History Lecture 1: The United Nations - Organization and Structure

Trygve Lie (Norway) 1946-53

did not always show the tact and discretion essential to this delicate appointment e.g. displayed a pro-Israeli personal attitude during the war of 1948 and argued for stronger UN action to assist Israel 1946 - Tried to establish a role for UNSG by investigating alleged infiltration across Greece's northern border personally. 1948- Presented detailed solutions of his own to the Berlin Crisis. 1951 - The USSR representatives, having failed to obtain the seating of the representatives of the People's Republic. began boycotting UN meetings at which China was represented by delegates of the Republic of China, based in Taiwan. In private meetingt-TAtith delegations, Lie tried to solve the impasse. He adduced various reasons, including a ruling of the International Court of Justice, for the thesis that nonrecognition of a government by other governments should not determine its representation in the UN. 1950 - Lie presented to the UN his plan for twenty years of peace in the world. Within weeks, the Korean War broke out which involved a major UN commitment. Lie negotiated with the Chinese settlement of the Korean War. Russia accused Lie of being too hasty in gathering together a military force to remove North Korea from the South. and was from then on convinced that the UN was biased against the USSR. The truth was of course more complex than what the USSR suggested. When Lie realized that the USA was controlling the Korean mission rather than the UN, he stepped in by proposing a 'committee as coordination of assistance for Korea consisting of troop contributing states and the Republic of Korea. The explicit purpose of the committee, Secretary General Lie explained, was to stimulate and coordinate offers of assistance, its deeper purpose was to keep the United Nations in the picture. The US, however, was opposed to the idea of such a supervisory committee and had the power to turn it down. This effectively left the US in control of the decisions regarding what was to be done in the UN authorized operations of the Korean War. Later in the war, the UN proceeded to invade North Korea without the permission of the Secretary-General or the Security Council, thus cementing the USSR's perception that Lie was merely a stooge of the USA In 1950, Lie finished his first term and was up for re-election. The Secunty Council, in charge of discussing this issue, was deadlocked when the USSR used its veto in hopes of blocking Lie's re-election due to its fury with Lie over his handling of the Korean War. The issue was moved to the General Assembly (consisting of mainly US allies at that point in time), which voted to extend Lie's term by 46 to 5 votes. Nomination for a further term was vetoed by USSR in 1951, boycotted by Soviet Union and allies (leading to the withdrawal of his nomination in 1953) -outspoken support for UN intervention in the Korean War in the defence of South Korea in 1950 and active role in organising UN effort in Korea - accused of being complicit in anti-communist crusade on behalf of USA (very clear pro-Western tendencies). Also failed to resist US interference during the McCarthyite penod of communist witch-hunting resulting in negative impact on morale of UN Secretanat staff -accusations that US citizens in the service of UN had been involved in subversive activity against the US based on evidence from the Internal Security Sub-Committee of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Instances of the failures of the Uniting for Peace Resolution

1956 Hungary Crisis: after the USSR vetoed the proposed Security Council resolution to send troops to repel the Soviet invasion, the General Assembly adopted five resolutions on Hungary and set up a commission of inquiry into foreign intervention in Hungary. This did nothing to convince the Soviet Union to withdraw from Hungary as Soviet tanks continued to roll into Budapest and crush the anti-Soviet rebellion. 1980 Afghanistan Civil War: after the USSR vetoed moves by the Security Council that threatened to respond against their invasion of Afghanistan, the General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the USSR's aggression and called for the "immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan". The USSR ignored this. 1980 Middle East Crisis: Israel refused to remove troops from the disputed Occupied Territories and a proposed Security Council resolution imploring Israel to do so met with a veto from the USA. The General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Occupied Territories, but Israel conveniently ignored it too.

Structural issues with the General Assembly

In theory, the GA has the right to discuss anything and make recommendations on all subjects that it cares to. However, in reality, there are 3 limitations to the effectiveness of the GA: - Article 12 of the UN Charter confines the GA to discussions but not recommendations on any disputes that are being discussed by the SC at the same time. - Recommendations of the GA are not binding. - Nature of its authority is more moral than real: it carries the weight of the world's opinion and there are no military sanctions. The GA is guided by the principle of sovereign equality: - All member states are equal regardless of size, wealth, population or power. - Each member state has a single vote. They will lose their vote if they do not pay the past 2 years' contributions to the UN. Problem with this ethos: not representative of the global population (e.g. nation of 50,000 having the same representation as a one of 500 million). Voting system: Very important affairs require 2/3 majority of those present and voting (this majority does not include those abstaining). Otherwise, a simple majority from those present and voting will suffice. (i.e. less than 2/3, or the highest group of votes). Possible pitfalls of this system: development of voting blocs as well as the non-representative nature of the 1 state 1 vote system mentioned above. All members are entitled to one vote in the General Assembly regardless of size or influence. No country holds veto powers. Though this is intended to emphasize the point about the equality of all sovereign member states in the UN, it has resulted in criticism that it is not taken seriously. These critics feel that tiny countries like Malawi or Vanuatu have as much voting power as big powers such as the United States and China. The General Assembly is intended to be the parliament of the world, where members discuss issues of global importance and vote on them, producing resolutions as a summary of the discussions. However, these resolutions would have to be ratified by the national government back in the individual countries' parliaments and if the national parliament chooses not to ratify the resolutions, there is nothing else that the UN can do. In 1962, in response to South Africa's racist apartheid policies, the UN adopted Resolution 1761 which condemned apartheid and considered such policies to be a threat to international peace and security. Not all countries ratified this resolution. For example, the USA and Israel did not fall in line with the UN's stand of criticizing apartheid, but instead supporting the white racist regime in South Africa. This is because the South African government was an important US ally during the Cold War while the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, led by Nelson Mandela, had made ties with the Soviet Union. Hence, Cold War politics prevented countries from fully supporting the UN General Assembly resolutions have not always received full and complete ratification from member states, even for resolutions which are non-controversial. For instance, General Assembly Resolution 44/25, also known as the Convention of the Rights of the Child which guarantees the rights of children is rather universal. However, there are still 2 UN members which have not ratified the treaty till this day.

The UN Charter

Representatives from 50 countries convened in San Francisco in 1945 to deliberate on the UN Charter, which was based on proposals made in 1944 between the USA, USSR, China and Britain. The Charter was signed in October 1945 by the 50 member states. Below are some key aspects of international relations that the Charter outlined: Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Outcome of League of Nations

The League of Nations became less relevant in the 1930s as they were unable to exert their authority over aggressor countries (1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria) and (1935 Italian invasion of Abyssinia). Although both Japan and Italy were the aggressors, the League of Nations were only able to impose half-hearted economic sanctions against these countries and failed to deter the military invasions. As a result, the League was not taken seriously after 1935. Ultimately, due to the outbreak of World War 2, the League of Nations was considered to have failed in its ultimate aim of maintaining peace.

Critiquing the UN Security Council

The UNSC went through many phases of ups and downs. It is best to evaluate the UNSC's effectiveness/ineffectiveness and reasons for it within these 4 phases of its development: ✓ 1945 — 1950s ✓ Late 1950s — early 1980s ✓ Late 1980s — 1991 ✓ Post-1991 period

Structure of the United Nations

The United Nations encompasses a variety of functions and sub-organizations that address issues such as conflict resolution, economic development, peacekeeping responsibilities, human rights, International arbitration and many others. In summary, the various duties and responsibilities of the UN are organized into 6 main organs: - The Security Council - The General Assembly - The International Court of Justice - The Secretariat - Economic and Social Council - Trusteeship Council The structure of the United Nations was meant to be modelled after government structures within a state, following the executive-legislative-judiciary led by a President/Prime Minister dynamic.

Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru) 1982-91

The next Secretary-General. Javier Perez de Cuellar received even more criticism. He was soft spoken; Argentine invasion of Falkland Islands and Iraqi invasion of Kuwait took place during this period, also administrative worry of UN's virtual bankruptcy because of non-payment by key members especially USA and USSR. but flexible forms of UN diplomacy and success under his watch: 1983-84: Iran-Iraq War. Afghanistan, Namibia - use of secret diplomacy via the good offices of the UNSG to bring about a cease-fire and also to conduct a fact-finding mission that ascertained the use of chemical weapons. UNSG at this point not only functioned as a mediator, but was able to influence the UNSC to pass resolution at ending the war. He presided over the re-intensification of the Cold War following the end of détente and was often unable to reduce tensions between the two superpowers. He was helpless when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and was often bullied by the USA which had by this stage grown extremely dissatisfied with the UN. By the mid-eighties, with the Security Council still constrained by cold war politics, it was onwards clear that the office of the Secretary-General had gained in stature in relation to other UN organs. Thereafter, with the end of the Cold War conflict between the superpowers, things began to change. USA and USSR no longer saw civil wars in other countries as proxies for their strategic rivalry, but more as humanitarian disputes. UNSC thus became interested in the expansion of UNSG peacekeeping and conflict-preventing roles in these areas that were previously off-limits to the UN. Civil conflicts are successfully resolved in areas like Cambodia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, El Salvador and states of the former Yugoslavia. (see below) Despite the fact that the Secretary-General, together with the rest of the UN system, undoubtedly has gained in stature since the easing of cold war tensions, his capacity for independent initiatives has nevertheless been affected, even diminished, by the increased activism of the newly-reinvigorated Security Council and (to a lesser degree) the General Assembly, as well as by those organs' rapidly diminishing appetite for tackling challenging tasks in places which do not directly affect the leading members' national interests. 1988-89: After years of negotiation since 1982, the UNSG has been able to negotiate with the warring parties in the Afghanistan War for a ceasefire as well as the establishment of a supervisory mechanism to ensure Soviet withdrawal. UNSG was successful because of support from UNSC, not least the USSR, together with his tact at negotiating in the fashion of "Peking Formula". 1988-93: Javier Perez de Cuellar - Boutros Boutros-Ghali. From 1988, the UNSG undertook consultation with the ASEAN states, together with France and the Cambodia factions, managed to reach the Paris Agreement in 1991. Finally, free and fair election was conducted in 1993 under the leadership of UNSG, ending the turmoil in Cambodia. UNSG nevertheless insisted to mediate in his own good offices rather than as a representative of the UNGA which in turn might make his role seemed biased. 1989: Fighting in Lebanon escalated, especially in and around Beirut. There is danger of further involvement of outside parties. Article 99 was invoked. 1989: Mediated and oversaw the mediation of Nicaragua's civil war, which concluded with fair elections. 1989-1994: Javier Perez de Cuellar - Boutros Boutros-Ghali. UNSG conducted negotiations to bring about a dialogue between the Government of El Salvador and the FMLN guerrillas. Mediation efforts resulted in the 1994 election. 1990 -1994:Javier Perez de Cuellar - Boutros Boutros-Ghali. UNSG called for negotiations to bring about a dialogue between the Government of Guatemala and the insurgents. Mediation efforts resulted in the 1994 peace agreement. 1991: Aided in the release of all western hostages in the Lebanon Crisis. For all these successes, the UNSG has been able to utilise his own good offices, thus maintaining a non-partisan role at managing the said crises, before acquiring authorisation from the UNSC to act decisively. The most common criticism of de Cuellar was that he was far too passive and lacked the requisite authority to perform the duties of a Secretary-General effectively. For example, in the case of Namibia's attempt to gain independence from South Africa, de Cuellar was criticized for not being firm enough on South Africa in insisting that the latter allow free and fair elections in Namibia. However, supporters of de Cuellar paint a different picture. They credit him with the ability and skill to ensure that negotiations continue, even though a resolution may not be on the horizon. On the same issue of Namibian independence, his supporters point to the fact that de Cuellar had travelled extensively to South Africa in order to get their approval with regards to several aspects of the election. Nonetheless, De Cuellar was unable to stop the USA from reducing its monetary contributions to the UN, therefore resulting in the near bankruptcy of the UN. Near the end of de Cuellar's term, the Cold War ended but this could hardly be attributed to the actions of the Secretary-General. The successful role that the UN played in driving Saddam Hussein's troops from Kuwait in 1991 was also not because of de Cuellar's efforts, but a result of improved superpower relations hence resulting in the lack of traditional Soviet opposition to the deployment of the UN in the Middle East against Iraq, a former Soviet ally. It was noteworthy that Article 99 was only invoked 3 times between 1945 and 2000. during the 1960 Congo Crisis by Hammarskjold, 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis by Kurt Waldheim and 1989 Lebanon Crisis by Javier Perez de Cuellar

Critiquing UNSC: Late 1980s to 1991

This period and the end of the Cold War saw greater cooperation between the two superpowers and greater activity and effectiveness in the UNSC. Major breakthroughs in regional conflicts and issues. (Iran-Iraq War ended in 1988, apartheid issue in South Africa, Gulf War of 1990) Successes of the late 1980s — early 1990s saw increased optimism and boosting of UNSC morale and authority. UNSC sent a peacekeeping force (UNPROFOR) in Yugoslavia in 1992, the monitoring of elections in Angola in 1992, and Cambodia in 1993 (UNCTAD). Counter: Sudan and Ethiopia were neglected.

