Post on 13-May-2023
‘UNITED NATIONS
&its relation
with India’Viola lobo
Roll no-276
UID NO- 131203
TYBA POL SCI 2015-16
SEMESTER 5 CIA II.1
SR. NO. NAME PAGE NO.
A. United Nations- An Introduction 3
B. Objectives of the UN 4
C. Membership and Organs of the UN 5
D. Contribution of UN in World Order 8
E. United Nations and its relationship with
India
10
F. History of United Nations in India 11
G, Major Activities of India with regard to
United Nations
12
H. Why hasn’t India secured a permanent seat
in the UNSC?
14
I. Challenges faced by the UN/ Criticism 15
J. Conclusion 16
K. Bibliography and References 17
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A. UNITED NATIONS- An Introduction
The term ‘United Nations’ was first coined by Franklin Roosevelt,
the then United States President during the Second World War. On
1st January 1942 the term ‘United Nations’ was used in the
‘Declaration of United Nations’ when 26 representatives of
countries pledged to continue fighting against the Allied
nations.
Peace keeping and humanitarian assistance for the people is what
the United Nations does for us. The United Nations plays a major
role in our lives. I will talk about how the UN is set up and
then further discuss the relationship of India and the United
Nations. The UN plays a major role in fighting for humanity.
Much more preparatory work went into the making of the UN it
therefore came into existence in 1945 after the end of World War
II. Prior to the emergence of UN, the League of Nations had
existed. Both the organizations were set up with the objective to
maintain balance of power.
The broad outlines of the UN charter were drawn up at the
Dumbarton Oaks conference of 1944. These underwent considerable
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changes at the San Francisco Conference which gave the world the
present UN Charter signed by 51 countries. India was still
struggling for independence and against the British; therefore we
couldn’t join the United Nations.
All the fellow nations strived to maintain peace and pledged that
they would stand by the United Nations to prevent future wars.
This organization was made to make sure that no war takes place
in the near future and to maintain international peace and
stability.
The charter came into existence on 24th October 1945 and since
then we celebrate United Nations day on 24th October every year.
B. OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
The main objective of the UN is objective is collective security.
I will briefly explain the objectives of the UN:-
To maintain international peace and security through various
programs
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To reaffirm faith in the fundamental rights in the worth and
dignity of human beings in the equal rights of men and women
and also nations large or small. In short they also protect
the human rights of the people to prevent violation.
United Nations is also an instrument to foster friendly
relations among the nations and states have to fulfill their
obligation arising out of treaties like Nonproliferation
treaty and the international law.
Lastly, United Nations also promotes social progress and
better standard of living.
Other than the objectives of the United Nations, I will also list
the 7 principles of the United Nations.
UN believes in sovereign equality of all its members
All members of the UN have to fulfill their obligations
towards UN charter, international law and as well as
treaties.
UN members to peacefully settle the disputes between
nations.
Member states are prohibited to use force against the
territorial integrity of other states.
Member states to give all possible assistance to the United
Nations.
Even non-member states have to comply with the UN charter.
UN to respect the sovereignty of the state and not to
interfere with domestic affairs of any state. But UN can
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intervene for the protection of United Nations human rights
and domestic matters of the state. The concept of Humanities
intervention implies that the UN can intervene when it comes
to the protection of UN or promotion of democracy and as
well as the rule of law.
Now I will go on talking about the structure of the United
Nations. This includes the General Assembly, United Nations
Security Council, etc
C. MEMBERSHIP & ORGANS OF THE UN-
The original membership of the UN is fifty one members. Nine have
been added since, Israel being the last. Membership is open to
all peace-loving states. They must accept the obligations
contained in the present Charter and be able and willing to carry
out the obligations of membership. New members are admitted by a
two-thirds vote of the General Assembly upon the recommendations
of the Security council where any of the BIG FIVE (China, France,
United Kingdom , America and Russia) can exercise its veto
power. During the last five years many of the vetoes exercised by
Soviet Russia have been exercised in this connection.
There are strict provisions made for the expulsion and suspension
of members. A suspended state cannot attend meetings of the
United Nations organs of which it is a member. It is not to
administer a trust. No specific provision is made for the
withdrawal of a member.
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Now I will explain the Organs of the United Nations.
ORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations has 6 main organs.
a) General Assembly
b) A security Council
c) Economic and Social Council
d) Trusteeship Council
e) International court of Justice
f) A Secretariat
Now I shall explain all the roles of the organization in brief.
a) General Assembly- It consists of not more than five
representatives from each member-state; each state only has
one vote. Its functions are firstly to promote international
co-operation in economic, social, cultural, educational and
medical fields- mainly to assist in the functioning of
fundamental freedom and human rights for all without any
discrimination in caste, creed, color, race, etc. And
therefore they have established a commission on Human Rights
in order to promote higher standards of living, full
employment and to develop peace and international law and
making sure that there is no discrimination and violation of
the fundamental rights. This assembly meets annually between
September to December. There are various special sessions by
the General Assembly if the Security Council happens to
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request or probably if the UN members request the Assembly.
In addition to the deliberative powers, the General Assembly
also has Financial. Administrative and Electoral powers as
well as the right to initiate amendments in the UN Charter.
The Voting procedure in the General Assembly is an advance
upon the League procedure. The League required a unanimous
vote for decisions while the General Assembly needs two-
third members consent to pass any bills.
b) The Security Council- the Security Council deals almost with
the matters relating to maintenance of international peace
and security. Whenever there is a dispute or whenever the
peace is threatened then the Security Council has to be on
alert. The states who are members of the United Nations have
to be obligated and honest in following all the orders by
the Security Council. When there is a war like situation or
if there is a threat to peace then the Security Council
first tries to bring peace or else ends with a ceasefire.
For example, in the 1947 war between India and Pakistan,
these two countries wanted Kashmir and a war broke out,
therefore in 1948 India went to the UN where the UN told
India to settle the dispute with a referendum in Kashmir
which never happened due to political reasons, then the war
ended with a ceasefire and Pakistan occupied North Kashmir
which they proudly call as ‘Azad Kashmir.’ There are total
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15 members in the Council and there are permanent 5 members
namely America, Russia, China, France and Brittan. The other
10 members are selected every two years based on
geographical location. These permanent members have veto
power and they can influence the decisions of the Council.
The General Assembly takes into consideration the
recommendations of the Council whenever there are new
elections in the house.
c) The Economic and Social Council- The main organization who
is responsible to distribute wealth is the Economic and
Social Council. It includes 54 member nations around the
entire world. The main and the focus of United Nations work
(70%) is solely devoted to promote higher standards of
living, other things which contribute towards building the
economic and social progress and also full employment.
ECOSOC main aim is to develop the economic and social
progress of the developing nations, therefore they give
recommendations and direct activities. They support and
help the nations to get over with poverty and fight for
human rights. Therefore there are many organizations set up
by United Nations under ECOSOC like World Health
Organisation (WHO), United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development
Program (UNDP),etc.
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d) Trusteeship Council – In order to supervise the
administration and development of the Trust territories, the
trusteeship council was set up in the United Nations
Charter. These former or dependent colonies were by default
placed in the International Trusteeship Council. During the
Second World War, all the territories had been badly
affected and displaced and peace was disrupted. Therefore in
order to promote the development of those inhabitants in the
territories the Trusteeship Council helped in the aid and
finance. Their main aim is to help the territory gain
independence and self-governance. Till now, more than 70
territories have been freed and acquired independence only
with the help of the Trusteeship Council.
e) International Code of Justice- The main judicial organ of
the United Nations is the International Code of Justice. It
is also called as the ‘World Court.’ It has over 15 judges
represented from each nation worldwide. These judges are
elected by the esteem General Assembly and the Security
Council. All the matters are settled between the nations
only by the International court of Justice based on worldly
affairs. It settles the legal disputes with respect to the
terms and conditions laid out in the international law. It
is not necessary for a country to take part in the court of
justice unless it is specified by the United Nations. Once
you become a part of UN, you are obligated to listen to
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them. The seat of the International court of Justice is at
Netherlands in the ‘The Hague of Netherlands’ and has a
permanent seat there.
f) The Secretariat- Lots of people work at the International
United Nations headquarters in New York. It also has it
offices in India, Nairobi and other countries. The total
staff in the Secretariat is about 16,000 employees spread
over 175 countries. In the peacekeeping missions the number
of employees increases towards 30,000 people. These staff
members are appointed by the General Assembly to do the
administrative work.
