UN PUBLIC NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

UN Public Nonprofit Organization

UN Public Nonprofit Organization

Introduction

The United Nations was officially established when the UN Charter came into force on October 24, 1945. The chief purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work in cooperation for international peace and security. In fact, the UN has been quite successful in resolving disputes between nations, reducing tensions, preventing conflicts and putting an end to fighting. However, the UN peacekeepers face many problems such as, non-agreeing members of the Security Council, high maintenance cost, and unwillingness of UN members to intervene in problems of other nations. Obviously, the main factor for these problems is self-interest. Although the realities of national self-interest exist, the UN is aware of this dilemma and is structuring itself in such a way that it is able to accommodate the problems that arises from it.

Discussion

Obviously the organization of the League of Nations failed to gain cooperation of nations due to the inability to accommodate the their interests. "The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War." (http://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm). The UN was formed as a replacement of the League of Nations. The structure of the UN is made up of six main interrelated parts working cooperatively as an orderly whole. These are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. Out of these six parts, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice are the most proficient in the accommodation of national self-interest. The Security Council is the most powerful body in the UN. It is responsible for maintaining international peace, and for restoring peace when conflicts arise. The General Assembly is the main deliberative body. It is known to be the closest thing to a world parliament where all Member States are represented. The International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court) is the main judicial organ of the UN. It assists countries in solving legal disputes, and gives out important advisory opinions on UN activities.(Banner,1991)

The Security Council is the organ to which the Charter gives primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security. For instance, states submit their international disputes before the Security Council for settlement by peaceful means. Unfortunately, the yearly membership fee of the UN is very expensive, so not all countries can afford to be a member. However, the UN still pays attention to the interests of small and poorer countries. "Any nation in the world, UN member or not, can bring a matter before the Security Council for guidance in solving a dispute. No matter how large or how small a country is, the Council will listen to its complaint." (Woog p. 49). The Security Council was originally created to meet in cases of international emergency. Today there are five permanent members known as the "Big Five", namely, Russia, the United States, Britain, France and ...