The United Nations | ICSE Class 8 History & Civics Notes

This note covers the origin of the United Nations, its aims and principles, its six principal organs, the General Assembly, Security Council and International Court of Justice, international cooperation, and the work of organisations concerned with children, education and health.

What is the United Nations, and why is it needed?

The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation through which countries work together for peace and better living conditions. An international organisation is a body created by agreement among states. Here, a state means a country, rather than a province within a country.

Countries disagree about many matters. A disagreement does not necessarily lead to war. Most conflicts and differences are resolved without going to war. An organisation that brings countries together can help them discuss their differences and seek peaceful solutions.

Why does cooperation need an organisation?

Cooperation means working together towards a shared purpose. Recognising a common problem is different from agreeing on a solution. Countries may disagree over how to share costs, distribute benefits or make sure that everyone keeps an agreement.

The UN provides a place for discussion and arrangements for joint action. Its rules and staff can help countries develop confidence that agreements will be honoured. Such confidence matters when a problem extends beyond the borders of any one country.

Disease provides an example. Some diseases can only be eradicated if everyone cooperates in vaccinating their populations. Eradication means eliminating a disease, while vaccination helps the body develop protection against it. Cooperation therefore concerns everyday well-being as well as the prevention of war.

Is the UN a government above all countries?

The UN is not a super-state, meaning a state with authority above its member countries. It was created by states and depends on their cooperation. Its existence does not mean that national governments cease to govern their own countries.

Definition: Interdependence means the growing connections through which societies and their problems affect one another. These connections help explain why countries need institutions for international cooperation.

The UN cannot solve every problem. However, the need for discussion, agreement and cooperation remains even when countries find it difficult to act together. Its value lies partly in keeping peaceful discussion possible.

How did the United Nations come into existence?

The First World War encouraged efforts to create an international organisation that could help prevent another war. The resulting organisation was the League of Nations. Despite its initial success, it could not prevent the Second World War, which lasted from 1939 to 1945.

The Second World War caused even greater loss of life and injury. The UN was established in 1945 as the League's successor. A successor is an organisation that follows an earlier one and takes up a related role.

What is the UN Charter?

The United Nations Charter is the organisation's founding document. It sets out its purposes, principles and institutional arrangements. The UN was founded with the hope of preventing conflicts between states from becoming wars and limiting hostilities if war nevertheless broke out.

Hostilities means acts of warfare between opposing sides. This distinction matters: trying to prevent war and trying to limit fighting after it begins are related tasks, but they address different situations.

What does the emblem represent?

The blue emblem shows a world map surrounded by olive branches. The branches curve around the map, and the emblem signifies world peace.

Reference: NCERT Class 12, Chapter 4, page 45

Keep the signing of the Charter separate from the founding date. They belong to the same process, but they are not the same event. Also distinguish the League from the UN: the UN followed the League after the Second World War.

What are the aims and principles of the United Nations?

An aim is an outcome an organisation seeks to achieve. A principle is a rule or guiding idea that should shape its conduct. The UN's aims explain what it seeks to accomplish; its principles explain how members should behave while pursuing those aims.

What does the UN seek to achieve?

• Peace and security: Prevent international conflict and help stop disputes from developing into war.
• Friendly relations: Encourage relations based on equal rights and the self-determination of peoples. Self-determination means that peoples can decide their political status and pursue their development.
• International cooperation: Bring countries together to address social and economic problems, including hunger, disease and lack of education.
• Human rights: Encourage respect for the rights and freedoms of people. Human rights are basic rights belonging to every person.
• Coordinated action: Provide a centre where countries can bring their efforts together in pursuit of shared purposes.

Which principles guide member countries?

Sovereignty means a state's independence and authority over its own affairs. Sovereign equality means that member states have equal standing as sovereign states. It does not mean that they have equal populations, wealth or military strength.

• Members should fulfil their Charter obligations in good faith, meaning honestly and sincerely.
• Members should settle international disputes by peaceful means.
• Members should refrain from threatening or using force against another state's territorial integrity or political independence. Territorial integrity means the wholeness and security of a state's territory.
• Members should assist the UN when it acts in accordance with the Charter and should not assist a state against which the UN is taking preventive or enforcement action.