So there are the various organs of the United Nations. I will now
continue talking about the other areas of focus of the United
Nations and speak about the contribution of United Nations in the
world order.
D. CONTRIBUTION OF UN IN WORLD ORDER
International Peace and Security: The agenda of the United
Nations in the world has always covered international peace
and security, human rights development, etc. Because of the
tension between the superpowers there has always been a big
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tension which adds to the sources of threatening world
peace. The end of cold war does not easily signify that
there is no threat to the international threat and security.
It is the contribution of the United Nations to work on the
protection of the international peace and security.
Collective Security: It is very difficult to maintain the
international peace and security and hence the need for an
international organization like United Nations came into
existence and can also use force and impose restrictions
wherever necessary. The peace of the world can be
categorized in 4 forms namely collective security,
peacekeeping, arms control and peace making. The UN is a
body which settles disputes between 2 or more countries.
Peacekeeping- United Nations has always strived to maintain
peace, and peacekeepinf force could have been set up as a
face-saving formula that allowed Saddam Hussein to retreat
from an untenable position. The institute of peacekeeping is
probably one of the most important UN innovations in the
field of international peace. The theme common to all the UN
peacekeeping is to promote international stability outside
the axis of great power rivalry. The UN Emergency force in
1956-67 in the Middle East was the first major example of
the new institution of part-time soldiering for the UN.
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Peacekeeping troops normally come from middle and smaller
powers, they are lightly armed, they can negotiate rather
that a direct fight.
Arms control and Disarmament – Everyone in the 21st century
has nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destructions. India
has always been ready to use peaceful methods than other
harsh nuclear methods. In 1991-92, China and France accepted
the Non- Proliferation treaty and bought all the nuclear
powers within its fold. The attack of America in Japan
proves that it is violating the nuclear treaty. The UN has
spent a lot in knowing the causes of arms and made several
policies to stop the usage of arms.
Peacemaking – In a memorable Phase, Ronald Reagan remarked
that USA and USSR did not distrust each other because they
were armed. They armed themselves because they did not trust
each other. The UN record in the field of pacific settlement
is one of the qualified success. On balance, the UN has
helped nations to develop shared norms and perceptions. The
UN has always tried to maintain peace and promote peace. Eg.
In 1948, in India and Pakistan issue, UN asked India to hold
plebiscite in Kashmir. This is a big example of maintaining
peace.
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Further, I will speak about the Role of India in UN and the
history of India and UN. Should India get a permanent seat in the
UN Security Council? These questions will be discussed shortly.
E. UNITED NATIONS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
INDIA.
India secured independence in 1947 but way before that on 1st
January 942, India was one of the original members of the United
Nations and signed the document of Declaration in Washington. In
San Francisco, from 25th April- 26th June 1945, India also
participated in the United Nations Conference on International
Organisation.
India has been one of the first countries to be active in the
United Nations since its inception and always strongly believes
in the principles of the United Nations. India has always tried
its best to follow and helped in implementing the UN Charter and
helped in development of the programs laid by UN.
History of India in the United Nations - In 1947, India was
overwhelmed to be the member of the United Nations as it
guaranteed international peace and security. India has
participated in all the programs organized by the United Nations.
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For example India sent its troops to Korea in order to maintain
peace on the request of the UN, India also sent its troops in the
United Nations peacekeeping mission in the South Sudan conflict.
For 12 consecutive years that is for 6 terms, India has been part
of the United Nations Security Council. India is also a part of
the Generation 4 (G4) nations and is one of the countries who are
in favor of the reformation of the United Nations Security
Council.
Currently, in India we have 27 organizations representing the
United Nations which serve us to maintain peace and harmony.
India has always played an active role in the United Nations and
helps in the smooth functioning and helps to implement policies
thereby increasing its effectiveness.
Along with other member states, India has worked for reform of
the Economic and Social Counciland of the Security Council in
order to enhance the General Assembly.
F.History of the United Nations in India-
Before the United Nations, there was something called as the
League of Nations. The teachings and principles of the League of
Nations have influenced the birth of the United Nations. India
has been a part of the League of Nations too which made it easier
for India to get a seat in the United Nations.
