History of the United Nations
The history of the
Background
The first
The predecessor of the UN, the League of Nations, was conceived after World War I, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The main constitutional organs of the League were the Assembly, the Council, and the Permanent Secretariat. The Permanent Court of International Justice was provided for by the Covenant and established by the Council and Assembly. The International Labour Organization, which is also now a UN specialized agency, was created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. In addition, there were several auxiliary agencies and commissions.[2]
Origins
The genesis of the UN is a series of conferences and declarations made by the Allies of World War II.[3][4]
London Declaration
On 12 June 1941 representatives of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and of the exiled governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Yugoslavia, as well as a representative of General de Gaulle of France met in London. They signed the Declaration of St. James's Palace expressing a vision for a postwar world order.[5] This was the first step that led up to the founding of the United Nations.[6]
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Conference followed on 9–12 August 1941 at which American President
Declaration by United Nations
President Roosevelt first suggested using the name United Nations, to refer to the Allies of World War II, to Prime Minister Churchill during the latter's three-week visit to the White House in December 1941.[9] Churchill agreed and cited Lord Byron's use of the phrase "United Nations" in the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, which referred to the Allies at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.[10][11][12]
The 1942 "Declaration of The United Nations"[13] was drafted by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins, while meeting at the White House on 29 December 1941. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France. The first official use of the term "United Nations" was on 1–2 January 1942 when 26 Governments signed the Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted.[14][15] With the text finalized by the Big Three, the Chinese were invited to sign, and then the other Allies.[16] By early 1945 it had been signed by 21 more states.[17]
A JOINT DECLARATION BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, CANADA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, HONDURAS, INDIA, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, NORWAY, PANAMA, POLAND, SOUTH AFRICA, YUGOSLAVIA
The Governments signatory hereto,
Having subscribed to a common program of purposes and principles embodied in the Joint Declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Great Britain dated August 14, 1941, known as the Atlantic Charter,
Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world,
DECLARE:
(1) Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such government is at war.
(2) Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies.
The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism.[18]
During the war, the United Nations became the official term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis.[19]
Moscow and Tehran conferences
President Roosevelt was the chief promoter of the
Dumbarton Oaks and Yalta conferences
The Allies agreed to the basic structure of the new body at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. From 21 September to 7 October, delegations from the Big Four met in Washington, D.C. to elaborate plans.[21] Those and later talks produced proposals outlining the purposes of the new international organization, its membership and organs, as well as arrangements to maintain international peace and security and international economic and social cooperation. Churchill urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major Power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944.
For Roosevelt, creating the new organization became the most important goal for the entire war effort.[22] It was his idea that "Four Policemen" would collaborate to keep and enforce the peace. The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China would make the major decisions. He went public with strong advocacy in the 1944 presidential campaign, and turned detailed planning over to the State Department, where Sumner Welles and Secretary Cordell Hull worked on the project. Governments, organizations and private citizens worldwide discussed and debated these proposals.[23]
At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed to the establishment of the United Nations, as well as the structure of the United Nations Security Council. Stalin insisted on having a veto and FDR finally agreed; thus avoiding the fatal weakness of the League of Nations, which had theoretically been able to order its members to act in defiance of their own parliaments.[24] It was agreed that membership would be open to nations that had joined the Allies by 1 March 1945.[25] Brazil, Syria and a number of other countries qualified for membership by declarations of war on either Germany or Japan in the first three months of 1945 – in some cases retroactively.
San Francisco conference
On 25 April 1945, the
After working for two months, the fifty nations represented at the conference signed the
The first meeting of the General Assembly was held in Westminster
Activities
The United Nations has achieved considerable prominence in the social arena, fostering human rights, economic development, decolonization, health and education, for example, and interesting itself in refugees and trade.
The leaders of the UN had high hopes that it would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible. Those hopes have obviously not fully come to pass.
