UNO
The
UNO officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.
BACKGROUND:
ü After
the World War I (1914-18), the allied victors set the peace terms.
ü The
Conference took place in Paris in the year 1919.
ü Hence
it is also called the Paris Peace Conference.
ü Paris
Peace treaties: This reshaped the map of Europe.
ü Note:
During the treaty more than 30 nations were present. Germany and USSR (Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics) were not invited.
ü Big
Four: These are the leaders of the four great powered countries.
§ President
Woodrow Wilson –
USA
§ Prime
Minister David Lloyd George - UK
§ George
Clemenceau - France
§ Prime
Minister Vittorio Orlando - Italy
ü The
result of Paris peace Conference was the establishment of League of
Intergovernmental Organization was founded in the year 1919.
ü League
of Nations was the first permanent international organization with the
objective of maintenance of World Peace.
ü The
first meeting of League of Nations was held on January 16, 1920 in Geneva.
ü The
first Secretary General was Sir James Eric Drummond (Scotland)
ü The
Last Secretary-General was Sean Lester (Ireland).
ü It
was dissolved on April 20, 1946.
ü During
1930’s because of the problem with the Axis Powers the League of Nations was
proved to be incapable.
ü Germany,
Italy, Spain, Japan withdrew from the League.
ü As
there was a Second World War the League of Nations was criticized for its
failure to prevent the same.
ü After
the World War II the League of Nations was replaced by United Nations
Organizations.
ü The
UNO is a platform for dialogue and to solve international social, economic and
humanitarian problems.
ü The
term “United Nations” was coined by Franklin Roosevelt.
ü The
term “United Nations” was first officially used on January 1. 1942.
ü The
UN Conference on International Organization was held in San Francisco on April
25, 1945.
ü This
meeting was attended by 50 heads of various nations to draft the United Nations
Charter.
ü The
charter was signed on June 26, 1945.
ü The
United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.
ü Note:
October 24 is celebrated as United Nations Day.
ü There
were altogether 51 nations that signed the charter.
ü (Originally
signed by 50 members and Poland signed later and became the original member of
the UNO).
ü Head
Quarters: New York, USA
ü Regional
Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland), Nairobi (Kenya) and Vienna (Austria).
ü Official
Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
ü India
became a member of UN on October 30, 1945.
ü Members:
The total strength is 193.
ü 189th
member was Tuvalu in the year 2000.
ü 190th
member was East Timor in the year 2002.
ü 191st
member was Switzerland in the year 2002.
ü 192nd
member was Montenegro in the year 2006.
ü 193rd
member was the South Sudan in the year 2011 (July 14).
ü (Palestine
requested for the membership in the UN as 194th member).
ü First
meeting of UN: the first General Assembly and the Security Council meeting was
held in West Minister central hall in London in January 1946.
THE
OBJECTIVES:
§ Maintenance
of International Peace
§ Human
Rights
§ Cooperation in International Security
§ Economic Development
§ To solve international political, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems.
THE PRINCIPAL
ORGANIZATIONS:
The UN has 5 (originally 6) principal organizations.
·
The General Assembly
·
The Security Council
· The Secretariat
· The Economic and Social Council
· International Court of Justice
· Trusteeship Council (The operations were suspended in 1994 after the independence of Palau).
THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY:
ü The Head Quarters New York
ü The
General Assembly meets at least once a year.
ü All
the member countries have equal representation.
ü The
General Assembly oversees the budget and appoints non-permanent members to the
Security-Council.
ü The
first meeting was held on January 10, 1946.
ü Each
member country has one vote.
ü Recommendations
on peace, security, election of the members to various organs, admission,
suspension, expulsion, budget are decided by 2/3rd majority.
ü Mogens
Lykketoft of Denmark has been elected as
the President for 70th session.
ü The
term is one year.
ü The
President is elected by the representatives in the assembly.
ü Note:
It is a custom that the national of a permanent member of the UN Security
Council never serves as General Assembly President.
ü The
Presidency rotates annually between Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Western
Europe and Latin America and Caribbean.
ü Note:
Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (J. Nehru’s Sister) of India was elected as the
President of United Nations General Assembly eight session in the year 1953.
ü Also
Note: She was first elected woman President of the UN General Assembly.
ü The
Assembly session generally starts in the month of September every year.
UN SECURITY
COUNCIL:
ü The
first meeting was held on January 17, 1946.
ü The
basic objective is to maintain the peace and security among the nations.
ü The
powers of the Security Council are exercised through the Security Council
Resolutions.
ü This
establishes the peace keeping operations.
ü This
implements the international sanctions.
ü This
also authorizes the military operations.
ü The
basic structure of the Security Council is specified in the Chapter V of the UN
Charter.
ü The
Security Council is a 15 member body. (5 permanent and 10 elected non-permanent
members).
ü The
non-permanent members have a term of 2 years.
ü The
non-permanent members are not permitted for immediate reelection.