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According to the principles of the United Nations, the countries
who can be permanent members have to be sovereign nations. But at
that time, India had not even got independence and yet it was an
original member of the United Nations. India was among the 4
nations i.e Ukraine, Belarus and Philippines who were not yet
independent whilst securing a seat in the UN.
On 1st January 1942, India was represented by Girijia Shankar
Bajpai who signed the Decleration of Independence. He was an
agent general of India that time. The United Nations Economic and
Social Council got its first President Mr. RamasamyMudaliar, who
was an Indian. Surely it was a proud moment for India.
In October 1945, India was the founding member of the United
Nations. It had not gained independence yet, as it was yet ruled
by the British. Later on after 2 years in 1947, independent
India has always been beside the United Nations and helped it
maintain international peace and security. During the initial
phase of the UN, the UN was in a very bad condition trying to end
war and colonialism when India always stood by the UN.
Also, India’s first step towards Non-Alignment Treaty added to
maintain international peace. NAM was an initiative by India ,
whoever joins NAM remains neutral and does not join either of the
power blocks (USA and USSR). This added to maintain Balance of
Power and prevented war which didn’t add any load to the United
Nations.
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India has also played a leading role in advocating the developing
nations along with the United Nations. India has been an active
member of the United Nations where it has criticized the UN
whenever it was unfair. For example, in 1946, India was outspoken
about the racial discrimination in South Africa which led the
United Nations to take various steps to reduce the content of
Racial Discrimination.
G.Major Activities of India with regard to United
Nations. In October 1945, two years before gaining independence from
the British Raj, India was a founding member of the United
Nations By 1946, India raised a lot of issues in the UN
General Assembly ranging from colonialism to racial
discrimination.
India played a major role in helping out to draft the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR, the main person
to bring out the concern of gender equality in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was by Dr. Hansa Mehta who was a
Gandhian herself and an active politician. She said that
‘all men are equal’ and hence the drafting of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was done keeping in mind the ill
effects of gender inequality.
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Vijaya Laxmi Pandit was the chief delegate of India in the
year 1953 when she got the opportunity to become the first
UN General Assembly Woman President.
Disarmament was fully supported by India which was one of
United Nations highlights. India always was against the use
of nuclear weapons and arms in order to maintain peace and
create stability in the international economic order.
During the prisoners’ war in Korea, India signed the
armistice and thus this resulted in the end of the Korean
War in 1953. By this we can see, that India religiously
followed the United Nations principles.
The five-member Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission was
successfully chaired by India and the Indian Custodian
Force was given the job of maintaining discipline in the
interviews procedure followed by the other guidelines and
the problems.
In 1954, in the Geneva Accords on Indo-China, India played a
major role and was the head of the supervision and control
team internationally in 3 countries namely Laos, Vietnam and
Cambodia.
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In 1956, in the Suez Crisis, India played and major and an
active role and was headed by the then Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru who was also the leader and the mastermind
behind the Non Aligned Movement.
India co-sponsored a program by the United Nations in1960
called the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries.
United Nations was very worried about the factor of
Colonialism. Thus to bring an end to Colonialism, they set
up a ‘Special Committee’ which wanted to abolish colonialism
and India for the first time chaired this. It was the golden
opportunity for India, as India had also gone through the
brutal colonial period led by the British.
In 1965, United Nations came up with the Policy against
Racial Discrimination and India was one of the first
countries to sign it early without any delay as it was
against the Racial Discrimination.
India is also one of the countries who played main role in
articulating the policies of the United Nations program
mainly for economies of developing countries.
India has been a part of the Group 77 member.
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Policies of the United Nations surrounding behind protection
of human rights as well as sustainable development are kept
in mind while making laws and policies for India.
India is a conservative country. But it still follows all
the policies of the UN.
In 1948, during the Kashmir issue, India went to the United
Nations for help and the UN asked India to conduct a
plebiscite in Kashmir as it wanted to maintain peace between
India and Pakistan.
On 11th December 2014, the UN General Assembly said that 21st
June will be called as International Yoga Day and hence
India made it possible to have the International Yoga Day
starting from our Prime Minister. It was also practiced in
our college.
