The United Nations

A Primer.

Kevin Farrington, 2010

United Nations Handout Vocabulary and concepts to know and think about. I will talk about many of these items in the initial lecture, and you can always ask me to repeat something if you need t hear it again. My goal is not to have you memorize all of these items like a computer, but to think about them and how they will apply to everything else in the world of the past, present and future. The PowerPoint and Lecture will also be available to you via the course website. League of Nations Why did the predecessor to the UN fail? The Great War Wa s this really the war to end al l war s? Capital (in the econo mic co ntext) Do you agree with the statement, "To the victor go the spoils."? Coffer War De bt Finite Os ten s ibly S ibe ria What is the significance of being sent to Siberia in the Soviet Union Yeom an Farmer Radic alizat ion Allied Powe rs

Kevin Farrington EDSC307 CSUF 2010 California State Standard: 11.9 UNITED NATIONS So, who can tell me where the seeds of the United Nations lay? The League of Nations, created after WWI to prevent further conflicts on the scale of The Great War, was designed and pushed by US President Woodrow Wilson but never implemented unilaterally among the world powers. After WWI Germany was completely destroyed and much of its infrastructure and capital (machinery and even workers) were taken by it's enemies in order to pay it's "War Debt." That is, because it had bankrupted itself and drained it's enemy's coffers in the war, the victors removed whatever they could of value and subjected the nation to crushing restrictions on it's industrial capacity. While ostensibly to discourage future war making, in reality it can be seen as little more than retribution and punishment for starting a war that ultimately killed millions of people and that saw no finite land gain whatsoever. And so after this protracted period of uneasy peace, Germany, with the rise of a Nationalist Party (the Nazis) began to rebuild it's war making capacity both in secret and while adhering to the outdated restrictions of the previous treaty (think about how fast technology was changing at this point in history, 1920-1938). In 1939 Ge rmany, with the most technologically adv an ced military in the world (thanks to having to rebuild it all with new equipment aft er WWI) invades Poland and, as we have se en previously, brings the world, with the help of others, to the brink of totalitari anism. After the war, Ge rmany is once again destro yed an d mu ch of it's capital taken away by the All ie d P o w e rs . For ex ample, Kodak takes som e of Agfa 's, a Ge rman film ma nufac turer, co lor film tech nology. The Sov iet Union takes tens of thousa nds of Ge rman sold iers capti ve an d s ends them to labor camps in S ib e ria and elsewhe re. However , pe rhaps recognizin g the er rors of the past, the Allied po wers (and es pecially the Americ an Gover nment as it is the only capable in te rms of reso urces) begins a massive rebuilding and rehabilit a tion project to help remake G erman y so tha t it will not aga in fall victim to radicalizatio n. (Think about poverty and radicalization. Do any of you see how Jefferson's ideas of the yeoman farmer, always with a full stomach, might be less likely to be radicalized? Where are locations of radicalization in the world today? what is the connection between poverty, a lack of education, and the ability to become radicalized?). As the Allies div v y up power a nd res ponsibilities in post war Europe, the reinvigorat ed an d still angry S o v ie t U nion is increasingly at odds with th e

The Treaty of Versailles• Germany is forced to

accept sole responsibility for starting the war.

• Germany must make concessions and reparations to nations it harmed.

• Under the original treaty Germany would not have repaid its War Debt until 1988.

• Germany is not pacified or conciliated and in less than ten years the treaty is ignored…

The League of Nations

• Proposed after The Great War to give all nations a voice to prevent conflict.

• Member nations are unwilling to give up sovereignty for promised security.

• Germany is punished economically for WWI by France and Great Britain.

• The United States never joins due to opposition from Congress.

• Germany begins to militarize itself…

WWII• Germany is not subject to international pressure

because no international community exists to debate reactions to increasingly aggressive rhetoric.

• The United States, creator of the the League of Nations, has never joined as a member and thus is uninterested in the problems of Europe.

• This proves to be an exceptionally costly error for the United States, and for the world.

• Germany has the most advanced military in the world due to having lost everything in WWI and having reinvented their entire industrial base.

Forging the UN after WWII

• How can we prevent this World War from happening again?

• Where can we all meet if most of Europe is in ruins?

• Who should be able to be a member of these United Nations?

