75th anniversary of the United Nations: Success and Failures

United Nations

2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.  How has the UN fared over the last seven decades?

Introduction

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States.

Its mission and work guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter and implemented by its various organs and specialised agencies.

Headquartered in New York, USA, The United Nations is a unique organization of independent countries designed to make the enforcement of international law, security, economic development, social progress and human rights easier for countries around the world.

Birth of United Nation:

• The UN was born out of the ashes of yet another international organisation called League of Nation created with the intention of keeping war away. The League of Nations was created in June 1919, after World War I, as part of the Treaty of Versailles. However, the League closed down after the Second World War broke out in 1939.
• In August 1941, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill held a secret meeting in Canada. The heads of the two countries discussed the possibility of creating a body for international peace effort and a range of issues related to the war. Together they issued the Atlantic Charter. It paved the way for the creation of the UN.
• The United States joined the war in December 1941, and for the first time the term ‘United Nations’ was coined by president Roosevelt to identify those countries which were allied against the axis powers.
• On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 allied nations met in Washington DC to sign the declaration of the United Nations, which basically spelled out the war objectives of the Allied powers.
• Over the next couple of years, several meetings took place to decide on the post-war charter that would describe the precise role of the United Nations.
• The United Nations finally came into existence on October 24, 1945 after being ratified by 51 nations, which included five permanent members (France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US) and 46 other signatories. The first meeting of the General Assembly took place on January 10, 1946.

The four main goals of the UN included

1. Maintaining international peace and security
2. Developing friendly relations among nations
3. Achieving international cooperation in solving international problems
4. Being at the center for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

The main organs of the UN are

1. the General Assembly,
2. the Security Council,
3. the Economic and Social Council,
4. the Trusteeship Council,
5. the International Court of Justice,
6. the UN Secretariat.

All the 6 were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

1. General Assembly

• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.
• All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.
• The President of the General Assembly is elected each year by assembly to serve a one-year term of office.

2. Security Council

• It has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states, consisting of five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly on a regional basis.

3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• It is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.
• It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
• Responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security;

4. Trusteeship Council

• It was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII.
• Trust territory is a non-self-governing territory placed under an administrative authority by the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations.

5. International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established by the League of Nations in 1920.

6. Secretariat

• Administrative organ of the UN
• Supports the other UN bodies administratively (for example, in the organization of conferences, the writing of reports and studies 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.

Functions of the United Nations:

Maintain International Peace and Security: The main function of the UN is to maintain peace and security of all of its member states. The UN does this by working to prevent conflict; helping parties in conflict to make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold & flourish.

Protect Human Rights: The term Human Right is mentioned in the founding charter of UN making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization. The Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal instruments and on-the-ground activities.

Deliver Humanitarian Aid: The term is mentioned in its charter “to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character.”

Relief Assistance: United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP)

Promote Sustainable Development: The UN is working to develop a framework to ensure that both the sustainable development agenda and climate action are properly resourced.

Uphold International Laws: The UN Charter, in its Preamble, set an objective: “to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained”. Ever since, the development of, and respect for international law has been a key part of the work of the Organization.

Achievements and failures of the UN in the last 75 years

There is no definitive answer to the question of whether it has been a success or a failure.

Successes

Growing membership:

At the time of formation the UN consisted of only 51 member states, independence movements and de-colonisation in the subsequent years led to an expansion of its membership. At present, 193 countries are members of the UN.

Expanded scope:

 It has also expanded its scope to resolve over a large number of global issues such as health, environment, and women empowerment among others.

Soon after its formation, it passed a resolution to commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons in 1946. 

Peace

Due partly to UN conflict resolution and peacekeeping initiatives, the number of people dying in conflicts has declined since 1945. Worldwide, fewer people died in conflict in the first decade of the 21st century than any decade of the 20th.

Important global institution:

In 1948, World Health Organisation (WHO) was founded to deal with communicable diseases like smallpox, malaria, HIV. At present the WHO is the apex organisation dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

In 1950, the UN created the High Commissioner for Refugees to take care of the millions who had been displaced due to World War II. It continues to be on the frontlines of crises faced by refugees from countries across the world.

Ending famine

Large parts of the world’s population suffer from poverty and hunger, and thousands die of malnourishment every year. But the numbers have fallen from the 20th century, when more than 70 million died from famine. The UN’s World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, and UN-sponsored emergency aid management can take some of the credit.

