Organs of UNO, its achievements and failures

 

What are the organs of the UNO (United Nations Organizations)? What are its achievements and failures? What are the responsibilities of these organs of UNO?

 

Organs of UNO: The Security Council

It is one of the most important and powerful organs of UNO. Do you know, how many members are there in the Security Council? There are fifteen members in the Security Council, out of which five members are permanent while the other ten members are non-permanent. The permanent members are the USA, UK, France, China, and Russia.

 

The non-permanent members who include five from Afro-Asian countries, two from Latin American countries, one from East European countries, and two from West European and other countries are elected by the General Assembly for two years on a regional basis. The five permanent members have the power of Veto, which means that the decision cannot be taken until all the members agree to it.

 

Functions of the Security Council

 

Let us learn about the functions of the Security Council.

� It can provide means to the fighting nations for peaceful settlements and suggest mediation in the matter.
� It may stop the trade on nations who do not follow the directions of the Council.
� It can provide orders to take military action against any state that disturbs the peace and security of the world. In such cases, the Council can even expel any such state from the membership of U.N.O.
� It recommends the admission of a new member to the UNO and the Secretary-General.
� Judges of the International Court of Justice are elected by the Council along with the General Assembly.
� A meeting of the General Assembly can be called in a state of emergency.

 

Organs of UNO: The Economic and Social Council

It consists of 54 member nations that are elected by the General Assembly for three years. One-third of the members of the Council retire every year.

 

In the Economic and Social Council, the seats are allotted on which basis? The seats are allotted on the basis of geographical representation. 14 seats are for the African states, 11 for Asian-Pacific states, 6 for Eastern European states, 10 for Latin American and Caribbean states, and 13 for the Western European and other states.

Functions of the Economic and Social Council

 

� The Council deals with economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems.
� It promotes economic and social cooperation among the member states of the UN.
� It supervises the work of specialized agencies and works in matters of international trade and equality of women, crime prevention, and control of narcotic drugs.

 

Exercise

 

1. How many members are there in the Security Council?
a) 20
b) 5
c) 10
d) 15

 

2. Which of the following is not a permanent member of the Security Council?
a) the USA
b) France
c) China
d) India

 

3. How many members are there in the Economic and Social Council?
a) 46
b) 35
c) 50
d) 54

 

4. How many seats are reserved for the African states in the Economic and Social Council?
a) 11
b) 6
c) 10
d) 14

 

5. How many seats are reserved for the Latin American and Caribbean states in the Economic and Social Council?
a) 14
b) 13
c) 11
d) 10

 

Organs of UNO: International Court of Justice and Secretariat

 

Description of the heading: What are the functions of these organs of the United Nations? Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat

 

Organs of UNO: The Trusteeship Council

Do you know, when was Trusteeship Council was established?

 

It was established after the Second World War for the better administration of territories that were in possession of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The main objective of the Council was to help these territories to gain independence and form their government. There were eleven such territories under the UN Trusteeship Council that had to gain independence. As most of the countries were successful in gaining independence,

 

Namibia was the last out of them. As the Council succeeded in its objective, the Council lost its significance and was suspended on November 1, 1994. The last trust territory of the UN was Palau that gained independence on October 1, 1994.

 

Organs of UNO : International Court of Justice

Do you know, where is the headquarters of ICJ? The principal judicial organ of the United Nations is the International Court of Justice whose headquarter is at the Hague (The Netherlands). It consists of fifteen judges who are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council for nine years. No two judges can be elected from the same country. The President and Vice-President are elected by the court itself after every three years.

 

Do you know, what is the function of ICJ?

 

The Court resolves disputes between the member states of the United Nations. The Court gives a legal opinion to any organ of the United Nations but it is not binding on the organs. Dr. Nagendra Singh of India served in the ICJ as the President. Sh. R.S. Pathak of our country was the last Indian to serve as a judge of the Court. Apart from them, Sh. B.N. Ran was also one of the Indians to serve in the ICJ.

 

Organs of UNO: The Secretariat

What is Secretariat?

 

The Secretariat is the administrative wing of the U.N.O. headed by the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General is the chief executive officer elected by the UN members for a term of five years, who acts as the de facto spokesman and leader of the UN. He organizes conferences, drafts reports, registers treaties, makes correspondence, and prepares budget estimates.

