International Organisations

United Nations Organisation

 The aims of the UNO
• To maintain international peace and
security.
• To develop friendly relations among
nations on the basis of equality and the
principle of right to self-determination.
• To foster worldwide cooperation in
solving economic, social, cultural and
humanitarian problems.
• To promote human rights and fundamental
freedom for the people of the world.
• To serve as a centre where various nations can
coordinate their activities towards the
attainment of the objectives of the UN
• To save succeeding generations from the
scourge of war.
 United Nations Membership:

• Head quarters New York

• Membership
– Open to all other peace-loving states that
accept the obligations of UN.Present
membership-193.
• The current official languages of the United
Nations:
• Chinese, English, French, Russian,Spanish,
Arabic,
 Functions of the United Nations
• 1. To maintain peace and security:
– peacekeeping forces
– often sent to regions where armed conflict
has recently ended to discourage combatants
from resuming fighting.
– 1988, the peacekeeping force-won a Nobel
Peace Prize
– Encourages disarmament
• 2. To protect human rights:
• 1948, the General Assembly adopted
the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
• Trains human rights officials, and
provides food, drinking water, shelter,
and other humanitarian services to
peoples displaced by famine, war, and
natural disaster in the world.
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR)
• the General Assembly declared that respect
for human rights and human dignity "is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in
the world".
• Everyone has right to liberty, right to equality,
and freedom of movement for all.
• to observe 10 December as Human Rights
Day.
• Proclaim right to life, liberty and security of
all human being
• Prohibition of slavery, of torture and cruel,
inhuman treatment, right to fair trial in both
civil and criminal matter.
• It also recognizes the right to property,
privacy, freedom of speech.
• To take part in government of his country
directly or indirectly through chosen
representative.
• Equal pay for equal work
• Right to social security
• Right to work, protection against
unemployment, right to standard of living and
good health, well being of family and himself.
• to confront human rights violations wherever
they occur. 
• focus on helping people everywhere learn
about their rights
 Functions of the United Nations

• Social and economic development :

• Largest source of technical grant assistance in the
world
• Humanitarian assistance with other organizations,
such as the red cross
• World food programme
• In addition, the world health organization, the
global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, and
malaria, the UN population fund
 ORGANS OF UN
General Assembly

• The main deliberative, policymaking

and representative organ of the UN.
• All 193 member states 
• the only body with universal
representation.
• Based on the principle of equality
 UN Security Council
• Most powerful branch 
– Primary responsibility is the maintenance of international peace and
security.
• 15 members
• 5 permanent
• China, the U.S.S.R., France, the united kingdom, and the
united states
• Veto power
• 10 non permanent -2 yrs
• Each non-permanent member gets the opportunity to
operate as president of the UN Security Council.
 Economic and Social Council

• principal body for coordination

• policy review and
Rcommendations on economic,
social and environmental issues.
•  54 Members 
 Trusteeship Council
•  Trust Territories that had been placed under
the administration of seven Member States,
and ensure that adequate steps were taken to
prepare the Territories for self-government
and independence. 
• By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-
government or independence.  The
Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1
November 1994.
• Secretariat
•  comprises the Secretary-General 
• carry out the day-to-day work of the
UN The present secretary
general António Guterres 
Major achievements of the United Nations

• Maintaining Peace and Security :

• prevented the occurrence of any further world wars .
• the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-
conducted inspection of nuclear reactors in 90
countries to ensure that nuclear materials are not
being used for military purposes.
• Iran and Iraq war
• It signed many  Nuclear Test Ban treaties like
NTBT in 1963 AND CTBT in  1996.
• Promoting Democracy
• provided electoral devices, assistance
and monitoring of results during the
election
• In Cambodia, Namibia, South Africa
etc
• Ending apartheid in South Africa
• Reducing child mortality rates
• Thro’ water and sanitation and other health and nutrition measures
• End of colonialism
• The protection of human rights
• Representing 3rd world
• Institutionalization of international laws
• Food aid
• First established in 1961, the un's world food programme (WFP)
is the world's largest humanitarian aid organisation addressing
hunger and promoting food security. 
• Refugee Aid
• Child Protection
• Women's Rights
• Fighting AIDS and HIV
 Failures of the United Nations
• Terrorism  failed to take any further action
• Nuclear proliferation:
• The number of nuclear weapon countries increasing
• Sri lanka:
–  Bloody civil war lasting from 1983 to 2009
•  Israeli Arab conflict (1948-now):
– Creation of the jewish state in 1948
–  More than 7,000 Palestinians and 1,100 Israelis have died in
the conflict between 2000 and 2014.
– 1.9 million were forced to take refuge far from their homelands
• Somali civil war (1991-now):
– The failure of the UN peacekeeping mission caused
about 500,000 civilian deaths in the country.
• Rwandan civil war (1994):
– 800000 people-murdered.
• Iraq invasion (2003-2011)
– The US-led invasion in 2003
– More than one million Iraqis have died
• Syrian civil war (2011-now):
– The syrian regime launched a brutal crackdown on
peaceful protesters who took to the streets in
march 2011
• South sudan (2013-now)
– South Sudan became an independent country in
july 2011, separating from sudan.
– In the civil war, at least 382,000 people have been
killed,  
• No role in crisis of worst kinds like the Cuban
Missile Crisis, Vietnam crisis etc.
• Failed to generate a universal consensus to
protect the deteriorating world climate.
• Failed to control the spread of AIDS
• Failed to control COVID
• Financial dependence on the industrialized
nations has at times deviated UN from
neutrality and impartiality.
• The world body has failed to reflect the
democratic aspiration of the world.
• Without being democratic itself, it talks of
democratization of the world.