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (Conclusion)

While superpower rivalry in the Cold War created opportunities for the UNGA to assume greater responsibility, mainly through the UFP, and diverted international attention to issues of the developing countries, which formed the majority of the UNGA membership, these enhancements to its power were usually short lived and unsubstantial. The UNGA remained heavily circumscribed by its constitutional limitations. Its influence was projected beyond the interests and support from the superpowers.

How far did Soviet use of the veto in the Security Council during the Cold War limit the power of the United Nations (BP 2)

Yes Soviet vetoes paralysed SC - prevented the SC from intervening in various Cold War conflicts But able to leapfrog Soviet vetoes by resorting to the use of the Uniting for Peace resolutions in the GA - UN was able to play a role in these conflicts - Korean, Congo, Afghanistan Limitations of UFP resolutions? Not legally binding

List of UNSG

teacher do you know 健保卡 Trygve Lie (Norway) 1946-53 Dag Hammarskjold (Sweden) 1953-61 U Thant (Burma) 1961-71 Kurt Waldheim (Austria) 1971-82 Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru) 1982-91 Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) 1992-96 Kofi Annan (Ghana) 1996-2006 Ban Ki Moon (South Korea) 2007-2016 Antonio Guterres (Protuguese) 2017-present by principals -> need to navigate political sensitivity especially during Cold War due to superpower rivalry -> politically astute The effectiveness of each of the Secretary-Generals depends very much on their own personalities and their relationship with the superpowers. Some Secretary-Generals have been more effective than others because they were more assertive and stood up to the superpowers. However, this is also the very reason why critics have criticized these Secretary-Generals for being too assertive and their lack of neutrality.

Kurt Waldheim (Austria) 1971-82

Compared to the previous Secretary-Generals. U Thant's successor. Kurt Waldheim, especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Waldheim was overshadowed by Henry Kissinger, the US Secretary of State, over peace negotiations in the Middle East after the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973. A passive character, he did little to organize or to move the peace processes forward. Waldheim also received significant criticism over his handling of terrorism at the 1972 Munich Olympics. At the Games, a terrorist organization known as Black September had captured Israeli hostages to make a plea for the case of Palestinian statehood. Waldheim and his team reacted slowly to the crisis and attracted significant criticism as he was not able to save the hostages. 1977: Intervened in securing the release of French hostages held in Algeria by the Saharawi Liberation Movement without authorisation from UNSC and UNGA. 1978-88: The UNSG was able to facilitate the independence of Namibia from South Africa through a ten year process, with the assistance of UNSC. An example of how UN effectiveness is enhanced with UNSG as the mediator helped by political pressure from UNSC. 1979: Convened a 65 nation meeting to deal with the flood of Vietnamese 'boat people' (humanitarian) on his own accord. It was a success and ended with a resettlement scheme. A similar initiative soon followed to help the Cambodian refugees. In Nov 1979, Waldheim's reputation suffered further with another botched attempt at resolving the issue of terrorism. In Iran. a revolution brought Islamic fundamentalist leader Ayatollah Khomeini into power. The wave of radicalism saw Iranian students capture Amencan diplomats in the US embassy in Tehran. Article 99 was invoked. SG writes to SC President on 25 Nov drawing attention to the continuing crisis and requesting SC meeting, saying that it was his opinion that the crisis posed a threat to international peace and security. In resolution of 4 Dec SC calls for release of hostages, restoration of diplomatic immunities and authorizes SG to "take all appropriate measures" to implement the resolution. On 31 Dec 1979 he travels to Tehran. However, Ayatollah Khomeini humiliated Waldheim by refusing to see him. Efforts were fruitless and did not play any role in the eventual release of the hostages 444 days after they were captured. Third World and environmental issues were forced to the forefront of UN's attention during this period (reflect the changing composition of the UNGA 1972 Stockholm Conference and concept of New International Economic Order, and issues of nuclear disarmament; appeared to be the typical courteous diplomat and only SG to have been considered for a third term in (avoidance of controversial issues that may incur the wrath of the big powers but China vetoed his re-election as they wanted a Secretary-General from-the Third World, rather than another European Secretary-General perhaps indicative of the fact that Waldheim did not do enough to convince Third World nations that he was capable of representing them. 1982: UNSG by now have carved for themselves a dispute settlement role that is separate from, and sometimes at variance with, the policy of powerful member states. The establishment of "thirty-ninth floor perspective" where UNSG acted on their own to safeguard what they perceived as minimum standards of world order. By the mid-1980s, UNSG has gained in stature relative to those of the other UN organs.

Dag Hammarskjold (Sweden) 1953-61

Hammarskjold is often seen as one of the most important Secretary-Generals that the UN has had as he was a skilled negotiator and had expanded the -UN's peacekeeping abilities immensely. However, his legacy was mixed as well, as the USSR was convinced that Hammarskjold was anti-Soviet, especially in the manner in which Hammarskjold dealt with the Congo Crisis. Conducted himself with considerably greater discretion and tactical finesse, avoided making outspoken statements on controversial subjects - calculated use of ambiguous language. Skilful in finding the appropriate fig-leave of constitutional respectability for actions which he had decided to take - reserved the right to take initiatives of his own but sought where possible to obtain clear authority from UNSC or even UNGA. Hammarskjold expanded the role of the Secretary-General's office during the Suez Crisis. His first diplomatic success came in 1954 when he helped to secure the release of eleven American fliers held captive by the PRC. He was authorised by UNGA to undertake the mission, but he preferred to disassociate from the resolution and act on his own neutral stand. "Peking Formula" -"acting in his role as Secretary-General under the Charter of the United of what was stated in the General Assembly resolution". Quite consciously sought to expand his role: when re-elected in 1957, he emphasised that he considered it his duty to use his office, indeed, the machinery of the organisation, to its utmost capacity and to the full extent permitted at each stage by practical circumstances. e.g. 1956 Suez Crisis - Initiated private negotiations between foreign ministers of Egypt, Britian and Frace after Nasser's nationalisation of the Seuz Canal. Hammarskjold played the most important role to set up UN peacekeeping force following acceptance of Canadian proposal; difficult negotiations with Egypt on terms on which the UN force would be accepted and its composition, as well as a status of forces agreement, which he did so successfully. He maximised the autonomy and power accorded to UNSG by improvising a solution to keep peace between Egyptian and the invading forces. Also used his personal influence to call for the formation of the first hugely successful UN peacekeeping mission. Leave it to Dag - skillful in retaining the goodwill of the membership of UN as a whole by consulting closely with UNGA committees and UNSC e.g. 1958 Lebanon crisis: tasked to assemble UN observer mission. After the landing of the American Marines, in Lebanon and before a deadlocked UNSC, he acted on his own to augment the UN Observer Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL), that helped to facilitate American withdrawal. 1959 Laos: personally acted without authority to appoint a representative to keep him informed of all developments which might necessitate further UN action. He broke procedural ground in that he neither sought nor obtained approval from UNSC to attend to issues. During the Congo Crisis however, Hammarskjold began to come under criticism, especially from the USSR. He was initially unable to bring order back to Congo as the fighting in the country could not he stopped by UN peacekeepers. As the conflict began to take on more of a Cold War flavour, Hammarskjold was accused by the USSR of being pro-US. This continues the theme of the Soviet Union being convinced that the UN and its institutions we., always favouring the USA However, to Hammarskjold's credit, he managed to overcome these problems Firstly, in 1960, he took the unprecedented step of elevating the nature of UN involvement in Congo from a Chapter VI mission to a Chapter VII mission to deal with the violence in Congo. Article 99 was invoked. SG requested for UN Military assistance to protect against Belgian Paratroops which have been dispatched to protect Belgian Interests (including inhabitants) in the former colony. Belgian forces must be withdrawn and to prevent other countries (esp. Sovi Union) from sending troops. Furthermore, he managed to placate the USSR and got the USSR on his side eventually. However, the Soviets' suspicions of Hammaiskjold never went away. In 1960, the former Belgian Congo and then newly independent Congo asked for UN aid in defusing the Congo Crisis. Hammarskjold made four trips to Congo. In September 1960, the Soviet government denounced his decision to send a UN emergency force to keep the peace. They demanded his resignation and the replacement of the office of Secretary-General by a three-man directorate with a built-in veto, the "troika." Hammarskjold's time as Secretary-General was eventually ended in 196 I when his plane route to Congo crashed. Rumours abounded that his plane was brought down by the USSR's secret agencies. Furthermore, the USSR's hostility towards the UN continued as the USSR refused to pay their dues to the UN as a means of elevating their protest of the manner in which the UN had dealt with Cold War conflicts. This caused the UN to not have sufficient lends to continue its involvement in Congo, leaving the country in a state of conflict

U Thant (Burma) 1961-71

Hammarskjold's successor, U Thant received credit for his role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was instrumental in persuading further Soviet naval carriers which had missiles in them to turn away from Cuba. and on many occasions, facilitated discussions between Kennedy and Khrushchev as they negotiated an end to the crisis. He first offered his help to resolve the conflict in a telegram sent to both superpowers on 24 October 1962. with the world hailing his initiative. U Thant came up with the proposal for the US to guarantee not to invade Cuba. He advocated this idea publicly, then privately to both Ambassador Stevenson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. It became the basis for the final agreement days later, accompanied by a secret commitment by Kennedy to remove US missiles from Turkey. Both sides also used U Thant extensively to convey messages to each other in the tense climate. This was initially not welcomed but later commended by JFK for his efforts. He found it necessary to act with circumspection: could not afford initiatives which would antagonise important groups in the UN; never invoked Article 99 and virtually never spoke at a Security Council meeting but often active behind the scenes — e.g. set up special committees to consider the effects of nuclear warfare which had a significant impact on world opinion: 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 1967 Outer Space Treaty, 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty and 1971 Sea-bed Arms Control Treaty. 1963: U Thant borrowed personnel from the UNEF to position as UN observers in the Yemeni Civil War without authorisation from UNSC. Sent missions to East Malaysia and Bahrain (without reference to SC) to assess wishes of the people in the area, thus helping to resolve these territorial disputes; but he was heavily criticised for his decision to remove UN peacekeeping force from Sinai, Egypt in 1967 which led to the outbreak of the June Six-Day War (demanded by Nasser hence host nation had withdrawn its consent). 1965: Created new observer group to maintain the truce in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War, without budgetary approval from UNSC. U Thant also instructed the Americans to avoid any risky military moves during the crisis which would have seen missiles fired and the start of World War 3. On top of that, he visited Cuba personally during the dying embers of the crisis to ensure that hostilities did not resume. This goes to show that the Secretary-General could rise above Cold War tensions rather than be crushed by them. U Thant's skill was such that he was able to get both sides to compromise by ensuring that both sides did not feel as if they were submitting or capitulating. However, U Thant failed in other ways — 1964: U Thant - Kurt Failure to resolve satisfactorily the civil war in Cyprus, even though the UNSG has performed to the best of his good offices as a mediator. 1964-65: He searched for a negotiated peace on his own accord to the Vietnam War, without putting it on UN discussion agenda. He presided over increased American involvement in the Vietnam War and was largely unable to get the Americans to withdraw from Vietnam. This was because the Americans saw the need to prevent the domino theory as too important an objective to allow the Secretary-General or the United Nations any involvement. On top of that, U Thant also failed to prevent the outbreak of the Six-Day War between the Arabs and Israelis in 1967 when Egypt insisted that UNEF be removed from the border between Egypt and Israel. This was because the UN was subjected to member states sovereignty - Egypt no longer tolerated the presence of UNEF troops on its soil and thus U Thant had no choice but to remove UNEF

Origins of The United Nations

League of Nations Impact of World War 2

How far did Soviet use of the veto in the Security Council during the Cold War limit the power of the United Nations (BP 1)

Soviet vetoes - Korean War 1950-53, Berlin Blockade 1948-49, Hungary Crisis 1956, Afghanistan 1979-89, Cambodian Crisis 1978-91, Congo Crisis 1960-64

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 5)

Superpower rivalry did little to alleviate the constitutional constraints and inherent weaknesses which circumscribed the influence of the UNGA. (Please refer to notes on the limited constitutional powers of the UNGA, examples of Cold War conflicts excluded from the interference of the UNGA, the divisions and the parochial interests of the UNGA member states.)

