The Role of the United Nations Essay Example

Introduction

United Nation is an intergovernmental organization that was established in 1945 shortly after the end of World War II. The primary objective of the UN was to maintain international peace and security of nations. The UN is usually involved in activities such as preventing the emergence of conflict, assisting nations or groups that are already in conflict to find an amicable solution. Other active roles that the organization undertakes is the peacekeeping missions, arbitrating among nations, and offering humanitarian support to nations that have been affected by natural calamities, unavoidable calamities, and attacks from Terrorist groups among others (Conforti and Focarelli 16).

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United Nations has continued to make major contributions to the world in efforts to ensure that countries have continued to abide by the principles and the purposes of the Charter that established the UN. The peaceful coexistence between most nations can be attributed to the major contributions that the UN has made so far. It has created an environment where cooperation has thrived leading to increased peace and development among nations. Additionally, the UN is attributed to playing a central role in the promotion and the establishment of economic and political order globally. The UN has also made it possible to resolve major global issues and challenges through shared efforts and collaboration (Thakur 23).

The United Nations Security Council the most powerful arm of the UN that consists of 15 member states where China, Britain, Russia, France, and the United States hold permanent seats. Some of the roles that this wing of the UN play is imposing sanctions and declaring military interventions among other roles. The remaining ten members of the UN Security Council are elected for a two-year term and are from different regions of the world (Hultman, Kathman & Shannon 740).

Successes of the United Nations

United Nations has been responsible for certain successes and failures since its inception in 1945. One of the major successes of the UN has been promoting world peace. It has brought about conflict resolution as well as peacekeeping whereby the number of people who have died from conflict among nations has significantly reduced through the involvement of the UN as well as the numerous peacekeeping missions that have been conducted since 1945.

UN has succeeded in bringing to justice people who have been involved in war crimes. These successes can be seen in the prosecution of Charles Taylor and Slobodan Milosevic. The UN had initiated tribunals which looked at their cases and sentence Taylor to 50 years imprisonment. Slobodan died of heart attack before the verdict was made hence bringing to an end his dictatorial reign (Hultman, Kathman & Shannon 747).

United Nation made a massive contribution in bringing stability and peace to Cambodia during after the reign of Pol Pot who had killed over one million people during his reign from 1975 to 1979. The UN intervened and formed the United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia which was backed by other countries to bring about peace. This was among the most successful endeavors that the United Nations was engaged in the recent past (Kathman 538).

The Gulf War in 1991 is another success that can be attributed to the involvement of the UN. The UN had passed a resolution in 1990 which gave Iraq a month and a half to withdraw from Kuwait. The resolution had allowed the members of the Security Council to use any force necessary in the case where Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. Bush administration was allowed to use force against the Iraq military with the backing or authorization from the UN. The aftermath of the war was preventing further suffering of the Kuwait national (Kathman 545).

Failures of the United Nations

United Nations has had some challenges in the past. One of the failures that the country has encountered is failing to stop the Rwanda Genocide. It failed to take part in peacekeeping actively but instead engaged in "Assistance Mission" to support Rwanda in 1994. The peacekeepers who were assigned to work in the region did little to stop the imminent attack that was propagated by the Hutus against the Tutsis who were the minority. This failure went against the primary objective of forming the UN which was to prevent a Holocaust like that (Gordon 60).

In Somalia, UN-backed military intervention in 1992 to 1995 was largely unsuccessful. UN had initially offered to intervene for 4.5 million Somalis who were on the verge of starving to death. UN operations and giving aid became difficulty which prompted the US to send troops to shield the UN aid workers. Little was done to stop the war which has continued for over two decades. Recently, the United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNISOM) is actively taking part in efforts to combat threats by Al Shahab terrorist group (Baehr & Gordenker 45)

Conclusion

United Nations is currently the most powerful organization in the world. It was established with the core objective of preventing wars and promoting world peace. Its missions have expanded to providing humanitarian support, supporting global economic growth, and arbitration among conflicting parties among others. Despite many successes and failures, the UN is still working tirelessly to ensure that the world is at peace. In Iraq, the UN is currently working with the support of other nations to provide humanitarian support and demining areas that have been liberated from ISIS.

Works Cited

Baehr, Peter R., and Leon Gordenker. The United Nations in the 1990s. Springer, 2016. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781403949042

Conforti, Benedetto, and Carlo Focarelli. The law and practice of the United Nations. BRILL, 2016. https://brill.com/view/title/33276

Gordon, Wendell. The United Nations at the crossroads of reform. Routledge, 2016. https://www.bookdepository.com/United-Nations-at-Crossroads-Reform-Wendell-Gordon/9781563244018

Hultman, Lisa, Jacob Kathman, and Megan Shannon. "Beyond keeping peace: United Nations effectiveness in the midst of fighting." American Political Science Review 108.4 (2014): 737-753. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055414000446

Kathman, Jacob D. "United Nations peacekeeping personnel commitments, 1990-2011." Conflict Management and Peace Science 30.5 (2013): 532-549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894213491180

Thakur, Ramesh. The United Nations, peace and security: from collective security to the responsibility to protect. Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.7202/018291ar