Tuesday, January 15, 2019

The UN

The UN, or United Nations, is a global organization that serves to keep the peace between countries and works like a governing body for the whole world. However, the decrees that the UN make are not enforced by any physical means and are more like hard suggestions. One thing the UN can do is make the group decision to put trade sanctions on a nation, like North Korea right now, as punishment for not following the group decisions. It was created in 1945 and is closely related to the League of Nations, but its internal architecture is designed differently to account for the problems the LoN encountered. Such problems include having 5 "Superpower" countries that can veto any decision because they have the biggest populations and most resources that would most likely be used in any kind of action decided upon. These nations are the USA, UK, China, Russia (previously the Soviet Union), and France. The rest of the 10 countries rotate in and out on this section of the UN, called the Security Council. There is also a General Assembly which is comprised of 193 nations. Obviously, these numbers have grown hugely since its inception in San Francisco of 1945. Even today, the UN continues to deal with humanitarian issues like global warming or dictatorships.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The United Nations shows how we can learn from our past. As you mention, it was closely related to the League of Nations, but its creators designed it to avoid the issues the League of Nations encountered. And the results are clear - today, the UN still exists and continues to address humanitarian issues.

Unknown said...

I think you did a great job on explaining the different parts of the UN's background and purpose. Today, many people view the UN as a large power over the global economy, however, I think that it is very interesting that the choices of the UN are suggestions rather than enforceable movements. Although, the consequences placed on North Korea were very severe. Also, I think that it is a helpful reminder that the organization's central motives are philanthropic.

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