UNO

Largest organization-most imp.-established in 1945-really evolved from League of Nations-a successor of

League of Nations.
League of Nations- legacy of first world war-the war created massive destruction-then the world leaders began to
think about forming an international org. To resolve the conflicts-it was put forwarded by Woodrow Wilson-the
President of US- his proposal was accepted and League of Nations established in 1920-initially it could achieve
some results,but failed to prevent another world war-the 2nd world war was the most destrucitve warmillions
were killed-then the demand for more effective world org. To ensure peace became widespread-many attempts
were made in this regard-the imp.steps towards the formation UNO are Atlantic Charter,Washington
Conference,Moscow conference,Dumpbarton Oaks Conference and Yalta Conference.
-then the founding conference of UN was held in San Franciscobetween April 25 and 26 June 1945-after 2
months of discussion San Francisco conference drafted the final charter of the UN-charter was signed by 51
nations. Thus UN officially came into being on 24 october 1945-ita basic aim is to prevent international conflicts
and to promote cooperation amon the nations
FORMATION OF UN- AT A GLANCE
1941 AUGUST ATLANTIC CHARTER

Signed by U.S President Roosvelt& UK

PM Wnston Churchill

1942-JAN.-WASHINTON
CONFERENCE

Participated 26 allied countries

Supported the Atlantic Charter
Signed the UN declaration
The term United Nations was first used
The term was proposed by Roosvelt

1943-OCTOBER MOSCOW
CONFERENCE

Participated Foreign ministers of

US,UK,USSR and China
The decision to form UNO was formally
taken

1943-DECEMBER-TEHRAN
CONFERENCE

Participated by heads of US,UK,USSRand

CHINA
The decision to form UNO was reinstated

1945-FEBRUARY-YALTA
CONFERENCE

Participated by Roosvelt,Churchill and

Stalin-decided
to convene the foundation meeting of the
UN in San Francisco

1945-APRIL-MAY-SANFRANCISCO
CONFERENCE

260-REPS. From 51 countries participated

Final charter of UN was prepared
On 26th June 50 nations signed UN
Charter-Poland signed later -total 51
nations

1945 OCTOBER 24

UN came into existence

October 24 -celeberated as UN Day

1945 OCTOBER 30

India joined UN

MEMBERS-193-NATIONS-SOUTH SUDAN is the 193rd country.

ORGANS- 6 Principal organs-GENERAL ASSEMBLY,SECURITY COUNCIL,ECONOMICS
AND SOCIAL COUNCIL,TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL,INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
and SECRETARIAT
1. GENERAL ASSEMBLY-biggest-all members of UN are members of the Gene.Assembly-all members have
one vote each

2. SECUTIRY COUNCIL is the Executive organ-15 members-5 of them are permanent members and 10 are nonpermanent members. US,UK,FRANCE,RUSSIA and CHINA are permanent members-they have veto power-nonpermanet members are elected for 2 years.

3. ECOSOC-economics and social council-coordinates all the functions of the UN.

4. TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL-formed to supervise the administration of territories which has no self-govt.no relevant today because all trust territories have become independent states.
5.INTERNATIONA COURT OF JUSTICE-judicial organ of the UN-15 judges.
6.THE SECRETARIAT- does the day-to-day and admin.work-it is headed by Secretary General-he is the most
visible public figure and representative head of the UN
Apart from these UN has several specialized agencies-they function in the spheres of
health,education,science,culture and transport.
ILO-INTERNATIONAL LABOUR
ORGANIZATION

1st specialized agency-aim to improve the conditions of the

workers

FAO-FOOD&AGRICULTURAL ORG.HQ-PARIS

To increase the pruduction of agri.products&food

products and to make effective distribution

UNESCO-UNITED NATIONS
EDUCATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND
CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
HQ-PARIS

Functions for the development of the edn.sector.-also- tries to

promote international understanding through international
cooperation in edn.science and culture

WHO-WORLD HEALTH ORG.

