United Nations: Inception, Specialised Agencies, Achievements & Failures

Context (IE): The United Nations is an international organisation founded in 1945.

There are 193 UN Member States, all of which are part of the General Assembly.
New members are admitted to the United Nations based on the Security Council’s recommendation and a two-thirds vote from the General Assembly.
It has its headquarters in New York.

League of Nations

The WWI encouraged the world to invest in an international organisation to deal with conflict.
Many believed such an organisation would help the world avoid war. As a result, the League of Nations was created in June 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles.
However, despite its initial success, it could not prevent WW II (1939-45).
The League closed when WW II broke out in 1939.
The UN was founded as a successor to the League of Nations.

Inception of United Nations

After the end of WWII (1939-45),
- Countries that had dominated world affairs experienced extensive destruction.
- Two new powers, the US and the USSR, emerged. They were ready to challenge each other.
Amid a period of turmoil in international relations, the UN was founded on October 24, 1945.
The UN was primarily tasked to maintain world peace & save future generations from the evils of war.

History of the Birth of the UN

In August 1941, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill held a secret meeting aboard naval ships in Placenta Bay (Newfoundland, Canada).
They discussed the possibility of creating a body for international peace efforts and issued a statement called the Atlantic Charter that paved the way for the creation of the UN.
The US joined the war in December 1941. For the first time, President Roosevelt coined the term ‘United Nations’ to identify countries allied against the Axis powers.
On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 allied nations met in Washington to sign the declaration of the United Nations, which spelt out the war objectives of the Allied powers.
This document contained the first official use of the term “United Nations“.
Over the next couple of years, several meetings took place among the Allied Big Four — the USA, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and China — to decide on the post-war charter that would describe the precise role of the United Nations.
The United Nations finally existed on October 24, 1945, after being ratified by 51 nations.
It included five permanent members and 46 other signatories.
The first meeting of the General Assembly took place on January 10, 1946.

Main Organs of UN

The six main organs of the UN are:
1. General Assembly (UNGA)
2. Security Council (UNSC)
3. International Court of Justice (ICJ)
4. UN Secretariat
5. Economic and Social Council
6. Trusteeship Council

(All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded)

Key documents of the UN are:
1. UN charter
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
3. Convention on Rights of Child

Specialised Agencies of the UN

At present, the UN has a total of fifteen specialised agencies:
1. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
2. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
3. World Bank
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
5. World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
6. International Maritime Organization (IMO)
7. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
8. World Health Organization (WHO)
9. International Labor Organization (ILO)
10. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
11. International Fund for Agricultural Development
12. United Nations Industrial Development Organization
13. International Fund for Agricultural Development
14. International Telecommunication Union
15. International Civil Aviation Organization
Each specialised agency operates autonomously under the UN’s umbrella.

UN System

The UN system, also known unofficially as the ‘UN family’, comprises the UN itself and many programmes, funds, and specialised agencies.
Funds and Programmes of the UN:
1. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
2. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
3. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
4. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
5. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
6. World Food Programme

Goals of UN

The four main goals of the UN include:
1. Maintaining international peace and security
2. Developing friendly relations among nations
3. Achieving international cooperation in solving international problems
4. Being at the centre for harmonising nations’ actions in attaining these common ends.

Achievements of the UN

Expansion of Membership: The UN comprised only 51 member states in 1945. De-colonisation led to an expansion of its membership. At present, 193 countries are members of the UN.
Scope: The UN has expanded its scope to cover many global issues, such as health, environment, and women empowerment.
Health: In 1948, it created the World Health Organisation (WHO) to deal with communicable diseases like smallpox, malaria, and HIV.
Refugees: In 1950, the UN created the High Commissioner for Refugees to care for the millions displaced during WWII. It continues to be on the frontlines of crises faced by refugees worldwide.
Environment: In 1972, the UN Environment Programme was created.
War Crimes: In 2002, the UN established the UN Criminal Court to try those who have committed war crimes, genocide, and other atrocities.

Failures of the UN

The UN has been seen as unrepresentative, particularly of the Global South.
In 1994, the UN failed to stop the Rwandan genocide.
In 2005, UN peacekeeping missions were accused of sexual misconduct in the Republic of Congo, and similar allegations have also come from Cambodia and Haiti.
In 2011, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was unsuccessful in eliminating the bloodshed caused by the civil war that broke out in 2013.
World Bank and the IMF have been criticised for furthering neo-liberal ideas – related to championing free markets and a reduced role of governments. This has been linked to deepening inequalities within countries.

Reform of the UN

In recent years, there have been demands for reform of the UN. It includes:
1. Reform of the organisation’s structures and processes
2. Review the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organisation.

Reform of the organisation’s structures and processes

Increase the UN Security Council’s permanent and non-permanent membership so that the realities of contemporary world politics are better reflected.
The US and other Western countries want improvements in the UN’s budgetary procedures and administration.

In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution.
The resolution reflected three main complaints:
1. The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities.
2. Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests and are dominated by a few powers.
3. It lacks equitable representation.
In recent years, some criteria have been proposed for new permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council. A new member should be:
- A major economic power
- A major military power
- A substantial contributor to the UN budget
- A big nation in terms of its population
- A nation that respects democracy and human rights
- A country that would make the Council more representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic systems, and culture

Review the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organisation

Some countries want the UN to play a greater role in peace and security missions.
Others want its role confined to development and humanitarian work (health, education, environment, population control, human rights, gender, and social justice).

India and UN Reform

India has supported the restructuring of the UN.
India supports an increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members.
India argued that the Security Council should have more developing countries.
India itself wishes to be a permanent member of a restructured UN.

Arguments in favour of India becoming a permanent member of the UN

India is the second most populous country in the world.
India is the world’s largest democracy.
India has participated in virtually all the initiatives of the UN.
India’s role in the UN’s peacekeeping efforts is long and substantial.
India’s economic emergence on the world stage.
India’s growing importance in world affairs.
India has made regular financial contributions to the UN and never faltered on its payments.