The United Nations (GS&GG) Flashcards
When was the UN set up?
1945
What is the main goal of the UN?
To maintain global peace and security
What is the purpose of the UN General Assembly? how many members are there?
The General Assembly works to settle international disputes peacefully through agreements between the 193 member nations.
How many members are in the Security Council, how is this set up?
The Security Council has 15 members; 5 of these are permanent (UK, USA, France, China, Russia) with the other 10 elected every 2 years. Only the permanent 5 have vetoes over decisions made.
List 3 successes of the UN.
IN 1980, the WHO declared smallpox eradicated after 20 years of effort.
S. Africa and Kazakhstan commit to end their nuclear weapon research programs and submit to inspections by the UN Atomic Energy Agency.
The number of people dying in conflicts has reduced rapidly since 1945. Less people died in conflict from 2000-2010 than in any decade of the 20th century.
List 3 failures of the UN.
The cholera outbreak (which infected 700,000) following the 2010 Haiti earthquake was found to have been caused by UN Peacekeepers.
Despite knowing about the impending genocide, UN Peacekeepers failed to prevent almost 1 million people from a minority group in Rwanda from being killed in 1994.
The Iraq oil-for-food relief program saw large sums of money pocketed by individuals when it should have afforded food to be delivered into Iraq.
What is the potential inequality of power in the UN Security Council?
There are five permanent members who each have permanent veto powers over nay decision; including those which impact them (such as Russia vetoing sanctions on themself for annexing Crimea).
What is the potential inequality of power in the UN General Assembly?
Although each of the 193 members only has one vote, some countries may have agreements with others that cause them to vote in the interests of another nation (for example with debt-trap diplomacy).
