The United Nations is one of the largest intergovernmental organizations in the world. It is not affiliated to any state but is supported by its member to ensure democracy, peace and global prosperity. This essay highlights the origins, objectives and fundamental principles of the organization.
Origins
In the early 1900s, the world experienced various kinds of interstate wars. Several regional organizations were formed to ensure that loss of life and property was minimized. However, the global leaders soon came to realize that despite the regional efforts, countries still went to war. After the First World War, the nations involved created the League of Nations, whose primary task was to oversee and resolve territorial disputes. Despite its efforts, the world’s superpowers did not fully embrace the League. Countries such as USA and USSR refused to join the League and would not respect its rules.
In 1931, the League failed to prevent the invasion of Manchuria by Japan. Other countries noted the limitations of the League, and soon more attacks followed. Additionally, Adolf Hitler from Germany started to expand his territories, and this led to the Second World War. It is important to note that after the First World War, Germany was banned from taking over new colonies and some of their old territories were reinstated. Thus, expansion was a direct violation of the peace treaty formulated after World War I.
After World War II, the then president of the US, Franklin Roosevelt, drafted the Declaration of the United Nations, alongside the British Prime Minister and the leader of the Soviet Union, as an attempt to bring together the countries that were involved in the Second World War. The Declaration gave responsibilities of global affairs to the US, USSR, China and the United Kingdom. It is vital to point out that countries that were referred to as the Axis forces during World War II were not included in the Declaration.
The initial UN Conference on International Organization was launched in 1945 and included over 50 state governments. With counsel from other major non-governmental organizations, the UN Charter was drafted. Since the UN did not have any funding, the initial committee suggested that member countries were free to contribute any amount to the interstate organization. In turn, presidents that would donate money would have a chance to chair the organization. The first official meeting of the UN was held in 1946 after the structure of the organization was created and funding was received from several countries. At the time, the organization had 51 members representing the same number of countries.
The organization came under scrutiny during the Cold War era. The US and the USSR deferred in regards to economic ideologies. Whereas the US supported capitalization, the Soviet Union supported communism. Such differences affected the UN as both countries had vital roles in its management. USSR accused the UN leadership of biases towards the US when the interstate organization interfered with the Soviet Union’s plans of invading Hungary. During the Cold War period, a significant influx of newly formed states joined the UN. Indeed, such states were grateful to the US as it had played a crucial role in the decolonization of many African countries. Additionally, the US was significantly involved in the formation of the new states after colonialism. Therefore, it can be argued that the new states, especially those from Africa, were eager to become allies with the US in the hopes that they will benefit both economically and socially in the global platform. For this reason, the UN has always been perceived to carry the US agenda as opposed to the global plan. To help curb this, the UN came up with several objectives.
Objectives
The United Nations has four main objectives. The first objective is to maintain global peace and safety. There are two main elements to consider within this objective. One is the assurance of peaceful negotiations before war breaks out, and the second is the peaceful resolutions after the war has started. It is important to note that the UN’s initial mandate is to ensure that interstate wars are avoided by all means necessary. For example, the UN had a mandate to resolve concerns between Israel and Palestine before the war broke out. It is crucial to note that the UN had already facilitated 79 resolutions for the conflict. Despite its effort, the two nations continued to fight. Currently, the UN is involved in stopping the war between the two countries. Limitations of the UN can be highlighted through cases such as the Rwandan Genocide. Since the war was within the state, despite its mandate for peace, the UN could not be directly involved and only came in as a mediator. To achieve peace in such situations, the UN sends in its peacekeeping groups to negotiate with the involved.
The second objective of the interstate organization is the development of cooperative associations between countries using the principle of human rights. The UN Charter embraced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Towards this end, the organization pledged to uphold what was defined as human rights across its member states. All member states were also required to adhere to this declaration. It is this objective that gives the UN power to send peacekeeping groups into a country to help resolve conflicts. The argument behind this is that even though the UN has no mandate within a single state, it has the mandate to protect the citizens of that state. Therefore, any conflict that violates any of the human rights gives the UN a leeway to get involved. Recently, Burundi, in Africa, had civil unrest due to its general elections. To avoid genocide, the UN sent in its troops to negotiate a peaceful election. The same examples can be given from Kenya, Congo and even Sudan.
The third objective of the UN is to attain global co-operation in resolving conflicts. The premise suggests that the UN has to ensure that during any interstate disputes, allies of the involved nations also have to broker peace. Also, the UN has to garner support from powerful countries during regional wars to help resolve the fight. The example of the Arab-Israeli conflict highlights how the UN can bring together states to settle a war. Countries such as the US and Canada have been categorical in stating that they do not recognize Palestine as a nation. On the other hand, countries such as Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have refused to accept Israel as a sovereign nation. Towards this end, the allies of the two countries have also helped encourage the war between them. For example, the US government bombed Syria in early 2018 in support of Israel. However, Russia, in support of Syria, retaliated and bombed Israel. Using this scenario and the third mandate of the UN, one can argue that it is the duty of the United Nations to bring the allies of the two nations together and encourage them to help resolve the war as their participation in it is making the conflict worse.
The fourth objective of the UN is to be a center for peace. Member countries can come together, through the UN, to create peaceful measures to resolve war. It is important to point out that one of the common products of war is refugees. The Arab-Israeli conflict has seen the arrival of refugees in Europe, the US and Canada. The UN has taken a keen interest in the welfare of these refugees as its fourth objective requires. For example, in Europe, the UN was a key negotiator during discussions on whether to allow refugees into the continent or direct them to other countries. Additionally, refugee camps such as Dadaab, the second largest refugee camp in the world, are managed by the UN. The organization brings together donors who support the camps in various ways as they negotiate terms for re-settling.
Basic Principles
To achieve the discussed four objectives, the UN also came up with seven principles. The first principle is the autonomous equality of all members of the organization. This principle means that all member countries of the UN are seen as equal despite their economic positioning in the global platform. The second principle is the abiding by the UN Charter laws by all member states. This principle ensures that one comprehensive policy governs the countries involved. Any nation that does not follow the UN Charter laws has its membership revoked. The third principle suggests that member countries have to look for peaceful resolutions as opposed to war. It can be stated that Israel violated this principle as it is a member state of the UN yet continues to fight with Syria/Palestine. However, it can be argued that Israel is just trying to protect its sovereignty as a nation.
The fourth principle states that members shall refrain from regional wars and negotiate peacefully on any territorial conflicts. Indeed, there have been various territorial wars that have been resolved peacefully since the UN was formulated. Additionally, the principle of active involvement in the workings of the UN through the provision of any assistance from member states has been highly observed through the years. The UN peacekeeping troops are usually supported by the different countries that they come from, while at the same time, financial donations are offered from both governments and non-governmental institutions to help the organization. The sixth principle ensures that nations that are not members of the UN are also encouraged to abide by some of the standard rules to ensure world peace. The sixth principle ensures that member states are not encouraged to go into battle with the excuse of the involved not being a member of the UN. The seventh and last principle of the UN highlights the importance of the organization keeping out of domestic conflicts and involvements unless they threaten global peace. In such situations, however, as stated, the UN can intervene to ensure that fundamental human rights are upheld within the state despite the domestic conflict experienced.