Decolonization
G. J. Eddy Gouraige argues that UN resolutions from 1946 to 1960 made decolonization a top priority, and gave the General Assembly tools to end colonialism. Nearly all the main colonies of the British French and Dutch empires gained independence by the 1960s. However, critics complained that the UN did little to end Portuguese colonization.[31]
Korean War 1950–1953 and after
United Nations Command is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first attempt at collective security pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations.[32]
The UNC was established on 7 July 1950 following the
On 27 July 1953, United Nations Command, the
Since 1953, UNC's primary duties have been to maintain the armistice and facilitate diplomacy between North and South Korea.[39] Although "MAC" meetings have not occurred since 1994, UN Command representatives routinely engage members of the Korean People's Army in formal and informal meetings. The most recent formal negotiations on the terms of Armistice occurred between October and November 2018. Duty officers from both sides of the Joint Security Area (commonly known as the Truce Village of Panmunjom) conduct daily communications checks and have the ability to engage face-to-face when the situation demands.[40]
Peacekeeping
From about 1947 until 1989 the division of the world into hostile camps during the Cold War made agreement on peacekeeping matters extremely difficult. Following the end of the Cold War, renewed calls arose for the UN to become the agency for achieving world peace and co-operation, as several dozen active military conflicts continued to rage across the globe. The breakup of the Soviet Union has also left the United States in a unique position of global dominance, creating a variety of new problems for the UN (See the United States and the United Nations)
In 1948 the UN created the
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations was created in March 1992 when Boutros Boutros-Ghali took office as Secretary-General of the United Nations; its creation was one of his first decisions.[43] In organisational terms, it upgraded and expanded upon the work of the previous Field Administration and Logistics Division (FALD) (which remained active as a subordinate department).[44] Goulding became under-secretary-general (or USG) for peacekeeping with Kofi Annan appointed as his deputy. The role of the DPKO, however, wasn't clarified until June 1992, when Boutrous-Ghali issued An Agenda for Peace, a plan to strengthen the UN's capacity for preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping.
French nationals have served as Under-Secretaries-General for Peacekeeping Operations since 1997.[45]
Cyprus
The
India–Pakistian
The United Nations India–Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM), is peacekeeping mission set up by the Security Council in September 1965 to oversee the ceasefire and withdrawal of armed personnel along the India–Pakistan border.
Facilities
Potential sites for the UN Headquarters included
In 1946,
Prior to the completion of the UN's current headquarters, it used part of a
New York City Planning Commissioner Robert Moses convinced Nelson Rockefeller to purchase a 17 and 18 acres (6.9 and 7.3 ha) piece of land along the East River in New York City from real estate developer William Zeckendorf Sr.;[59] The purchase was funded by Nelson's father, John D. Rockefeller Jr. The Rockefeller family owned the Tudor City Apartments across First Avenue from the Zeckendorf site.[60] The UN ultimately chose the New York City site over Philadelphia after Rockefeller offered to donate the land along the East River.[48] The UN headquarters officially opened on 9 January 1951, although construction was not formally completed until 9 October 1952.[61]
Structure and associated organizations
The basic constitutional makeup of the United Nations has changed little, though vastly increased membership has altered the functioning of some elements. The UN as a whole has generated a rich assortment of non-governmental organizations and special bodies over the years: some with a regional focus, some specific to the various peacekeeping missions, and others of global scope and importance. Other bodies (such as the International Labour Organization) formed prior to the establishment of the United Nations and only subsequently became associated with it.
Milestones
- [1] In October 2015, over 350 landmarks in 60 countries were lit in blue to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world body.[62][63][64]
See also
- Diplomatic history of World War II
- Foreign policy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration#Founding the United Nations
- Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration#United Nations
- Growth in United Nations membership
- List of members of the United Nations Security Council
- Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions
- List of UN Secretaries-General
- Reform of the United Nations
- List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions by all countries
- United States and the United Nations
Notes
- ^ The North Korean-Chinese MAC was replaced by the "Panmunjom Mission" under exclusive North Korean administration.
References
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- ^ a b "History of the United Nations". www.un.org. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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- ^ John F. Shortal, Code Name Arcadia: The First Wartime Conference of Churchill and Roosevelt (Texas A&M University Press, 2021).