Analysis of the UNSG role

The Secretary-General has undertaken good offices missions in response to requests from parties to a conflict and/or formal or informal invitations from regional groupings. In the Mozambique case, the Secretary-General's role was initiated at the invitation of the parties to an agreement ending a civil war negotiated outside the UN by the Government and its RENAMO adversaries. The UNSG has acted on his own authority, at least initially, in respect of civil wars in Greece, Yemen, Afghanistan. Burundi, Rwanda, Tajikistan, in the Iran-Iraq conflict and regarding hostages in Lebanon. He has also undertaken roles in Cyprus, East Timor, Libya, the Middle East, Namibia, Somalia and Yugoslavia on the basis of mandates in resolutions of the Security Council. Some of his activities in connection with Afghanistan and the Western Sahara were authorized by resolution of the UNGA. But prior to the Assembly's resolutions. the Secretary-General had already begun to exercise his good offices on his own authority. Similarly, in Cambodia, the Falkland Islands, Iran/Iraq, Iraq/Kuwait, Burundi and Somalia the UNSG became active on his own just before the political organs, usually at his suggestion, gave his efforts formal approval. In other instances, such as those involving his good offices missions in Abkhazia and Central America he proceeded entirely on his own and received approval from the Security Council only many months later. His efforts to resolve the Lebanon hostage crisis occurred without any involvement of the political organs. Aside from these explicit or implicit authorizations it is obvious that the UNSG, in order to perform his good offices functions, must retain the confidence of the principal organs and the major nations and regional groupings which constitute the Organization. Thus, the Secretary-General is constantly involved in informal consultations with the Security Council and individual States. As a result, his discretion as to how to proceed in a given dispute may, in fact, be narrower than it appears on paper. Once a political organ - or a powerful Member State - begins to involve itself in a situation, the Secretary-General's inherent powers, especially in the post cold war era, usually need to be exercised in compliance with the limits, directions and parameters established by those actors. Examples would include Afghanistan. Cambodia and South West Africa. The UNSG in 1990 could not negotiate for a peaceful resolution to Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. using the Peking Formula, as he was commanded by the UNSC to demand for an unconditional Iraqi withdrawal. On the other hand. the Secretary-General is aware that there are circumstances when it is actually helpful to have hands tied by the Charter or the UN political organs. A narrow margin of discretion may sometimes help him resist unacceptable pressures from either side to a conflict. In the Cyprus negotiations, he has had occasion to remind the Turkish-Cypriot authorities that the 'essence of his mandate' was called into question by their insistence on a unilateral right of secession, which would violate the parameters for a constitutional settlement set out in the UNSC resolution authorizing his mediation. As mediator, he has tried to use these constraints on his discretion to gain negotiating leverage.

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (BP 3)

In fact, some of the unattained objectives of UNSC's were delegated to and eventually fulfilled through the commitment of the UNGA. • UFP raised for the UNGA to take action in Korean War (1950), Suez Canal Crisis (1956) and Congo Crisis (1960). • In the absence of a functioning UNSC. the UNGA offered support for initiatives undertaken by the UNSG.

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 2)

Nevertheless, the advantage granted to the UNGA from the passing of UFP resolutions as a result of superpower rivalry within the UNSC should not be overrated. Members of the UNGA on their own simply did not have the power and resources to ensure the success of these decisions. The UFP resolution passed on the 1956 Hungarian Uprising was merely a condemnation without any real bite on Soviet aggression. Similarly, resolutions on the 1980 Afghanistan Civil War and the 1980 Middle Eastern Crisis did nothing to effect the withdrawal of invaders from either scenario. In fact, the UFP resolutions for both the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis and the 1960 Congo Crisis largely succeeded because the UNGA was given American support.

How far did Soviet use of the veto in the Security Council during the Cold War limit the power of the United Nations (Intro)

the Cold War period: - 1945-1991 (pure CW questions) - 1945-1989 (include post-CW period) limit the power of the United Nations - effectiveness in maintaining international peace and security

Critiquing UNSC: 1980s

* Reagan is anti-UN During this period of time, the UNSC faced more deadlocks and became less effective There were less formal and informal meetings and instances where a united Council was able to make decisions and recommend measures for peaceful settlement At the same time however, many regional conflicts occurred. (Iran-Iraq war 1980 - 1988, Cambodian conflict. 1978 - 1990)

Evaluation of UNSG (refer to Timeline of the effectiveness of UNSG)

- Global prominence and influence of SG - sending of missions, special representatives, speeches and statements, setting up of committees, annual report to GA (Article 98) to express his own views, make proposals to UN which are sometimes of considerable importance, engaged in continuous consultations with national delegations to UN, monthly lunches for SC to interact with delegates - Freedom of UNSG to raise issues to UNSC and UNGA vs freedom of UNSG to initiate action without authority

UNGA became more powerful by broadening its scope of authority in 2 ways

1. By taking a more active role in matters of peace and security in being a back-up to the Security Council. Forming 'Little Assembly' in 1947 (which failed due to claims of its lack of legitimacy). Little Assembly had the same make-up as the UNGA but its power is to make preliminary studies of issues requested to be tabled in the UNGA agenda and decide if they warrant discussion. It failed due to its boycott by USSR and the communist bloc, which considered its formation illegal. Passing a 'Uniting for Peace' Resolution (UNGA Resolution 377A) in November 1950 after start of Korean War (controversial due to abstention/objection of USSR). This allows the UNGA to exercise responsibility in coming up with a security resolution should the UNSC be unable to act, even able to recommend if necessary the use of force — real extension of UNGA's powers (a reality during the Cold War, but controversial because despite USSR objection, the proposal was passed by the UNGA!). The UFP resolution allowed UNGA to deal with the Communist Chinese military intervention in Korea (1950), Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956, Suez Crisis of 1956, Lebanese crisis of 1958 and Congo crisis of 1960. 2. By supporting the emancipation of colonised people. Resolution 1514 -Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and People" legitimised ALL anti-colonial struggles (adopted by UNGA in December 1960). Placed moral pressure on France and Belgium, which claimed to be democratic and respectful of human rights, to great success in North Africa and Congo respectively

Instances of the successes of the Uniting for Peace Resolution

1956 Suez Crisis: France and the UK vetoed proposed Security Council resolutions to send a peacekeeping force to monitor the withdrawal of French and British troops. General Assembly took over and created the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). 1960 Congo Crisis: After the USSR vetoed a proposed Security Council which confirmed the mandate of UN Operation in Congo (ONUC), the General Assembly took on this role and defined the capabilities of ONUC.

How far did Soviet use of the veto in the Security Council during the Cold War limit the power of the United Nations (BP 3)

Also note the role of other P-5 in SC in limiting the UN's role - US vetoes - 1964-75 Vietnam War, 1982 Lebanon Crisis, 1980s UN invasion of Grenada and intervention in Nicaragua - British and French votes - 1956 Suez Crisis Rare instances of superpower cooperation in the SC - 1956 Suez Crisis, 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1967 Six-Day War Eval: early period of CW when USSR vetoes at its highest

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 1)

As the UNSC was often paralysed by the casting of vetoes by the superpowers in protection of their respective national interests, this has resulted in the passing of Uniting for Peace (UFP) resolutions, tremendously empowering the UNGA to take on responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and stability. Following three vetoes cast by the USSR on the situation in Korea from September 1950, the UNGA adopted resolution 377 (V) to undertake collective security actions against the invasion of DPRK troops across the 38th Parallel. The Congo Crisis between 1960 and 1963 could not have been resolved if not for the UFP resolution passed to circumvent Soviet veto. In fact, with the delegation of executive powers to the UNGA by virtue of these UFP resolutions, the superpowers from the 1960s onwards were careful not to exercise their rights to veto too freely.

'The United Nations Security Council has largely failed in its role of maintaining international peace and security.' How far do you agree with this assessment from 1945 to 2000? (BP 1)

BP1: Cold War period - SC largely failed due to Cold War divisions - Political deadlock in the SC due to Cold War tensions - prevented SC from performing its duties and hence limited its involvement in various Cold War crises (e.g. 1950-53 Korean War, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, 1964-75 Vietnam War, 1979-89 Afghanistan Crisis, 1978-91 Cambodian Crisis)

'The United Nations Security Council has largely failed in its role of maintaining international peace and security.' How far do you agree with this assessment from 1945 to 2000? (BP 2)

BP2: Cold War period - Contrast with UNGA's prominent role using the Uniting For Peace resolutions due to SC's paralysis, though this was largely limited to the 1950s and 1960s (e.g. 1950-53 Korean War, 1956 Suez Crisis, 1956 Warsaw Pact invasion of Hungary, 1960-64 Congo Crisis) - also note the constraints of UFP resolutions

'The United Nations Security Council has largely failed in its role of maintaining international peace and security.' How far do you agree with this assessment from 1945 to 2000? (BP 3)

BP3: However, when there was an alignment of superpower interests during détente in the 1970s and towards the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, SC was able to actively and constructively intervene in various crises (e.g. 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1990-91 Gulf War, 1978-91 Cambodian Crisis) due to alignment of superpower interest and cooperation where SC played an active and constructive role - but more of an exception to the norm during the Cold War period

'The United Nations Security Council has largely failed in its role of maintaining international peace and security.' How far do you agree with this assessment from 1945 to 2000? (BP 4)

BP4: Post-Cold War period - SC played a more active and prominent role in various regional conflicts and civil wars, but generally lacked the will and commitment to resolve these crises (e.g. 1990s: Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo)

(E) The United Nations Secretary-General could only fulfill his responsibilities if given the support of the superpowers during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 2)

Be that as it might, UNSG's autonomy could be curtailed if it infringed upon the interest of the superpowers, undermining the fulfillment of their given responsibilities. Evidence - 1. Trygve Lie's initiative to negotiate with the Chinese for the settlement of the Korean War in 1950 was rebuffed by the Americans. In fact, Trygve's career was prematurely terminated as he was accused by both superpowers for overstepping his role as the UNSG. 2. U Thant's attempts to mediate between Kennedy and Khrushchev over the diffusion of the 1962 Cuba Missile Crisis in its early stage were rejected by both superpowers. 3. Without the approval of the superpowers, U Thant was also unable to succeed at bringing peace to the Cyprus civil war between 1964 and 1979. He failed to put Vietnam War on the discussion agenda in UN as well.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) 1992-96