Countries who gave up The Bomb

The UN had an important role in countries voluntarily deciding to give up weapons because they were too destructive.

Protecting Environment

In 1972, the UN environment programme was created. UN has been at forefront of combatting climate change.

Failures

Genocide in Rwanda and Srebrenica

The UN had an “Assistance Mission” for Rwanda in 1994, which failed to stop the majority Hutus from killing almost a million members of the Tutsi minority.

 The massacre of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men at the hands of Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 was another UN failure. The sight of a UN peacekeeping force commander drinking a toast with the Serb commander damaged the UN’s reputation.

Rape and child sex abuse in the Congo

UN peacekeepers were accused of paying for sex or raping women and young girls they were supposed to be protecting in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early 2005. There have been similar allegations in countries ranging from Cambodia to Bosnia to Haiti.

Spreading cholera in Haiti

Genome testing showed that the world’s worst recent outbreak of cholera, which swept through Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, was likely started by a Nepali UN peacekeeping force who carried the disease. More 700,000 were infected and 8,000 died.

Iraq oil for food programme

This UN programme enabled Iraq to gain relief from international sanctions by selling oil through the UN, which would supervise the delivery of food and medicine with the resulting cash. However, the money ended up in private hands and became the worst financial scandal in UN history.

Failure to stop civil war:

In 2011, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was unsuccessful in eliminating the bloodshed caused in the civil war that broke out in 2013.

UN Challenges 

1. UN Administrative & Financial-Resources Challenges
   • Development Reform: Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) will require bold changes to the UN Development System (UNDS) for the emergence of a new generation of country teams, centred on a strategic UN Development Assistance Framework and led by an impartial, independent and empowered resident coordinator.
   • Management Reform: To confront global challenges and to remain relevant in a fast-changing world, the United Nations must empower managers and staff, simplify processes, increase accountability and transparency and improve on the delivery of our mandates.
     • There are concerns for improving efficiency, avoidance of duplication, and the minimization of waste in the functioning of the entire UN system.
   • Financial Resources: Contributions of the Member States should have, as their fundamental underpinning, the capacity to pay principle.
     • The Member States should pay their contributions unconditionally, in full and on time, as delays in payments have caused an unprecedented financial crisis in the UN system.
     • Financial reforms hold the key to the future of the world body. Without sufficient resources, the UN’s activities and role would suffer.

2. Peace and Security issues
   • Threats to Peace and Security: The range of potential threats to peace and security that UN has to face, are following-
     • poverty, disease, and environmental breakdown (the threats to human security identified in the Millennium Development Goals),
     • Conflict between states,
     • violence and massive human rights violations within states,
     • terrorism threats from organized crime,
     • and the proliferation of weapons – particularly WMD, but also conventional.
   • Terrorism: Nations that support groups that are widely linked to terrorism, such as Pakistan, are not held accountable specifically for these actions. To this date, the UN still does not have a clear definition of terrorism, and they have no plans to pursue one.
   • Nuclear Proliferation: In 1970, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed by 190 nations. Despite this treaty, nuclear stockpiles remain high, and numerous nations continue to develop these devastating weapons. The failure of the non-proliferation treaty details the ineffectiveness of the United Nations and their inability to enforce crucial rules and regulations on offending nations.

3. Security Council reforms
   • Composition of Security Council: It has remained largely static, while the UN General Assembly membership has expanded considerably.
     • In 1965, the membership of the Security Council was expanded from 11 to 15. There was no change in the number of permanent members. Since then, the size of the Council has remained frozen.
     • This has undermined the representative character of the Council. An expanded Council, which is more representative, will also enjoy greater political authority and legitimacy.
     • India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and Japan (G-4). The four countries support each others’ bids for the permanent seats in the top UN body.
     • Any expansion of permanent members’ category must be based on an agreed criteria, rather than be a predetermined selection.
   • UNSC Veto power: It is often observed that UN’s effectiveness and responsiveness to international security threats depends on judicious use of the UNSC veto.
   • Veto Power: The five permanent members enjoy the luxury of veto power; when a permanent member vetoes a vote, the Council resolution cannot be adopted, regardless of international support. Even if the other fourteen nations vote yes, a single veto will beat this overwhelming show of support.