The Charter also recognises a principle of non-intervention in matters essentially within a state's domestic jurisdiction. Domestic jurisdiction means the sphere of its internal authority. This principle does not prevent enforcement measures under the Charter's provisions for maintaining peace. The UN also seeks to ensure that non-member states follow its principles so far as necessary for international peace and security.

Note: A promise to seek peaceful relations is an obligation guiding behaviour. It is not a claim that conflict has disappeared or that every UN effort succeeds.

How are the six principal organs organised?

An organ is a main part of an organisation with particular responsibilities. The UN has six principal organs. Their work includes discussion, peace and security, economic and social cooperation, legal disputes, administration and the historical supervision of trust territories.

Composition means who belongs to a body and how it is formed. Functions are the tasks it performs. Keeping these ideas separate helps explain why the organs have different memberships as well as different responsibilities.

How do different kinds of work fit together?

Administration means organising and carrying out an institution's day-to-day work. Legal work concerns rules and disputes about rights and obligations. Economic and social work concerns people's living conditions. None of these descriptions is simply another name for the Security Council's responsibilities.

The UN system also contains programmes, funds and specialised agencies. A programme carries out organised work in a particular field; a fund supports designated activities. A specialised agency is a separate organisation linked with the UN through an agreement and working in a particular field.

The chart places the General Assembly near the centre, with labelled boxes for the Security Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat, Economic and Social Council, and Trusteeship Council. Smaller boxes identify programmes, funds and specialised agencies.

Reference: NCERT Class 12, Chapter 4, page 49

The chart shows an organisation with several connected parts. It should not be read as a list of six interchangeable bodies. To identify an organ, connect its name with both its membership and its work.

What are the composition and functions of the General Assembly?

The General Assembly brings together representatives of all UN member states. Each member state has one vote. By 2011, the UN had 193 member states, including almost all independent states. The Assembly therefore provides a broad forum for international discussion.

A representative is someone who acts or speaks on behalf of others. In the Assembly, representatives speak for their countries. A country's population or wealth does not give it additional votes in this body.

What does the Assembly do?

The Assembly debates international questions, including issues of peace and security. It also discusses social and economic development. Debate means considering different views through discussion; agreement may require countries to listen to concerns beyond their own national positions.

The Assembly makes recommendations on many matters. A recommendation is advice or a proposed course of action. Its recommendations are generally not binding on member states. Binding means creating an obligation that must be followed.

It also plays an important role in elections and appointments. The Assembly elects the Security Council's ten non-permanent members and the Economic and Social Council's members. It participates, along with the Security Council, in electing judges of the International Court of Justice.

The Assembly appoints the Secretary-General, the head of the UN's international staff, on the Security Council's recommendation. Thus, a body representing all member countries contributes to the selection of people and members serving elsewhere in the UN system.

How are votes and decisions different ideas?

Each country has one vote, but different decisions can require different majorities. A majority means more than half; some decisions require a larger specified proportion, such as two-thirds. Equal voting rights do not mean that every proposal will be agreed upon.

Note: Membership of the General Assembly does not automatically give a country a seat on the Security Council. All UN members participate in the Assembly, while the Council has a smaller, separately defined membership.

The Assembly's wide membership makes it important as a place where countries can explain problems, put forward proposals and hear other positions. Discussion remains valuable even when a recommendation does not itself compel action.

How does the Security Council work, and what is the veto?

The Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members: five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Permanent membership continues without the periodic elections used to fill the non-permanent seats.

Who belongs to the Council?

The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their privileged position reflects the circumstances following the Second World War. The General Assembly elects the ten non-permanent members for two-year terms.

How are non-permanent members elected and replaced?

1. The General Assembly elects ten non-permanent members, with the elected seats representing the world's continents.
2. The elected members serve two-year terms. They participate in Council discussions and voting but have no veto power.
3. On completing its term, a country cannot be re-elected immediately.
4. Newly elected members take the places of the outgoing members.

What does veto power mean?

A veto is the power of a permanent member to block a substantive Council decision by voting against it. A substantive decision concerns the matter being decided, rather than the procedure for conducting business. Each Council member has one vote, but only permanent members possess the veto.

Consequently, a permanent member's negative vote can stall a decision even when the other members support it. A negative vote means a vote against a proposal. Having one vote each therefore does not give every Council member the same power.

The Council can call for peaceful settlement and act to maintain peace. Its smaller membership does not make it identical to the Assembly on a smaller scale. Its responsibilities, binding powers and permanent members' veto distinguish it.