H. Why hasn’t India secured a Permanent Seat
in the United Nations?
The United Nations Security Council has temporary as well as
Permanent Members. India is a part of the G4 nations along with
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Japan, Brazil and Germany. The G4 nations all want a permanent
seat in the United Nations.
These nations suggest the UNSC to go beyond 15 members to 25
members and want them to expand. If they accept their proposal
then for the first time the South Asian Nations will be a part of
the UNSC which will give these developing countries more powers
and they can put forward their problems.
India simply doesn’t make this demand. It justifies what it says.
India has been in the League of Nations and sincerely
follows the United Nations Principles.
India is a liberal democracy, is the second largest
population and supports peace.
If we compare India to the rest of the world, it has the
tenth largest economy.
If we see the part of purchasing power parity, then India
ranks third in that.
During all the United Nations peacekeeping missions, India
has contributed a lot by being the third largest country in
sending the troops of 7820 people just to support the UN.
India has overall taken part in 45 missions with over 160,
00,000 troops and over of which 169 personnel have given up
their life during the peace keeping missions.
Since the beginning of time, India has given respectable
members to the Force mission to maintain peace by the United
Nations.
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Our Prime Minister recently addressed, “It is India’s right to be in the
United Nations SC.” He further said that we have sacrificed at
least 75,000 soldiers to UN during the World War I and we have
always followed the guidelines and helped UN in the peace keeping
missions, as we strongly believe in Buddha and Gandhi.
"India is a country that is for peace, and helps bring peace to the world, and yet
we are struggling to get a seat in the UNSC," Modi said this at a speech
in France.
So it’s high time that we get a seat in the UN Security Council.
I. CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR UN TO OVERCOME The quality of multilateralism and internationalism of which
the United Nations and its agencies are institutional
manifestations has undergone a dramatic change.
The role of the General Assembly stands diminished.
The focus on the concerns of the developing nations is now
subject to superpower interests.
The disappearance of the Soviet Union and the convergence of
the policies of influential members of the UN have resulted
of it becoming increasingly subject to attitudes and
interests of a small group of powerful countries, rather
than those of 190 odd members of the organizations.
Both ideological and donor fatigue exist as far as United
Nations is concerned. The idealism and the faith that the UN
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would be a force working in the highest interests of
humanity.
The UN is subject to serious resource constraints and only
gives selective support for certain projects and programs by
its important member countries it provided.
The emergence of a number of sub regionalism and regional
groups has compelled the UN to restructure its roles and
functions.
The problems of the UN reforms and the expansion of the
Security Council are subject to superpowers orthodoxies and
contrasting aspirations of the majority of the members of
UN.
The Security Council is becoming increasingly intrusive and
protective not only in the areas of security but also in the
area of human rights, environment and social issues and
tries to intervene in the domestic matters of the nation’s
thus disrespecting its sovereignty.
The role of the UN in developmental activities and in the
economic matters is getting reduced.
The role of the UN general assembly is diminishing as
compared to the UN Security Council.
The UN also falls short of funds and cannot fully contribute
in any project.
The Secretary General of UN has become more political in
terms of superpower preferences. For eg. The appointment of
Kurt Waldheim as the secretary general in 1972 and denying
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the second term to Boutros-Ghali by the USA are significant
examples.
J. CONCLUSION.
Therefore in conclusion, I would like to say that the United
Nations must strive for a balance between desirable and the
possible. The greatest strengths of the UN is that it is
universal forum for international cooperation and management.
United Nations plays a key role in Balance of Power. It is
neutral and always the end goal of the UN is to maintain world
peace.
India is trying hard to get a permanent seat in the UN and I hope
that India is successful in doing so by atleast 2020.
“The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and
independence for all its members.”- Harry.S.Truman
K. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES.1.United Nations; ‘Multilateralism and International
Security’, edited by
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C. Uday Bhansakar, Uttam K sinha, K Santharaman,
Tasneem Meenai.
2.International Politics, Chaturvvedi,Archna
3.UN Chronicle, (December 1998), p.p 6-8
4.Economist (18th March 1989), p-92
5.http://www.mea.gov.in/india-and-the-united-
nations.htm
6.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
India_and_the_United_Nations
7.http://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations
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