The United Nations Impressive as the modern network of international organization and econ

The United Nations

Impressive as the modern network of international organization and economic agreements may seem on the surface, it has not even come close to ridding the international community of quarrels and national conflicts. Many scholars and statesmen, in fact, have argued that peace and interdependence could best be promoted by one overriding organization rather than by many small international organizations. The supreme effort to found such an organization was the creation of the United Nations.

Key Points in the ON Charter

Precisely how these responsibilities were conceptualized was spelled out in Chapter VII of the UN Charter, titled "Action with Respect to Threats to Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression." Article 39 of this chapter specifies that "the Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measure shall be taken in accordance with Articles 40 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security." Subsequent articles spell out how the Security Council was expected to discharge its obligations. Article 41 deals with economic sanctions, including "complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations." Article 42 contemplates situations in which economic sanctions may be inadequate: in such cases, the Security Council "may take action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations." Other articles in Chapter VII deal with organizing the military components of full fledged collective security system, including the establishment of a Military Staff Committee.

The machinery of international peacekeeping outlined by these articles far surpassed the comparable machinery of the League of Nations. Moreover, the UN was intended to go well beyond merely maintaining peace and security, as the establishment of its so-called specialized agencies revealed. Through these agencies, the UN plays an important role in worldwide disaster relief, resettlement of refugees, technical assistance in the areas of food and agriculture, health concerns, and many other areas. In addition, the world body actively promotes a higher world standard of living through agencies such as International Children's Emergency Fund. Finally, financial and developmental assistance has been extended to economically troubled states through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Glancing at a List of the UN's specialized agencies makes it clear that the UN was committed from the outset to promoting world welfare as well as preventing world war.

However, the UN Charter was not designed as a blueprint for a world government. Article 2, paragraph 7, of the charter makes it clear that matters "essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state" are beyond the purview of UN authority. In addition, Article 2 states unequivocally (明确地) that the United Nations "is based on the principle of sovereign (主权国家的) equality of all its members."

Nevertheless, the declared equality of all members of the United Nations is undercut by other provisions of the charter that give greater weight within the organization to the most powerful or prominent member-states. The most obvious reason for these provisions was the need to guarantee the participation of the major states. But there was another, inure subtle reason:

Some of the UN's original supporters viewed the new international association not just as an organization of sovereign states, but also as

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