Boutros-Ghali was perhaps the most controversial Secretary-General as he was determined to ensure that he played a significant and meaningful role. He stood up to the big powers, particularly the USA by criticizing them when he felt they deserved it. For instance, he publicly admonished the USA for not paying their dues to the UN since the 1980s. As a result, the big powers had little fondness for Boutros-Ghali. 1992- 1993: Mediated and effected a ceasefire agreement in a regional civil war of Georgia. 1992-94: Civil war in Mozambique was resolved by the UNSG, helped by Rome, culminating in the 1994 election. However, there was also failures. He was also an ambitious Secretary-General who wanted to use the end of the Cold War to increase the UN's peacekeeping abilities. In his proposal, An Agenda for Peace, Boutros-Ghali planned for the exponential increase in the number of peacekeeping missions that the UN would be involved in after the Cold War. As such, he was far more interventionist than any of its predecessors have been. As Secretary-General, he presided over Rwanda and Bosnia, which were 3 of the most controversial and missions. He faced immense criticism over his inability to tiring about peace in these conflict-ridden regions of the world. Some of these criticism were valid as many of Boutros-Ghali's personal shortcomings contributed directly to the UN s failure. However, these failures can also be attributed to structural issues which existed in the UN and were present since the organization's formation His alienation of the USA meant that he was not allowed to serve his second term. The USA vetoed his second term in 1996 as they declared Boutros-Ghaii to be unfit to serve as Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali remains the only Secretary-General to serve only one term. Nonetheless, Boutros-Ghali controversial term brought up important questions regarding just how detailed interventionist a Secretary-General ought to be. Boutros-Ghali's insistence that US paid its $1.5 billion in unpaid UN dues also hastened his removal from office that eventually took place in 1996. This shows that even with the conclusion of the Cold War, the position of UNSG was not immuned from the political influence of America.

Use of veto: 1960s - 1980s

By the 1960s to 1980s, the USA started using the veto MORE often, due to the introduction of Third World/Non-Aligned members (formed in 1961, 2/3 of UN), which were frequently anti-US (distrust of colonial master), in the UNSC. At the same time, USSR started using the veto LESS due to the corresponding period of détente or peaceful coexistence. Due to the US vetoes, collective security issues were sometimes diverted to the GA or the UN Secretary-General.

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (BP 1)

Compared to the UNGA, the UNSC was given greater and more direct constitutional authority to achieve the UN's primary aim of maintaining global peace and security. The UNSC was also made up of powerful states with the political clout and economic resources to bring about the effectiveness of any actions to be undertaken by the UN. • UNSC derived executive power from Article 24; Chapter V gave it the primary responsibility of securing international peace and stability. • P5 with power to veto any decision were the most powerful countries in the world • UNGA has to abide by the perimeters of Article 12. • UNGA members were divided by regional and national interests; they were also poorer and less influential.

Members in the UNSC

Decolonisation process, which began in the 1950s, led to many newly independent (and largely developing) countries within the UN. This led to growing calls to expand membership of the UNSC, which changed the dynamics of decision-making within the UNSC. Under a 1963 resolution passed by the General Assembly, the non-permanent members are elected based on geographic regions. ✓ 5 seats to Africa and Asia ✓ 2 seats to Latin America ✓ 2 seats to Western Europe ✓ 1 seat to Eastern Europe By 1963, UNUNSC expanded to include 15 members - five permanent and ten rotating non-permanent members. Each of the 5 Permanent members has veto powers, the use of which will cause a resolution to fail. The veto power allocated to the permanent members reflected the military strength of these 5 countries in 1945 and was included in the UN Charter since it was demanded by both the USA and USSR as a condition for their participation in the UN.

Limitations of League of Nations

Despite some successes in resolving disputes in the 1920s, the League of Nations suffered from several inherent weaknesses: - The major powers were not members of the League, weakening its credibility and military strength. - The League had no military force of its own. It was difficult to attain collective security since member countries could decide for itself whether or not to fight in a crisis. - It was difficult to obtain collective action against any aggressor since this required a unanimous decision from every member (everyone had to agree). - The Great Depression of 1929 weakened many countries and led to the rise of right wing governments in Japan. Germany and Italy which refused to comply with the League of Nations. - The final nail in the coffin of the League of Nations was the fact that the United States, one of the richest and most influential nation in the world at that time, refused to join as one of the League's members.

Reasons (Critiquing UNSC: 1980s)

Dominance of the Developing World (Third World) in the UN during this period Developing countries seemed hostile to USA and the Americans began criticising the UN as a whole. This was very acute under the Reagan administration, and Reagan himself was critical of multilateralism Revival of Cold War tensions - the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as US President and Margaret Thatcher as UK Prime Minister ushered in new tensions in the East-West due to these two politicians being famous for their hardliner stances Reagan administration turned UNUNSC into a battlefield for the global campaign against communism. East-West conflict heated up and arms race accelerated, other global problems took a back seat. The UNUNSC missed many opportunities to resolve 'regional conflicts'. Counter: Javier Perez de Cuellar, the UNSG at that time tried to revive the UNUNSC in a 1982 speech, imploring UNUNSC to play a more active role in defusing international tensions and preventing dangerous confrontations. He also arranged more frequent informal meetings between the ambassadors of USA and USSR. These were important in setting foundation for post-Cold War cooperation.

Veto - USSR

During the Cold War from 1945 — 1991, the USSR vetoed proposed Security Council resolutions 121 times. Issues which the USSR vetoed as a result of Cold War interests included: - early part of Cold War to prevent new members to join UN - Proposed UN actions in October 1948 to provide food and aid relief to the blockaded parts of Berlin during the Berlin Blockade. - Proposals by the USA for membership into the UN: Portugal (4 times) and Italy (6 times) as these countries were pro-US - November 1956: when Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary to crush the -Hungarian Uprising, the other members of the Security Council found this to be an infringement of Hungary's sovereignty and proposed to send UN troops into the country to repel Soviet troops. Unsurprisingly, the USSR vetoed this. - In January 1979, the UN wanted to respond, possibly with military force, to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Once again, the USSR vetoed this.

Reasons (Critiquing UNSC: 1950s to Early 1980s)

Easing of East-West tensions and the period of détente between the superpowers led to more cooperation and less deadlocks in the UNSC Decolonisation process led to many newly independent (and largely developing) countries within the UN. This led to growing calls to expand membership of the UNUNSC. which changed the dynamics of decision-making within the UNUNSC In 1963, no. of non-permanent members increased from 11 to 15 (UN reforms) Afro-Asian states (5 seats). Latin America (2 seats), Eastern Europe (1), Western Europe and other states (2) plus the 5 permanent members Since non-permanent members grew to be 2/3 of the UNUNSC membership, this made it more difficult for the Big Five to impose their will, as they will be obstructing the wishes of a clear majority. The Big Five were also more wary of casting the veto due to the fact that the decision will then be passed to the UNGA under the UFP Resolution -thus they tend to abstain instead, even if they disagreed. Undermining of the UFP as initiated by USSR, which became more active in the 1960s. USSR called for the adoption of a set of guidelines that stated the primary responsibility for international peacekeeping belonged to the UNSC. This way, the powers of the Secretary-General were limited.

(E) How far do you agree that the United Nations was crippled by the effects of the Col War rivalry? (BP 2 - Rebuttal)

Even so, it should be noted that the UFP Resolution had to be initiated by SC members, who were increasingly reluctant to do so by the 1960s to avoid undermining the SC's pre-eminent position in the UN. In addition, UFP Resolutions were non-binding, hence highlighting the limitations of the GA in trying to overcome the SC's Cold War deadlocks and its crippling of the UN as a whole.

Thawing of Cold War tensions — Détente

Evidence of the UNGA's declining role in international security: UNGA could not do much in incidents involving clashes of interests between USA and USSR e.g. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) & Vietnam War (1964 — 1973) UNGA could not resolve intra-state conflicts within the developing countries bloc (e.g. 1980s Cambodian Crisis). On the contrary, these conflicts created divisions within the developing world. The divisions were carried into the GA. Most important development in the GA was the change in membership in numbers and composition: "Package deals" of the mid-1950s resulted in phenomenal growth of the GA. By 1964, the GA has grown from 51 member states to 116. Growth in size led to formation of 6 blocs: Afro-Asian bloc (50 votes), Latin American bloc (20 votes), Atlantic bloc (6 votes), British-Commonwealth bloc (10 votes), Arab bloc (10 votes), and Communist bloc (9 votes). Decision-making process now involved bloc voting. Rise in the trend of "collective veto": important questions need to be settled by 2/3 majority — this means blocs can singly or collectively block decisions from being passed in the UNGA.

(E) To what extent did the Cold War limit the independence of the United Nations Secretary-General between 1945 and 2000? (BP 4)

Finally, given the global prominence and influence of the UN Secretary-General, he certainly had the independent authority to send missions and special representatives when necessary to resolve international conflicts during the Cold War period. Dag Hammarskjöld was especially skillful in finding the appropriate fig-leave of constitutional respectability for actions which he had decided to take, in which he reserved the right to take initiatives of his own but sought where possible to obtain clear authority from the Security Council. In the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, he was tasked to assemble a UN observer mission, while in Laos (1959), he personally acted without authority to appoint a representative to keep him informed of all developments which might necessitate further UN action. Hammarskjöld's actions were not unique, as his successors took similar steps to perform their duties as Secretary-Generals. U Thant sent missions to East Malaysia and Bahrain (without reference to Security Council) in the 1960s to assess the wishes of the people in the area, thus helping to resolve these territorial disputes, while Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was adept in the use of secret diplomacy via the good offices of the UN Secretary General to deal with various conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War, Afghanistan and Namibia in the 1980s. However, it was clear that all the Secretary-Generals took care to unnecessary involvement in any disputes with possible Cold War dimensions, which in itself highlighted the constraints of the Cold War on their independence of action.

(E) How far do you agree that the United Nations was crippled by the effects of the Col War rivalry? (Intro)

Focus: Political effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council (SC), General Assembly (GA) and Secretariat Time period: 1945 — 1991 Stand: On the whole, the Cold War rivalry between the USA and USSR seriously impeded the smooth functioning of the Security Council, which in turn limited any effective role played by the General Assembly and Secretary-Generals (SG), thus leading to a general crippling of the UN during the Cold War period.

Critiquing the UN Security Council

From 1945 — late 1950s. the General Assembly was the central key power behind the UN and played a big role in major world developments. From late 1950s — early 1980s, it declined in importance and was marginalised. The late 1980s — 2000. saw its revival but in ups and downs. There are 3 phases to the evolution of the GA: Brief rise in power (1945 to late 1950s) Stagnation (late 1950s — early 1980s) Security matters side-lined in favour of non-security matters (late 1980s to 2000)

Critiquing UNSC: 1950s to Early 1980s

From late 1950s onwards and particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, the UNUNSC experienced a revival. General increase in communication and cooperation seen in more frequent informal meetings and consultations before actual UNUNSC meetings Increased activity included the setting up of more peacekeeping operations for example: ONUC (1960), UNFCYP (1964), UNIFIL (1978), and imposition of economic sanctions in Rhodesia (1966) Counter: there was also setbacks (1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War from 1964 to 1975)

Uniting for Peace Resolution

Frustrated by the constant use of the veto ensuing in the paralysis of the Security Council, the USA proposed that the General Assembly, where the veto cannot be used, should take over responsibility in preserving international peace and security. This eventually culminated in General Assembly Resolution 377 in November 1950 (in the midst of the Korean War), where a majority vote was passed 52 to 5 in favour of the General Assembly taking charge of matters concerning international peace and security when the Security Council was deadlocked. The effectiveness and power of the Uniting for Peace Resolution has been mixed. The most important thing to note is that even if the General Assembly is allowed to discuss important issues relating to global security, the resolutions that it comes up with are ultimately still non-binding and states can easily ignore it, as they have done on numerous occasions. In other words, General Assembly resolutions may have been passed and aggressor states condemned, but there is in actuality little improvement to international peace and security.