ü The
Permanent members or P5
· USA
· UK
· France
· Russia
· China
ü Note:
These are also the 5 nations that are recognized as NWS (Nuclear Weapon States)
ü The
President of the Security Council is held for one month in rotation by the
member states in English alphabetical order.
ü Note:
For October 2015 it is from Spain and is Mr. Roman Oyarzum Marchesi
ü The
non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for a term of 2
years.
ü The
term starts on January 1 and ends on December 31 of the next year.
ü January
1, 2015 ----December 31, 2016
ü The
election is based on 2/3rd vote.
ü Note:
Ashok Kumar Mukharjee is the India’s
permanent representative in UN from April 2013.
ü India
has been elected to the UNSC for 7 times.
ü The
present non-permanent members:
ü From
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015:
Chad
Chile
Jordan
Lithuania
Nigeria
ü From
January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016:
Angola
Malaysia
New Zealand
Spain
Venezuela
ü The
Veto powers of the permanent members are mentioned in the Article 27 of the UN
Charter.
ü Procedural
matters are not subjected to veto.
THE
SECRETARIAT:
ü This
was established in the year 1945.
ü The
Head quarter is located in New York.
ü The
duty offices are located in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bangkok (Thailand), Beirut
(Lebanon), Geneva (Switzerland), Nairobi (Kenya), Santiago (Chile) and Vienna
(Austria).
ü The
main objective is to promote international peace and security.
ü The
Secretariat is a forum to discuss and resolve pressing issues in the
international field.
ü The
Secretariat is headed by Secretary-General (called secretary-General of the
UN).
ü The
Secretary-General is the highest ranked official in the UN.
ü As
per the UN Charter the Secretary-General is also called ‘Chief Administrative
Officer”.
ü The
secretary General is appointed by the General assembly on the recommendation of
Security Council.
ü The
present Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon of Republic of Korea (South Korea).
Since January 1, 2007.
ü The
term of office is 5 years.
ü The
incumbent is eligible for reappointment.
ü The
term of Ban Ki-moon was expired on December 31, 2011 and reelected unopposed to
a second term on June 21, 2011. (the 2nd term began on January 1,
2012).
ü Note:
Ban Ki-moon was the foreign Minister of South Korea prior to his appointment as
the secretary-General.
ü Bank
Ki-moon was the second Asian to be the Secretary-General of UN.
ü U-Thant
of Burma (Myanmar) was the first Secretary-General from Asia from November 30,
1961 to December 31, 1971).
ü Trygve
Lie (Norway) was the first Secretary-General of Secretariat.
ü Note:
Gladwyn Jebb of UK was the acting Secretary-General from October 24, 1945 to
February 2, 1946.
ü The
post of Deputy Secretary-General was created when Kofi Annan was the
Secretary-General.
ü The
Deputy Secretary-General is appointed by the Secretary-General.
ü The
present Deputy Secretary-General is Jan Eliasson (Sweden).
ü The
UN Charter is not specific about the function of the powers of the Secretariat.
ü The
primordial function is to implement the decisions of the other primary organs
of the UN.
ü The
Secretariat administers the peace keeping operations in various countries.
ü It
also study’s economic and social trends in various countries.
ü The
staff members are appointed by the Secretary-General on temporary or permanent
basis.
ü The
Secretariat also translated the speeches and documents into UN official
languages.
THE ECONOMIC
AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC):
ü This
is established in the year 1945.
ü The
Headquarter is located in New York.
ü This
is one of the five primary organs of the UN.
ü The
ECOSOC is the main forum for discussing the international social and economic
issues and formulates the policies.
ü The
President of ECOSOC is Oh Joon (South Korea).
ü The
term of the President is 1 year.
ü The
first President was Ramaswamy Mudaliar.
ü The
strength of ECOSOC is 54.
ü The
members are elected by the UN General Assembly for 3 years.
ü The
seats are based on the geographical representation with 14 states from Africa, 11
from Asia, 6 from Eastern Europe, 10 from Latin America and Caribbean and 13
states from Western Europe.
ü Note:
In the World Economic and Social Survey 2011, the UN called for spending $ 2
Trillion on environmental technologies (green technology or clean technology or
sustainable development) to prevent a major planetary catastrophe.
INTERNATIONAL
COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ):
ü This
is established in the year 1945 by United Nations Charter.
ü The
initial name was permanent court of international justice.
ü The
ICJ started functioning in the year 1946.
ü The
Headquarters the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
ü This
is the primary judicial organ of the UN.
ü The
jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice is worldwide. (193
countries).
ü All
members automatically become the parties.
ü The
non-UN members may also become parties.
ü The
ICJ settles the legal disputes and also provides the advisory opinion on legal
question submitted by the international organizations and the UN General
Assembly.
ü The
strength (number of judges) is 15.
ü 3
judges from Asia
ü 3
judges from Africa
ü 2
judges from Latin America
ü 2
judges from Eastern Europe
ü 5
judges from Western Europe and other states
ü The
term of each judge is 9 years.
ü The
judges are elected by the General Assembly and the UN Security Council.
