Increasing Importance of Global Organisations (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Growth in Importance of the UN

• Global organisations are not new but their importance has grown since the end of WWII (1945)

• Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) have controlled the rules of the global trade and flows of finance

• IGOs also manage global environmental issues

United Nations (UN)

• Based in New York, the UN became the first IGO established post-war and is important because:

  • It helps maintains international peace and security 

  • It functions in managing global environmental, socio-economic and political problems

  • Promotes the principles of human rights and equal rights for all through its commitment to economic and social development

  • It has a role in global governance through fostering cooperation and dialogue among nations

Members

• The UN’s Membership has grown from the original 51 Member States in 1945 to the current 193 Member States

• All UN Member States are members of the General Assembly

• States are admitted to membership by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council

• António Guterres of Portugal, is the current and 9th United Nations Secretary-General, and is the Chief Administrative Officer of the UN - a role which:

  • Symbolises the Organisation's ideals

  • An advocate for all the world's peoples, especially the poor and vulnerable

• The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year, renewable term

Other functions

• The UN is involved in many global issues, such as climate change, humanitarian crises, nuclear disarmament, and sustainable development:

  • The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and its successor, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the foundation of international human rights law. Adopted in 1948, it represents:

    • "[the] universal recognition that basic rights and fundamental freedoms are inherent to all human beings, inalienable and equally applicable to everyone, and that every one of us is born free and equal in dignity and rights"

  • The Geneva Convention which aims to protect the rights of prisoners

  • International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands) is the main body of independent judges set up to settle disputes between countries

  • UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) supports a global response to the threat of climate change

  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aims

    • "[to] eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience so countries can sustain progress"

  • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition

  • The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) promotes agricultural development which aids food security

• The UN has also expanded its scope and functions over time, creating specialised agencies, funds, and programs to address specific challenges and needs, such as:
  

  • The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supports people affected by conflict

  • The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) promotes socially and environmentally sustainable settlements to provide adequate shelter for all

  • The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to ensure the highest possible level of health for all

  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world

  • UN Women focuses exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment

  • UN Population Fund (UNPF) funds family planning services to aid combating HIV

• The UN faces many challenges and criticisms, such as:

  • Lack of representation

  • Bureaucracy

  • Inefficiency

  • Politicisation

• However, it remains the most legitimate and representative global organisation that can address the common problems of humanity

Interventions by the UN

Security

• The Security Council is responsible for keeping international peace and security, and resolving conflicts that may threaten that peace

• The Council consists of 15 members - five permanent and ten non-permanent - elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms

• The five permanent members are:

  • France

  • The UK

  • The USA

  • Russian Federation

  • People's Republic of China

• Permanent members can approve changes to the UN Charter, recommend or veto (block) any Security Council resolution, including admission of new member states

• This has affected its role in maintaining international peace and security at times

  • For example, tensions between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, seriously affected the UN’s security functions during the first 45 years

Interventions

• As a forum, the UN assembly provides a platform for countries to discuss their differences without going to war

• It can also adopt resolutions which are binding on all UN member states and can:

  • Authorise sanctions to reduce a nation's ability to trade

  • Military interventions through peacekeeping operations to help prevent further fighting

    • The UN does not have its own army, but member nations supply equipment and forces to the UN

• Although the UN has intervened through the use of economic sanctions and direct military intervention in defence of human rights, they have had a mixed record of success

Examples of interventions

• Trade embargo on Iran 

  • The UN trade embargo on Iran is a set of sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council to pressure Iran to comply with its obligations regarding its nuclear program
    

  • The embargo includes restrictions on arms sales, financial transactions, travel bans, and asset freezes for individuals and entities involved in Iran's nuclear activities

  • The embargo also prohibits the export of dual-use items and technologies that could contribute to Iran's nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile development

  • The embargo aims to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to encourage dialogue and cooperation with the international community

  • In 2016, Iran agreed to stop enriching uranium in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions

  • In 2018, the US pulled out of the scheme and Iran subsequently fell into a recession, lost value of its currency, saw inflation and drove out many foreign investments and investors

• UN forces in Congo

  • The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is the largest and most complex peacekeeping operation in the world

  • It has over 16,000 military personnel and 1,300 police officers deployed across the country

  • The mission:

    • Has a mandate is to protect civilians, support the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement, facilitate humanitarian access, monitor human rights violations, support the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former soldiers, and assist in the organisation of elections

    • Faces multiple challenges, such as the ongoing armed conflict in the eastern provinces, the humanitarian crisis affecting millions of people, the COVID-19 pandemic, the political instability and violence following the 2018 elections, and the attacks by armed groups against civilians and peacekeepers

    • Has achieved some notable successes, such as facilitating the peaceful transfer of power in 2019, supporting the response to the Ebola outbreak in 2018-2020, providing life-saving assistance to vulnerable populations, and contributing to the stabilisation of some areas through the deployment of quick reaction forces and community violence reduction projects

    • Continues to work closely with the Congolese authorities, civil society, regional and international partners, and other UN agencies to advance the peace process, protect human rights, and promote sustainable development in the DRC

Member States Operating Independently

• A failed state is:

  • A political entity that has lost or never had the ability to perform the basic functions of a sovereign government
    

• Some indicators of a failed state are:

  • A lack of effective control over its territory

  • The erosion of legitimate authority

  • The inability to provide public services

  • Widespread corruption, and violence or threat of violence

• Failed states pose serious challenges to regional and global security, as they can become havens for terrorists, criminals, and human rights violators

• As a result, some member states (US, UK, Russia) have operated independently of the UN in intervening in ‘failed states’ or to conduct a ‘war on terror’

• These interventions have occurred due to:

  • UN inaction or delays

  • UN Security Council members have different interests and may veto suggested action
    

    • E.g. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the UN member states were divided 

    • The vote by the UN General Assembly was 100 to 11 in favour of Crimea remaining part of Ukraine

• These independent interventions have profound negative impacts on geopolitical relations and global stability

  • The US has taken military action in several failed states - Syria, Yemen and Somalia

  • Unmanned drones are used; which raises issues with Article 51 - where a state is able to use force in self-defence if an armed attack happens when attacked

  • The US argue that the use of drones is an act of self-defence in a counter-terrorism situation and reduced the loss of their service men and women

  • However, it is difficult to identify individual targets and impossible to avoid civilian casualties, including children and women, and is therefore, against international law

Iraq War 2003-2011

• The US and UK governments justified their actions by asserting that Iraq was making illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

• The UN wished to send in scientists and weapon inspectors, but the US and UK were unwilling to wait and took military action

• This move was opposed by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

• Although there was a short-term military success, long-term, the impact has been one of civil war, strengthening of its neighbour Iran and the rapid growth of ISIS

Costs

• The cost of intervention is incalculable but ongoing, so far:

  • The 'war on terror' has cost the US 2000 lives since 2001 

  • Since 9/11, the US has spent over $8 trillion on the war on terror

  • An estimated 3.6-3.8 million people have died indirectly in post-9/11 war zones, bringing the total death toll to at least 4.5-4.7 million and counting

  • 38 million war refugees and displaced persons

  • UK military operations cost in Iraq from 2003 - 2009 was £8.4bn

  • Four times as many active personnel and veterans have committed suicide than died in combat