It was the General Assembly's diverse membership that most influenced the political effectiveness of the United Nations. Assess the validity of this view from 1945-2000

GA's diverse membership from 1960s, especially from Asia and Africa (Afro-Asian countries) GA - no unified voice, hence very difficult to set a clear agenda or play a leading role in discussing key issues pertaining to international peace and security - application of Article 12: SC vs GA GA - problem of GA's diverse membership - voting system? voting blocs - dominated by Afro-Asian countries However, UNGA is limited - Double-limitations -> diverse membership and constraints set by the UN Charter Importance of GA vs SC - primary organ is still SC SC deadlock -> UFP resolutions involve the GA. Why is the use of the UFP resolution mainly limited to the 1950s and 1960s? -> UNGA's diverse membership discouraged the use of UFP resolutions by the SC

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (BP 3)

However, on closer inspection, UN's effectiveness was impacted by the Cold War due to the UNSC's significant influence over the UNSG. This caused Cold War politics to spill over into the decisions of UNSG This is so as unanimous approval from all UNSC members must be achieved for a UNSG to be nominated. As such, the UNSG are obligated to not take any sides on Cold War issues to ensure they do not offend either USA or USSR, failing which could cause them to not get re-elected for another term. This causes UNSG to not be able to take decisive action when dealing with Cold War issues, even if they threaten world peace and security, hence decreasing UN's effectiveness in maintaining international peace and security when dealing with Cold War issues. The influence of the Cold War on UNSG can be seen when Trygve Halvdan Lie, the first UNSG, expressed his support for UN intervention in Korean War on the side of ROK, which led to his nomination for a further term being vetoed by USSR, accusing him of being complicit in USA's ant-Communist crusade in the UN. This dealt a huge blow to UN's effectiveness as Lie's leadership could have led to UN being more decisive in dealing with Cold War issues, as he was not afraid to take sides in order to properly deal with any threat to international peace. USSR's veto of Lie's nomination also set the precedent for UNSGs in the future to be more passive in the UN to avoid incurring the wrath of any UNSC members, especially USA and USSR during the Cold War. For instance, U Thant never invoked article 99 of the UN charter, which gives UNSGs the power to bring to the attention of UNSC any issue that may be of concern to international security, and also never spoke at any UNSC meeting. Kurt Waldheim also avoided tackling controversial issues that may offend any of the major powers in UNSC. This unwillingness to take a direct approach to controversial Cold War issues for fear of offending USA or USSR led to UNSG, and hence UN as a whole, being less effective when dealing with Cold War issues as UNSG would be unable to take decisive action to deal with such issues, causing UN to be ineffective in maintaining international peace and security in the face of Cold War issues and the politics surrounding them.

(E) How far do you agree that the United Nations was crippled by the effects of the Col War rivalry? (BP 2)

However, the GA was able on certain occasions to circumvent the SC's paralysis to directly take concrete actions to safeguard international peace and security, with the use of the Uniting for Peace (UFP) Resolution to avoid a total crippling of the UN. This was especially true in the period from 1950 to the early 1960s. (e.g. concrete cases of UFP in action with details such as 1950-53 Korean War, 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, 1960-64 Congo Crisis and 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?)

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 4)

However, the impact of superpower rivalry during the Cold War has also crippled the ability of the UNGA to pursue its agenda and duties. The withdrawal of Soviet funding after Khrushchev's suspicion over ONUC's pro-western tendencies with the assassination of Congolese premier Patrice Lumumba in 1961 has created long term financial difficulties for the UNGA. From 1978 to 1988 From 1978 to 1988 there were no more peacekeeping missions, mainly due to the Reagan administration's unwillingness to cooperate with the UN as it was seen as a "bastion of Third World nationalism and pro-communism".

Limitations of veto power

However, there are arguments which propose that the veto has been and will be beneficial for the UN. This is due to the fact that the veto powers are a tacit acknowledgement of the strength and significance of the 5 permanent members. Removing veto powers would mean that they may not feel respected or valued. This then poses a threat of them leaving the UN if they are not able to use the veto to block a course of action which they deem to be problematic (This occurred in the League of Nations). Furthermore, it is not feasible to abolish veto powers in the UN as the Security Council would have to vote on the abolishment of the veto powers. Ironically. the permanent members would therefore use their veto powers to veto the proposal to abolish veto powers.

(E) To what extent did the Cold War limit the independence of the United Nations Secretary-General between 1945 and 2000? (BP 2)

In addition, the global nature of the Cold War rivalry between USA and USSR meant that even when the UN Secretary-General tried his best to be circumspect and sensitive to the concerns of the superpowers, he could still inadvertently hurt their Cold War interests and thereby suffer the wrath of the superpowers. Not surprisingly, most Secretary-Generals found it politically convenient to simply avoid playing an independent and prominent role during their terms of office. In the case of Dag Hammarskjöld, he conducted himself with considerably greater discretion and tactical finesse than Trygve Lie, and avoided making outspoken statements on controversial Cold War subjects. The prevalent "Leave it to Dag" attitude demonstrated his skilfulness in retaining the goodwill of the membership of UN as a whole by consulting closely with the UN General Assembly committees and UN Security Council. Nevertheless, Hammarskjöld's involvement in the 1960 Congo Crisis, where he was seen as favouring the pro-West Kasavubu and Mobutu rather than the pro-communist Lumumba as effective authorities within Congo, led to hostility and boycott of him by communist countries. In fact, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev even proposed a troika (triumvirate) to replace the position of UN Secretary-General. While this proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by the UN members, the next Secretary-General U Thant learnt from his predecessor's mistake and found it necessary to act with circumspection. He took care to avoid initiatives which would antagonise important groups in the UN, never invoked Article 99 and virtually never spoke at a Security Council meeting, thereby showing how the Cold War limited the Secretary General's independence of action.

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (BP 4)

In addition, when USA and USSR's agendas coincide, Cold War politics had a positive impact on UN's effectiveness, enhancing how well UN achieved its aims. This is so as USA and USSR shared the same views on some issues that could further their ideologies' influence and agendas around the world, allowing them to cooperate on these issues in UNSC such that UN could promote its agenda of international peace and security with no opposihon. An example of this can be seen in UN efforts for decolonisation, which both USA and USSR saw as beneficial to their agendas as it could help gain more support for their ideological agendas from developing countries. As such, both USA and USSR Speared to support decolonisabon and showed concern for the needs of Third-World counnet this context, UNGA was able to legitimise all struggles against colonialism within UN by adopting the Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and People in 1980 without opposition from any major power in UNSC, including USA and USSR. The Special Political c; an Decolonisation Committee was also formed to free former colonies without opposition from USA or USSR. When British and French troops attacked Egypt after Egyptian president Nasser had closed the Suez Canal in an attempt to force Egypt to keep the canal open, both USA and USSR supported Egypt. As such, when Britain and France vetoed any actions in the Suez Crisis by UNSC, USA and USSR both supported passing the matter over to UNGA via UFP Resolution, causing the formation of the first UN Emergency Force (UNEF 1) which oversaw the disengagement and withdrawal of British and French troops in Egypt, allowing UN to take decisive action to maintain peace during the Suez Crisis. As such, the Cold War did have a positive impact on the effectiveness of UN when the agendas and views of USA and USSR coincided, leading to UN being able to take decisive action to keep to its aim of maintaining international peace and security thanks to the cooperation of USA and USSR.

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (Conclusion)

In conclusion, in most cases, Cold War politics have had an impact on the how effectively UN was able to achieve its aims, as many conflicts during the Cold War do have some relation to Cold War in general, despite some rare instances, such as the behind-the-scenes work of UNSGs, where Cold War seem to have little to no impact over activities in the UN. USA and USSR were some of the only countries that were not completely devastated by WW2, and hence were some of the most influential nations in the UNSC, resulting in UN mostly being able to operate effectively when the. were in agreement. As such, the Cold War agendas of USA and USSR from 1945 to 1991 undoubtedly impacted the effectiveness of the UN.

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (Conclusion)

In conclusion, while the UNGA has been more effective at meeting the aims of the UN than the UNSC, the successes must be appreciated within its constitutional constraints. UNGA was unable to enforce the resolutions and deliberations passed: neither could it make a difference to the efficacy of the UN as a whole if the USA chose to withdraw financial and political support, especially during the term of President Reagan. Nevertheless, compared to the divided and reluctant UNSC. which has punched way beneath its weight, the UNGA has been a more successful albeit a weaker UN organ.

Rise in Power (1945 — late 1950s)

In the first decade after WWII, two international developments influenced the rise of the UNGA in power: 1 The East-West Conflict (Cold War) paralysed the Security Council and the GA became the alternative arena for discussion of security matters and political disputes. 2. 2 Decolonisation/independent movements of people in colonised territories found allies in the UNGA (Special Political and Decolonisation Committee or simply Fourth Committee in particular) and made the UNGA the instrument of world pressure in favour of emancipation of colonised people.

(E) The United Nations Secretary-General could only fulfill his responsibilities if given the support of the superpowers during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 3)

It was only with the blessings of the superpowers that the UNSGs could exercise their responsibilities and attend to matters of security importance during the Cold War era. Evidence - 1. Without the endorsement of superpowers, Hammarskjold's management of the Suez Crisis and the formation of the UN peacekeeping force in 1956, attending to Congo Crisis in 1962, would not have been successful. 2. U Thant was able to push for the forceful resolution of Katanga's secessionist movement from September 1961 onwards, precisely because he had the support of the USA. 3. With superpowers' permission, Javier was able to negotiate with the warring parties in the Afghanistan War for a ceasefire as well as the establishment of a supervisory mechanism to ensure Soviet withdrawal by 1989. 4. Javier also played a key role in reaching the 1991 Paris Agreement that effectively ended the Third Indochina War, which was in the interest of both superpowers.

Kofi Annan (Ghana) 1996-2006

Kofi Annan, the head of the UN peacekeeping department, was brought in after Boutros-Ghali as he was a much more placid character who took care not to offend the big powers, particularly the USA. His leadership style was much less interventionist, though there were a number of important peacekeeping missions sent during his term too. He focused on the reforms of UN. 1997: Began his office with a plan for UN reform entitled Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform (A/51/950). Key proposals included the introduction of strategic management to strengthen unity of purpose, the establishment of the position of Deputy Secretary-General, a 10-percent reduction in posts, a reduction in administrative costs, the consolidation of the UN at the country level, and reaching out to civil society and the private sector as partners. 1999: Launched Global Compact campaign. the biggest initiative for promoting corporate social responsibility globally. This focuses on building socio-economic programmes. He had to deal with another political crisis in the Balkans, this time in Kosovo in 1999 as well as East Timor's struggles for nationhood in the same year. The degree of success he achieved is debatable with some critics admonishing Annan for his inability to fully utilize the UN's peacekeeping capabilities to conduct nation-building in war-torn countries properly. Mar 2000: Appointed the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations to assess the shortcomings of the then existing system and to make specific and realistic recommendations for change in UN peacekeeping missions. Sep 2000: In 2000, Annan issued a report entitled We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the 21st century. The report programmes. called for member states to enact more humanitarian policies to alleviate poverty. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, national leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration, which was subsequently implemented by the United Nations Secretariat as the Millennium Development Goals in 2001. However, he also received praise for his ability to build better relations with the superpowers and also to effectively construct the foundations for peace in Kosovo and East Timor through his effective leadership He was also frank in addressing the problems faced by the UN which led to its inability to bong about peace in the early 1990s.

