The United Nations
ICSE Class 8 · History & Civics · Chapter 15
What this chapter covers
- Formation of the UN
- Aims and principles of the UN
- Organs of the UN
- The General Assembly
- The Security Council
- The International Court of Justice
- UN agencies
Key points
- The League of Nations, formed in 1920 after the First World War, failed to stop the Second World War.
- The Charter of the United Nations was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945; the UN came into existence on 24 October 1945.
- India was a founding member; the UN now has 193 members, with its headquarters in New York.
- The UN aims to keep world peace, build friendly relations among nations, solve common problems through cooperation and protect human rights.
- Its principles include sovereign equality, peaceful settlement of disputes, no use of force and no interference in a country's internal affairs.
- The six principal organs are the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.
- The General Assembly includes all members, each with one vote; important questions need a two-thirds majority.
- The Security Council has 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members; any permanent member can block a decision with its veto.
- The International Court of Justice at The Hague has 15 judges elected for nine years; it settles disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions.
- UNESCO works for education, science and culture; UNICEF for children's health, education and protection; WHO for health for all.
Questions answered
Why was the League of Nations unable to prevent the Second World War? Give two reasons.
Several powerful countries were not members or left it, and it had no force of its own to make an aggressive country obey.
When and where was the Charter of the United Nations signed, and when did the UN come into existence?
It was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945. The UN came into existence on 24 October 1945, now celebrated as United Nations Day.
State any two aims of the UN.
To maintain international peace and security, and to achieve international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems. (Others: friendly relations among nations; a centre for harmonising the actions of nations.)
What is meant by the principle of sovereign equality?
Every member country has the same rights and standing in the UN, whatever its size, wealth or power. In the General Assembly, each member therefore has one vote.
Name the six principal organs of the UN.
The General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat.
How many votes does each member country have in the General Assembly, and what majority is needed on important questions?
Each member has one vote. Important questions need a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
Describe the composition of the Security Council.
It has 15 members: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two years.
What is the veto? Why is it criticised?
The veto is the power of any permanent member of the Security Council to block a decision by voting against it. It is criticised because one country can stop action that most of the world supports.