What does the International Court of Justice do?

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UN's principal judicial organ. Judicial means concerned with courts and the settlement of legal questions. The Court is based in The Hague and has 15 judges elected for nine-year terms.

The General Assembly and Security Council both participate in electing its judges. The required majority must be obtained in each body. This gives two principal UN organs a role in choosing the members of the Court.

What is the Court's composition?

The Court consists of judges rather than a general meeting of national representatives. A judge is a person who decides legal questions in a court. ICJ judges serve independently; their task is to apply international law, not to act as their governments' delegates.

International law consists of rules governing relations between states and other matters recognised within the international legal system. The Court uses law to settle disputes, rather than treating a dispute simply as a contest of political strength.

What are its two main functions?

• Deciding disputes: The Court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states. Its authority in such cases depends on the states' consent.
• Giving advisory opinions: It gives legal opinions when authorised UN organs and agencies request them. An advisory opinion explains a legal question rather than deciding a dispute between parties in the same way as a judgment.

A judgment is the Court's decision in a legal case. In a dispute between states, its judgment is binding on the parties to that case. This does not mean that every statement made by the Court binds every country.

Do not confuse the ICJ with a national court where individuals bring ordinary cases. In cases between opposing parties before the ICJ, the parties are states. This distinction identifies both the international character of the Court and the limits of this kind of proceeding.

What do the Economic and Social Council, Secretariat and Trusteeship Council do?

The UN needs institutions concerned with welfare and administration as well as political discussion and legal disputes. Three further principal organs help complete the picture: the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council.

What is the Economic and Social Council?

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) deals with economic and social welfare. It has 54 members elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Overlapping terms mean that members' periods of service do not all end together.

Its membership is based on geographical representation. Its work connects with matters such as human rights, population and the status of women. This reflects the UN's concern with living conditions and human welfare, alongside its work on war and peace.

What is the Secretariat?

The Secretariat is the international staff serving the UN's other principal organs. It carries out administrative and coordinating work. The Secretary-General heads the Secretariat and is also the UN's representative head and most visible public figure.

The General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council. The appointment is for a renewable five-year term. Renewable means that another term is possible; it does not mean that another term is automatically granted.

Distinguish staff work from the debates of member states. The Secretariat helps the organisation function, while the Assembly and Council provide forums in which member countries discuss questions and take decisions within their responsibilities.

What was the Trusteeship Council's role?

Trust territories were territories placed under an international system of supervision intended to promote self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council supervised this process. Self-government means managing one's own public affairs; independence means becoming a sovereign state.

The Council suspended operations on 1 November 1994 after Palau, the last UN trust territory, became independent. Suspension of operations is different from saying that the organ never existed or played no role in the UN system.

How do UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO help people?

The UN system's work reaches beyond meetings about disputes. Education, children's welfare and public health are important parts of international cooperation. Public health concerns protecting and improving the health of whole populations, rather than treating only one person's illness.

What does UNESCO do?

UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It promotes cooperation through education, science and culture. Its work includes encouraging education and helping protect cultural and natural heritage.

Heritage means valued cultural or natural features inherited from the past and preserved for future generations. Protecting heritage connects cooperation between countries with respect for the world's different cultures and places.

What does UNICEF do?

UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund. It works for children's rights and well-being, including health, nutrition, education and access to safe water. Nutrition concerns obtaining the nourishment needed for health and growth.

Providing clean and safe drinking water to children in developing countries is one important area of its work. Children's welfare therefore involves several connected needs, rather than a single service such as schooling or medical treatment alone.

What does WHO do?

WHO stands for the World Health Organisation. It works to improve health and supports international cooperation against disease. This includes helping countries prevent and control diseases and strengthen public health.

Health problems can require cooperation across borders. WHO's work illustrates why countries benefit from shared efforts in a field where action within one country may be insufficient to eliminate a danger.

These organisations are often discussed together because they serve human welfare. Their formal categories differ: UNICEF is a fund, while UNESCO and WHO are specialised agencies. None is one of the six principal organs.

Why does the United Nations remain important despite its limitations?

The UN combines two connected concerns: peaceful relations between countries and improvements in people's lives. Conflicts often arise from a lack of social and economic development. Cooperation on development therefore has a place beside efforts to prevent fighting.

What can it contribute?