ü 5
judges are elected every 3 years to maintain the continuity in the court.
ü Note:
No 2 judges belong to the same country.
ü If
a judge dies in the office, the other judge is elected for the remaining term from
the same Nation (Continent).
ü Since
beginning except China other four permanent Nations had a judge from the
respective countries in the ICJ.
ü Qualification:
They should be qualified for the highest judicial office in the home country or
lawyers with adequate knowledge and competence in the international law.
ü The
judges of the ICJ cannot hold any other post.
ü Removal:
A judge can be removed only by the unanimous vote by the other members of the
Court.
ü President
of ICJ Ronny Abraham (France) from February
6th, 2015 - 2018
ü VP
– Abdulqawi Ahmad Yusuf ( (Somalia) from February 6, 2015
ü The
judgments are binding on the nations. In case of any objection it can be taken
to the Security Council.
ü As
per Article 8 of the ICJ statute, the General Assembly and the Security Council
shall proceed independently of one another to elect a judge of the ICJ.
ü The
candidate who gets absolute majority in both the General Assembly (97) and the
Security Council (8) will be declared elected.
ü The
judge is also eligible for reappointment.
ü As
in March 2012, there are 14 judges and there is vacancy caused by the
resignation of Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh from Jordan in October 2011.
ü A
judge of the Supreme Court Justice Dalveer Bhandari (India) and Justice
Florentino P. Feliciano (Philippines) are contesting for the election.
ü Indians
who served as judges of ICJ: Sir Benegal Rau (1950), Dr. Nagendra Singh
(1970-80), Justice R S Pathak (1988-90).
ü Note:
Dr. Nagender Singh was the former Chief Election Commissioner of India from
October 1, 1972 to February 6, 1973.
ü Indians
who served as ad hoc judges: M C Chagla (1950) and Jeevan Reddy (2002).
JUSTICE DALVEER BHANDARI
ü
The Supreme Court Judge Justice
Dalveer Bhandarii was elected as the Judge of ICJ on April 28, 2012. The
election was held in New York.
ü
Justice Bhandari defeated Justice
Florentino Feliciano of the Philippines in the elections held to fill the
casual vacancy following the resignation of Awn Shawkat Al Khasawneh of
Jordan in October 2011.
ü
Bhandari will have a term of 6
years and eligible for reelection for 9 years.
ü
Bhandari secured 122/193 votes in
the General Assembly and 13/15 votes in the Security Council.
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Why there is
a demand for reforms in UNO?
ü An
institution can be established and dissolved. But continuation of the same with
effectiveness is the most important.
ü There
is a necessity for any institution for reforms with respect to better
functioning.
ü The
idea of UNO was generated during the Second World War based on then situations
and circumstances. But the nature even today also not changed.
ü There
are questions on the credibility of UNO
ü After
the World war few countries like USA, UK, USSR played crucial role but with
Globalization the situations are changing. The active involvement of other
countries like India is increasing. Hence there is a need to reforms.
ü UNGA,
UNSC, Secretariat, ECOSOC and ICJ are the 5 Principal organizations.
ü The
most important point for UNO is not to interfere with the sovereignty of any
nation.
ü For
example in South Africa there was an official racial discrimination when it was
ruled by whites. And the government argued that since it is an internal matter
so the UNO cannot interfere.
ü Is
it not violation of human rights?
ü Hence
there was resentment
ü India
opposed the racial discrimination. But India resisted the discussion on caste
issues in UNO.
ü After
World war the cold war began between USA and USSR and continued till the
disintegration of USSR in 1991
ü During
this time both nations competed with each other for domination in UNO and
produced Hydrogen, Cobalt bombs and ICBMs
ü The
cold war practically disturbed the functioning of the UNO
ü It
was common practice that USA wanted to finalize its agenda in every UNO meeting
and USSR started using veto power.
ü Ugly scenes
in UNO:
ü Long
back Nikita Khrushchev the representative from USSR hit the table with shoe
after Philippines representative criticized the role of USSR in eastern Europe
ü When China commented that Japan stole their
Islands Japan representative tried to walk out and was stopped by USA
representative
ü Success of
UNO:
ü It
contributed in achieving independence for 80 countries after 1945 and they
became sovereign
ü Contributed
for the eradication of many diseases
ü Supported
those nations that are in utter poverty and hunger
ü Implementation
of CTBT and prohibition of chemical weapons
ü Effective
usage of Peace Keeping Forces
ü Crores
of people in around 80 countries are supplied food
ü Fighting
against women trafficking, drugs etc
ü What should
be done now?
ü Reforms
is a must especially with respect to UNSC
ü G-4
(India, Japan, Germany and Brazil) nations demanding for reforms
ü The
demand is to increase the strength to 25
ü There
is a necessity of reforms in the secretariat too.
ü ECOSOC
should be reformed into World Parliament, where the members are represented on
the population basis
ü As
there is shift from US-Europe to Asia-Pacific there is a necessity of reforms