Class 12 Political Science Chapter 4 International Organisations Short Notes

The US Office of War Information poster made during the Second World War, under the Declaration
by United Nations of 1942, carries the flags of all the nations in the Allied Forces. The chapter
says it “reflects the belligerent origins of the UN”: the UN was born out of a war alliance.

Related organisations. IAEA, which reports to both the Security Council and the General Assembly; OPCW; and the WTO, related to the Economic and Social Council.

Programmes and funds. UNCTAD, UNEP, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, WFP, UNRWA and the Human Settlements Programme.

Specialised agencies. ILO, FAO, UNESCO, WHO, the World Bank Group, IMF, IMO, WMO and ITU.

Subsidiary bodies of the Security Council. The Military Staff Committee; the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Peacekeeping Operations and Missions.

Commissions and other entities. Functional commissions on Human Rights, Narcotic Drugs, Sustainable Development and the Status of Women; regional commissions; OHCHR, UNU and UNAIDS; and the research institute UNRISD.

The six the body text names for social and economic issues, and the ones most often asked: WHO, UNDP, UNHRC, UNHCR, UNICEF and UNESCO.

1. Who has it. Only the five permanent members: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China. They were chosen because they were the most powerful immediately after the Second World War and were the victors in the War.

2. What it is. The Council decides by voting and every member has one vote, but a permanent member’s negative vote can stall a decision even if all the other permanent and non-permanent members vote for it.

3. Who does not have it. The ten non-permanent members. They serve two years at a time, cannot be re-elected immediately, and are elected so as to represent all continents of the world.

4. Why abolishing it is demanded. Many perceive it to be in conflict with the concept of democracy and sovereign equality in the UN, and think it is no longer right or relevant.

5. Why it survives. The permanent members are unlikely to agree, the world may not be ready for such a radical step, and without the veto there is the danger as in 1945 that the great powers would lose interest in the world body, do what they pleased outside it, and leave it ineffective.

1. Reform of the organisation’s structures and processes.

2. A review of the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organisation.

Almost everyone agrees both are necessary. What they cannot agree on is precisely what is to be done, how it is to be done, and when it is to be done.

1. The Soviet Union has collapsed.
2. The US is the strongest power.
3. The relationship between Russia, the successor to the Soviet Union, and the US is much more cooperative.
4. China is fast emerging as a great power, and India also is growing rapidly.
5. The economies of Asia are growing at an unprecedented rate.
6. Many new countries have joined the UN, as they became independent from the Soviet Union or former communist states in eastern Europe.
7. A whole new set of challenges confronts the world: genocide, civil war, ethnic conflict, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, environmental degradation and epidemics.

1. The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities.
2. Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests and are dominated by a few powers.
3. It lacks equitable representation.

In view of these growing demands, on 1 January 1997 Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiated an inquiry into how the UN should be reformed.

1. A major economic power.
2. A major military power.
3. A substantial contributor to the UN budget.
4. A big nation in terms of its population.
5. A nation that respects democracy and human rights.
6. A country that would make the Council more representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic systems, and culture.

1. Creation of a Peacebuilding Commission.
2. Acceptance of the responsibility of the international community in case of failures of national governments to protect their own citizens from atrocities.
3. Establishment of a Human Rights Council, operational since 19 June 2006.
4. Agreements to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
5. Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
6. Creation of a Democracy Fund.
7. An agreement to wind up the Trusteeship Council.

The substantive point. India believes that development should be central to the UN’s
agenda as it is a vital precondition for the maintenance of international peace and security. So
India supports an enhanced role for the UN in promoting development and cooperation among states,
and believes a strengthened and revitalised UN is desirable in a changing world.

The structural point. The composition of the Security Council has remained largely static
while the General Assembly membership has expanded considerably, which India considers has harmed
the representative character of the Council. An expanded Council, with more representation, will
enjoy greater support in the world community.

The number to get right. The membership of the UN SECURITY COUNCIL was expanded from
11 to 15 in 1965, but there was no change in the number of permanent members, and since then
the size of the Council has remained stationary. This is the Security Council, not the UN as a whole:
the UN had 51 members in 1945 and 193 by 2011.

The developing-country point. The overwhelming majority of General Assembly members are now
developing countries, so India argues they should have a role in shaping the decisions in the
Security Council which affect them, and that any restructuring plan should be broad-based.

The chapter answers in two moves, so use its own words in the exam.

First of all, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union the US stands as the only superpower, and its military and economic power allow it to ignore the UN or any other international organisation.

Secondly, within the UN the influence of the US is considerable. What that influence rests on:

• As the single largest contributor to the UN, it has unmatched financial power.

• The UN is physically located within US territory, which gives Washington additional sources of influence.

• The US has many nationals in the UN bureaucracy.

• With its veto it can stop any moves it finds annoying or damaging to its interests or those of its friends and allies, and it has a considerable degree of say in the choice of the Secretary General. It can and does use this power to “split” the rest of the world.

The UN is not a great balance to the US, but it can and has served to bring the US and the rest
of the world into discussions. US leaders, in spite of their frequent criticism, see it as serving
a purpose in bringing together over 190 nations. For the rest of the world it provides an arena
in which US attitudes and policies can be modified, arguments against them are heard, and compromises
and concessions can be shaped.

The line to quote: “The UN is an imperfect body, but without it the world would be worse
off.” Given growing interdependence, it is hard to imagine how more than seven billion people
would live together without an organisation such as the UN, and technology will only increase that
interdependence.

1. Dag Hammarskjold, the UN’s second Secretary-General: “The United Nations was not created to take humanity to heaven, but to save it from hell.”

2. Shashi Tharoor, the former UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, answering the “talking shop” charge with Churchill’s line that jaw-jaw is better than war-war, and asking whether it is not better to have one place where all the countries in the world can get together.

3. The chapter’s conclusion: “The UN is an imperfect body, but without it the world would be worse off.”

4. On symbolic power: “the reputation for being powerful makes you more influential.”

Lebanon, June 2006. Israel attacked Lebanon saying it was necessary to control the militant group called Hezbollah. Large numbers of civilians were killed and public buildings and residential areas were bombarded. The UN passed a resolution only in August, and the Israel army withdrew only in October. This is the chapter’s own example of the UN acting too slowly.

Darfur, Sudan, since 2003. The humanitarian crisis there “has attracted empty promises by the International Community”, and the chapter asks how the UN could intervene in such situations and whether that would require a change in its jurisdiction.