2. The United Nations
• Created in 1945 as a
response to World War II
and the clear failures of
the League of Nations
• Partly an improved
version of the League of
Nations to suit the
circumstances and the
international relations of
1945
3. Early ideas and negotiations
• The details were decided at
conferences at Dumbarton
Oaks (1944), Yalta (1945)
and San Francisco (1945)
• Early ideas included
Roosevelt’s concept of the
“Four Policemen” – the
United States, Britain, the
Soviet Union and China –
maintaining peace in their
respective areas
4. A new form of alliance
• The final format was a new
version of the League, with the
leaders of the wartime alliance
given central roles in the forum
for collective security
• The rapid fallout of the
wartime allies after 1945 meant
some of the original ideas
(such as a standing military
force) were never implemented
6. The chief UN bodies
• The Security Council
• The General Assembly
• Specialist agencies, including the
International Monetary Fund and the
International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (later the World
Bank)
7. The General Assembly
• Like the League of Nations Assembly, the General
Assembly contains representatives of all member
countries
• The GA contained 51 members at its first session – it
now has 193
• The GA holds annual permanent sessions in New York
8. Powers of the General Assembly
• The Assembly provides a
vital voice for smaller
countries, especially since
decolonisation
• The Assembly debates
issues and passes its own
resolutions, but cannot
oblige the Security
Council to take action
9. The Security Council
• The Security Council is
the supreme authority of
the UN
• Like the Council of the
League of Nations, the
Security Council
contains permanent
members and rotating
members, with the latter
chosen by the General
Assembly
10. The permanent members of the SC
• In 1945, the five permanent members were the most
powerful countries of the wartime alliance: the USA,
USSR, Britain, France, and China
• In 1971, the Chinese seat was given to the People’s
Republic of China
• In 1991, the Soviet Union’s seat was given to Russia
• No new members have been added to the five, despite
the massive expansion of UN membership
11. The rotating members of the SC
• The Security Council contains 10 rotating
members (6 until 1965), chosen by the
General Assembly for two years
• The rotating members are chosen on a
regional basis, to allow the choice of states
from each of the world’s regions
• Current rotating members include India,
Pakistan, Germany and South Africa
12. Voting in the Security Council
• Unlike the Council of the League, matters
in the Security Council are decided by a
simple majority vote
• However, the five permanent members have
the power of veto – any one of them can
prevent the passing of a resolution, and can
therefore prevent the UN from responding
to a crisis
13. The United Nations Charter
• The UN Charter stated
the organisation’s
main aims and
provided the legal
framework for its
activities
• The Charter came into
force in 1945 and
remains substantially
unchanged since then
14. Article 1: the aims of the UN
• The Purposes of the United Nations are:
• To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective
measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression
of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful
means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment
or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the
peace;
• To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for 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 an economic,
social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion; and
• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common
ends.
15. Article 2: sovereignty
• Paragraph 1: The Organization is based on the principle of
the sovereign equality of all its Members
• Paragraph 7: Nothing contained in the present Charter
shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters
which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of
any state or shall require the Members to submit such
matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this
principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement
measures under Chapter VII.
16. Chapter VII: responses to threats
to peace
• Chapter VII covers all threats to peace and
security, especially where one state threatens
the sovereignty of another
• As with the League of Nations, responses
under Chapter VII include moral, economic
and military measures
17. Chapter VII
“Action with respect to threats to the peace,
breaches of the peace, and acts of
aggression”
• Article 41 – non-military responses to
threats to peace
• Article 42 – military responses
• Article 51 – the right to self-defence and
collective self-defence
18. Article 41: non-military responses
• The Security Council may decide what measures not
involving the use of armed force are to be employed to
give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the
Members of the United Nations to apply such measures.
These may include complete or partial interruption of
economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic,
radio, and other means of communication, and the
severance of diplomatic relations.
19. Article 42: military responses
• Should the Security Council consider that measures
provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate or have
proved to be inadequate, it may take such action by air,
sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or
restore international peace and security. Such action may
include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by
air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.
20. Article 51: the right to self-defence
• Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent
right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed
attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations,
until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to
maintain international peace and security. Measures taken
by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence
shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and
shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility
of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at
any time such action as it deems necessary in order to
maintain or restore international peace and security.
21. The fundamental UN problem
At its best and at its worst, the UN is a mirror
of our world: it reflects our differences and
our convergences, our hopes and aspirations,
and our limitations and failures.
Shashi Tharoor, UN Under-Secretary, 2005
