International Organisations — Notes

An international organisation is a body set up by states, through agreement, to help them cooperate. It is not a world government: it acts through the consent of its members and has no army of its own.

Why needed:

• Many problems (epidemics, conflict, trade, climate) cross borders.
• A permanent body gives rules, information and a meeting place, which lowers distrust and the cost of each negotiation.
• It offers smaller states a voice.

They cannot abolish war, but they make cooperation and peaceful settlement more likely.

• The League of Nations (1920) was formed after the First World War but failed to prevent the Second.
• During that war the allies planned a new body; the Atlantic Charter (1941) set out common aims.
• The UN Charter was signed at the San Francisco conference in June 1945.
• The UN came into existence on 24 October 1945 (UN Day) with 51 members; today it has 193.
• India was one of the founding members.

Aims: maintain international peace and security; develop friendly relations among nations; cooperate on economic, social and humanitarian problems; promote human rights.

1. General Assembly: all members; one state, one vote; debates, budget, elections; resolutions mostly recommendations.
2. Security Council: 15 members: 5 permanent (USA, UK, France, Russia, China) with a veto, 10 non-permanent elected by the Assembly for two-year terms (five each year). A substantive decision needs 9 votes and no negative vote by a permanent member; an abstention is not a veto.
3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): economic and social cooperation; coordinates specialised agencies.
4. International Court of Justice: at The Hague; legal disputes between states; advisory opinions.
5. Secretariat: administration; headed by the Secretary-General, appointed by the Assembly on the Council's recommendation.
6. Trusteeship Council: supervised trust territories; suspended operations in 1994.

Specialised agencies (WHO, ILO, FAO, UNESCO and others) are separate organisations linked to the UN and coordinated through ECOSOC.

Why: membership has grown from 51 to 193; the Cold War is over; new powers and new threats (terrorism, civil wars, climate, disease) have emerged; but the permanent five remain those of 1945.

Two kinds of reform:

• Structures and processes: membership of the Security Council, the veto, working methods.
• Jurisdiction: which issues the UN should take up.

Proposed criteria for new permanent members (debated, none adopted): major economic power; major military power; substantial budget contribution; large population; respect for democracy and human rights; adding regional and cultural diversity.

The veto: supporters say it keeps great powers committed and makes action enforceable; critics call it undemocratic and outdated. Changing the Charter needs the agreement of the permanent members.

A dominant power: after the Cold War, concern grew that one powerful member could shape the UN through its budget share and veto; yet the UN remains the main forum for all states.

India supports a stronger, more representative UN with an expanded Security Council in both categories, and seeks a permanent seat. It works with Brazil, Germany and Japan (the G4), which also seek seats.

Grounds put forward: one of the two most populous countries and the largest democracy; long participation in UN peacekeeping; a large and growing economy and regular contributions; a voice for developing countries; it has served as an elected member several times (most recently 2021–22).

Objections raised by some states: possession of nuclear weapons; disputes with neighbours; doubts about regional representation; and a group of states that opposes any new permanent seats and prefers more elected seats.

These are positions held by different states; examiners expect both sides.

• IMF: planned at Bretton Woods (1944); oversees the international financial system, advises on policy and lends in payments crises; votes weighted by quota.
• World Bank: also from Bretton Woods; loans and grants for development (infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, environment, governance); criticised for conditions.
• WTO: set up in 1995 as the successor to GATT (1948); rules of world trade and dispute settlement; developing countries say major economies dominate.
• IAEA: set up in 1957; promotes peaceful nuclear energy and runs safeguard inspections.
• Amnesty International: an NGO that researches abuses, publishes reports and campaigns for human rights.
• Human Rights Watch: an NGO based in New York; investigation, media and lobbying, for example against child soldiers and landmines.

NGOs have no enforcement power; their influence comes from publicity.