Non-Conventional Challenges

• Since its creation, the UN has worked with the goal of safeguarding peace, protecting human rights, establishing the framework for international justice and promoting economic and social progress. New challenges, such as climate change, refugees and population ageing are new fields it has to work.
• Climate Change: From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.
• Growing population: The world population is projected to increase by more than one billion people within the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.
  • The world population growth rate must slow down significantly to avoid reaching unsustainable levels.
• Population Ageing: It is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets, the demand for goods and services, such as housing, transportation and social protection, as well as family structures and intergenerational ties.
• Refugees: The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of 2016.

Reforms Needed

1. General Assembly Reform: 

• Of the many reform needed to reorient the General Assembly the following measures are critically needed:
  • President should be elected for two years at a time to give him more time to implement his vision and initiatives.
  • The office of President should be strengthened and charged with the responsibility of following up the implementation of General Assembly resolutions.
  • Agenda of the General Assembly should be reviewed to make more time for topical issues of urgent interest to the international community; outmoded mandates should be eliminated; the outdated agenda should be removed; items and biennials and triennials others.
  • The committees, sub-committees and expert bodies of the General Assembly should be reviewed.

2. Security Council Reform: 

• The United Nation Security Council sits at the apex of the institutional architecture designed to maintain international peace and security. For this purpose, it can decide upon both the imposition of sanctions or military action.
• The Security Council reflects the global power structure of 1945, when most of today’s nations were still under colonial rule.
• The following are the key reforms that are critical
  • More developing countries should bring on board: P5 are arguably no longer an accurate reflection of the great powers of the world, as much for those that are left out as for those that are included. They do not reflect any geographic balance. They are North and Euro-centric. No country from Africa, the Middle East or South America is a permanent member of the Council
  • Work should be done towards the event elimination of veto power to reinforce the democratic image of the United Nations.
  • The work of the council should be made more transparent and its decisions making process should be made more participatory for all council members.
  • The council should be made more accountable to the General Assembly in terms of reporting and consulting obligations, as enunciated in the United Nations charter.
  • The council should desist from encroaching on the mandates of other organs and agencies of the United Nations.

3. Secretariat Reforms:

• The Secretariat also needs a major overhaul. Concrete reforms and concerted efforts to implement them are critical to rescue the management processes from the current state of bureaucratic inefficiency, organizational inaction and political patronage in recruitment, promotion and transfer.
• The principal among them are as follows:
  • The Secretary General should be elected on the basis of leadership qualities and geographical rotation.
  • United Nation recruitments need to be broadly based, seeking qualified candidates from all over the world, particularly from unrepresented and underrepresented countries.
  • The United Nation needs to further improve its present result based budgeting and link it to output and result based management.
  • The system of internal justice should be improved.

4. Financial Reform

• It is argued that the biggest financier like the United States usually influences the policies and working of the United Nations.
• There should be some mechanism which would decide how much the countries should contribute and then how that amount should be utilized.

5. Multilateralism: International relations today are characterized by the power relationships of the United States, China, Russia, India and Europe.

• A new model of the UN must be formulated, as current world order has changed from bipolar to unipolar to multi polar today.

6. Democratisation of UN: Developing countries like India are proposing reforms that seek to democratize the UN, such as UNSC reforms, UN peacekeeping reforms.

Conclusion

• Despite having many short-comings, the UN has played a crucial role making this human society more civil, more peaceful & secure in comparison to time of its origin at the 2nd World War.
• United Nations, being the world’s largest democratic body of all nations, its responsibility towards humanity is very high in terms of building democratic society, economic development of people living in acute poverty, & preserving the Earth’s Ecosystem in concern with Climate Change.

India’s Contribution towards the UN

India has been an active member of the UN since its inception. In 1946, India became the first country to raise the issues of racism and apartheid in South Africa in the UN forum.

• India played an important part in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
• The first woman president of the UNGA was an Indian, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, in 1953.
• India has contributed immensely to UN Peacekeeping Missions in various parts of the world.
• India has sent her peacekeeping troops to Korea, Egypt, Congo, Haiti, Angola, Somalia, Liberia, Rwanda, Lebanon, South Sudan, etc.
• India has been regularly one among the largest contributor of troops to the missions.
• Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of non-violence resonate deeply with the UN’s principles. In 2007, the UN declared Gandhi’s birth anniversary of October 2 as the ‘International Day of Non-violence’.
• In 2014, the UNGA declared that 21st June would be observed as International Yoga Day