Migration - EQ3 - 1.7 Importance of the UN Flashcards
What is the role of the UN General Assembly
- Deliberative assembly of all UN member states
- May resolve non-compulsory recommendations to states or suggestions to the Security Council (UNSC);
- Decides on the admission of new members, following proposal by the UNSC;
- Elects:
the non-permanent members of the UNSC; all members of ECOSOC;
the UN Secretary General; and the fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Each country has one vote
What is the role of the UN Secretariat
- Admistrative Organ of the UN
- Supports the other UN bodies administratively (for example, in the organization of conferences, the writing of reports and studies and the preparation of the budget):
- Its chairperson - the UN Secretary General - is elected by the General Assembly for a five-year mandate and is the UN’s foremost representative.
What is the International Court of Justice
- Decides disputes between states that recognize its jurisdiction;
- Issues legal opinions;
- Renders judgement by relative majority
- Its fifteen judges are elected by the UN General Assembly for nine-year terms
What is the UN security council
- Responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security:
- May adopt compulsory resolutions;
- Has fifteen members: five permanent members with veto power and ten elected members
What is the UN Economic & Social Council
- Responsible for co-operation between states as regards economic and social matters;
- Co-ordinates co-operation between the UN’s numerous specialized agencies;
- Has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly to serve staggered three-year mandates
The UN’s role in global governance is influenced by the vision of the….
- UN Secretary General
Give an example of the how the UN secretary general can influence their vision
- After 1992, Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali introduced an agenda for sustainable development
When was the term UN first introduced
- Roosevelt during WW2 used this term when 26 nations allied against the axis
what was agreed about the UN in 1944
- the UN’s aims, structure & roles were agreed to by the USA, USSR, UK & China
Why was the UN initially formed
to help maintain global peace & security through an international govt body
when was the UN formed and what was the signficance of this
October 1945
First post 1945 true IGO
UN is currently made up of …. member countries
193
What was formed in the UN when it first formed
- UN Security council with 50 members - UK, US, USSR, Russia & China
- the General Assembly
- the Economic and Social Council
- the Trusteeship Council
- the International Court of Justice
- the UN Secretariat
What are the different roles of the UN
- Maintaining international peace and security
- Promoting sustainable development
- Protecting human rights
- Upholding international law
- Delivering humanitarian aid
Give examples of how the UN maintains international peace & security
- UN Peacekeeprs in India & Pakistan after the partition in 1949
- Security Council
Give examples of how the UN promotes sustainable development
- The Un development programme –> cordinates economic & social development
- FAO –> promotes agricultural development
- In 2000, establsihed the millenium development goals
Give examples of how the UN is acting on climate change
- 1987 Montreal Protocol
- UNEP - global govt on environmental issues
Give examples of how the UN protects human rights
- International Bill of Rights 1948
- Office for the UN high commissioner for refugees - protests for the rights of refugees, aslyum seekers & stateless people
Give examples of how the UN upholds international law
- UNCLOS 1982
- 1968 Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty
Give examples of how the UN delivers Humanitarian Aid
- The World Food Programme 1961 –> food aid to 90 million people in 80 countries
- Emergency Health Mission - $200 million to the Ebola Crisis
The UN assmebly provides a …..
forym for countries to discuss their differences
When diplomacy is not enough the UN…
- had hard power options and uses sanctions implemented by teh UN security council to defend human rights
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-economic sanctions
- these reduce a nation’s ability to trade if there is human suffering prevalent there
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-direct military intervention
- this protects people from direct conflicy or prosecution
- UN peackeeping forces can go into conflict zones to help stop fighting
- BUT UN does not have its own army –> member nations make police & solider & equipment available to the UN
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-arms embargoes
- banning weapons & military supplies
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-trade embargoes
- banning specfic imports to the country involved e.g modern technology
- or the purchase of exports from the country
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-restrictions on loans
- for development projects
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-freezing assets
- either on banks accounts of specific people or companies
Explain the UN Security Council’s sanctions which defend human rights
-travel restrictions
- on politicians or business people
define rogue state
- a nation or state regarded as breaking international law & posing a threat to the sceurity of other nations
Give examples of rogue states
e.g North Korea & Syria
What economic sanctions were used by the UN against Iran
- UN imposed economic sanctions & financial restrictions because it thought Iran was building nuclear weapons
What were the social impacts of the UN in Iran - positive
- removed the threat of another nuclear attack on innocent civiliians
- led to a decrease in the exploitation of miners with Iran agreeing to stop enriching Uranium in 2016
What were the economic impacts of the UN sanctions on Iran
- trade emabrgoes led to sharp decline in Iranian oil exorts from 2,500,000 barrels of oil exported a day down to 1,000,000 2011-2015
- however, their GDP only fell by 5%
Evaluate the political impacts of the UN intervention in Iran
-the increased…
- The increased threat of a rogue state gaining power, with the potential for destabilised relations between, for example, the USA and Russia
Evaluate the political impacts of the UN intervention in Iran
-The powerlessness…
- The powerlessness of the world’s IGOs and superpowers to reduce the likelihood that Iran would eventually have a nuclear capability
Evaluate the political impacts of the UN intervention in Iran
-the potential…
- The potential destabilisation of the Middle East by Iran (e.g. against Israel) and the inability of global IGOs to prevent this
define ethnic cleansing
- systematic, forced removal of ethnic, racial or religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, often with the intent of making it ethnically homogenous
What direct military action was implemneted by the UN in bosnia
- Bosnia is a former part of Yugoslavia
- In 1993, the UN was provoked into action following accusations of ethnic cleansing by Bosnian Serb Forces against Bosnian Muslims
What were the social impacts of the UN implementation of Dutch Peacekeeping forces in Bosnia
- Siege of Srebrenica where Dutch Peacekeepers had been in place led to the death & starvation of many muslims:
- 23,000 women & children killed
- 8,000 men & boys killed
- aswell as massacre, many were victims of sexual assault
What were the economic impacts of the UN implementation of Dutch Peacekeeping forces in Bosnia
- undermining of the UN peacekeeping efforts in teh future –> with countries discouraged to provide their assets
What were the political impacts of the UN implementation of Dutch Peacekeeping forces in Bosnia
- Diminution of the role of the UN and its reputation as an effective peace-keeping body against nationalist forces
- Reputation of Dutch forces, who, although they could do little, suffered an international ‘blemish’ on their capability as peacekeepers.
