INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION'S

Why International Organizations?

International organizations are not the answer to everything, but they are important because they help with matters of war and peace and also help countries cooperate. Countries can discuss contentious issues and find peaceful solutions through these bodies and thus most conflicts and differences are resolved without going to war. An international organization is not a super-state with authority over its members and it is created by states to resolve their problems peacefully. Some issues are so challenging, that they can only be dealt with when everyone works together. For example some diseases can only be eradicated if everyone in the world cooperates in inoculating or vaccinating their populations. Global warming can be solved only with the cooperation of all the countries especially the countries having high carbon emissions and those having technologies. Nations can recognize the need to cooperate but cannot always agree on how best to do so and thus an international organization can help produce information and ideas about how to cooperate.

Evolution of UN

The UN was founded after the second world war, as a successor to the League of Nations which was formed after the 1st world war. The organization was set up through the signing of the United Nations Charter by 51 states. The UN’s objective is to prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states. Furthermore, the UN intends to bring countries together to improve the prospects of social and economic development all over the world. In the UN General Assembly, all members have one vote each. In the UN Security Council, there are five permanent members: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China. These states were selected as permanent members as they were the most powerful immediately after the Second World War and because they constituted the victors in the War. 

The UN consists of many different structures and agencies: 

(I). War and peace and differences between member states are discussed in the General Assembly as well as the Security Council. 

(II). Social and economic issues are dealt with by many agencies: World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) among others.

Reform of the UN after the Cold War

1. Two basic kinds of reforms face the UN:

(i). Reform of the organization's structures and processes

(ii). Review of the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organization.

2. There is a demand for an increase in the UN Security Council’s permanent and non-permanent membership from Asia, Africa and South America.

3. US and other Western countries want improvements in the UN’s budgetary procedures and its administration.

4. Some countries want the organization to play a greater role in peace and security missions, while others want its role to be confined to development and humanitarian work.

5. UN was organized in a way that reflected the realities of world politics after the Second World War and after the Cold War, those realities are different. For example:

(i). After the collapse of Soviet Union, the US is the strongest power and its relationship with Russia is much more cooperative.

(ii). China is fast emerging as a great power, and India also is growing rapidly.

(iii). Many new countries have joined the UN (as they became independent from the Soviet Union or former communist states in eastern Europe).

(iv). A whole new set of challenges confronts the world (genocide, civil war, ethnic conflict, terrorism and climate change etc.).

Reform of Structures and Processes

1. In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution. The resolution reflected three main complaints:

(i). The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities.

(ii). Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests and are dominated by a few powers.

(iii). It lacks equitable representation.

2. Some of the criteria have been proposed for new permanent and non permanent members of the Security Council. A new member, should be:

(i). A major economic power and military power.

(ii). A substantial contributor to the UN budget

(iii). A big nation in terms of its population

(iv). A nation that respects democracy and human rights

(v). A country that would make the Council more representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic systems, and culture.

3. A related issue was that the veto power of the five permanent members be abolished as many perceived the veto to be in conflict with the concept of democracy and sovereign equality in the UN.

4. In the Security Council, there are five permanent members and ten non-permanent members.

5. The main privileges of the five permanent members are permanency and the veto power. The non-permanent members serve for only two years at a time and they don’t have the veto power.

6. The non-permanent members are elected in a manner so that they represent all continents of the world and a country cannot be re-elected immediately after completing a term of two years as a non permanent member.

7. But, without the veto, there is the danger as in 1945, that the great powers would do what they pleased outside it, and that without their support and involvement the body would be ineffective.

Jurisdiction of the UN

1. As the UN completed 60 years of its existence, the heads of all the member-states decided that the following steps should be taken to make the UN more relevant in the changing context.

(i). Creation of a Peacebuilding Commission

(ii). Acceptance of the responsibility of the international community in case of failures of national governments to protect their own citizens from atrocities

(iii). Establishment of a Human Rights Council (operational since 19 June 2006)

(iv). Agreements to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

(v). Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations

(vi). Creation of a Democracy Fund

(vii). An agreement to wind up the Trusteeship Council

2. However the differences on how to take the above steps remain.

India and the UN Reforms

1. India has supported the restructuring of the UN on several grounds:

(i). It supports an enhanced role for the UN in promoting development and cooperation among states.

(ii). It believes that development should be central to the UN’s agenda as it is a vital precondition for the maintenance of international peace and security.

(iii). It argues that an expanded Security Council, with more representation, will enjoy greater support in the world community.

The membership of the UN Security Council was expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965. But, there was no change in the number of permanent members.

(iv). India supports an increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members and it says that the Security Council should have more developing countries in it.

2. India wishes to be a permanent member in a restructured UN for following reasons:

(i). Almost one-fifth of the world population resides in India.

(ii). India is the world’s largest democracy.

(iii). Its role in the UN’s peacekeeping efforts is a long and substantial one.

(iv). The country’s economic emergence on the world stage is another factor.

(v). India has also made regular financial contributions to the UN and never faltered on its payments.

3. India is aware that permanent membership of the Security Council also has symbolic importance as it signifies a country’s growing importance in world affairs.

4. The reputation for being powerful makes you more influential.

5. Opposition to India’s Permanent membership:

(i). Some countries are concerned about India’s nuclear weapons capabilities.

(ii). Its difficulties with Pakistan will make it ineffective as a permanent member.

(iii). Some countries think that, If India is included, then other emerging powers will have to be accommodated such as Brazil, Germany, Japan and South Africa, whom they oppose.

The UN in a Unipolar World

1. US power cannot be easily checked as its military and economic power allow it to ignore the UN or any other international organization.

2. Within the UN, the influence of the US is considerable as it is the single largest contributor to the UN.

3. The fact that the UN is physically located within the US territory gives Washington additional sources of influence.

4. With its veto power the US can stop any moves that it finds damaging to its interests or the interests of its friends and allies.

5. The UN is not therefore a great balance to the US.

6. Nevertheless, in a unipolar world, the UN can and has served to bring the US and the rest of the world into discussions over various issues of conflict and social and economic development.

7. The UN does provide a space within which arguments against specific US attitudes and policies are heard and compromises and concessions can be shaped.

The UN is an imperfect body, but without it the world would be worse off. Technology promises to increase planetary interdependence, and therefore the importance of the UN will only increase.

IMF: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees those financial institutions and regulations that act at the international level. The IMF has 189 member countries (as on 12 April 2016) but they do not enjoy an equal say.

World Bank: The World Bank was created during the Second World War in 1944. Its activities are focused on developing countries. It works for human development, agriculture and rural development, environmental protection, infrastructure and governance.

WTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization which sets the rules for global trade. This organization was set up in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) created after the Second World War. All decisions are taken unanimously.

IAEA: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established in 1957. It seeks to prevent the use of nuclear energy for military purposes. IAEA teams regularly inspect nuclear facilities all over the world to ensure that civilian reactors are not being used for military purposes.

Amnesty International: It is an NGO that campaigns for the protection of human rights all over the world. It prepares and publishes reports on human rights. These reports play an important role in research and advocacy on human rights.

Human Rights Watch: It is another international NGO involved in research and advocacy on human rights. It is the largest international human rights organization in the US. It helped in building international coalitions like the campaigns to ban landmines, to stop the use of child soldiers and to establish the International Criminal Court. 

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