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- ^ "United Nations". Wordorigins.org. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
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- ^ "1942: Declaration of The United Nations". www.un.org. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ David Roll, The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler (2013) pp 172–75
- ^ Robert E. Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, An Intimate History (1948) pp 447–53
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- ^ Text from "The Washington Conference 1941–1942"
- ^ Stephen C. Schlesinger, Act of creation: The founding of the United Nations: A story of superpowers, secret agents, wartime allies and enemies, and their quest for a peaceful world (2003)
- ^ Gaddis 1972, p. 24.
- ^ Hoopes and Brinkley, FDR and the Creation of the U. N. (1997) pp 148–58.
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- ^ "Dumbarton Oaks and Yalta – History of the United Nations". Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ John Allphin Moore Jr. and Jerry Pubantz, To Create a New World?: American Presidents & the United Nations (1999), pp 27–79.
- ^ Robert C. Hilderbrand, Dumbarton Oaks: The Origins of the United Nations and the Search for Postwar Security (UNC Press, 2001)
- ^ "1945: The San Francisco Conference". United Nations. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ Stephen Schlesinger, "FDR's five policemen: creating the United Nations." World Policy Journal 11.3 (1994): 88–93. online
- ^ https://www.un.org/aboutun/sanfrancisco/history.html The 60th Anniversary of the San Francisco Conference
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- ^ "What is the Security Council?". United Nations. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ G. J. Eddy Gouraige, "The United Nations and decolonization," Black Scholar (1974) 5#3 pp 16–23.
- ^ a b c "United Nations Command > History > 1950–1953: Korean War (Active Conflict)". www.unc.mil. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "United Nations Security Council – History". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "United Nations Command > Resources > FAQs". www.unc.mil. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
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- ^ State Department message to DPRK URL retrieved 29 November 2006
- ^ "Question of Korea". United Nations Digital Library. 1976. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Salmon, Andrew (8 May 2019). "In South Korea, a UN Command that isn't". Asia Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Let the UN Command Remain a Tool for Korean Peace". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Joint Security Area / Panmunjom URL retrieved 9 April 2006
- ^ Sorpong Peou, "The UN, peacekeeping, and collective human security: From an agenda for peace to the Brahimi report." International Peacekeeping 9.2 (2002): 51–68.
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- ^ Glynn, Don (24 October 2011). "Glynn – Navy Island eyed as home for U.N." Niagara Gazette. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
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- ^ JSTOR 20091055.
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- ^ Lapomarda, S.J., Vincent A. (1992). The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts (second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council. p. 41.
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- ^ Schifman, Jonathan (1 June 2017). "Did the United Nations really have headquarters on Long Island?". Newsday. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
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- ^ "Over 200 Landmarks to Light Up UN Blue on 70th Anniversary". The New York Times. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
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Further reading
Surveys
- Baehr, Peter R., and Leon Gordenker. The United Nations in the 1990s (St. Martin's Press, 1992)
- Bennett, A. LeRoy. Historical dictionary of the United Nations (1995) online
- Bosco, David L. Five to rule them all: the UN Security Council and the making of the modern world (Oxford UP, 2009)
- Fomerand, Jacques, ed. Historical Dictionary of the United Nations (2007)
- Gall, Timothy L. and Jeneen M. Hobby, eds. Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: vol 1 United Nations (12th ed. 2007)
- Hanhimäki, Jussi M. The United Nations: a very short introduction (Oxford UP, 2015).
- Joyce, James Avery. One increasing purpose : how the United Nations has changed the history of the world since 1945 (1984) online
- Luck, Edward C. UN Security Council: practice and promise (Routledge, 2006)
- Luard, Evan. A History of the United Nations: Volume 1: The Years of Western Domination, 1945–1955 (Palgrave Macmillan, 1982) online
- Luard, Evan. A History of the United Nations: Volume 2: The Age of Decolonization, 1955–1965 (Palgrave Macmillan, 1989)
- Luard, Evan. The Evolution Of International Organizations (1966) online
- Meisler, Stanley. United Nations: The First Fifty Years (1995), popular history; online
- Moore, John A. and Jerry Pubantz, eds. Encyclopedia of the United Nations (2002). online
- Osmanczyk, Edmund Jan, ed. The encyclopedia of the United Nations and international relations (1990) online
- Peters, Laurence. The United Nations: history and core ideas (Springer, 2016).