HQ-GENEVA

Aim is to attain better health and to control the epidemics-it

provides to the backward countries to eradicate epidemics

UNICEF-UNITED CHIDREN'S FUND

HQ-NEW YORK

Functions for the welfare of children-it functions to imorove

the health,social welfare,diet and mental health of the
children in the backward comminities

UNRWA-UNITED NATIONS RELIEF

AND WORKS AGENCY
HQ-

For removing hardships of the Palestine refugees and to give

them employment

IAEA-INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC
ENERGY AGENCY
HQ-VIENNA

Formed for promoting peaceful use of atomic energy and to

dissuade its use for militarypurposes

IMF-INTERNATIONAL MONETARY
FUND
HQ-WASHINGTON

Aim is cooperative trade and development-gives short term

loans to member states

IBRD-INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR

RECONSTRUCTION AND
DEVELOPMENT-WORLD BANK
HQ-WASHINGTON

Gives loans to members for reconstruction and development

GATT-GENERAL AGREEMENT ON
TARIFF AND TRADE
HQ-GANEVA

Formed for something international trade-in 1995-it was

replaced by WTO

UNCTAD-UNITED NATIONS
Aim is to improve the eco.develop.of the 3rd world countris
CONFERENCE ON
TRADE&DEVELOPMENT
HQ-GANEVA
REFORM AFTER COLD WAR
There was growing demand for reform of UN after cold war-but no consensus on the nature of the reforms.
Two types of reforms proposed-(1) reform of the structures and processes of UN
(2) a review of the issues that come within the jurisdiction of UN
All agree that both reforms are necessary-but no agreement among the members on what is to be done,when is to
be done and how is to be done.
Imp.Changes occurred after cold war
1.USSR&East European socialist govts. Collapsed
2.US has become the strongest power
3.The relatioship between Russia and US became more cooperative
4.China and India are growing rapidly
5.The economies of asia are growing at an unprecedented rate

6.Many countries which became independent from USSR have joined UN

7.The world is facing many challenges like genocide,civil war,ethnic conflict,terrorism,nuclear
proliferation,climate change,environmental degradation and epidemics.
In this situation,the strength and weakness of UN was evaluated-the member states realized the fact that without
making comprehensive changes in the str.of UN it will not be able to face the challenges of the new era.So they
tried to reform UN.
(1) REFORM OF STRUCTURES&PROCEDURES
In 1992 the General Assembly adopted a resolution stressing the 3 main comlaints
(a) The SC does not reflect contemporary pol.realities.
(b) Its decisions reflect only Western values&interests and are diminated by a few powers
(c) It lacks equitable representation
In January 1997,the criteria for selecting permanent members have been proposed-according to it, the following
qualifications are necessary for a new member
A major economic power
A major military power
A substancial contributor to the UN budget
A big nation in terms of population
A nation that respects democracy and human rights
A country that can make SC more representative of the world's diversity in terms of geography,economic
system and culture.
MIXED RESPONSES AGAINST THE PROPOSALS
1. Regarding the qualifications for the new members-they have both advantages and disadvantages-it is
generally accepted that each criterion has its own merits and demerits-nations found merits in some criteria and
demerits in others accod.to their interests-so the criteria raised many complicated questions.
2.Some propose to cancel the veto power-they argued that veto power is anti-democratic-it is a negative
vote-though the decisions are taken by majority vote,if one member votes against the resolution it cannot be
passedthis negative vote is the vetoit enables the perm.members to veto decisions and prevent any actions being
taken. But the prm.members do not support such proposals.There is also the fear that if veto power is abolished
,the big powers may lose interest in UN and there by the functioning of UN may be ineffective.
JURISDICTION OF THE UN
In Sept. 2005 UN completed its 60 years-the heads of all the states met to celebrate the anniversary-they decided
to take the following steps to make the UN more relevant in the changing context
creation of a peace building commission
acceptance of the responsibility of the international community in case of failures of national govts.to
protect their citizens from atrocities.
Formation human rights council
make agreements to achieve the millennium devlep.goals
condemnation of terrorism
creation of democracy fund
an agreement to wind up th trusteeship council
These decisions also created controversies
INDIA AND THE UN REFORMS
India supported the reforms-believes that a more powerful and dynamic UN is necessary in a changing worldalso supported the view that the role of UN should be enhanced in order to promote development and cooperation
among nations-development should be given the central position in the UN agenda
India gives prime imp.to the reforming of the SC-SC is static in nature as it has no corresponding increase
in the membership of the SC-India believes that it hs harmed the rep.nature of the UN-also argues that an
expanded council with more representation will enjoy greater support in the world community
In 1965,the strength of SC was raised from 11 to 15-but increase was only in the no.of nonperm.memebers.Since then the size of SC has remained static-india argues that most members come from
developing countries,so they should have role in shaping the decisions of the SC.
Inida supports an increase in the no.of both perm.members&non-perm.members -India argues that the
success of SC depends on the pol.support of the international community-so the plan for the restructure
should be broad-based eg:-the developing countries should be given more representation in the SC
India wants to be a perm.memberand has al the necessary qualifications-founding memeber,second largest
populous country,largest democracy-it actively participate in all UN initiatives-india's contributions to
world peace have been universally accepted-played a major role in the peace keeping efforts of the UN-

