UNDERSTANDING HOW EFFECTIVE THE UN HAS BEEN

The Functions and Aims of the UN

The main function of the UN is to keep international peace and security. The
organisation tries to promote better understanding and cooperation among countries
in order to maintain peace. Member counties promise not to use violence, to help
the UN to suppress aggression, and not to support aggressor countries.

The organisation develops and promotes friendly relations among countries, based
on the principles of equality and the right of self-determination of peoples. Member
states promise to respect the political independence of other countries. They agree
to settle international disputes peacefully (in other words, through negotiation or
arbitration) so that they do not endanger international peace and security.
According to the UN Charter, member countries promise:

 to save future generations from war

 to uphold the basic rights, dignity and worth of all people
 to promote social progress and better standards of living
 not to intervene in the domestic affairs of any country, except when
international peace is threatened.
Another important function of the UN is to promote economic and social progress
and raise the standard of living of the world’s people. The UN promotes and
encourages respect for human rights and basic freedoms. To this end, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General
Assembly (GA) in December 1948. This document states that people have
economic, social and cultural rights to safety, security, education, health, the
opportunity to earn a living, and so on.
The UN General Assembly hall, New York
The GA is where all the member states meet on equal terms. Each
member state may send up to five representatives to the GA, but each
state has only one vote. The GA forms the main debating chamber of the
UN. It meets every September in New York, but emergency sessions can
be requested at any time if necessary.

A general debate usually opens the session. The GA then organises itself
into committees that discuss matters on the agenda and make
recommendations to the plenary session of the GA. A simple majority
vote is needed procedures or minor issues. More important matters (for
example, recommendations on peace and security) require a two-thirds
majority vote.
GA resolutions are recommendations only and are not legally binding.
This means the GA does not have the power to enforce its resolutions or
to impose punishments. It can only refer its decisions to the SC or to
some other body of the UN for further action. However, if a permanent
member of the SC exercises the right of veto and prevents the UN from
acting in the interests of peace and security, the GA may take action
within 24 hours. (This was how the GA adopted the ‘Uniting for Peace’
resolution, which allowed it to send UN troops to Korea in 1950 to help
South Korea against North Korea.)
The Security Council (SC)
The main function of the SC is to maintain international peace and security, so it is
always in session. The SC has the power to make binding decisions that member
governments have agreed to obey in terms of Charter Article 25. The decisions of
the SC are known as UN Security Council Resolutions.

The SC has 15 members: five permanent members (Britain, China, France, the
USSR and the USA) known as the Big Five, and 10 non-permanent members
(elected by the GA for two years). Each year, five of the elected members step
down and cannot immediately be re-elected. The nonpermanent members represent
all the different parts of the world. Every member acts as president of the SC for one
month.
Each member has one vote, and in routine matters a majority of nine out
of 15 is required for a decision to be taken. When international disputes
are being discussed, the majority vote must include the vote of the
permanent members. In other words, any one of them can defeat a
motion by voting against it, or by choosing not to vote. This is called the
right of veto . It gives huge power to the permanent members.

The right of veto makes it hard to keep world peace because it prevents
any one of the permanent members from being condemned as an
aggressor. If one of them is involved in a dispute, there will probably be a
deadlock. In reality, therefore, the UN cannot take any effective action
against any of the permanent member nations if they are in dispute
against another country. During the Cold War years, the USA and the
USSR often used their right of veto to block a decision that did not suit
them.
The SC also investigates any dispute or situation that might lead to
international friction (conflict), and recommends ways of settling these
disputes. The UN Charter says that when a dispute is referred to the SC,
peaceful negotiations must be started. If these negotiations are
unsuccessful, the SC may rule that diplomatic relations be suspended, or
that economic sanctions be imposed. If the situation continues to
deteriorate, the SC may use military force to restore peace. Member
countries have to make troops available for duty in the danger zone. UN
forces intervened in Korea in 1950, in the Suez crisis in 1956, and in the
Congo in 1960.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UN’s highest judicial
authority. It sits in permanent session, with its headquarters at The Hague
in the Netherlands. It consists of 15 judges elected from different
countries by the GA and the SC for nine years. All these judges have to
be of different nationalities. They are elected as individuals and not as
representatives of their governments. Only states may present cases to
the court, and they must agree beforehand to accept the court’s verdict.
The verdict is based on the decision of the majority (at least nine judges).

The main function of the ICJ is to pass judgement on international

disputes and to interpret international treaties and conventions. It also
acts as legal adviser to the different bodies and specialised agencies of
the UN. It passes judgements on territorial rights, maritime rights and
boundaries. One of the most important cases to be heard by this court
was the issue of South Africa’s right to administer Namibia (see Module
8).
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
HOW EFFECTIVE HAS THE UN BEEN IN MAINTAINING WORLD PEACE?
The UN has been a major player on the international political stage since
1945. World leaders have communicated and worked out issues of peace
and security through the UN. However, from 1945 until the collapse of the
USSR in 1989, America and the Soviet Union were locked in the Cold War.
The UN’s effectiveness during those years largely depended on whether the
two rival superpowers would cooperate. There was often conflict between
the Soviet Union (backed by its satellite states), and the USA (backed by the
Western nations). This often got in the way of the functioning of the UN.
Because of the right of veto , these Cold War confrontations made the UN
less effective in achieving world peace. They could do little more than pass
condemnatory resolutions. As a result, by the end of the 1970s, the UN
had lost much of its former prestige.
The UN has prevented a number of local wars from developing into global
conflicts. However, its main successes are in the work of its special agencies
(discussed later in this module). We will now look at some specific cases of
UN peacekeeping successes and failures around the world. Remember that
some successes were only partial, as were some failures.
Some UN Successes

In 1956, the Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, seized the Suez Canal. The company that operated the
Canal had British and French owners. In response, Britain and France launched an attack on the region, and
Israel invaded the Sinai Desert in Egypt. The SC passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of all troops.
Britain and France vetoed this resolution. The USA then appealed to the GA, which insisted on aceasefire.
Britain, France and Israel agreed to the ceasefire and an emergency UN force was sent to the area to prevent
further hostilities.
In 1950, the UN intervened in hostilities between North Korea and South Korea. It actively took sides with
the USA to prevent a general war in the area. The SC was able to pass its resolution for collective UN action
because the Soviet delegation was not present to cast the veto, which it probably would have done.
Indonesian nationalists declared a republic at the end of the Second World War. This led to a conflict with
the Netherlands. As a result of UN mediation, a compromise was reached and the independence of
Indonesia was recognised.
Kashmir, situated between India and Pakistan, was claimed by both countries. In October 1947 civil warbroke
out, after which India occupied the southern part of Kashmir and Pakistan the northern part. Although the
UN was unable to find a permanent solution for Kashmir, it succeeded in ending hostilities before they could
deteriorate into a religious war.
UN peacekeepers have been used to oversee independence movements and the establishment of new
states. UN Security Council Resolution 435 ordered the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG)
to oversee Namibia’s transition to independence in 1989. UNTAG monitored the process leading to Namibian
independence on 21 March 1990 (see Module 9).
The UN used various measures, such as an arms embargo and a convention against segregated sporting
events, to help end the apartheid era in South Africa. The GA referred to apartheid as ‘a crime against
humanity’. Elections were held in South Africa in April 1994, in which all South Africans of eligible age were
allowed to vote. After these elections the first democratically elected government in South Africa came into
power (see Module 10).