KK3 - International Organisations - United Nations Flashcards
UN Facts
-Established in 1945 with the purpose of securing and maintaining world peace
-2023:193 member states + 2 “non-member observer states”
-These are the Vatican City and Palestine
-Head quarters in New York
5 Main UN bodies
General Assembly - where every member state gets to vote on resolutions, and every state’s vote counts for the same. These resolutions that are passed are non-binding
Security Council - made up of the five permanent members (each has vito power). There are 15 members in total, these 10 other seats rotate between non-permeant members who serve two year terms. These are distributed based off geographical regions. The security council’s resolutions are binding.
Economic and Social Council
International Court of Justice - Where states are tried (as opposed to individuals ->ICC)
The Secretariat - The administrative, headed by the UN secretary general (Antonio Guterres (Por))
Aims of the UN
United Nations Charter, Chapter 1: Purposes and Principles, Article 1
1. To maintain international peace and security
2. To develop friendly relations among nations - based on the respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples
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 fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion
4.To be a centre for harmonizing the acts of nations in the attainment of these common ends - to be a media/platform where discussions on resolutions can happen
Roles: Deployment of peacekeeping missions around the world - Case Study
MINUSMA
In April 2013, the UN establishes the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission through UN security Council Resolution 2100 (2013)
Purposes were to:
-Carry out a number of security-related tasks, such as stabilisation and protection of civilians, the reestablishment of state authority and promotion and protection of human rights.
-Support political processes in Mali, such as national political dialogue and reconciliation
-Authorised number of personal was 15,209 total uniformed personnel, including 13289 military personnel and 19,20 police (including formed units)
Relevant aim: To maintain international peace and security
Roles: Provide a forum for states to debate issues of international concern - case study
Conference of the Parties (COP)
-The conference of the parties is an annual summit involving party states to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Actions:
-Review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts
-Take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention
-An example of this is the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015
Relevant Aim: To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems
Role: To assist parties in conflict to make peace, and create the conditions to allow peace to hold - case study
Ceasefire in the Yemeni Civil War
-In April 2022, the UN’s special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, brokered a truce in which all attacks which formally held for a total six months.
-It was the first negotiated state-wide ceasefire since 2016, and included a cessation of all attacks, the entry of fuel ships in Hodeidah ports and the operation of commercial flights in and out of Sana’a airport
-The cessation of hostilities has largely remained in tact since the truce formally lapsed in October 2022.
Relevant aim: To maintain international peace and security
Relevant aim: To develop friendly relations among nations
Roles of the UN
-Deployment of peacekeeping missions around the world (MINUSMA)
-Provide a forum for states to debate issues of international concern (COP)
-To assist parties in conflict to make peace, and create the conditions to allow peace to hold (Yemeni Civil War)
Criticisms of the UN - structure
-Many experts believe that the current structure of the UN is outdated - it is much the same as it was when it was established 75 years ago in 1945.
-No states from the developing regions of Latin America, Africa, or South Asia have any veto powers
In 2020: The security council comprises of 15 members, which represent 8% of all members
These statistics show that the Security Council is not significantly less representative of all UN member states that it previously was.
Criticisms of the UN - Impotency
-One pervading view among the international community is that global leadership, which the UN is meant to be providing, is missing.
-Veto powers have more often than not meant little to no action has taken to resolve significant international issues
-In the past 5 years, 20 vetoes have been used by permanent members of the Security Council (Rus=12, CHN=6, USA=2)
Impotency Criticism - Case Study - Russia-Ukraine resolution
- Russia predictably vetoed a UN security Council resolution on 30 September 2022 which condemned the Russian Annexation of dour regions of Ukraine, and demanded its immediate reversal.
-The resolution condemning Russia was supported by 10 of 15 Security Council members, while China, India, Gabon and brazil abstained.
UN strengths
-The world food program - responsible for providing food aid to states suffering from famine or other crises. In August 2022: 4.4 million people in Somalia received assistance from the WFP in the face of the region’s worst drought in 40 years
-Climate change is a global issue that no country can effectively combat on its own. The UN holds annual Climate Change Conferences (Conference of the Parties (COP)) to assess global progress (see previous notes, Paris agreement 2015)
Public Perception of the UN
-Despite making numerous mistakes in its history, the UN remains popular with citizens around the world.
-Edelman Trust Barometer (2020): The UN is more trusted than many national governments, with increasing levels in the last 12 months in 11 of the 26 surveyed states