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 3)

Meanwhile, status and influence of the UNGA were boosted as the USA and the USSR competed to woo the recently decolonised member states in the UNGA to their mutually conflicting ideological camp. Both superpowers threw their lot behind Egypt and the recently independent Arab states to turn the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis in the UNGA's favour. One of the main areas of UN success was decolonisation, which was supported by both superpowers, in order to diminish the power of the colonial empires and gain more spheres of influence. In 1960, when decolonisation was already far advanced, the GA affirmed that "all peoples have the right to self determination". New independent states naturally strove to join the UN, as a sign of their sovereignty and thus, legitimacy. Gradually, the developing countries began to form a majority within the GA. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established by developing countries in 1964, as a means to further their plea for economic justice with a different vision from that of the Bretton Woods institutions.

(E) How far do you agree that the United Nations was crippled by the effects of the Col War rivalry? (BP 3)

Moreover. the Cold War rivalry greatly limited the SG's ability to take independent and effective actions to safeguard international peace and security. Learning from the mistakes of the first two SGs who were both boycotted by the USSR due to their perceived lack of neutrality. subsequent SGs took care to avoid any involvement in conflicts with potential Cold War dimensions. This essentially meant that the role of the SG was circumscribed even when the SC could not function properly during the Cold War period, further crippling the UN's overall effectiveness. (details of Lie and Hammarskjold as opposed to U Thant and Waldheim as well as the 3 cases of Article 99 in action — any Cold War dimensions involved?)

(E) To what extent did the Cold War limit the independence of the United Nations Secretary-General between 1945 and 2000? (BP 3)

Nevertheless, the UN Secretary-General was given the power to take his own initiative if necessary to perform the functions of his office. Article 99 of the UN Charter empowered him to bring to the attention of the UN Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, even in the context of the Cold War. For instance, during the 1960 Congo Crisis, Dag Hammarskjöld explicitly invoked Article 99 and secured the authority to organise the dispatch of a UN peacekeeping force to intervene. But even then, he faced the difficulty of obtaining approval from the Security Council for all important decisions, and his perceived lack of impartiality in the Congo Crisis ultimately led to hostility and boycott of him by communist countries. It was noteworthy that Article 99 was only invoked 3 times between 1945 and 2000, during the 1960 Congo Crisis by Hammarskjöld, 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis by Kurt Waldheim and 1989 Lebanon Crisis by Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. However, all 3 crises were rare cases which were relatively free from Cold War politics, and unsurprisingly the UN Secretary-Generals generally found it difficult to invoke Article 99 during the Cold War period.

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (BP 4)

On the other hand, it is unfair to benchmark the effectiveness of UNGA against that of the UNSC evenly as the former was endowed with comparatively less power and authority. Within its constitutional limitations however, the UNGA did succeed in pushing for numerous initiatives that met the UN's secondary aims of promoting global socio-economic well-being. • Some resolutions passed by the UNGA the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) which outlined what constitutes a war crime, to resolutions which are intended to promote social progress such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). • examples of UNGA in promoting economic and social advancements, which are the secondary aims of the UN.

Issues with membership

One of the biggest contention of the membership of the permanent 5 stemmed from the issue of China. From 1945 - 1971, the China which sat on the UN Security Council seat was actually the Republic of China (Taiwan), as the West did not recognize the People's Republic of China as legitimate. This caused the USSR to accuse the UN of being a mere puppet of the USA and the Soviets have on many occasions boycotted the Security Council due to this. This shows how Cold War politics affected the Security Council. No country may serve successive terms as non-permanent members in the Secunty Council. For a resolution to be passed by the Council, at least 4 non-permanent members must vote in favour of it.

Ability to create International Law (Legislative)

One of the key functions of the General Assembly is to create international law. It is responsible for drafting important treaties and documents that have served as the basic standard for international law today. These resolutions range from the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) which outlined what constitutes a war crime, to resolutions which are intended to promote social progress such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). As the decades went by, the General Assembly sought to increase its relevance by adopting international laws which address the immediate concerns of nation states. From the 1970s onwards, terrorism began to be used by political organizations to achieve their aims. In response to this, the General Assembly passed a series of resolutions known as Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism in 1985. More resolutions against terrorism include: International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997) and - International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999). However, a significant problem with these resolutions is that they are not enforceable. No United Nations mechanism exist to properly police the actions of states to ensure that these resolutions are heeded. For instance, states may continue to practice racial discrimination in various forms, such as the United States against African-Americans and the South African government practicing apartheid. The General Assembly does not have the ability to force these countries to stop these policies due to the principle of sovereignty. Therefore, there is an inherent contradiction between one of the key principles on which the UN is founded upon, and the General Assembly's ambition to bring about international peace and security. The lack of ability to enforce their rulings also means that terrorist networks are hardly going to be stopped just because the General Assembly has outlawed terrorism. In fact, terrorist attacks have increased in frequency despite increasing attention given by the General Assembly towards terrorism. In 1988, two Libyan terrorists bombed the flight Pan-Am 103 and caused all on board to die. In 1993, AI-Qaeda bombed the World Trade Centre and also caused destruction to the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania 5 years later. The General Assembly has to refer the matter to the Security Council in order to enforce sanctions and punishment on those responsible for these attacks. However, the process takes a long time and could be subjected to the big powers' use of veto.

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (Introduction)

Superpower rivalry during the Cold War era heightened between 1956 and 1988, which severely compromised the unity and functionality of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In the meantime, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was rapidly invigorated with the admission of an increasing number of decolonised member states. This period therefore bore witness to the corresponding robustness of UNGA's role within the United Nations (UN) over the often stalled or passive UNSC. While the UNSC has been empowered with greater constitutional authority to undertake actions that could effectively meet the UN's primary aim of maintaining global peace and stability, it's members were usually inhibited by Cold War rivalries and divergent interests. The UNGA on the other hand, given the common interests shared by it's new and vibrant membership, succeeded at meeting the UN's secondary aims of attending to the socio-economic needs of developing countries around the world. As such, the statement that 'The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988' was invalid.

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (BP 2)

The Cold War also appeared to not have affected the effectiveness of UN as the UN Secretary-Generals (UNSG) during this period still seemed to be able to effectively keep to the aims of the UN to ensure peace and stability. This is so as the UNSG has considerable influence and power within the UN, and is hence able to send missions and special representatives to countries to assess their well-being. He also gives speeches and statements to give his views on certain issues for the UN to act on and set up special committees to deal with specific issues, ensuring that international peace, cooperation and security are improved and maintained throughout the world, without necessarily needing the approval of the UNSC. This allows UNSG to be somewhat uninfluenced by Cold war politics. An example of this can be seen in the UNSG U Thant, who set up commit-tees to consider the effects of nuclear warfare which significantly influenced global opinion on the matter, leading to treaties such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 1971 Seabed Arms Control Treaty, among others, being signed in order to reduce the impact that a possible nuclear war may have on the world. This was especially important during the Cold War, as both USA and USSR had stockpiles of nuclear weapons at their disposal, which could have resulted in Mutually Assured Destruction had one of them decided to attack the other with those weapons, resulting in retaliation from the other party. This could have ended up destroying much of the world in a potential nuclear war. U Thant's measures for nuclear arms reduction hence effectively helped to promote international security, promoting UN's aims, leading to UN being effective even during Cold War. UNSG Kurt Waldheim also looked into Third World and environmental issues and promoted the concept of a New International Economic Order, which promoted UN's ideals of international security and cooperation, allowing UN to be somewhat effective in dealing with such issues without dabbling in Cold War politics. As such, Cold War did not have much of an impact on UNSG's agendas, and hence did not affect UN's effectiveness in that regard.

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (BP 1)

The Cold War did not seem to have much of an impact on the UN as when one UN organ falls to act decisively against a threat to peace, another can do so, hence allowing UN to still be effective in achieving its aims. According to article 24 of UN charter, the UN Security Council (UNSC) is the main UN organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, as both USA and USSR were part of UNSC, Cold War politics often paralysed the UNSC when it came to issues that concerned USA or USSR's ideological interests. As such, the Uniting for Peace (UFP) Resolution was established in 1950 to allow UNSC to pass on issues regarding international peace to UN General Assembly (UNGA) instead when UNSC was unable to act on it, enabling UN to still be able to act decisively against global threats even when UNSC was paralysed by Cold War politics. This is shown in 1950 when the UFP Resolution was first invoked to deal with the Korean War. Then, USSR had boycotted UN meetings due to USA's refusal to admit PRC into UN, causing UNSC to be unable to pass any resolutions regarding the Korean War. However, thanks to the UFP Resolution, the issue of the Korean War was passed to UNGA instead, which then decided to send UN troops to the conflict on the side of ROK to push back the invading DPRK forces, hence ensuring UN was able to act decisively on the issue of Korean War to maintain international peace and security through mitigating this conflict. Another example of UFP Resolution helping UN to be effective in the face of Cold War politics was during the 1956 Hungarian uprising, when USSR forces invaded Hungary to crush the Hungarian rebellion against its Communist government. During this time, USSR vetoed any resolution by UNSC that was critical of the Soviet response in Hungary. As such, the matter was passed to UNGA through UFP Resolution, which passed a resolution calling on USSR to withdraw their forces in Hungary. Even though this move ultimately failed to keep USSR from intervening in Hungary, it does prove that UN is able to act quickly on a threat to international peace thanks to UFP Resolution. As such, thanks to UFP Resolution, the Cold War did not seem to have much of an impact on UN effectiveness as any issue that UNSC fails to act on can be passed to UNGA, ensuring a quick and decisive response from UN regarding any threats to international peace.

(E) To what extent did the Cold War limit the independence of the United Nations Secretary-General between 1945 and 2000? (BP 1)

The Cold War limited the freedom of action by the UN Secretary-General to lead the UN in safeguarding international peace and stability. As the position of SecretaryGeneral was subjected to the recommendation and approval of the UN Security Council, naturally he would find it politically expedient not to intervene in Cold Warrelated conflicts so as to avoid antagonising the superpowers in particular. Indeed, the first UN Secretary-General, Trygve Lie's nomination for a second term was vetoed by USSR in 1951 and he was boycotted by the communists, resulting in the withdrawal of his nomination in 1953. This was due to his outspoken support for UN intervention in the Korean War in defence of South Korea in 1950 and active role in organising UN effort in Korea, leading to Soviet accusations of him being complicit in an anti-communist crusade on behalf of USA. That said, the case of Boutros Boutros-Ghali showed that even after the Cold War ended, tensions with the P5 members (in this case USA, over Washington's unpaid UN membership fees) could also lead to a UN Security Council veto, making Boutros Boutros-Ghali the only Secretary-General not to be elected to a second term. In this respect, the Secretary-General's need to avoid offending the P5 members was not confined to the Cold War period alone.

(E) Discuss the impact of the Cold War on the effectiveness of the United Nations between 1945 and 1991. (intro)

The Cold War period, which lasted from right after World War 2 (WWI) in 1945 to the collapse of USSR in 1991, saw USA and USSR, the 2 major world superpowers then, constantly seeking to undermine each other's ideological agendas through various means in order to bolster their own. This led to many conflicts around the world, which served as proxies for USA and USSR's ideological war between Capitalism and Communism, undermining world peace during this period I lie (old War period hence proved to be an extremely difficult time for the United Nations (UN), which was formed after WW2 with the aim of maintaining international peace and security. The Cold War did, however, have both positive and negative impacts on the effectiveness of the UN, which is the ability of the UN to properly pursue their aims. As such, this essay argues that the Cold War did, in general, have a great impact on the effectiveness on the UN, despite some UN activities seeming to he mostly unaffected by it.

'Influence of the United Nations General Assembly has been enhanced by the superpower rivalry during the Cold War.' Discuss. (Intro)

The Cold War, which lasted between 1945 and 1988, was marked by intense competition between the USA and the USSR for global influence and power. From 1988 onwards however, superpower rivalry de-escalated with the promulgation of Gorbachev's New Thinking. Influence of the General Assembly (UNGA) did benefit from deadlocks in the Security Council (UNSC) as Uniting for Peace resolutions were passed to empower the former with authority to manage issues concerning global peace and stability. Nevertheless, powers of the UNGA remained limited on most matters given the lesser constitutional role accorded to it by the United Nations Charter and that a great majority of the member states were not major powers.

