Contents
Introduction: The UN Today
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10
Peacekeeping
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Human Rights
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Options in Brief
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29
31
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Supplementary Documents
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35
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UN Member StatesTimeline
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Supplementary Resources
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THE CHOICES PROGRAM is a program of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. CHOICES was established to help citizens think constructively about foreign policy issues, to
improve participatory citizenship skills, and to encourage public judgement on policy issues.
The Watson Institute for International Studies was established at
Brown University in 1986 to serve as a forum for students, faculty, visiting scholars, and policy practitioners who are committed
to analyzing contemporary global problems and developing initiatives to address them.
Copyright February 2014. Fourth edition. The Choices Program. All rights reserved.
ISBN 1-60123-162-8 / 978-1-60123-162-8.
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formed. Some wonder if the UN has the capacity to face the challenges of a changing world.
Others note that the UNs success, above all,
depends on the commitment its members
have to working together to solve problems.
They argue that the UN itself does not fail or
succeed, the countries that make up its membership do.
uring World War II, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) led an effort
to create an organization that would bring
countries together in a new system of international cooperation. On June 25, 1945, fifty
countries signed a document known as the
United Nations Charter. According to the charter, the central aim of the United Nations (UN)
is to maintain international peace and security. The Charter discusses human health and
well-being, as well as safety from violence, as
key matters of security.
Roosevelt was not the first U.S. president
to propose a system of international cooperation. Having seen Europe devastated by the
violence of World War I (1914-1918), President
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) hoped that it
would be the war to end all wars. In addition to committing troops, Wilson outlined a
proposal for an organization of states he called
the League of Nations. His proposal led leaders
from around the world to give real thought to
the idea of organizing the international community.
What is the international community?
Both President Wilson and President Roosevelts visions for a world organization were
founded on a concept of an international
community. Each foresaw an organization run
by representatives from governments around
the world. By the twentieth century, the
Part I Definitions
Sovereigntythe authority of a state
to govern itself without outside interference.
Territorial Integritythe idea that international boundaries should not forcibly
be changed.
worlds population had come to be organized
under various governments. These governments, also known as states, oversaw distinct
geographic regions. International law gave
states supreme authority, or sovereignty, over
all those living within the boundaries of that
territory.
At times of widespread international conflict, it became clear that the system of state
sovereignty alone could not prevent war. The
world faced the question of who ought to govern the interactions between sovereign states.
The international community established
the League of Nations, and later the United
Nations, as bodies of authority that would
promote international order. In addition, they
hoped that international cooperation could
address hunger, poverty, racism, exploitation,
slavery, disease, and other worldwide problems. Both organizations faced the challenge of
balancing their authority with the participating states sovereignty.
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The League
of Nations
promise of being a global organization. Because the covenants authors were enemies of
Germany during World War I, the covenant
reflected anti-German sentiments. Britain and
France saw to it that Germany and a number of
other important countries, such as the Soviet
Union, were excluded from League membership. Their exclusion, along with the fact that
the United States never joined, diminished the
Leagues credibility.
Nations, they focused on creating an international organization that could serve as the
Leagues replacement.
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UN Photo/MB.
Choosing a Headquarters
In a vote of 30 to 14, the UN decided to place its headquarters in the United States. Switzerland, though it had housed the League of Nations, had concerns about hosting the United
Nations. Its priority after World War II was to maintain neutrality. (In fact, Switzerland did not
join the UN until 2002.) Indeed, the failure of the League of Nations had tainted all of Europe as a
site for the new international organization.
Cities like Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York vied for the honor. New York
City was chosen as the temporary site. U.S. oil businessman John D. Rockefeller offered the UN
$8.5 million in order to purchase a specific piece of property in New York City. The deal was
settled, and the United Nations set up headquarters in New York City in early 1946. The UN
headquarters remains in New York City today.
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government. Examples of
self-determination include
the right to establish a
constitution, run for office, and vote for local and
national officials. The cause
of self-determination has
inspired nations to challenge empires and states
that rule them. Throughout
history, some world leaders
have viewed self-determination struggles as a threat
to international peace and
stability. With thousands of
ethnic groups in the world,
fully honoring the principle
of self-determination could
lead to the creation of thousands of states.
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UN Photo #116280.
In July 1967, the UN hosted the Seminar on Apartheid, Racial Discrimination, and Colonialism in Southern
Africa. The photograph above depicts the opening ceremony in Kitwe, Zambia.
THE CHOICES PROGRAM
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underrepresented countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In 1965, the UN General
Assembly added four nonpermanent (elected)
seats to the council, bringing the total to the
current number of ten. The Assembly also established quotas for the number of seats filled
by different regions of the world.
Decolonization
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s you read in Part I, the victorious powers of World War II established the UN to
maintain international peace and security.
The importance of this primary aim has not
decreased since the UNs founding in 1945,
but the world has changed dramatically since
then.
Effectiveness: How should the UN be organized and run? Can the UN be more effective?
Some critics contend that the UN is inefficient
and ineffective.
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UN Photo #76180.
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In this photo from 2006, an Iraqi family waits outside while a U.S. soldier
searches their home.
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UN peacekeepers fulfill a range of duties, from monitoring elections to using troops to enforce borders.
Others contest this, arguing that U.S. leadership in the UN would be diluted and that an
enlarged council would make reaching agreement more difficult.
