‘UNITED NATIONS

&its relation

with India’Viola lobo

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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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