STRUCTURE AND ORIGIN

1. INTRODUCTION

• The origin of its name
o The name ‘United Nations’ was coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 to describe the countries fighting against the Axis Powers.
o It was officially used in the Washington Declaration of 1 Jan 1942, which committed the 26 Allies to the principles of the Atlantic Charter and pledged them to continue their joint war effort against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).

• The foundational idea of the UN
o Article 1: To maintain ‘international peace and security’, by way of ‘collective action’, i.e., implies the use of force if necessary.

• The forerunner of the UN (The League of Nations)
o Ineffectiveness of the League to maintain peace because:
 Inability to obtain representation:
 SU was not a member until 1934
 Countries left the league (Japan & Germany in 1933)
 Weakness in the organisation:
 Unanimity rule – which was at the core of the League Council’s decision making. It was unrealistic as there was no consistent solidarity among the 14 powers (5 permanent members and 9 non-permanent members)
 Lacked real power – it had no army which would have allowed it to intervene in disputes
 Flawed concept of Collective Security – failed to establish an express obligation on member countries to participate in the repression of an act of aggression but instead they could avoid such obligations if they declared that it was inconsistent with their national interests
 Lack of trust in the efficacy of collective security: League members therefore preferred to win peace (and war) by safeguarding their own interests, e.g. covert agreements, war threats, etc.
 US was in isolation: Was the strongest nation in the world in 1919. This compromised the League’s ability to resolve conflicts between major powers as Britain and France failed to provide real leadership to the League especially in times of crisis.


 Inability of League to cope with major crises and problems:
 Had difficulty resolving __________________________________

_____________________________________________________

___________________________________
 Inability to solve disparities, especially economic ones. One main contributor being the Treaty of Versailles, which led to the rise of Fascism in Germany.

2. THE UN CHARTER

• The foundation of UN – The foundational ideas of the UN are derived from the Charter. It is a constituent treaty and its Articles bind all signatories. It also explicitly states that the Charter trumps all other treaty obligations.

• The structure of the charter – The Charter consists of the following:
o A preamble: Has 2 main aims





Has 19 Chapters, which are divided into 111Articles. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1 Sets forth the purposes of the United Nations, including the important
provisions of the maintenance of international peace and security.
Chapter 2 Defines the criteria for membership in the United Nations.

Chapters
3-15 The bulk of the document, describe the organs and institutions of the UN
and their respective powers, especially those dealing with the
enforcement powers of the UN bodies.
- Chapter 6: Describes the UNSC’s power to investigate and mediate
disputes
- Chapter 7: Describes the UNSC’s powers to authorise economic, diplomatic and military sanctions, and to use military force to resolve disputes.
- Chapters 9-10: Describe the UN’s powers for economic and social cooperation, and the Economic and Social Council that oversees them.
- Chapters 12-13: Describe the Trusteeship Council.
- Chapters 14-15: Establish the powers of the International Court of Justice and the UN Secretariat.
Chapters 16-17 Describe arrangements for integrating the UN with established international law.

Chapters 18-19 Provide for amendment and ratification of the Charter.



o The nature of articles
 Broadly worded and vague: Some of the articles are such that they are open to different interpretations. This has led to tensions and has affected the effectiveness of the UN.
 Non-enforceable: Member countries do not follow some of the articles or pay lip service to others because the UN has limited capacity to enforce its will. E.g.

 Article 19 – states that member countries that fail to pay their financial contribution will be deprived of voting rights. But US, for example, had chalked up huge arrears especially during the Cold War but was still allowed to vote in the General Assembly.
 Article 52 – requires member countries to bring crisis resolutions to a regional organisation before referring them to the UN. But most of the time, they are brought directly to the UN.

No specific provision for peacekeeping role: The closest reference is in the undertaking of effective collective measures to prevent and remove threats to peace and for the suppression of aggressive acts and breaches of peace. The UN’s peacekeeping role was to evolve over time to assume a much broader responsibility.

