SOC 161 EXAM 3

What is the United Nations International Court of Justice? When was it established?

- The International Court of Justice, The International Court of Justice (ICJ), or World Court or simply The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). -Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America). -The Court's role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. - When the court ruled that the United States's covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law (Nicaragua v. United States), the United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 to accept the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings. However, such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Council, which the United States used in the Nicaragua case.

What is the Secretariat of the United Nations?

- The Secretariat, one of the main organs of the UN, is organized along departmental lines, with each department or office having a distinct area of action and responsibility. -Offices and departments coordinate with each other to ensure cohesion as they carry out the day to day work of the Organization in offices and duty stations around the world. At the head of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General. - At the head of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General. António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015.

When was the third phase of the United Nations and what happened?

- Third phase: 1980s to today. The UN continues its peacekeeping operations (former Yugoslavia, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo).It continues its developmental projects in various countries of the South. Problems: The collapse of Soviet Union and the Second world. The rise of neoliberalism as the only way of development which established a global cultural hegemony(Gosovic 2000). Note: The US lead Anglo-Saxon coalitions started to disregard some fundamental rules in international politics, including UN rules restricting the use of armed forces. Example: The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. New-US ideologies of development favored International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization( WTO) and the World Bank.

What is the responsibility of the United Nations Security Council?

-The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. - The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security - The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice.

What is the general history of the United Nations?

-The UN officially came into existence 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council—France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US—and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. -The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, and the Security Council took place in London beginning 6 January 1946. -The General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. -Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory (extraterritoriality). -The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General.

When was the First phase of the United Nations and what happened?

-First phase: 1946 to late 1950s. UN was the main international organization for promoting prosperity and peace-keeping initiatives.(ex. Korean war) . USA was always promoting its own agenda as well as Soviet Union Also, because of the rise of modernization theory, UN initiatives focused on technological functionalism.

The United Nations Trustee Council

-One of the principal organs of the United Nations -Established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security.

When was the Second phase of the United NAtions and what happened?

-Second phase: 1960s to late 1980s. UN continued the efforts that launched during the first phase.(Congo 1960s). Problems: The membership of nation-states in UN rose from 51 to 99 by 1961. The one-vote-one state threatens the hegemonic position of the great powers The post-war reconstruction of Europe is over and the focus shifts to the development of the new nation-states, which were created after their independence from the colonial rule. The creation of alliances between some non-western states to escape from both First and Second World ideological trajectories The modernization approach continues but the emergence of other approaches to the development are adopted by UN and its agencies

Who composed the United Nations International Court of Justice?

-The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.Every judge is from a different cultural and national entity. According to Article 9, the membership of the Court is supposed to represent the "main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world". Essentially, that has meant common law, civil law and socialist law (now post-communist law). - There is an informal understanding that the seats will be distributed by geographic regions so that there are 5 seats for Western countries, 3 for African states, 2 for Eastern European states, 3 for Asian states and 2 for Latin American . The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States) always have a judge on the Court, thereby occupying 3 of the Western seats, 1 of the Asian seats and 1 of the Eastern European seats.

Who makes up the United Nations ECOSOC?

-The ECOSOC has 54 members. It holds one four-week session each year in July, and since 1998, it has also held a meeting of April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). - The Council has 54 member states out of the 193 UN member states, which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are based on geographical representation with 18 allocated to African states, 13 to Asian states, 8 to East European states, 13 to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to West European and other states. The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system. - The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen from the small or mid-sized powers represented on the ECOSOC. His Excellency Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava was elected 72nd President of the Economic and Social Council on 28 July 2016. Ambassador Shava is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in New York. - A number of non-governmental organizations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations. Consultative Status, depending on level, gives the organizations a number of rights to participate in the work of the UN, to present their views and deliver testimony. As of January 2017, there are 143 organizations in general consultative status, 3,544 in special consultative status and 978 on the Roster

What is the purpose of United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

-The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)is responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. -The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.

What is the structure of the United Nations?

-The UN system is based on five principal organs: The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), The Secretariat and The International Court of Justice. A sixth principal organ, the Trusteeship Council, suspended operations in 1994, upon the independence of Palau, the last remaining UN trustee territory.

What is the main purposes, aims, and goals of the Trusteeship Council

-The main goals of the System were to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of Trust Territories and their progressive development towards self-government or independence. -The aims of the Trusteeship System have been fulfilled to the extent that all Trust Territories have attained self-government or independence, either as separate States or by joining neighboring independent countries. - In setting up an International Trusteeship System, the Charter established the Trusteeship Council as one of the main organs of the United Nations and assigned to it the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System.

Who was the predecessor of the United Nations?

-UN's predecessor: The League of Nations (1919-1946). -The League of Nations was an international organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, created after the First World War to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. -The United States never joined the League. Most historians hold that the League operated much less effectively without U.S. participation than it would have otherwise.

Who formulated/ came up with the idea of the United Nations?

-United Nations as an idea started from 1939 by the US State Department. -The text of the "Declaration by United Nations" was drafted by President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins, while meeting at the White House, 29 December 1941. -The UN was formulated and negotiated among the delegations from the Allied Big Four (the Soviet Union, the UK, the US, and China), the Four Policemen, at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. -After months of planning, the UN Conference on International Organization opened in San Francisco, 25 April 1945, attended by 50 governments and a number of non-governmental organizations involved in drafting the UN Charter.

Why and how governments decide to act collectively?

-Why? Because: The world is becoming more and more interconnected, as a result: -Killer viruses can spread very quickly between countries. -More and more regional wars could create refugees that they have no other way to survive other than trespassing to other countries. -Climatic changes, maldevelopment and economic injustices also create a migration movement, a lot of times through illegal means. - How? Through: Collaboration between two or more Governments in order to promote their own national interests: A. Bilateral agreements, which are one-to-one agreements between two different nation-states. B. Multilateral agreements are arrangements among three and more nation-states, commonly for peaceful purposes over an extended period of time. Exception: USA's multilateralism "a la carte"

Bilateral Organization

A government agency or nonprofit organization based in a single country while the agency provides aid, including medical aid or disaster relief, for people in other countries.

Unilateral Organization

Any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find agreeable.

Who are the permanent members of the United Nations?

China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States

What is the main approach of the United Nations?

Involved in peacekeeping, often take the more humanitarian approach

Who makes up the United Nations Security Council?

It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions. From the 15 members five are permanent : China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. -Non-Council Member States More than 60 United Nations Member States have never been Members of the Security Council. A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that country's interests are affected. Both Members and non-members of the United Nations, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, may be invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions for participation by a non-member State.

When was the United Nations International Court of Justice established?

It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).

When and why did the Trusteeship Council suspend its operations?

The Trusteeship Council suspended its operations on 1 November 1994, a month after the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required -- by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

Multilateral organization

These are organizations formed between three or more nations to work on issues that relate to all of the countries in the organization. The UN is this.

Who is involved in the Trusteeship Council?

United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates, and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. League of Nations mandates, League of Nations mandates were former colonies and territories of the German and Ottoman Empires administered on behalf of the League of Nations by one of several Mandatory Powers: Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Belgium and Japan. The Trusteeship Council is made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.