The UN provides a continuing place for countries to explain disagreements and seek agreement. It helps them organise cooperation on problems that cross borders. Through its different institutions, it brings together discussion, legal settlement, administrative support and work for human welfare.

Dialogue means an exchange of views intended to improve understanding or reach agreement. It can remain useful when countries strongly disagree. The opportunity to argue peacefully is itself valuable, although a meeting does not guarantee a settlement.

The different organs illustrate different contributions. The General Assembly allows broad participation in discussion. The Security Council addresses peace and security. The International Court of Justice provides a legal means of resolving disputes within its authority.

What limits its effectiveness?

Member states can disagree about what should be done, who should bear the costs and whether an arrangement is fair. The UN depends on states' cooperation. It cannot be understood as an independent world government with unlimited power over them.

The veto can prevent the Security Council from adopting a substantive decision. However, proposals to abolish or change it face difficulty because the permanent members are unlikely to agree. Criticism of the veto and agreement on changing it are different things.

The UN is an imperfect organisation. Its limitations do not remove the problems that made cooperation necessary. Disease, disagreements and unequal living conditions still require countries to find ways of working together.

A balanced assessment connects each institution with its function, recognises the limits of its authority and avoids claiming guaranteed success. The UN offers important means of cooperation, but the willingness of countries to use those means remains essential.

Glossary

• United Nations — An international organisation through which member countries cooperate for peace, security and better living conditions.
• Charter — The founding document that sets out the United Nations' purposes, principles and institutional arrangements.
• Sovereignty — A state's independence and authority over its own affairs within the international system.
• Interdependence — Connections through which societies, their activities and their problems increasingly affect one another.
• Principal organ — One of the six main bodies through which the United Nations carries out its responsibilities.
• General Assembly — The UN organ in which all member states are represented and each has one vote.
• Security Council — The UN organ with primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
• Veto — A permanent Security Council member's power to block a substantive decision by voting against it.
• International Court of Justice — The principal UN judicial organ, settling legal disputes between states and giving authorised advisory opinions.
• Advisory opinion — A legal opinion supplied by the International Court of Justice at the request of an authorised body.
• Secretariat — The international staff that carries out administrative and coordinating work for the United Nations.
• Secretary-General — The head of the Secretariat who also serves as the United Nations' representative head.
• Specialised agency — A separate organisation linked to the UN by agreement and working in a particular field.
• Trust territory — A territory placed under international supervision intended to promote its self-government or independence.
• Public health — Work to protect and improve the health of populations through prevention and other collective measures.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: The League of Nations and the United Nations are the same organisation. Correct: The UN was founded in 1945 as the League's successor after the Second World War.
• Misconception: The Charter signing and UN Day mark the same event. Correct: Fifty nations signed on 26 June 1945; UN Day marks the founding on 24 October 1945.
• Misconception: Every UN member belongs to the Security Council. Correct: All members belong to the General Assembly; the Security Council has five permanent and ten non-permanent members.
• Misconception: Every Security Council member has veto power. Correct: Only the five permanent members possess the veto, although each Council member has one vote.
• Misconception: The ICJ has the same membership as the General Assembly. Correct: The Court consists of 15 judges, while the Assembly contains representatives of all member states.
• Misconception: UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO are three principal organs. Correct: UNICEF is a UN fund; UNESCO and WHO are specialised agencies, distinct from the six principal organs.
• Misconception: The UN is a world government that can guarantee peace. Correct: It depends on cooperation among states and cannot guarantee that every conflict will be prevented.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. The UN was founded on 24 October 1945 after the Second World War, and this date is celebrated as United Nations Day. State the founding date and the annual observance associated with it. [2 marks]

1. The United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945, following the Second World War.
2. The annual observance associated with this date is United Nations Day, celebrated on 24 October.

Q2. The League of Nations could not prevent the Second World War of 1939 to 1945. The UN succeeded it in 1945 to prevent international conflict and promote cooperation. Explain the UN's origin in three points using this information. [3 marks]

1. The League of Nations was the earlier international organisation, but it failed to prevent the Second World War, which lasted from 1939 to 1945.
2. The United Nations was established in 1945 as the League's successor, continuing the effort to organise countries for peace.
3. The new organisation aimed to prevent international conflict and promote cooperation, connecting the avoidance of war with countries working together.

