TOPIC 8. United Nation Organization. 2013

The United Nations Organisation was created in October, 1945. The aim of this international organization was to preserve peace on the planet. The UNO was the successor of the League of Nation. The League of Nation existed in the period between WW I and WW II and had the same aim: to preserve peace. However, the work of the League of Nation was not very successful ? it failed to prevent the WW II. So the mistakes and achievements of the League of Nation were estimated during the preparatory work on creation of the UNO.

The basic document of the organization is the United Nations Charter. The document states the basic principles and purposes, defines the membership, and establishes the structure of the organisation of six principal departments or organs.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative body. All member states have their representatives in the Assembly. Each state may have up to five representatives but only one vote. Decisions on important questions are made by two-thirds voting. Other decisions are made by majority vote.

The Security Council has the responsibility for maintaining world peace and security. Every member of the United Nations is pledged to accept and carry out the Council's decisions. The Security Council has 15 members. Five nations have permanent seats: the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States. Each of the Big Five has a veto power. Any one of them can block any discussion. Any state may bring a dispute to which it is a party to the consideration of the Security Council. The Security Council has rather wide powers to influence the offending countries. It may make a decision to cut communications, to break trade relations and even take military actions against an offending country.

The International Court of Justice is the supreme judicial body of the United Nations. Its permanent seat is in The Hague, The Netherlands. The court consists of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Court decides matters referred to it by the member countries. If a party to the case does not obey the decision of the Court, the Security Council may be petitioned to enforce the decision.

The Economic and Social Council works for achieving higher standards of living, improving health and education, and promoting human rights and freedoms. The Council consists of 27 members; nine of them are elected each year. They serve three-year terms. The Economic and Social Council is assisted by commissions and specialized agencies.

The Secretariat carries on the day-to-day business of the United Nations and assists all the other organs. It is headed by the secretary-general, the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. He is appointed by the General Assembly

The Trusteeship Council seeks to protect the interests of people who live in trust territories and to help them to build self-government. Its members are elected by the General Assembly.

The United Nations Organisation has a lot of other bodies in its structure.

For instance United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works to bring the benefits of education and science to all countries and to encourage cultural interchange.

World Health Organization (WHO) sets international standards for drugs and vaccines; administers international sanitary regulations governing land, sea, and air traffic; and helps fight disease in any country.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank furthers economic development of member countries. It grants loans for productive projects, provides for technical advice. It also promotes private investment and world trade.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) seeks to increase production from farms, forests, and fisheries and to improve distribution.

International Labor Organization (ILO)worksto solve disputes between government, labor, and management. ILO makes recommendations concerning pay, working conditions, trade union rights, safety, woman and child labor, and social security.

There are also some regional and functional commissions, specialized agencies and funds to fulfill the diverse tasks of the United Nations Organisation.

With all this complicated structure and huge financing from member states the UNO proved to be unable to solve some important problems. Numerous corruption scandals in the UNO bodies seem to be ruining the good name of it. Some countries neglect the decisions of the Security Council as in case of the USA?s ?democratization? of Yugoslavia. All this resulted in a serious crisis and necessity of serious changes. This necessity was confirmed during ?Summit 2005?. The final document of the summit declared the idea of increasing effectiveness, answerability and authority of the UNO. The main bodies of the UNO will be reformed to make them more effective. The world community has decided to apply force against all forms of terrorism. The Security Council will receive wider powers in solving international disputes including more aggressive ? military ? actions. Despite different views on the ways and the scale of the reforms the only thing is evident: the UNO must be changed or it will lose its role.

Date: 2016-06-13; view: 488