Lesson 6: The International Organization

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

a. Explain the nature and dynamics of International Organization;

b. Describe the emergence and the need for a global institution or international organization
particularly the United Nation;
c. Assess the role of different actors in the policy process – civil society, governmental, inter-
governmental organizations, in particular the actors involved in the United Nation System; and
d. Identify the practical and ethical problems and limits of international, state sovereignty, and
international justice with regards to key state and non-state practices in a global context.

Topic: The United Nation

Introduction:

Traditionally politics has been undertaken within national political systems. National
governments have been ultimately responsible for maintaining the security and economic welfare of
their citizens, as well as the protection of human rights and the environment within their borders. With
global ecological changes, an ever more integrated global economy, and other global trends, political
activity increasingly takes place at the global level.

Under globalization, politics can take place above the state through political integration schemes
such as the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), and through
intergovernmental organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB)
and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Political activity can also transcend national borders through
global movements and NGOs. Civil society organizations act globally by forming alliances with
organizations in other countries, using global communications systems, and lobbying international
organizations and other actors directly, instead of working through their national governments.

The global system is anarchic, and this necessitates global governance to maintain international
peace and security. How do we govern in the absence of a cosmopolitan state? This lesson aims to
answer this question by focusing on the “United Nations” as the primary venue and formal
arrangements for global governance involving states and non-states actors. In sum, the global
governance is defined as “the formal and informal arrangements that produced a degree of order and
collective action above the state in the absence of a global government,” that involve coordination
among states and non-states actors (Young, 1999: 2).
Learning Content:

a. The United Nation

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made

up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the
purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations
can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security,
climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and
health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.

The UN also provides a forum for its members to express their views in the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and committees. By enabling
dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism
for governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems together.

UN Photo: United Nations Headquarters in New York City

b. UN Purposes and Principles

The Purposes of the United Nations are:

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;

2. 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;

3. 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;
and

4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance
with the following Principles.

1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.

2. All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from
membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the
present Charter.

3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that
international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance
with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the
United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.

6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in
accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in
matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the
Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle
shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll: Action with
Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace and Act of Aggression.
 c. The History of the United Nations

After the World War I, an international group developed the League of Nations to solve disputes
between countries. It was established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles (one of the treaties adopted
after the end of World War I). The League of Nations goal was to encourage cooperation between
countries and keep international peace and security. Unfortunately, the League of Nations failed to
prevent World War II, and therefore, was seen as a failure.

In August 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill held a secret meeting
where they discussed the possibility of starting an international peace effort. They came up
with a declaration called the Atlantic Charter, which outlined ideal goals of war and paved
the way for the development of the United Nation.

The United States joined the war in December 1941, and the title “United Nations”
was first adopted to identify the countries that allied against Germany, Italy and Japan.

Representatives from 26 Allied nations met in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1942 to

sign the Declaration of the United Nations, which essentially described the war objectives of
the Allied powers. The United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union led the charge.

Over the next few years, several meetings took place to draft a post-war charter that
would decisively describe the roles of the United Nations.

The main principles and structure of the United Nations Charter were determined by
leaders at the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO) in San
Francisco on April 25, 1945.

After the war ended, the official United Nations Charter was ratified by 51 members
on October 24, 1945 .

d. The Organs of the United Nations

On Chapter 3, Articles 7 and 8 of the United Nations Charter states that there are established
principal organs of the United Nations that are capable of doing the day to day task of the organization.
Namely the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council,
International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. Each council has its own specific functions that are
connected to the main goals and purposes of the United Nations.

The General Assembly

 The main deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member
States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with
universal representation.
  Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New
York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state
attend and address.
 Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new
members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.
 Each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office.
 The presidency changes every year between the five geographic groups: African, Asian, Eastern
European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States.
 Filipino Diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected GA President from 1949-1950, he was the 4th
President.
 On 17 June 2020, Volkan Bozkır of Turkey was elected the President of the 75th session of
the UN General Assembly and later succeeded Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, whose term officially
ended in September 2020.

