The United Nations replaced the League of Nations after its dissolution. The reason for the creation of the new association was the complete inability of the League of Nations to ensure the security and sustainable development of mankind. The headquarters of the United Nations is located in New York, USA.
The task of the UN is to play the role of a forum that serves to strengthen friendly ties between states, prevent conflicts from arising, resolve cases of international tension by diplomatic means, and protect human rights and freedoms. Since 2017, the organization is headed by Portuguese public figure Antonio Guterres. Official site: //www.un.org/ru/.
How did this organization come about?
Prerequisites for the creation of the UN appeared during the Second World War. They were due to the fact that the League of Nations, obliged to ensure the preservation of peace, did not cope with its task. During the Yalta Conference, the leaders of the Allied Powers F. Roosevelt (USA), W. Churchill (Great Britain) and I. Stalin (USSR) declared their desire to found a new international organization whose goal would be to maintain peace. In the spring of the same year, representatives of 50 states arrived in San Francisco to discuss the charter of the future international institution. It was adopted on June 25, 1945 by unanimous vote.
The UN has ratified a number of very important treaties guaranteeing peaceful coexistence. Among them, for example, treaties on nuclear disarmament and nuclear-free zones.
The first secretary general of the new organization was the English diplomat Gladwin Jebb. Legally he was acting, so a few months later he was replaced by the Norwegian Minister Trygve Li. Initially, 50 states became members of the UN, among which were Belgium, Brazil, Great Britain, Denmark, Canada, the USA, the USSR (and separately the Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR), Turkey and Poland. Subsequently, another 142 states received membership in the organization, and now there are 193 countries in the organization.
Key governing bodies
The UN includes many different bodies, commissions and councils involved in solving various issues, ranging from territorial disputes to environmental issues. The UN structure is represented by:
- Secretariat. It is the main body of the United Nations, it manages operations with the involvement of peacekeeping forces, monitors current trends in the field of economics and social development, and its members make reports on ensuring the protection of human rights;
- By the Security Council bearing the primary responsibility for maintaining peace. The UN Security Council can apply sanctions, lead peacekeeping missions and coordinate operations. The permanent members of the Security Council with veto power are Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France;
- General Assembly, which is the main representative body. Sessions of the General Assembly are held annually from September to December;
- An international court dealing with territorial disputes and the unlawful use of force, as well as consultation with the General Assembly and the Security Council;
- Economic and Social Council. Their task is to coordinate cooperation in the economic and social areas of the UN;
- a number of specialized institutions, including UNESCO - the organization for the protection of cultural and historical heritage, WHO, IAEA, WTO, FAO and others;
- separate programs (trade and development conference, UNICEF children's fund, environmental protection program, conference on human settlements and others).
All UN member countries make decisions on the replenishment and allocation of the organization’s budget. The Secretary General, in accordance with the necessary expenditures of individual units, coordinates the budget and presents it during the Assembly session. During budget development, the amount of GNP (gross national product) is taken into account, which is adjusted based on the solvency of the state and its external debts. For example, in 2013, the United States transferred to the organization’s budget $ 618.5 million, that is, 22% of its size. In the same year, Russia paid $ 68.5 million, and Germany - about 200 million UN - an independent organization and is not subject to any state.
UN peacekeeping forces
If a series of economic and political actions taken by the UN is not enough to influence any state, then the organization mobilizes its military contingent - the peacekeeping forces. This armed unit is not subordinated to the UN and belongs to the armed forces of individual states.
UNICEF, an international children's fund established by the UN, purchases half of all vaccines produced worldwide. Thanks to the various campaigns that this foundation carries out as part of its activities, more than 3 million children are saved every year.
During the existence of the UN, such precedents happened 71 times. The task of the peacekeepers is to cooperate with regional representatives of the organization, law enforcement agencies and local authorities and monitor the implementation of the reached agreements on a cease-fire in the disputed territories, using demonstration and blockade methods.
The UN peacekeeping troops are content with their states and are provided with equipment and weapons used by the army. In addition to firearms, peacekeepers have airplanes, helicopters, as well as tanks (for example, the Soviet T-72 is in service with the Indian peacekeepers) and armored personnel carriers painted in bright white. A distinctive feature of the UN peacekeeping forces, often noted in the press and journalism, is the blue dye with the abbreviation UN (United Nations).
