THE SEARCH FOR PEACE AND THE FORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

The search for peace started during the course of the war. The Atlantic Charter (1941) and the

conferences at Teheran (1943), Yalta (February 1945), and Potsdam (August 1945) were explicit

about the fate of Germany. Germany and her capital was to be divided into zones and occupied till

such time when she has transformed into peace-loving and democratic country. The Nazi leaders

were to be tried for offences and punished. The Franco-German frontier of 1939 was restored.

Russia and Western Allies quarrelled over many matters; and many problems concerning the

unification of Germany remained unresolved. A council of foreign ministers prepared drafts of

peace treaties to be signed by the five Nazi satellite states (Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and

Finland). The Paris Peace Conference was held in July 1946 and was attended by 21 nations. The

satellite states of Nazi-Germany signed the treaties in February 1947. Italy surrendered all her

territorial conquests gained after the First World War. Austria was separated from Germany and

was occupied by the Big Four till 1955. Hungary and Bulgaria came under communist

governments. Finland ceded some territories to the USSR. The Allies occupied Japanese territories

until 1951. Japan signed a defence treaty with the United States permitting her forces to remain in

Japan and granted bases for joint-defence. Japan also signed treaties with Britain and France gave

up her control over Korea, Formosa, Sakhalin, and Kuriles.

The Atlantic Charter of 1941 was concluded between the Prime Minister of Britain

(Winston Churchill) and the American President F. D. Roosevelt. Many lofty ideals were declared

and these inspired the other nations fighting the Axis Powers. The two leaders declared that they

seek no territorial gains, will not make territorial changes, bring about restoration of freedom of

nations denied by Germany, provide self-government to the European colonies, and so on. The

most important desire of the two gentle men was the establishment of a new international
machinery to maintain international peace and security. They thought it was necessary to take the

cooperation of Marshal Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. The three leaders met at Teheran to

prepare military plans for defeating Germany through well-coordinated attacks. They met again at

Yalta in February 1945 and made three important agreements. The first was concerning the

division of Germany and its capital into four occupational zones after her surrender. The second

was concerning the nations that were to be liberated and also the satellite countries of the Axis

powers. The third was kept a secret and it related to the compensation to Russia was to receive in

the Far East for declaring a war against Japan. She was to get some islands belonging to Japan and

special rights in Manchuria.

Immediately after the defeat of Germany, President Truman (United States), Prime

Minister Clement Atlee (Britain), Chiang Kai-shek (China), and Marshal Stalin (Russia) met in

Potsdam (a suburb of Berlin). The four leaders drafted which gave details regarding how they

would like to defeat Germany. The details included the Allied occupation of the country,

liquidation of her armed forces, dismantling of her war industries, and eventual transfer of power

to a democratically elected government. The Potsdam meeting also planned how to treat Japan

after her defeat. They agreed that Japan should be occupied like Germany, and most of her colonies

should be handed back to China and some to Russia.

One of the wartime agreements included the provision for rendering economic assistance

to the peoples who would be liberated from Nazi Germany. This took the formation of the United

Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) which was to render the much needed

aid from 1943 to 1948 to people of Europe to fight and disease. Subsequently, UNRRA provided

food, clothing, and other assistance to millions of people in various countries helping them to make

speedy economic recovery. At Bretton Woods (New Hampshire), an International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (now World Bank) was set up in July 1944. This bank was to

render assistance to war-torn countries of Europe to make efforts to improve their economies.

President Roosevelt took the initiative to build a machinery for post-war collective security

wherein the United States would play a leadership role. Accordingly, the Dumbarton Oaks

Conference was convened in August 1944 and by October the big four powers (the United States,

the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China) formulated general principles for a world

organisation on the lines of the earlier League of Nations. It was followed by another big

conference convened at San Francisco (April-June 1945).