The UN General Assembly (UN Photo by Manuel Elias taken from peacekeeping.un.org)

The Security Council

 The Security Council has a primary responsibility under the UN Charter to maintain international
peace and security. Unlike the General Assembly, the Security Council does not hold regular
meetings. It can be convened at any time, whenever international peace is threatened. In fact, it
meets almost every day.
 Takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls
upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of
adjustment or terms of settlement.
 The Security Council has 15 member States, 5 are permanent members while 10 are non-
permanent. The permanent members played a key roles in the establishment of the United
Nations.
  The 5 Permanent Members:
1. China
2. France
3. Russian Federation
4. United Kingdom
5. United States
 The 10 Non-Permanent Members: (The first five will end its term of office in 2020 while the
another 5 on the year 2021.)
1. Estonia (2020)
2. Niger (2020)
3. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2020)
4. Tunisia (2020)
5. Vietnam (2020)
6. Belgium (2021)
7. Dominican Republic (2021)
8. Germany (2021)
9. Indonesia (2021)
10. South Africa (2021)

The UN Security Council Chamber at the UN Headquarters in New York

The Economic and Social Council

 The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central body for coordinating the economic
and social work of the United Nations and the UN System.
  The principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on
economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed
development goals.
 It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system.
 It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly which are based on equal geographical
representation for an overlapping three-year terms.
 The central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable
development.
 Voting in the Council is by simple majority; each member has one vote.
 The Current members of the Economic and Social Council

The UN Economic and Security Council Chamber at the UN Headquarters in New York

The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was originally created to supervise the 11 Trust Territories
that were placed under the management of seven member states. Those dependent territories
(colonies and mandated territories) were placed under the international trusteeship system created by
the United Nations Charter as a successor to the League of Nations mandate system. Ultimately, eleven
territories were placed under trusteeship: seven in Africa and four in Oceania. Ten of the trust territories
had previously been League of Nations mandates; the eleventh was Italian Somaliland.
 By 1994, all the territories had gained self-government or independence, and the
body was suspended. But that same year, the Council decided to continue meeting
occasionally, instead of annually.

The chamber of the UN Trusteeship Council, United Nations headquarters, New York

The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UN’s main judicial organ, its main office is located in
The Hague, Netherlands. Established in June 1945, the ICJ, or “World Court” assumed its functions in
April of 1946.

It’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal dispute submitted to it by states
and to give directory opinions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs specialized agencies.
 The Court settles legal disputes only between nations and not between individuals, in
accordance with international law.
 Since 1946, the International Court of Justice has considered over 150 cases and issued
numerous judgments on international disputes.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the
United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative
organ. Its official languages are English and French.

The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs
of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).

It is good to know that former Chief Justice Cezar Fernando C. Bengzon, the ninth Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of the Philippines was appointed as the Judge of the International Court of Justice in
November 1966, a few months after his retirement as Chief Justice of the Philippines. He was the first
Filipino to be appointed as judge of the United Nations International Court of Justice which was
considered as the highest Court of Justice in the world.

The Honorable Cesar Fernando C. Bengzon

In 2012, another opportunity for a Filipino was given, the first Filipino woman in the name of
Miriam Defensor Santiago who was an academician, lawyer, judge, author, and a stateswoman, and has
served all the three branches of the Philippine government (the Judicial, Executive and Legislative
branch) was appointed as the Judge of the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ). After two
years of serving as Judge of the International Court of Justice, she resigned the post, citing chronic
fatigue syndrome, which turned out to be lung cancer.

The Honorable Miriam Defensor Santiago, J.S.D., GSC, QSC

 The International Court of Justice is currently having the following composition of members based
on the United Nations profile.

President Vice President Judge Judge

Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf Xue Hanqin Peter Tomka Ronny Abraham
(Somalia) (China) (Slovakia) (France)

Judge Judge Judge Judge

Mohamed Bennouna Antonio Augusto Joan E. Donoghue Giorgio Gaja
(Morocco) Cancado Trindade (USA) (Italy)
(Brazil)

Judge Judge Judge Judge

Julia Sebutinde Dalveer Bhandari Patrick Lipton Robinson James Richard Crawford
(Uganda) (India) (Jamaica) (Australia)

Judge Judge Judge

 Kirill Gevorgian Nawaf Salam Yuji Iwasawa
(Russian Federation) (Lebanon) (Japan)

The International Court of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands

Interior of the International Court of Justice (Taken form un.org.)

 Cour internationale de justice

The Seal of the International Court of Justice

The Secretariat

The Secretariat is made up of an international staff working at UN Headquarters in New York, as

well as UN offices in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi and other locations.

Secretary-General & tens of thousands of international U.N staff members who carry out the
day-to-day work of the U.N as mandated by the General Assembly & the organizations other principal
organs.
 The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer of the Organization, appointed by the
General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable
term.
 It consists of departments and offices with a total staff of 16,000 drawn from most Member
States.
UN Photo by Rick Bajornas
A view of the Secretariat Building, with Members States’ flags flying in the foreground, at United
Nations headquarters in New York.