This American Century, Pt V: The Rise of the United Nations
The United Nations was conceived as a replacement body for the Post-World War I era League of Nations. Like the League of Nations, the UN came into existence in the aftermath of a World War. Its purpose was to be a deliberative body for the reconciliation of differences between countries, and to promote a sense of collective security. All internationally recognized nations are members of the UN, without regard to the nature of their governments. While the UN sponsors numerous committees and commissions, its two main components are the General Assembly and the Security Council.
The idea behind the General Assembly is egalitarianism on a national level. All nations are equal, regardless of population, economy, or the freedom of their populations. In the GA all nations receive one vote, but declarations by the GA are advisory in nature.
The most powerful component of the UN is the Security Council (UNSC). It is composed of 5 permanent members [the US, France, Great Britain, Russian (succeeding to the seat formerly held by the Soviet Union), and the People's Republic of China (who replaced the Republic of China on the UNSC in 1971); these reflect the five main members of the allied powers in WW2]. Each of the Permanent members have veto power over any resolutions voted on by the UNSC. In addition to the 5 permanent members, there are 10 elected members of the UNSC. They are chosen by geographic region. Two members each for Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Western Europe. Eastern Europe gets one member, and the final member rotates every two years between Africa and Asia.
Resolutions passed by the UNSC do not carry weight in and of themselves, as the UN has no power to enforce them by itself. What does carry weight, is that any resolution passed by the UNSC has the support of some of the most powerful nations in the world.
Through most of the Cold War, the UN was at the mercy of the veto powers of the US and the Soviet Union. With the latter's collapse, the UN has sought to take over a leadership position in guiding international affairs.
By the 1990s, the US was yielding more and more moral authority to the UN. In the Kuwait Crisis of 1990-91, the US-led coalition sought, and received, UN authorization for military action against Iraq, which had invaded and occupied Kuwait. The UN also provided the lead for actions in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and in several African countries, by providing peace-keepers, humanitarian assistance and attempt to broker diplomatic solutions.
With the election of George W. Bush as President of the United States, the US has chartered a more independent course of action than that of the UN. In 2003, the US led a coalition of several nations in an invasion of Iraq, to unseat Saddam Hussein and to prevent Iraq from developing and proliferating weapons of mass destruction. Unlike the US-led coalition in 1991, this coalition did not have the support of the UN.
Recently, multiple scandals have rocked the UN. Among these are accusations of rape and looting by UN peacekeeping forces in Africa, and revelations that millions of dollars earmarked for the Iraqi Oil-For-Food program were embezzled by UN official and millions more misused by the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein.
The idea behind the General Assembly is egalitarianism on a national level. All nations are equal, regardless of population, economy, or the freedom of their populations. In the GA all nations receive one vote, but declarations by the GA are advisory in nature.
The most powerful component of the UN is the Security Council (UNSC). It is composed of 5 permanent members [the US, France, Great Britain, Russian (succeeding to the seat formerly held by the Soviet Union), and the People's Republic of China (who replaced the Republic of China on the UNSC in 1971); these reflect the five main members of the allied powers in WW2]. Each of the Permanent members have veto power over any resolutions voted on by the UNSC. In addition to the 5 permanent members, there are 10 elected members of the UNSC. They are chosen by geographic region. Two members each for Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Western Europe. Eastern Europe gets one member, and the final member rotates every two years between Africa and Asia.
Resolutions passed by the UNSC do not carry weight in and of themselves, as the UN has no power to enforce them by itself. What does carry weight, is that any resolution passed by the UNSC has the support of some of the most powerful nations in the world.
Through most of the Cold War, the UN was at the mercy of the veto powers of the US and the Soviet Union. With the latter's collapse, the UN has sought to take over a leadership position in guiding international affairs.
By the 1990s, the US was yielding more and more moral authority to the UN. In the Kuwait Crisis of 1990-91, the US-led coalition sought, and received, UN authorization for military action against Iraq, which had invaded and occupied Kuwait. The UN also provided the lead for actions in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and in several African countries, by providing peace-keepers, humanitarian assistance and attempt to broker diplomatic solutions.
With the election of George W. Bush as President of the United States, the US has chartered a more independent course of action than that of the UN. In 2003, the US led a coalition of several nations in an invasion of Iraq, to unseat Saddam Hussein and to prevent Iraq from developing and proliferating weapons of mass destruction. Unlike the US-led coalition in 1991, this coalition did not have the support of the UN.
Recently, multiple scandals have rocked the UN. Among these are accusations of rape and looting by UN peacekeeping forces in Africa, and revelations that millions of dollars earmarked for the Iraqi Oil-For-Food program were embezzled by UN official and millions more misused by the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein.
posted by Mik at 6:43 PM
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