- Rubin, Jacob A. Pictorial history of the United Nations (1962) online
- O'Sullivan, Christopher D. The United Nations: A Concise History (Krieger, 2005) online
- Sayward, Amy L. The United Nations in International History (2017)
Topics
- Barnes, Robert. The US, the UN and the Korean War: Communism in the Far East and the American Struggle for Hegemony in the Cold War (Bloomsbury, 2014).
- Bellamy, Alex J., and Paul D. Williams, eds. Providing Peacekeepers: The Politics, Challenges, and Future of United Nations Peacekeeping Contributions (Oxford UP, 2013)
- Bergesen, Helge Ole, and Leiv Lunde. Dinosaurs or Dynamos: the United Nations and the World Bank at the turn of the century (Routledge, 2013)
- Clark, Ian, and Christian Reus-Smit. "Liberal internationalism, the practice of special responsibilities and evolving politics of the security council". International Politics (2013) 50#1 pp: 38–56.
- Ferdinand, Peter. "Rising powers at the UN: an analysis of the voting behaviour of brics in the General Assembly." Third World Quarterly (2014) 35#3 pp: 376–391, regarding Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- Gouraige, G. J. Eddy "The United Nations and decolonization," Black Scholar (1974) 5#3 pp 16–23.
- Hiscocks, Richard. The Security Council: A study in adolescence (Simon and Schuster, 1974)
- Mower, A. Glenn. The United States, the United Nations, and human rights: the Eleanor Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter eras (1979) online
- Normand, Roger, and Sarah Zaidi. Human rights at the UN: The political history of universal justice (Indiana UP, 2008).
- Phillips, Walter Ray. "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." Montana Law Review 24.1 (2014): 2+.
- Roberts, Adam, and Dominik Zaum. Selective security: war and the United Nations Security Council since 1945 (Routledge, 2013).
- Rowe, Edward T. "Human rights issues in the UN General Assembly, 1946–1966". Journal of Conflict Resolution 14.4 (1970): 425–437.
- Saltford, John. The United Nations and the Indonesian takeover of West Papua, 1962–1969: the anatomy of betrayal (Routledge, 2013)
- Stairs, Denis. "The United Nations and the politics of the Korean war". International Journal 25.2 (1970): 302–320.
- Tolley Jr, Howard. "Decision-Making at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 1979–82." Human Rights Quarterly 5 (1983): 27+.
- Vreeland, James Raymond, and Axel Dreher. The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council: Money and Influence (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
- Weiss, Thomas G. What's Wrong with the United Nations and how to Fix it (John Wiley & Sons, 2013)
- Wuthnow, Joel. Chinese diplomacy and the UN Security Council: beyond the veto (Routledge, 2012)
Origins
- Dykmann, Klaas. "On the Origins of the United Nations: When and How Did it Begin?." Journal of International Organizations Studies 3.1 (2012): 79–84. online
- ISBN 978-0-231-12239-9.
- Hoopes, Townsend, and Douglas Brinkley. FDR and the Creation of the UN (Yale UP, 1997).
- Lyon, Alynna J. "Reversing Isolationism: Contending Narratives, US Politics, and the Creation of the United Nations." International Organizations (2018) 9#1 pp: 7–23. online
- Mazower, Mark.No Enchanted Palace: The End of Empire and the Ideological Origins of the United Nations (Princeton UP, 2009),
- Plesch, Dan. America, Hitler and the UN: How the Allies Won World War II and Forged a Peace. (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010); the wartime alliance called the "United Nations"
- Rusell, Ruth B. A History of the United Nations Charter: The Role of the United States, 1940–1945 (Washington: Brookings Institution, 1958.)
- Schlesinger, Stephen C. Act of creation: The founding of the United Nations: A story of superpowers, secret agents, wartime allies and enemies, and their quest for a peaceful world. (Westview Press, 2003).
Primary sources
- Cordier, Andrew W., and Wilder Foote, eds. Public Papers of the Secretaries General of the United Nations (4 vol; Columbia University Press, 2013)
- United Nations Archives
External links
- UN Intellectual History Project – Academic study of UN history
- United Nations Events Timeline
- Declaration by United Nations, January 1, 1942
- UN History Project – Website providing resources, timelines, lectures, and bibliographies of UN history