Other critics propose adding nonpermanent seats for those geographic regions
currently underrepresented on the Security
Council. Proposals calling for additional nonpermanent seats often also ask for restrictions
to be placed on the veto power and express
interest in its eventual elimination.
Peacekeeping
UN peacekeeping forces are primarily
military forces of UN members who have been
assigned to work with the UN. Peacekeeping
forces have a range of duties that can include:
monitoring a border, making a ceasefire hold,
and protecting civilians.
The UN deployed the first peacekeepers to
secure peace in 1956 during the Suez Crisis.
The Suez Crisis was a conflict that began when
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Bosnia
The former state of Yugoslavia slowly
began to disintegrate after the death of its
longtime leader, Marshal Tito in 1980. The
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HUNGARY
SLOVENIA
ROMANIA
CROATIA
BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA
Ad
r
iat
ic
Se
SERBIA
MONTENEGRO
KOSOVO
BULGARIA
on their own people, rather than conventional wars between states. Peacekeeping
missions frequently involve military engagement, sometimes referred to as peace
enforcement, that places these soldiers on
a particular side of the conflict. In addition,
peacekeeping troops fulfill an increasingly
wide range of nonmilitary tasks. Since the
UN does not have a standing army of its own,
the Department of Peacekeeping Operations
(DPKO) relies entirely on member states to
contribute troops and resources for its operations.
MACEDONIA
ALBANIA
ITALY
GREECE
The republics of the Yugoslav Federation, 1991.
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BULGARIA
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KAMPUCHEA
VIETNAM
THAILAND
t
ou
Ch
na
Se
Provincial
border
PHILIPPINES
Dili
Manatuto
TE
LES
OR
TIM
Viqueque
Suai
BRUNEI
A
SI
AY
AL
Kupang
MALAYSIA
Pacific Ocean
SINGAPORE
Jakarta
PAPUA
NEW
GUINEA
IN D O N E S IA
TIMOR LESTE
(see inset)
Timor-Leste
For more than four hundred years, Portugal ruled the eastern half of the Pacific island
of Timor. (In English, Timor-Leste means East
Timor.) The Dutch ruled the western half of
the island, along with the islands that today
make up Indonesia. The Indonesians gained
independence from the Netherlands in 1949,
and for the next sixteen years grappled with
mounting political instability. The turmoil
erupted into civil war in 1965. The Portuguese
colony of Timor-Leste was shielded from the
violence in Indonesia. But in 1974, Portuguese
colonial rule over Timor-Leste suddenly ended
after Portugals dictatorial government fell
from power. The people of Timor-Leste hoped
that the collapse of the Portuguese empire
68
16
97,904
122
3,186
Financial
Approved resources (July 2013-June 2014)
$7.83 billion
$69 billion
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UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
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Scandal in the UN
While the UN focuses its efforts on maintaining peace and security worldwide, it must also
confront corruption and crime within the organization itself. One of the most well-known UN
scandals relates to the Oil-for-Food Programme. In 1995, the United Nations made an agreement
with the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. The government of Iraq could sell oil to a
handful of buyers, and then the money from those sales would go toward food and humanitarian
goods for the country. (At the time, there were economic sanctions against oil companies in Iraq
that prevented them from selling oil on the world market.) In 2005, an investigation into the program found that the Iraqi government had placed a series of unauthorized fees on oil, food, and
humanitarian contracts. In doing so, the government of Iraq made over 1.5 billion dollars. The
UN was blamed for failing to monitor the bank accounts and personnel involved in the program.
The UNs credibility has also been questioned due to cases of UN peacekeepers committing
crimes while in the field. There have been multiple reports of sexual assault and human trafficking by UN personnel. The UN has a zero tolerance policy for crime, but perpetrators have not
always been held accountable. Laws in some countries prevent UN personnel from being brought
to court because the crime was committed abroad. These judicial gaps are a challenge for the UN
as it seeks to address misconduct within the peacekeeping force.
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UN Photo #468496.
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Human Rights
The denial of human rights is a leading
cause of violent conflict. Among the UNs
greatest achievements have been its successes
at defining international human rights standards.
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come together to agree on universal expectations of individual rights and freedoms. These
documents have become guidelines for states
domestic laws, as well as for the conduct of
business among states. Three examples of areas
in which the Bill of Human Rights has had significant impact are in securing womens rights,
labor standards, and voting rights as international standards. On the other hand, the UN
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Egypt
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Da
rfu
r
Chad
Sudan
Eritrea
Yemen
Ethiopia
South Sudan
Central African
Republic
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Somalia
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$1,335,248,000
Budget FY 2013
1,061
411
19,271
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Sudans Boy Scout and Girl Guide association marches in a UNAMID parade on September 23, 2013, the
International Day of Peace. The banner reads, We Need Peace Now.
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UN peacekeepers from Nigeria register people at a UNAMID medical clinic in Labado, East Darfur. Fighting
between the government of Sudan and armed groups forced many humanitarian workers to leave the region.
In April 2013, the UNAMID clinic became the sole provider of health care for IDPs in East Darfur.
The U.S. government also maintains economic sanctions against companies controlled
by the government of Sudan. Still, critics argue
that the United States has not done enough to
end the violence in the region.
What challenges does the UN face in Darfur?
The UNs presence in Darfur is not without
challenges. On a number of occasions, Sudans
government has threatened to withdraw its
support if UNAMID tries to expand its role in
the country.
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