–Solomon Amendment in 1985, which demanded that
states contributing most financially be given more voting rights in the
GA. Under this, the USA also reduced its financial contribution.
 The Phases of the Cold War

1991 onwards - Post-Cold War

Another temporal reason for its eventual side-lining

was the end of the Cold War in 1991, which ended
the use of UNGA as a arena for power struggle,
combined with the continual habit of the 5
permanent members of the Security Council
working together (at least in the immediate years
after 1991), contributed to its overall decline in
importance.
Questions to consider

•How did the Cold War affect the

fortunes of the UNGA?
•Or were other developments within the
UN itself more crucial in tracing the
changing fortunes of the UNGA?
•It became harder to use the UFP
properly as the UNGA became bigger.