besides,contributions in arms control and disarmament are very valuable.

Economic growth also justifies its claim to a permanet seat-has made regular financial contribution to UN
without default.
Several countries question the claim of India to perm.membership
Pak-does not like to see India as a perm.member
US-also opposes India's claim-supports the case of Germany and Japan
some countries are worried about the nuclear capability of India
Others think-India's strained relationship with pak.will make it ineffective as a perm.member
Some others think-if india is admitted,others such as Brazil.Germany,Japan and SA will have to be
accommodated
Thus it is not easy for India to become a perm.member.
UN IN UNIPOLAR WORLD
After the disintegration of USSR,US dominated the UN-this was an imp.factor behind the the attempts to reform
of UN-it is expected that such attempts would help UN to deal with a unipolar world and make a balance.
But the US power can not be easily controlled-reasons
1.With the disappearance of Soviet Union US became the only super power-has great military and eco.power-so
US can easily ignore the UN
2. US has considerable infuence within the UN
US acquired this position by contributing 25% of the annual budget of UN-as a single largest contributor,
US can infuence UN
The HQ of UN is at New York-this gives US additional sources of influence
Several Americans present in UN bureaucracy
US can stop any moves agianst it by making use of veto power-even in the chice of secretary general,US
can exert influence
US uses UN as an instument to protect its interests.
In this context the UN cannot create a balance against US
RELEVANCE OF UN
The failure of UN to prevent war and to resolve the issues raised severe criticism against it-the lenience of UN
towards US was also questioned-it is alleged that UN is only a talking shop and it is only a non united org.
Actually,UN is an imperfect body,but without it the world would be worse off-considering the increasing interdependence between socities it is hard to imagine that how more than 7 million people would live together
without an inter.national org.like UN.
Technology promises to increase planetary inter-dependence-Naturally,it will increase the imp.of UN
UN is very relevant in a period when serious problems like population growth,proliferation of deadly
weapons,migration of refugees,religious fundamentalism,terrorism,ethnicism and environmental
degradation raise serious challenges to inter.national.peace and security
UN is an org.formed to settle down conflicts-so as long as conflicts exist the presence of UN is very
relevant

LIST OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL TILL DATE

TRYGVE LIE

NORWAY

1946-1953

DAG HAMMARSKJOID

SWEDEN

1953-1961

U. THANT OF BUMA

MYANMAR

1961-1971

KURT WALDHELM

AUSTRIA

1972-1981

JAVIER PERESDE CELLAR

PERU

1982-1992

BOUTROUS BOUTROUS
GHALI

EGYPT

1993- 1996

KOFI ANAM

GHANA

1996-2007

MR BAN KI-MOON

SOUTH KOREA

FROM 2007 ONWARDS( Incumbent)

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