 

There are about 10,000 staff members from different countries who take an oath to not take any instruction from their own country. They all work under the Secretary-General. Antonio Guterres (Portugal) is the current Secretary-General of the UN who took over from Ban ki-moon in 2017.

 

Questions: Multiple-choice questions

 

1. When was the Trusteeship Council established?
a) Before the First World War
b) After the First World War
c) Before the Second World War
d) After the Second World War

 

2. When did Palau gain independence?
a) August 3, 1994
b) August 1, 1994
c) October 3, 1994
d) October 1, 1994

 

3. Where is the headquarters of the International Court of Justice?
a) London
b) Manhattan Island
c) New York
d) Hague, Netherlands

 

4. Which is the administrative wing of the U.N.O.?
a) The Economic and Social Council
b) The Security Council
c) The Trusteeship Council
d) The Secretariat

 

5. ____________ is the current Secretary-General of the UN.
a) Ban Ki-Moon
b) R.S. Pathak
c) Kofi Annan
d) Antonio Guterres

 

Achievements and Failures of the U.N.O.

 

Description of the heading: What are the achievements and failures of the U.N.O.?
Achievements and Failures of the U.N.O.

 

Achievements

 

The U.N. has made many achievements out of which, the prevention of the outbreak of the Third World War is one.

 

What are the achievements of the U.N.O?

 

Let�s have a look at the achievements of the U.N.O:

� Some of the wars like the three Indo-Pak wars of 1947, 1965, and 1971, the Palestinian war of 1948, the Israel and Egypt war of 1967, and the Korean war of 1953 came to an end.
� France and Britain were forced by the U.N.O. to withdraw their troops when they attacked Egypt in 1956 on the issue of the Suez Canal. The U.N. forced Soviet Russia to withdraw troops from Hungary.
� U.N.O. helped countries like Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, etc. to become independent of the foreign rule.
� The U.N. has strongly opposed the policy of apartheid in South Africa.
� The U.N. makes efforts to prevent human rights and adopted a resolution on Human Rights in 1948, through which all the nations of the world adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
� It promotes the use of nuclear power and brings about a check in the armament race for peaceful purposes.
� The U.N.O. brought a ceasefire in the eight-year-long war between Iran and Iraq. It imposed a ban on arms for Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yugoslavia.
� The U.N. has also performed well in the social, economic, cultural, and educational fields.

What are the failures of the U.N.O?

 

The U.N.O. could not stop wars completely. It has been less effective in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Czechoslovakia. The failure was due to jealousy and lack of co-operation among large nations. The world hopes to strengthen the entire U.N.O. system.

 

Questions: Multiple-choice questions

 

1. When did the three Indo-Pak wars take place?
a) 1945, 1953, 1962
b) 1947, 1962, 1970
c) 1965, 1968, 1971
d) 1947, 1965, 1971

 

2. Ceasefire brought by the U.N.O. in the eight-year-long war was held between which of the two countries?
a) Iran and Indonesia
b) Iran and China
c) Iraq and the Netherlands
d) Iran and Iraq

 

3. The U.N. was less effective in which of the following countries?
a) Iran
b) Iraq
c) China
d) Vietnam

 

4. In which year did the U.N. adopt a resolution on Human Rights?
a) 1947
b) 1950
c) 1942
d) 1948

 

5. The U.N. has strongly opposed the policy of apartheid in ___________.
a) Iraq
b) Ghana
c) Yugoslavia
d) South Africa

 

Exercise: Test your mind

 

Fill in the blanks:
1. The Secretary-General is the chief executive officer elected by the UN members.
2. France and Britain were forced by the U.N.O. to withdraw their troops when they attacked Egypt in 1956 on the issue of the __________.
3. The International Court of Justice consists of fifteen judges.
4. The five permanent members of the Security Council have the power of Veto.
5. Dr. Nagendra Singh of India served in the International Court of Justice as the President.

 

Write True or False:
1. The members of the Economic and Social Council are elected for two years. False
2. The failure of the United Nations was due to jealousy and lack of cooperation among large nations. True
3. As most of the countries gained independence, the Council lost its significance and was suspended on November 1, 1994. True
4. The President and Vice-President of the International Court of Justice are elected by the Security Council itself after every two years. False
5. A meeting of the General Assembly can be called in a state of emergency. True

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