The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 as a successor to the League of Nations. Currently made up of 193 member states, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding charter.[1] Despite its claim to work for peace, one of its first actions was to declare war on Korea to install a dictatorship over the south. Its initial years were spent as a mouthpiece of the United States of America and its allies until the Soviet Union began to participate in the UN. Despite it being seen as problematic by many, it has so far has not witnessed another World War, whether due to its presence or not.
Wars
Korean War
The UN sent troops to fight in the Korean War in 1950.
Congo Crisis
In 1960, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba asked for assistance to stop Belgium from meddling with the Congo, which was its former colony. The UN sent military forces, but they overthrew Lumumba instead of helping him and blocked aid from the Soviet Union.[2]
Gulf War
During the reactionary coup in the Soviet Union, which later resulted in the creation of the Russian Federation, the imperialist countries leaped on the opportunity to use the UN to give legitimacy to their invasion of Iraq in 1990. The UNSC gave permission for the United States and its allies to use force for the second time in the UN's history.
Major resolutions
Zionism
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on 10 November 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), "determine[d] that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination".[3]
Resolution 35/35, adopted on 14 November 1980, said that armed struggle against colonialism is legitimate and that, "the activities of Israel, in particular the denial to the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination and independence, constitute a serious and increasing threat to international peace and security."[4]
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/86, adopted on 16 December 1991, revoked the determination in Resolution 3379.[5]
United Nations organs
The United Nations consists of six principal organs: the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
General Assembly
Security Council
The Security Council (UNSC) has five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. While China, Russia, and the USA clearly represent important participants in global politics, France and the UK's presence has declined since the start of the UN. Qaddafi, Kofi Annan, Erdoğan, and others have criticized the UNSC for not including more important countries such as India and Brazil. Two of the permanent members of the Security Council, Britain and France, are minor powers with populations of less than 70 million each. The most important European country in economic terms is Germany, which is not on the UNSC.[6]
In 1965, the UN increased the number of temporary members in the security council to ten: five from Africa and Asia, two from Latin America, one from Eastern Europe, and two from Western Europe. However, these non-permanent members have no veto power.[7]
In 2005, Kofi Annan proposed expanding the Security Council to 25 members, including six permanent members: two from Africa, two from Asia and the Pacific, one from Europe, and one from America.[6]
Economic and Social Council
Trusteeship Council
International Court of Justice
Secretariat
External links
References
- ↑ "About Us". United Nations. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30.
- ↑ Daniel Morley (2016-01-15). "The United Nations: a tool of imperialism" Socialist Appeal. Archived from the original on 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly (1975-11-10). "Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination" Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly (1980-11-14). "Right of peoples to self-determination" Archived from the original on 2022-05-27.
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly (1991-12-16). "Racism and racial discrimination/Revocation of resolution 3379 (“Zionism as racism”)" Archived from the original on 2023-02-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vijay Prashad (2023-09-28). "Shouldn’t the United Kingdom and France Relinquish Their Permanent Seats at the United Nations?: The Thirty-Ninth Newsletter" The Tricontinental. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ Vijay Prashad (2008). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World: 'Belgrade' (p. 103). [PDF] The New Press. ISBN 9781595583420 [LG]