United Nations began in 1945 as a loosely co- ordinated international system of deliberatory bodies, functional agencies and temporary and permanent commissions with headquarters in New York, Geneva and elsewhere. In structure it resembles the LEAGUE OF NATIONS but with a more nearly universal membership. The term was first used 1 Jan 1942 when 26 nations pledged to continue fighting the Axis powers. As WORLD WAR II was drawing to a close, a UN Charter was drawn up by 50 countries, including Canada, in San Francisco. It was designed to promote international co-operation among sovereign states in which each would give up some of its sovereignty in the common interest of all nations to promote peace, security, economic development, social justice and fundamental human rights and freedoms. Much of this would be done through powerful functional agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, which were already being established and linked to the UN system. Because of the autonomy of these agencies and the smaller powers' resistance to great power dominance, the United Nations has remained adaptable to changing circumstances.
The main organs are the General Assembly of all 159 member states (1988), each having one vote; the Security Council of 15 members, in which 5 great powers have permanent seats and the power of veto; and the Economic and Social Council of 54 members. Although the Security Council was assumed to be stronger than the other organs, which only recommend, the power of any UN bodies to enforce decisions is limited by the need for consensus among members and their willingness to impose military or economic sanctions. The elected secretary general of the UN is bound by decisions of the constituent organs. After one effort to enforce its will in the KOREAN WAR, the Security Council has concentrated on peaceful settlement, including the provision of PEACEKEEPING forces, in which Canadians have played a major role.
Although security was the founders' major consideration, economic and social questions now share the limelight. The UN's success in promoting decolonization and self-determination has led to the entry of a host of former colonies whose primary concern is with economic development and the devising of a new international economic order. Since 1945 enormous changes in science and technology have given international conventions, laws and infrastructures new dimensions that embrace such things as space law, commerce, travel, seabed mining, satellite communication, etc. Consequently, specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization and the UN High Commission for Refugees have in fact more rather than fewer issues to handle and the International Court of Justice has an agenda that goes far beyond the adjudication of political disputes.
The UN is essentially a network of institutions for multilateral diplomacy rather than a world government, and as such its achievements depend upon the collective strength of its members. That is why it has been unable to resolve such perennial problems as the escalating arms race, regional conflicts in the Middle East, Kampuchea and Cyprus, human rights violations in South Africa, the increasing gap between rich and poor and refugees.
The 1980s revealed signs of severe strains in the organization. Years of withholding assessed funds for programs which did not meet donor's expectations, together with irresponsible financial management and duplication combined to put its continued operation in jeopardy and, in agencies such as UNESCO, led to the withdrawal of the US and United Kingdom. Canada preferred to work from within to reform the organization rather than become a disengaged critic.
Along with restraint came some notable successes which served to bolster confidence in the UN system: a declaration on international TERRORISM, a massive famine relief program for Africa; and the superpowers' use of the UN as a forum for reaching world opinion on arms control and the Iran-Iraq Gulf War.
For Canada, which was so active in the founding of most of the UN's organs, the UN remains its best hope for influencing the decisions of other nations through consensus building. It has been at the forefront in promoting universality of membership in the UN. While it may no longer be in a position to play the mediatory role that it did in resolving the SUEZ CRISIS of 1956, it is no less committed to peacemaking and has moved with the times to make its unique contribution of constructive internationalism through such means as verification procedures.
By population Canada ranks thirtieth in the world and among the Western industrialized nations it ranks seventh, but it is the fourth largest financial contributor to the UN system. Canada believes that in combination with other nations lies the best hope for dealing with global problems such as pollution, racial discrimination, hunger, sexual discrimination, and others that trouble and ultimately affect Canadians. However frustrating the UN system may at times appear, its essential purpose is being served as long as it provides the principal forum for discussing these issues and avoids the centuries-old effort to create a world order.
AUTHOR: JOHN W. HOLMES AND DON PAGE
READING: Canadians and the United Nations, 1945-1975 (1977); D. Roche, United Nations: Divided World (1984); Canada and the United Nations (1988).