Medals established by the organization
Among all the medals and award marks awarded by the UN, there are two of the most significant and well-known:
- Dag Hammersheld medal. It is annually awarded to a unit that suffered combat losses during a peacekeeping operation;
- Medal named Mbaye Diana. She is awarded troops of the contingent of peacekeepers and civilian police for exceptional bravery.
The remaining medals are awarded to peacekeepers in the course of a mission (for example, a medal of a group of observers in Central America or an award sign of a peacekeeping operation in Somalia). Usually, UN troops need a certain record of participation in an operation in order to receive a medal. Such awards are not signs of distinction, but only confirm the participation of the peacemaker in the mission.
Methodology of conducting peacekeeping operations
At first, UN peacekeeping operations implied control over the cease-fire after the conclusion of the relevant treaties. After the Cold War, a special peacekeeping department was established, and the UN began to plan larger and more comprehensive peacekeeping operations.
Nevertheless, several genocides (in Srebrenica and Rwanda) forced the leadership of the organization to change the approach to the implementation of its peacekeeping activities. The department has created a number of groups responsible for the continuous training of specialists and increasing the speed of deployment of advanced missions, as well as improved funding and strategic planning.
UN forces began to cooperate with regional organizations - for example, with NATO (during the Yugoslav wars), with the CIS peacekeeping battalions (in Georgia in 1994), and with the economic union of West African countries (during the establishment of the mission in Liberia in 1993). The method of conducting peacekeeping operations gradually changed - if initially the purpose of the UN military observers was only to separate the warring parties after the end of hostilities, then over time they began to work closely with regional organizations, governments and law enforcement agencies to prevent conflict from escalating at all.
The most famous peacekeeping missions
Relying on the forces of the military contingent, the United Nations manages to maintain peace. Some UN operations were organized in the last century and continue to this day. The most famous operations include:
- mission in the Congo (1960-1964). This operation was a milestone in the development of UN peacekeeping missions - it was attended by about 20 thousand troops of the organization’s contingent. The reason for the introduction of troops was the aggressive claims of Belgium on the territory of the Congo, and then the threat of separatism and intra-state wars. UN forces suppressed several uprisings, after which they left this country in 1964. The loss of peacekeeping forces amounted to 250 people;
- mission in Cyprus (1964 - present). Due to the tense Greek-Turkish relations, the UN was forced to protect a separate line between the two peoples living on this island. Peacekeepers will be withdrawn from the island only when his reunion takes place;
- temporary mission in Lebanon (1978 - present). UN observers monitored the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and helped the Lebanese government once again take control of the region. Gradually, the number of servicemen and civilian personnel involved in this operation grew, and by 2018 their number was about 10 thousand soldiers and about 1 thousand civilians. During all this time, 308 peacekeepers died there.
Not always did the United Nations succeed. The tragic point of history for this institution is the episode of the Yugoslav Wars, during which the Srebrenica massacre took place. The incorrect actions of some peacekeeping battalions during this conflict led to the fact that a large number of Muslims fell into the hands of the Serbs and were killed.
Social reaction and criticism
The UN is the Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2001), and throughout history it was supported by many famous people - missionary Teresa of Calcutta (mother Teresa), Princess Diana, Irish musician Paul David Hewson (Bono), actress Angelina Jolie and many others. UN peacekeeping activities have a wide response and many states are eager to help the organization on the path to its implementation.
The famous phrase of N. Khrushchev (“I'll show you fucking mother!”) Was uttered during the UN General Assembly meeting and was literally translated, which is why for a long time the term Kuzma's Mother was used to refer to Soviet atomic bombs.
Despite this, from time to time the top leadership of the UN is criticized. For example, the former secretary general of the organization Ban Ki-moon was forced to resign because of a corruption scandal involving financing from Saudi Arabia. Also, the organization is criticized for excessively bloated states, a huge budget and the overall inefficiency caused by the bureaucracy. Scandals of a different kind periodically emerge - for example, the cholera epidemic in Haiti caused by the presence of peacekeepers and incidents of sexual violence in the Central African Republic in 2015.
Nevertheless, there are now many organizations under the tutelage of the United Nations that are really struggling with the global problems of observing ecological balance and supporting human rights. Throughout history, this international institution has been able to prevent a number of major conflicts that could escalate into a full-scale war, and guarantee the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms to the population during hostilities. Thus, today the UN remains a stable guarantor of peace and prosperity on Earth.
