How does the United Nations try to maintain International Order and what problems has it encountered?
How does the United Nations try to maintain International Order and what problems has it encountered?
My essay will proceed to discover how the United Nations try to maintain International Order and what problems it has encountered.
In 1945, representatives of fifty countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organisation to draw up The United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States in Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. The representatives of the fifty countries signed the Charter on June 26 1945. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original fifty-one Member States.
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when China, France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom Union, United States and a majority of other signatories had ratified the Charter. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
The Charter is the constituting instrument of the Organisation, setting out the rights and obligations of Member States, and establishing the United Nations organs and procedures. An international treaty, the Charter codifies the major principles of international relations -from the sovereign equality of States to the prohibition of the use of force international relations.
The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, 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;
2. 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;
3. 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
4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
The United Nations has had an erratic record sine they were formed in 1945. It seems they have not achieved all their targets on the Charter. Calvocoressi's 'World Politics since 1945', concisely notes the United Nations role, and what achievements they targeted for.
The authors of the UN Charter aimed, not to devise a new kind of organisation, but to retain a familiar framework and to insert into it more effective machinery for the prevention of war. The Charter went far towards banning war except in defence of the Charter, or in pursuance of the obligations contained in it, or in self -defence but it did not totally proscribe war. It explicitly sanctioned not only the use of international force but also the use of national force, by one state or alliance, in self - defence. The Charter vested considerable authority in the Security Council which was empowered to determine whether a given situation contained a threat to international peace or a breach of the peace or an act of aggression and, if it so determined, to require all UN members to take action against the delinquent. (Except to use force, a sanction that remained voluntary to each member).
Like the League of Nations, the United Nations was designed as an association of sovereign states. Calvocoressi states in 'World Politics since 1945' that '...like the League it attempted to assert a degree of collective judgement and a field of collective action against its constituent sovereign members in a period when these members had been massively strengthened by the growth of modern technology and of modern ways of influencing people.' The state had turned the industrial and the democratic revolutions of the nineteenth century to its own advantage by annexing modern armaments and popular chauvinism to its purposes. ...
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Like the League of Nations, the United Nations was designed as an association of sovereign states. Calvocoressi states in 'World Politics since 1945' that '...like the League it attempted to assert a degree of collective judgement and a field of collective action against its constituent sovereign members in a period when these members had been massively strengthened by the growth of modern technology and of modern ways of influencing people.' The state had turned the industrial and the democratic revolutions of the nineteenth century to its own advantage by annexing modern armaments and popular chauvinism to its purposes. Neither the League nor UN was able to steal the control of armaments from sovereign states nor to create in the people's world an attachment to world organisations, which exceeded their purely national patriotism. The UN saw its peacekeeping machinery inoperative at the early stages of its existence. The power of the machinery depended upon the agreement of the major powers in the Security Council and the provision by all members of forces adequate for the accomplishment of the Council's decision.
Veto had been given to permanent members of the Security Council and it was a special feature in the UN. In the Council of the League every member had a veto. The authors of the United Nations Charter decided to introduce majority voting in general but this was with certain exceptions in the Security Council. However within other agencies special power was accorded special privileges which resulted in major powers being able to prevent action against themselves or their friends, although they were not entitled to prevent discussion and criticism. No permanent member has of the Council has ever objected to this principle, although particular members have objected to the use of the privilege by other permanent members.
Nevertheless, there were disappointments with the functioning of the central organs of the UN. Calvocoressi's 'World Politics since 1945' states that it '... led to a recrudescence of interest in regionalism. Although the authors of the Charter had come down on the side of centralism as opposed to regionalism, they had not totally excluded the latter from their design.' The Charter recognised regional organisations in two ways. It allowed by 'article 51' in the Charter, the right of regional self-defence and thus sanctioned a regional collective system for defence, which was an alternative to the machinery of the Security Council. This article covered regional alliances such as NATO, whose main purpose was not to maintain peace and order but to defend it from outside threats. 'The Organisation of American States was, however, the only organisation of this kind to achieve any claim to the effectiveness in the first thirty years of the UN's existence. With the result that regionalism did not in this period offer any substantial alternative to the UN's central organs as a means of keeping the peace within a region.' (Calvocoressi's World Politics since 1945)
Therefore leading to the questions of why certain aspects of the United Nations Charter purposes have not been achieved? Why is the United Nations being relatively ineffective?
One of the reasons is in relation to the problems with the internal structure of the United Nations leading to the failure of maintaining successful International Order. International Order, according to 'liberal pluralists' comes through cooperation and teamwork.
The Security Council has primary responsibility under the Charter, for the maintenance of International peace and security. The Council has fifteen members, five permanent members - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.
Each member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are made by a definite vote of at least nine out of the fifteen members. Decisions on key matters require nine votes including those of the permanent five members. The rule of the 'great power unanimity', often referred to as the 'veto' power. If a permanent member does not agree with a decision, it can cast a negative vote, and this act has power of veto. All five members have the right of veto. If one member does not fully agree with a decision but does not wish to cast its veto, it may abstain.
Under the Charter the functions and powers of the Security Council are:
. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf.
2. In discharging these duties the Security Council shall act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations. The specific powers granted to the Security Council for the discharge of these duties are laid down in Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XII.
3. The Security Council shall submit annual and, when necessary, special reports to the General Assembly for its consideration.
Historically, there are several reasons for the ineffectiveness of the United Nations in preventing war. This included the fact that there was the stalemate among the permanent members of the Security Council. Cold War tensions and the power of veto in the Security Council often refrained the United Nations from launching harmonious actions when faced with threats to international peace and security. Diehl writes in 'The Politics of Global Governance' 'The superpower rivalry was also manifested in proxy conflicts around the world, making the ability of regional bodies to form consensus on actions difficult.'