“I heart New York”

• Land for the United Nations Buildings is donated by the Rockefeller Family.

• Manhattan Island: Swanky and POSH for international diplomats…

• Close to Wall Street and international centers of trade.

• But… a neutral location?

Building the Building

• The land beneath the UN building is considered international territory.

• Built in 1949 and 1950.

• The US Government loaned 65 million dollars interest free to build the UN complex.

• A neutral location? New York?

The General Assembly

• 51 nations participated in the first assembly in 1946.

• There are 192 members today, 2/3 of which are developing nations.

• All member nations have equal representation.

• One of Six Principle Organs of the UN.

Click on the icon to the right to hear an example of a diplomatic speech at the UN General Assembly.

Korea: A Police Action

• The first real test of the UN

• Develops into a Proxy War between the United States and The Soviet Union.

• A real threat of Nuclear War.

• End Result: Stalemate.

Differing Roles

• Police actions (Military interventions).

• Peacekeeping missions.

• Humanitarian Aid.– Famine Relief.– Natural Disaster aid– Protection for ethnic groups in violence

prone areas.

http://www.un.org/en/humanitarian/

Criticism of the United Nations

• A tool of Western Imperialism.

• Slow to act.• Corruption.• Peacekeepers fail to

protect civilians in missions.

• Not all participating nations contribute their fair share.

Oil for Food

• The document to the The document to the right is a resolution by right is a resolution by the UN Security the UN Security Council calling for Council calling for easing restrictions on easing restrictions on Iraq to allow it to Iraq to allow it to ‘trade’ oil for food. ‘trade’ oil for food. This program This program becomes a major becomes a major source of corruption source of corruption and embarrassment and embarrassment for the UN.for the UN.

S

Security Council Distr. GENERAL S/RES/986 (1995) 14 April 1995

RESOLUTION 986 (1995)

Adopted by the Security Council at its 3519th meeting, on 14 April 1995

The Security Council ,

Recalling its previous relevant resolutions,

Concerned by the serious nutritional and health situation of the Iraqi population, and by the risk of a further deterioration in this situation,

Convinced of the need as a temporary measure to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people until the fulfilme nt by Iraq of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including notably resolution 687 (1991) of 3 April 1991, allows the Council to take further action with regard to the prohibitions referred to in resolution 661 (1990) of 6 August 1990, in accordance with the provisions of those resolutions,

Convinced also of the need for equitable distribution of humanitarian relief to all segments of the Iraqi population throughout the country,

Reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Authorizes States, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 3 (a), 3 (b) and 4 of resolution 661 (1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions, to permit the import of petroleum and petroleum products originating in Iraq, including financial and other essential transactions directly relating thereto, sufficient to produce a sum not exceeding a total of one billion United States dollars every 90 days for the purposes set out in this resolution and subject to the following conditions:

(a) Approval by the Committee established by resolution 661 (1990), in order to ensure the transparency of each transaction and its conformity with the other provisions of this r esolution, after submission of an application by the

95-10988 (E) /...

The UN in Africa• Corruption of

Peacekeeping forces.

• Mistreatment of civilians.

• Theft of food and humanitarian aid.

• Peacekeepers patrol areas, but do not actually investigate civilian situations. As a result, civilians are often attacked after a patrol passes by.

Has the UN helped us thus far?Has it had a chance?

Period Conflict Related Deaths(millions)

World Population Mid-Century

(millions)

Conflict related deaths as share of world population (%)

Sixteenth Century 1.6 493.3 .32

Seventeenth Century 6.1 579.1 1.05

Eighteenth Century 7.0 757.4 .92

Nineteenth Century19.4 1172.9 1.65

Twentieth Century 109.7 2519.5 4.35

Source: Conflict deaths data, Slvard 1991,1996; twentieth century population data, UN 2005d; other population data, Human Development Report Office Interpolation based on Sykes 2004 (table B-10)

• With the myriad threats in With the myriad threats in the world today, is the the world today, is the ideaidea of the United Nations as of the United Nations as important as the role it does important as the role it does or does not perform?or does not perform?

How does the UN affect our daily lives in America?

Peace?

Benevolence?

Cooperation?

Human Rights?

Can it work?

Or is our past also our future?