League of Nations

The League of Nations (predecessor to the UN) was formed in the aftermath of the Great War (1914-1918) to settle international disputes and preventing the outbreak of another war among countries. The League of Nations had 2 main aims: (1) Maintain peace through collective security: if one state attacked another, the member states of the League would act together to restrain the aggressor by economic or military sanctions (2) to encourage international cooperation to solve economic and social problems.

Chapter 2

The Organization and its Members. in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1 , shall act in accordance with the following Principles: The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice. are not endangered.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat is the working body of the United Nations and is tasked with implementing the many social and economic programs of the UN Secretariat also serves a similar function to that of a national civil service, with administrative duties such as: - Gathering statistical data - Issuing studies and reports - Servicing meetings - Preparing documentation - Providing translations of speeches, debates and documents in the UN's six official languages Secretariat members are recruited from a broad geographic base and are expected to refrain from promoting national interests without giving up their national loyalties - The Secretariat has been criticized for not being able to maintain their neutrality as well as for poor administrative practices - There are about 8,900 professional and clerical staff based around the world and are employed by the UN Secretariat - The head of the UN Secretariat is the Secretary-General

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is the chief administrator of the United Nations organization. His duties include: - Providing leadership for the Secretariat - Preparing the UN Budget - Submitting an annual report to the General Assembly - Overseeing studies conducted at the request of other major UN organs - Spokesperson for the United Nations - Mediator between conflicting countries Vision of UNSG - super-statesman, world conciliator and arbitrator, world moderator. Reality - politician, diplomat and civil servant in one - arguably an office impossible to fulfil to the satisfaction of all. Article 99 of UN Charter: gave him the_right of initiative both in the SC and GA -some sort of international watch dog - empowered to bring to the attention of the SC any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security: also given the right to put an item on the agenda of the UNGA History of office of UNSG - one of ever-increasing caution in its use: a caution that has been forced on the occupants by political factors within the UN The office of the UN Secretary-General was designed to play a more prominent role than that of its predecessor in the defunct League of Nations - President Roosevelt of the United States who had envisioned the establishment of the United Nations believed the UN Secretariat should play the role of a "World's Moderator" who could mediate all the great international conflicts. - The Secretary-General is given the authority to raise matters which he' thought should receive the attention of the organization (given the right to put an item on to the agenda of the General Assembly). The office of the Secretary-General also functioned as a watchdog on the lookout for situations that might lead to violence or war. The Secretary-General holds office for a five-year renewable term. He is appointed by the General Assembly after elections requiring a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly and recommendation by the Security Council - The nomination process is highly politicized and the 5 permanent members (USA, Russia, China, Britain, France) have a large say in the nomination and appointment of UN Secretary-General. - As a result, a majority of the Secretary-Generals tend to come from small and neutral states.

Veto-UK

The UK was also responsible for vetoing resolutions which would have advanced aims of self-determination. In its former colony of Southern Rhodesia (known as Zimbabwe today), minority white settlers ruled the colony and oppressed the majority black population with discriminatory policies. In the mid-1960s, the oppressed majority black population launched an uprising against the minority white government. The British wanted the UN to approve economic sanctions on the minority white government to restore law and order in Southern Rhodesia. However, UN resolutions on the issue of Rhodesia proved to be far too radical for the UK's liking. These resolutions not only demanded the return of law and order, but also advocated for the government to no longer be composed of the minority white population, and urged the UK to hand over power to the majority black population instead. The UK did not agree with this as this would hurt British economic interests as the minority white government had built up strong economic ties with the UK. Therefore, this led to the UK vetoing 7 resolutions on the Rhodesia situation from 1963 to 1973.

(E) The United Nations Secretary-General could only fulfill his responsibilities if given the support of the superpowers during the Cold War.' Discuss. (Intro)

The UN Charter describes the Secretary-General as "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, who shall act in that capacity and perform "such other functions as are entrusted" to him or her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other United Nations organs. The Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". UNSGs during the Cold War era have undertaken initiatives at addressing global issues. Without endorsement from the superpowers, however, the success of these endeavours was largely restricted to matters not related directly to the Cold War rivalry. USA and USSR commanded the UNSC, the most important UN organ. They also had the power to exclude UN intervention from their areas of influence. Support of superpowers were therefore crucial to the fulfillment of UNSG's major responsibilities.

Stagnation (Late. 1950s to early 1980s)

The UNGA's prominence in international security matters declined and stagnated due to four reasons: 1. Financial problems within the UN (refusal of USSR and France to contribute to costs of peace-keeping operations authorised by UNGA). 2. Revival of prominence of UNSC in security questions — far less frequent use of Soviet veto reduced the need for alternative agency by the Western powers. 3. Increase in size of the UNGA and change in composition of membership (majority of newly-independent countries) switched focus of the UNGA to apolitical/socio-economic problems. 4. Challenge to USA's dominance within the UNGA led to its abandoning the UNGA as an arena for international security

Critiquing UNSC: 1945-1950s

The UNSC was rendered ineffective in carrying out its function of maintaining peace and security during this period. It did not meet often and did not handle major security issues during this period such as the Geneva Conference on Korea and Indochina in 1954. Issues such as Kashmir and violations of ceasefire in Middle East were not resolved (even up till today). Instead of the UNSC, some security issues were dealt with (though not all resolved) by the GA or the Secretary-General. Examples: Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Uprising in 1956.

Veto - USA

The USA has also been guilty of abusing Its veto powers to further its own aims. It has used the veto 70 times. Issues which the USA vetoed included - Proposed resolutions condemning Israel's (a strong US ally) aggression in the Middle East against the Arab States and the Palestinians - Proposals for membership into the UN Socialist Republic of Vietnam (3 times). - Proposed actions to stop US intervention in Nicaraguan Civil War (6 times)

(E) To what extent did the Cold War limit the independence of the United Nations Secretary-General between 1945 and 2000? (Intro)

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General was envisioned to play an important role as a super-statesman, world conciliator and arbitrator. To this end, he was given various powers such as Article 99 from the UN Charter as well as relative freedom of action to lead the UN in maintaining international peace and security. (define "independence of UN SecretaryGeneral") However, the advent of the global Cold War meant that the Secretary-General had to tread carefully to avoid antagonising the superpowers in the UN Security Council, which could fatally undermine his position and ability to perform the functions of his office. (state clearly the duality) As a result, the Secretary-General's independence became greatly circumscribed due to his inability, and often unwillingness, to intervene in Cold War-related conflicts in the face of Security Council opposition and vetoes from the superpowers. In short, barring a few exceptions, the Cold War generally made the Secretary-Generals more of a dependent secretary than an independent general in the UN.

Authority of the Security Council

The authority of the Security Council is found in Chapters 6 and 7 of the UN charter. Chapter 6 deals with the peaceful settlement of disputes and helping parties achieve resolution without the use of force. Chapter 7 (Artcile 42) of the UN Charter specifies the authority of the Security Council to take active enforcement measures. This allows the Security Council to identify aggressors and commit all UN members to take enforcement measures such as economic sanctions or to provide military forces for joint action. Prior to 1990 (during the Cold War period), most of the Security Council's actions were based on provisions from Chapter 6 (peaceful resolutions) but in the post-Cold War period, the Council used more frequently its provisions under Chapter 7 (enforcement such as economic sanctions and military actions). The Security Council conducts many informal, private consultations rather than formal sessions, reaching more decisions through consensus than by formal voting. This practice has attracted criticism from non-members due to the non-transparent nature of the decision making process and possibilities of collusion among the Great Powers.

North-South Divide in the General Assembly

The changing composition of the General Assembly has also resulted in changing global agendas for the United Nations. Previously, the issues discussed in the Assembly centred on the Cold War East-West divide in the post war period. However, the decolonization process and the admission of former colonies into the Assembly has brought about a North-South (developed vs. developing countries) divide in terms of global agendas, revolving around issues of development. The General Assembly began to witness a tussle of power between the richer, developed countries and the newly independent developing nations. For instance. the latter group formed the Group of 77 (G77) in 1964. The G77 made their economic agenda clear, spelling out in a 1970 resolution that dictated that "each economically advanced country will progressively increase its official assistance to the developing countries and will exert its best efforts to reach a minimum net amount of 0.7% of its GDP." The USA and the other developed countries resisted this and did not adhere to this as they were not willing to share their wealth with the developing countries. Disputes over economic issues between these two blocs soon spilled over into political issues. Majority of the developing countries began to sympathise with other developing countries which had been exploited for decades by the developed countries. For instance, the developing world rallied to support the Middle Eastern states in the 1970s and 1980s which were constantly with war against US-supported Israel. As a result, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3379 in 1975 which determined that Zionism [the belief that Jewish people were entitled to a homeland in Israel] was a form of racial discrimination. This greatly angered the USA and its allies which voted against the resolution but were greatly outnumbered by the developing nations. The inability to swing the General Assembly to the USA's favour has resulted in them resorting to extreme measures to undermine the UN. The USA decided from 1985 onwards that since it was unable to effectively influence the UN, it would stop paying its annual payment. The USA is one of the countries with the highest debt amount owed. This refusal to pay has had a significant impact on the UN as it was unable to carry out many of its peacekeeping duties in full due to the lack of funds, for instance in Somalia. There have also been criticisms that the North-South divide has hindered the establishment of international peace and security. As the majority of the members in the General Assembly after the 1970s were against the richer developed countries and their allies, the General Assembly tended to support resolutions which may have obstructed peace and security. In 1972, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3034 which implied that terrorist violence could be condoned if it was used for purposes of self-determination. The context for the passing of this resolution was the 1972 Munich massacre, whereby members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) murdered Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games. This resolution incensed Israel and the Western countries, which called the resolution "seriously defective".

Impact of World War 2

The concept of a multilateral world organization designed to keep the peace when World War 2 ended began with Churchill and Roosevelt holding a discussion on the shape of the post-war world in 1941. The entrance of the USA into the war in December 1941 solidified Roosevelt's resolve to make such an organization a reality. 1941 was also the year where the Atlantic Charter came into being — the Atlantic Charter aspired to build a world where there would be global economic cooperation and a lack of want and fear. Aggressor nations would be stopped through a worldwide disarmament programme. All countries should also abandon the use of force. The name 'United Nations' was adopted in 1942. In 1943, a meeting between the Big 4 — the US, USSR. UK and China discussed how the United Nations can be implemented. They drew on some of the weaknesses of the League of Nations and sought to design an institution that would overcome these weaknesses. In short, the United Nations would be tasked to: - Preserve peace and eliminate war - Remove the causes of conflict by encouraging social, economic, education. scientific, and cultural progress throughout the world - Safeguard the rights of all individual human beings and the rights of peoples and nations.

(E) How far do you agree that the United Nations was crippled by the effects of the Col War rivalry? (BP 1)

The intense Cold War rivalry between the superpowers resulted in frequent deadlocks in the SC due to the liberal use of vetoes, especially in the late 1940s, early 1950s and first half of 1980s. Considering the role of the SC as the primary UN security organ (based on Article 24 of the UN Charter), the SC's paralysis naturally crippled the UN's effectiveness in safeguarding international peace and security. (e.g. of concrete cases of SC's paralysis such as the 1948-49 Berlin Blockade, 1964-75 Vietnam War, 1979-89 Afghanistan War and 1978-91 Cambodian Crisis)

Veto Powers

The power of veto is the privilege of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council. They can veto all substantive, not procedural questions. Seen as essential safety valve served to prevent dissension among its leading members from destroying the UN. Veto powers have been used by the permanent members on numerous occasions to prevent UN actions in situations which are unfavourable to them. Therefore. the UN was unable to act due to the use of the veto. The USSR had often felt that the UN was biased against them and thus have used their veto liberally.