The end of the Cold War and the establishment of a supposed 'new world order', gave many idealists hope for the role of international organisations in the realm of peace and security affairs. The Security Council was no longer stalemated and greater consensus on taking strong action in conflicts such as the Persian Gulf War and Haiti emerged. Also many regional organisations, such as the European Union, sought to develop policies for dealing with conflicts in their own backyards.
Though the United Nations could make decisions more easily, the strategies that they had adopted were no more successful than those in the Cold War
It can be said that the organisation most affected by the end of the Cold War was NATO. For more than forty years NATO was a deterrence and defence organisation against any aggression by the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the discontinued military capacity of Russia, and the end of the Warsaw Pact NATO has difficulty redefining its purposes.
The United Nations system spends about $10 billion a year taking into account the UN, the programmes and funds, and the specialised agencies, excluding the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Approximately, two-thirds comes from Member States; the rest is received from mandatory assessments on those States. Funding the UN is a major problem. The amount of money an individual country pays is dependent upon its percentage of GNP. This varies for each country; they also have their own basis by which it is calculated upon. There is no mechanism, which forces countries to pay. The United States built up huge debts with the UN due to not paying for several years. They reversed their attitude and paid their dues after the September 11th 2001 crisis, as they were in need of support from the United Nations.
'Image and Reality' a handbook published by the United Nations states:
'The UN is in financial crisis because Member States do not pay their share of costs for programmes they themselves have agreed to. Some countries fail to pay their dues on time due to budgetary technicalities or simple poverty. Others have withheld payments as a way to make a political point. No State or private company could function under such conditions, particularly as Member States continue to ask more of the UN, even as dues are with-held.'
There are specific forces assigned to the United Nations, if they require support they ask their Member countries. However, the UN can not act if no support is given and no forces are supplied. For example, there were internal political problems in Rwanda. There was tribal warfare between two groups, The Hutus and the Tutsis. The UN debated providing help but no one agreed and no forces were granted.
Very few countries have the resources or infrastructure to provide forces. They lack armed bodies, food, basic accommodation and other portable methods needed. Rich and asymmetrically powerful countries (i.e. Superpowers) are equipped but only choose to provide powers, which defend their homeland. They would only be prepared to help if they had economic or political interests vested in the particular country.
Poorer nations may choose to help, however, they may be affected too especially if they provide all their forces, thus becoming a liability when they can not provide for themselves when necessary. This will just add to the never-ending problem.
Due to these vast structural problems, which meant during the Cold War especially, many of the UN Charter aims were not achieved. Unless they occurred outside the UN, for example NATO was involved with Kosovo due to the Russian veto.
However, there are also lower level problems, which the UN is trying to improve upon and solve.
AIDS has become a health disaster of pandemic proportions, with over thirty million people living with AIDS or the HIV virus, which causes it. The epidemic is still expanding at the rate of about sixteen thousand new infections per day.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is the main advocate for global action. The Programme leads and supports work to prevent the transmission of HIV, to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and communities, to provide care and support, and to alleviate the impact of the epidemic. Among other things, UNAIDS promotes research and encourages new partnerships between Governments and the pharmaceutical industry. UNAIDS has initiated programmes to ensure that new and affordable anti-viral drugs are developed in order to ensure the availability of life-extending drugs everywhere in the world.
Governments are well aware that the illicit drug problem cannot be solved unilaterally. Effective drug control requires a global approach, involving both the countries that are the source of drugs and those in which they are consumed.
The UN helps countries wage the battle against illicit drugs in numerous ways:
'The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the main intergovernmental policy-making body on international drug control;
The International Narcotics Control Board strives to restrict the availability of drugs to medical and scientific purposes, to prevent their diversion into illegal channels and to combat illicit trafficking.' ('Image and Reality' UN published handbook)
The Security Council establishes the United Nations peacekeeping operations, where decisions are subject to veto by any of the five permanent members
The Council determines peacekeepers duties according to the requirements in each situation. Peacekeepers may observe a cease-fire, establish a buffer zone, set up mine -clearance programmes etc.
Peacekeeping is not a tool for every situation. Despite the UN's efforts in Somalia the parties did no stop fighting. It could not stop genocide in Rwanda as an individual body or fighting in Yugoslavia.
However, in appropriate situations, with a realistic mandate, sufficient resources, the support and cooperation of parties, peacekeeping operations do play a key role in helping to sole conflict and maintain peace.
With the help of peacekeeping operations, the Security Council and World Summits, maintaining International Order is becoming more successful.
The most recent World Summit was held in Johannesburg from 26th August to 4th September 2002. The Summit was on sustainable development and brought together lots of participants, including national delegates, leaders, Heads of States and many other major groups. The focus was upon meeting different challenges; improving peoples lives, conserving natural resources in a world that is growing in population with ever increasing demands for food, water, shelter and economic security.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the United Nations operates as well as it can in its given structure. Though it is still a long way from its ideal, it is working well even though states are primarily interested in themselves.
Bibliography
The Globalization of World Politics, second edition
John Baylis and Steve Smith
World Politics since 1945, sixth edition
Peter Calvocoressi
The Politics of Global Governance, International Organisations in an Independent World (1997)
Paul Diehl
NGO's, The UN and Global Governance (1996)
Thomas Weiss and Leon Gordenker
Two Handbooks: Basic Facts on the United Nations, Image and Reality
Published by United Nations
Internet sites: www.un.org
www.un.org/peace
Sonal Doshi INTR225