The United Nations Organisation: The UN Charter was drafted at the Dumbarton Oaks

Conference of October 1944. Subsequently, a conference of 51 nations was held at San Francisco

in April-June 1945 and the UN Charter was completed. The Charter was signed by all the 51

nations and it came to effect on 24 October 1945. The official languages of the UN are English,

French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. The organisation which started with 51 member

nations now has 193 members. All sovereign nations are eligible to apply for admission to the UN

membership. They are admitted by the General Assembly on the recommendations of the Security

Council. They have to sign the UN Charter. The Charter of the United Nations contain 111 articles

which include four main objectives. These are (1) to maintain international peace and security (2)

to promote friendly relations among nations on the basis of equal rights and self-determination of

people (3) to achieve international cooperation in solving various problems, and (4) to promote

respect for human rights, dignity and freedom. The UN adopted a Charter of Economic Rights in

December 1974. This contains 34 articles that envisage a New International Economic Order

(NIEO). The principal organs of the United Nations are (a) the General Assembly (b) the Security

Council (c) the Economic and Social Council (d) the Trusteeship Council (e) the Secretariat and
(f) the International Court of Justice. There are specialised agencies which work under the

supervision of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which is in turn responsible to the

General Assembly.

The General Assembly: The Assembly is a form of world parliament. It meets annually

in September where each member-nation has equal representation and single vote. It elects

members to serve in the other organs of the UN, votes for the budget, receives reports from other

bodies including its special committees. Important issues are determined by two-third majority

while others by a simple majority. The General Assembly elects its own president and vice

presidents. Its work is divided among its seven committees and every member is represented by

one delegate in these committees. The committees include (1) Political and Security Committees

(2) Economic and Financial Committee (3) Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (4)

Trusteeship Committee (5) Administrative and Budgetary Committee (6) Legal Committee and

(7) Special Political Committee. A General Committee which consists of 25 members, coordinates

the activities of the seven committees.

Security Council: The Security Council serves as the executive body of the United

Nations. It consists of five permanent members (US, Britain, France, Russia, and China), and ten

non-permanent members. The non-permanent members serve the council for a term of two years.

Three non-permanent members are chosen each year by the General Assembly. The primary task

of the Security Council is to deal with any threat to the peace in the international system, breach

of peace, and act of aggression. The Council meet more regularly. It is necessary that all the five

permanent members concur with four others before a decision is arrived at. This is so because any

permanent member could prevent a decision being arrived at or a resolution being passed by

exercising her veto. A veto is thus a negative vote cast by a permanent member to stultify the future
course of action which the Security Council is intending to take. The methods adopted by the

Security Council towards deterring aggression include economic sanctions, severing diplomatic

relations, and the effective use of force by its members.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): The ECOSOC is consisted of 54

members which are elected by two-third majority of the General Assembly. Six members are

elected a year for a term of three years. It deals with various types of economic and social problems

confronting the nations of the world. It therefore holds conferences to make special study of these

problems, reports, and makes recommendations to the General Assembly and member-nations on

the course of action to be taken. It appoints the following commissions for effective operations (1)

Transport and Communication Commission (2) Statistical Commission (3) Social Commission (4)

Population Commission (5) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (6) Commission on Human Rights (7)

Commission on the Status of Women (8) International Trade Commodity Commission (9)

Economic Commission for Europe (10) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

(11) Economic Commission for Latin America and (12) Economic Commission for Africa.

The Trusteeship Council: This Council takes care of the people living in territories held

under the League of Nations mandate or the territories surrendered by the Axis powers coming the

trust. It receives reports on the progress made in the Trust territories under the concerned powers.

People in these areas were also permitted to present complaints or petitions. The Trusteeship

Council is composed of big powers, member-nations which administer Trust territories and

members elected by the General Assembly. The Trust elect a President at the beginning of each

session and meets twice a year.

The Secretariat: The UN Secretariat is located in the premises of the UN building at New

York. It is headed by the Secretary-General who is appointed by the General Assembly for a period
of 5 years, renewable. The functions of the Secretariat is divided among nine departments, each of

which is headed by an Assistant Secretary. The functions of the Secretary-General includes (a)

administrative responsibilities (b) maintenance of records (c) drafting and publishing treaties (d)

convening sessions of the General Assembly (e) preparing agenda for the meetings of several

committees (f) submitting reports to the General Assembly and Security Council, and (g) bringing

to the attention of the Security Council any crisis which may threaten international peace and

security.

The International Court of Justice: This is the main judicial organ of the United Nations

with headquarters at The Hague. All members of the United Nations automatically become the

members of the statute of the court after signing the charter. It is composed of 15 eminent judges

who are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council after voting independently.

The decision of the court is binding on the parties concerned with the dispute. The Security Council

may also refer a legal dispute to the International Court for settlement. Its advisory opinion can be

sought by the specialised agencies of the UNO.