Q3. All UN members belong to the General Assembly, which discusses broad international issues; each has one vote and no veto. The Security Council has five permanent and ten elected members and focuses on peace and security; permanent members have a veto on substantive decisions. Assembly recommendations are generally not binding, while the Council can make binding decisions. Give four differences. [4 marks]

1. The General Assembly includes all UN member states, whereas the Security Council contains a smaller group of five permanent and ten elected members.
2. The Assembly discusses a broad range of international questions, while the Security Council focuses on international peace and security.
3. The Assembly gives each state one vote without a veto; the Council gives permanent members veto power over substantive decisions.
4. Assembly recommendations are generally not binding on members, whereas the Security Council can take decisions that bind member states.

Q4. The ICJ is based in The Hague. It has 15 independent judges elected for nine years by the General Assembly and Security Council. It settles legal disputes submitted by consenting states and gives advisory opinions to authorised UN bodies. Describe five features of the Court. [5 marks]

1. The International Court of Justice is based in The Hague, providing the location of the Court that deals with international legal questions.
2. Its composition is 15 independent judges. These judges form a court, rather than a general assembly of representatives speaking for their countries.
3. Its judges are elected for nine-year terms, with both the General Assembly and the Security Council participating in their election.
4. One function is settling legal disputes submitted by states that consent to its authority, so the parties in these disputes are states.
5. A second function is providing advisory opinions on legal questions when authorised UN bodies request them, distinct from deciding a dispute between states.

Q5. UNESCO promotes education, science, culture and heritage protection. UNICEF supports children's health, nutrition, education and safe water. WHO promotes health and international cooperation against disease. Explain the contribution of each organisation. [3 marks]

1. UNESCO contributes through education, science and culture, including the protection of heritage. Its work links learning and cultural preservation with cooperation between countries.
2. UNICEF focuses on children by supporting health, nutrition, education and safe water. These services address several connected needs affecting children's well-being.
3. WHO promotes health and cooperation against disease. Its contribution concerns public health and shared action on health problems across countries.

Q6. Consider these facts: the UN provides discussion forums, helps peaceful settlement and supports cooperation on living conditions; it depends on member states, which may disagree about costs and action; a permanent member can veto a substantive Council decision. Use these six facts to explain three contributions and three limitations. [6 marks]

1. Its discussion forums let countries explain different positions and hear other views, providing an organised opportunity for dialogue on international questions.
2. Its support for peaceful settlement gives countries a way to seek solutions through discussion, instead of treating war as the necessary response.
3. Its cooperation on living conditions brings countries together to address human welfare, extending international work beyond disagreements about war and peace.
4. Its dependence on member states limits what it can achieve through its institutions, because the countries themselves must cooperate with its work.
5. Disagreement over costs and proposed action can obstruct cooperation, even when countries recognise that there is a common problem to address.
6. A permanent member's veto can block a substantive Security Council decision, so support from other members does not by itself ensure adoption.

Key takeaways

• The United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945 as the League of Nations' successor after the Second World War.
• The UN seeks peace, cooperation and better living conditions, while depending on its member countries to work together.
• All member states participate in the General Assembly, and each member has one vote regardless of its size or wealth.
• The Security Council has five permanent and ten non-permanent members; only permanent members possess veto power on substantive decisions.
• The International Court of Justice has 15 judges elected for nine years and deals with legal disputes between states.
• The Secretariat handles administrative work, while the Secretary-General heads its staff and serves as the UN's representative head.
• UNESCO works in education, science and culture; UNICEF supports children; WHO promotes health and cooperation against disease.
• The UN's limitations include disagreements among states and the veto, but these do not remove the need for international cooperation.

Test yourself

Which earlier organisation did the UN succeed?

It succeeded the League of Nations, which could not prevent the Second World War.

What is the difference between an aim and a principle?

An aim is a desired outcome; a principle is a rule or guiding idea shaping conduct.

Which countries are permanent Security Council members?

The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

How long does a non-permanent Security Council member serve?

It serves a two-year term and cannot be re-elected immediately after completing that term.

How is the Secretary-General appointed?

The General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council.

How many members belong to ECOSOC, and how long are their terms?

ECOSOC has 54 members elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

What happened to the Trusteeship Council's operations in 1994?

It suspended operations on 1 November 1994 after Palau, the last UN trust territory, became independent.

Why should UNICEF be distinguished from UNESCO and WHO?

UNICEF is a UN fund, while UNESCO and WHO are specialised agencies linked with the UN.