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International Relations-PSC 201

LESSON 28

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (CONTINUED)

The League of Nations

The League of Nations was a general membership, general purpose IGO. The League was formed in 1919

to prevent war through collective security and settling disputes through negotiations and diplomacy; and to

improve global welfare.

Despite these bold aims, it could not prevent aggression by the fascist powers in late 1930s.The UN

replaced the League after WWII.

United Nations

The UN is a general membership and general purpose IGO. The UN was established in 1954 and is now

made up of 191 states. UN membership is open to all "peace-loving states". The General Assembly

determines admission upon recommendation of the Security Council.

The term UN was coined by Roosevelt during WWII, to refer to the Allies. The name was transferred to

the UN as it was founded by the victorious powers in the war as a condition of the Atlantic Charter and

other wartime agreements.

The UN system is financed in two ways: assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The

General Assembly is a principal organ of the UN and it includes representatives from all member states.

The UN Security Council is the most powerful UN organ, which passes resolutions, determines the need

for sanctions and is comprised of China, Russia, US, UK and France, all of whom have veto powers. There

are also non-veto non-permanent members appointed to the Security Council, which are brought onto the

Council from the General Assembly.

Criticism of the UN

The UN provides a platform to discuss global security concerns and highlights development and

environmental needs. There are charges that the UN is increasingly attempting to usurp or conversely not

doing enough to override national sovereignty. In general, the UN has shown a reluctance to act upon its

resolutions.

Others say the UN gives precedence to government authority over individual liberty. They point to the

inclusion on the UNCHR of Sudan, Cuba and Libya, which have poor records on human rights.

These above countries however, argue that Western countries, with their history of colonialist aggression,

have no right to point fingers.

There are also internal institutional failures of the UN such as allegations of mismanagement and corruption

regarding the Oil for Food Program.

Some point to the UN failure to act (or succeed) in security issues such as the ethnic cleansing campaign in

Rwanda or its failure to successfully deliver food to starving citizens of Somalia, which was usually seized by

local warlords instead of reaching those who needed it.

It is said that being in majority Arab states have an unfairly large influence which has enabled a large

number of UN resolutions condemning Israel. Alternatively, some argue that the UN is ruled by a "tyranny

of the rich". Critics point out to the repeated use of the veto to protect Israel, and the failure of the UN to

enforce its resolutions on powerful countries like the US while enforcing them on weaker states like Iraq or

Syria.

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International Relations-PSC 201

Given the above criticism there is often talk of abandoning or of reforming the UN (including the

expansion of the Security Council, since it does not include many of the prominent powers of the world like

Germany and Japan. Since the UN was formulated after WWII and it is therefore criticized as no longer

reflecting realities of the current world order).

Relevant Vocabulary

Aggression: hostility

Seize: usurp or take by force

Assessed: determined

Condemning: criticizing or blaming

Tyranny: injustice implemented by use of force

Abandoning: to leave, or to let go of

Suggested Readings

Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various

principals highlighted in this hand-out:

Chapter 12 in `"A Study of International Relations" by Dr. Sultan Khan

Internet Resources

In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-pages for this lecture, which

provide useful and interesting information:

United Nations website

www.un.org

League of Nations