Overall how successful was the UN in Iran
- In 2016, Iran ageed to stop enriching Uranium in return for lifting economic sanctions
what is meant by unilateral action
- ondesided actionw where one country or group of countries acts against each other without formal UN approval
Unilateral action has ….. impacts on …..
deeprooted
geopolitical relations & stability
Describe the unilateral action which UN members took part in
-UK
- The Uk proposed unilateral action in 2013
- it sought a resolution by the UN security council to condemn the US of chemical weapons by Syrian forces
- it argued it had a legal basis for acting unilaterally with humanitarian intervention to relive suffering by detterring use
Describe the unilateral action which UN members took part in
-USA
- 9/11 attacks 2001 –> War on Terror was the international military campiagn launched by US govt
- supported by coalition forces from the UK, Australia & Poland
- who invaded Iraq in 2003 & deposed Saddaam Hussein’s govt
Describe the unilateral action which UN members took part in
-Russia
- Unilateral action was taken against the Russia by the EU, USA, Australia, Canada & Norway without agreement from the UN
Why did the EU, USA, Australia, Canada & Norway take unilateral action against Russia without agreement from the UN
- In 2014 Russian backed forces seizedc control of the region Crimea, a region in Ukraine
- when the General Assmebly met in 2014, not all UN members agreed to act beyond the ‘territorial integrity of Ukraine’ an no action was taken once Russia vetoed
What unilateral action was taken against Russia by many western nations after 2014 seize of Crimea
- froze overseas assets of 23 leading Russian politicians
- US led moves to sectoral sanctions (industry based)
when does unilateralism often happen
when members states get frustrated by UN inactivity or delays
The UN security council often have different…
geopolitical interests, which can mean propsed interests get vetoed
the impacts of unilateraism often
detsablise geopolitical relations
what were the political impacts of war on terror unilateralism
- short term military success
- longterm civil war, strengthening or Iran & indermining of UN
- this is because the US & UK govts justified their action by asserting that Iraq qas making illegal weapons of mass destruction which was eventuallu proved wrong
- which the UN initially supported but then in 2004 the genral secretary declared it was a contravention of UN Charter
economic impact of war on terror?
$8 trillion spent on this by USA
Social impacts of war on terror?
- 38 million displaced war refugees
- 4 times as many veterans have died from suicide than in combat from this campaign
social impact of UK proposed unilateral action
- raised debate over repercussions of unilateralism
How is the UN funded
- complex interplay between guaranteed, assessed contributions from member states and a broad array of voluntary funding sources
- enables the UN to balance its stable, ongoing administrative expenses with the flexibility required to address emergent global challenges
economic impacts of propsoed Britsih unilateralism?
- had unilaterial intervention happened and escalted the conflict –> severe economic brudens for Britain such as reconstruction costs, humanitarian aid, and long-term commitments to stabilize a war-torn region were likely
what were the poloitical impacts of poetntial unilateral action in Britain
- set a prescdent for considering a range of responses when dealing with crisis
- reinforced the legitimacy of the UN even admits difficulties of China & USSR’s political interests contradictingw estern intrests on the security council
What did the Uk decide to do in the end with Syria chemical weapons
- rather than proceeding with a unilateral military intervention,
- the UK opted to support and facilitate international diplomatic efforts by voting against intervention in Syria
- The resulting chemical weapons agreement achieved the immediate goal of reducing the threat posed by Syria’s chemical arsenal,
- while also maintaining the UK’s commitment to multilateral engagement and adherence to international legal norms
what were the positive economic impacts of unilateralism against russia for russia
- Russian economy diversified & became less dependent on oil & gas
- and the EU kept importing Russian oil supplies despite the sanctions
- Russian farmers increased their domestic market by retaliating and blocking US & EU food imports
what were the negative economic impacts of unilateralism against russia for russia
- russian investors moved $70-90 billion out or russia & the currency devalued