Evaluation of veto

The veto is useful in these ways: A) It prevented states from taking action against a major power, which may result in war or a situation that threatened global peace and security. B) The security of the veto privilege safeguarded interests of major powers, preventing any from withdrawing from the UN that might render the UN useless and cause more tensions in the international community. However, one can also argue that the veto was not useful in that: A) It crippled the UN's aim of creating a new world order after 1945, as it perpetuated superpower status quo and did not empower new third world member countries. B) It could be bypassed by other ways e.g. 'Uniting for Peace' Resolution of the GA.

The General Assembly

The work of the General Assembly is done in 6 functional committees that discuss different specialized issues such as major current political problems, economic and financial questions, social, humanitarian and cultural matters, budget and secretariat and international law. They are: - First, or Disarmament and International Security Committee - Second, or Economic and Financial Committee - Third, or Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee - Fourth, or Special Political and Decolonization Committee - Fifth, or Administrative and Budgetary Committee - Sixth, or Legal Committee The General Assembly meets once a year, (in September) and remain in session for about 3 months. However, special sessions can be called in times of crisis by members to discuss and make decisions about international problems. Unlike the League of Nations system, decisions made by the General Assembly do not require a unanimous verdict by member states. However, for important decisions, such as peace and security, budgetary matters and admission of new members a two-thirds majority is required. The GA is a world forum where all states can air their views. Under Article 1I of the UN Charter, it is given a wide mandate with regard to its scope of functions, which was: ✓ It mainly discusses global issues and recommends appropriate action. ✓ It also elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council. ✓ It can pass resolutions (a recommendation that a particular state takes a certain course of action). These resolutions express the priorities and sentiments of the international community and can set the norms of international behaviour. (moral authority) ✓ The GA is involved in the admission of new members after the Security Council recommends them. ✓ It plays a supervisory role in all activities of the UN and acts as the central coordinating body for all the other organs and agencies.

'The United Nations Security Council has largely failed in its role of maintaining international peace and security.' How far do you agree with this assessment from 1945 to 2000? (Criteria)

Time: - Cold war period vs post-Cold War period - high tension vs low tension (1960-70s: detente + late 1980s) Space: CW: no (UNSC did not play a concrete role) Post-CW: yes (involved in all conflicts) Magnitude: manage and resolve the crisis

Chapter 1

To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

Side-lining and Revival of the GA (early 1980s — 2000)

UNGA was increasingly discredited and side-lined in its role with regard to international security and peace due to the actions of the USA: USA started to discredit the UNGA and other bodies linked to it (e.g. UNESCO. FAO, UNCTAD). The Reagan administration condemned the UNGA for being anti-American and anti-Israel in mid-1980s. USA passed the Kassebaum—Solomon Amendment in 1985. which demanded that states contributing most financially be given more voting rights in the UNGA. Under this, the USA also reduced its financial contribution. Another temporal reason for its eventual side-lining was the end of the Cold War in 1991, which ended the use of UNGA as a power struggle arena, combined with the continual habit of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council working together. contributed to its overall decline in importance.

Overall Evaluation of UNSC

UNSC has the authority to call for ceasefire, or censure and condemn international acts of aggression — moral weight of international opinion can be a powerful influence on conduct on states which want to avoid the odium of public condemnation (e.g. 1956 Suez war and 1965 India-Pakistan War). Should diplomatic solutions fail, UNSC is empowered under the UN Charter to take necessary actions to enforce international peace and security: Article 41: right to impose sanctions of various kinds on errant states (e.g. mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia in May 1968, extended in March 1970; placing arms embargo against South Africa in 1977 and general embargo on Iraq in 1990) — most favoured approach by UNSC Article 42: can decide to take action by air, sea or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and secunty concept or collective security as seen in Korea (1950) and Kuwait (1990) — but even then Article 42 was not directly invoked by the UNSC On other occasions, certain issues of major global significance did not even make it into the agenda of the Security Council, despite the fact that the Security Council is supposed to keep international peace and security. This is especially so if one of the permanent five was the party which had caused the breach in international peace and security. For instance, when the USA invaded Vietnam from the mid-1960s to the 1970s and helped the anti-Communist faction in the Vietnam War, the UN did not condemn this nor attempted to help Vietnam. The continued existence of the veto has been an issue of debate and contention in the UN among the smaller states and middle powers due to the changing nature of the international system. Many UN members contribute more financially than 3 of the UN permanent members and the post-1945 period has seen the weakening of some of the permanent UN members in the Security Council, especially the USA during the Crises Decades of the global economy. More countries such as India have begun to be increasing influential in international politics, but they have not become a permanent member of the Security Council and veto powers do not extend to them. In contrast, France continues to be a permanent member and have veto powers despite the fact that their influence in international politics have waned significantly after World War 2.

(E) The United Nations Secretary-General could only fulfill his responsibilities if given the support of the superpowers during the Cold War.' Discuss. (BP 1)

UNSGs have been able to exercise initiatives and succeed in matters not directly related to the interest of either superpowers. Evidence - 1. Hammarskjold negotiated successfully on his own accord for the release of American airmen from China in 1955. He came up with the Peking Formula, that is to attend to sensitive international issues on UNSG personal capacity. 2. Hammarskjold's creation of the UN peacekeeping force in 1956. 3. U Thant created an observer group to maintain the truce in the aftermath of Indo-Pakistani War in 1965. 4. Waldheim in 1979 was able to draw international attention to the plight of the Vietnamese boat people. 5. Javier used his good office to negotiate for a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War in 1984. 6. UNSGs were allowed more autonomy as UNSC before the late 1980s was largely immobilised by Cold War rivalries, thus showed little interest in numerous international affairs that have nothing to do with their mutual competition.

Reasons (Critiquing UNSC: 1945-1950s )

USA and USSR brought their Cold War politics into the UN and caused a stalemate within the UNSC. There was no room for compromise as meetings and discussions were conducted in public and each side could not afford to face criticisms back home. Example: The Korean War (1950 — 1953). Rise in prominence of the office of the UN Secretary — General: Appointment of Dag.Hammarskjold, as 2nd UNSG. The first UNSG Trygve Lie was subjected to superpower poTitics but Hammarskjold took an independent and authoritative course and took charge of resolving many security issues that the UNSC could not. (e.g. 1956 Suez Crisis). However, the rise of the UNSG indirectly meant the rise of UNUNSC and UN as a whole, thus evoking more issues to be raised to the UNUNSC.

Consequence of change in membership and composition

USA started to lose its dominance over the UN and gradually withdrew its support for the UN e.g. 1971, US did not lobby successfully to stop communist China's entry into the UN and the Security Council. Change in focus of the UNGA to reflect pressing issues for developing member states (e.g. colonialism, development) and solutions to serve their needs (e.g. UNCTAD, NIEO). Development and intensification of the North — South Divide due to lack of realism on the part of the developing countries and the benign neglect of the USA which considered the GA increasingly not aligned to its ideals and interests e.g. 1975 GA resolution to declare Zionism as a form of racism over US opposition

Purpose of UN

Under the UN Charter. the Security Council is provided with: - An international armed forces at its disposal to effectively deal with threats to peace - Ability to make binding resolutions, decisions and recommendations that need to be reached by a majority vote. However, the 5 permanent members have the power to veto any decision - Membership in the Security Council must reflect the power balance of the post-war periods 10 members from among the GA serving a 2-year term, 5 major powers as permanent members. The main responsibility of the Security Council is to maintain international peace and security The Council also is authorized to act on the behalf of all the members of the United Nations.

Use of veto: 1946-1955

Use of veto in the history of the UNSC was underlined by the climate of Cold War rivalry. Between 1946 and 1955, USSR cast the most no. of vetoes in the first 10 years, making it often seemed to obstruct the work of the UNSC. The USSR aimed to block admission of new pro-US states into the UN. This was resolved in 1955 in a package deal agreement between USA and USSR. which allowed them to admit nations that supported them into the UN. On deeper analysis, the Western powers did not have to exercise the veto so often because they had no need to. They could garner enough negative votes to stop a proposal. They used the veto mostly to balance the threat posed by USSR and its interests. Thus, the USSR had to use the veto as a form of self-defence Example: 1958 - all 8 votes in UNSC controlled by military allies of USA, NATO and SEATO. Only Iraq and Sweden were neutral but even later, Iraq was replaced by Tunisia and Sweden was replaced by Italy in 1959 Criteria: when UNSC is powerful (when they are united from 1988), the rest become weaker when UNSC is weaker, the rest rise and achieve secondary aims

(E) "The Security Council, rather than the General Assembly, was more effective at meeting the aims of the United Nations between 1956 and 1988" How far do you agree with this assertion? (BP 2)

While the UNSC has succeeded in meeting the aims of the UN in several instances, it was more often than not inhibited by differences and Cold War rivalries that existed amongst its powerful members. • Frequent Soviet and later American vetoes incapacitated UN's ability to function properly. • The UNSC worked together in the setting up of more peacekeeping operations from 1956: ONUC (1960), UNFICYP (1964), UNIFIL (1978), and imposition of economic sanctions in Rhodesia (1966). • Failure to act in concert to deal with the Hungarian Uprising and Suez Canal Crisis of 1956, crippled halfway in its management of the Congo Crisis in 1961, major Cold War conflicts that have major implications for global peace were also shielded from the management of UNSC by its superpower members. • Could not act together to stop regional conflicts from taking place: Iran-Iraq war (1980 — 1988), Cambodian conflict (1978), Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1960 Congo Crisis

explicitly invoked Article 99 and secured the authority to organise the dispatch of a UN peacekeeping, force, but faced the difficulty of trying authority from UNSC for all important decisions: his eventual dc facto recognition of Kasavubu and Mobutu rather than the pro-communist Lumumba as effective authorities within Congo by closing an airport to Lumumba's forces led to hostility and boycott by communist counties: Ile was killed in an air crash in September 1961 Soviet response to Hammarskjold following the 1960 Congo Crisis: Khrushchev's troika (triumvirate) proposal: there are neutral nations but no genuinely neutral men to preserve UN's impartiality, hence suggest three UNSGs simultaneously (West. East/Communist and non-aligned/Afro-Asian) - would have Ibrmalised the bipolar structure of the Cold War international system into a permanent feature of the UN's architecture. But this was overwhelmingly rejected by UN member-stales as it would have given inflated share of power to communist representative (10% of UN membership): also all decisions would be based on the consensus of the troika, which would be unworkable in practice; plus third world countries were generally supportive of Hammarkjold as they saw him as a figure who was committed to the UN rather than either of the two Cold War, blocs which sought to dominate it.

The Security Council

founded in 1945 most powerful organization within the United Nations, and is supposed to be the executive branch (the equivalent of government ministries) of the United Nations, in accordance to Article 24 (UNGA - divide by 2: Article 12) of the UN Charter. It issues resolutions which are supposed to be binding on nations, although the United Nations has no effective power to ensure that these resolutions are enforced. Chapter V of the UN Charter gives it primary responsibility for securing international peace and security. Collective Security: An idea that asserts that security concerns can be overcome by collaboration. States come together in joint effort against those who threaten the territories or independence of others. This effort is meant to deter potential threats as well as to punish the aggressor and restore order. But, it did not live up to many expectations, sparking a debate on its effectiveness/ineffectiveness and reasons for them. In considering the effectiveness of the Security Council in meeting its purposes/functions, the Cold War superpower rivalry post-1945 comes to the force.

Critical weakness of the SC

inability to undertake enforcement role (Article 43 - unrealistic expectations of international military force controlled by SC, hence it was never invoked) No permanent armed forces available at its disposal against aggressors - due to fundamental differences over scope and character of the force, as well as the circumstances of use and method of control As such, SC can be called upon for judgement in certain situations but not able to enforce that judgement Nevertheless, SC can lay down the general terms of a settlement (e.g. 1967 Middle East) and can even resolve the issue if the disputing parties are willing.