Anachronistic Charter: The Charter remains virtually unchanged although the work and nature of UN has evolved considerably. The victors of WWII and not the developing nations, which had become influential in terms of size and numbers, drew it. Yet it has not been updated to reflect the changes in the world.

 Article 108 –



 Amendments to Charter on 17 Dec 1963

• Article 23 – Enlarged the membership of UNSC from 11 to 15.
• Article 27 – Decisions of UNSC require an affirmative vote of 9 instead of 7 members, including concurring votes of 5 permanent members.
• Article 61 – Enlarged membership of the Economic and Social Council from 18 to 27. Further amendment in Dec 1971 increased it to 54.


 Amendments to Charter on 20 Dec 1965

• Article 109 – Made amendment to the General Conference of Member states for the purpose of reviewing the Charter.

3. MAIN BODIES

A) THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL – established under Chapter 5 of the UN Charter.

• Functions and Powers – Under the Charter, they are as follows:
o to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;
o to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
o to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
o to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
o to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
o to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
o to take military action against an aggressor;
o to recommend the admission of new Members;
o to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";
o to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.








• Composition and Organisation
o Membership – 1945: 11 members; 1965: 15 members (to reflect the increase in the General Assembly)
o Types of members
 Permanent Members –


 Non-Permanent Members – 10 member states elected over 2-year term by the Gen Assembly which seeks to maintain a geographical balance to include representatives from the 4 major regions of the world usually 3 from Africa, 2 from Asia, 3 from Europe and 2 from Latin America

Presidency of the Council – Revolves on a monthly basis and is an important element in trying to establish an agreement between states.


• Decision-making
o Unanimity confined to the Big 5 – Voting rights on:
 Procedural matters – require an affirmative vote of at least 9 of 15 members
 Substantive matters – require an affirmative vote of at least 9 members, with concurring votes of 5 permanent members. This is the rule of ‘great Power unanimity’, often referred to as the ‘veto’ power.

o Powers to make decisions
 Under the Charter, all member states agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the United Nations make recommendations to Governments, the Council alone has the power to make decisions, which member countries are obligated under the Charter to carry out (See Article 25).
o Ability to raise armed forces
 All member states are to negotiate with the UNSC for the allocation of armed forces, which the Council might use to maintain peace. Though held by the home state, they would be available for use by the UN immediately when needed. This might enable it to be more effective than its predecessor.
 However, this never happened as differences arose over the character and scope of the force.

• Veto Rights
o Veto power – Article 27 of UN Charter
 Passing of resolution – Any of the big 5 could exercise a veto: a contrary vote by any of them would cause a resolution to fail.
o Rationale
 Commitment of big powers – In some sense, it is in recognition of reality, whereby any major decision requires the assent of major powers. If any of the major powers is forced against their will, it certainly would not enable the UN to move forward, what more, it could even be disastrous especially if it provokes any of them to leave the organisation.
 Mitigate dissension among big powers – It acts as a safety valve, to prevent dissension among the big powers from exploding the whole organisation. Without it, the UN, if is urged to take action against one of the big powers, could have been destroyed.

o Use
 Veto privilege used many times – USSR/Russia (122); US (80); GB (32); Fr (18); China (4-5). Veto was used frequently during Cold War period but was reduced significantly after 1985.
 In the 1950s-60s, SU registered the most vetoes as, Western powers being the majority in the Council, tabled most resolutions that reflected their viewpoint.
 In the 1970s, it was the reverse with Western powers vetoing more than SU.
 In the post-Cold War period, the UNSC tries to avoid the use of vetoes since they paralyse work and prevent the UN from acting decisively to resolve crises. The period 1990 to 1993 was the longest without the use of vetoes in the history of the UN.

• Evaluating representation – A Need for change?
o Changing political and economic realities
Current status: Power and influence is in the hands of a few – Tyranny of the minority?

 New realities:






 .

o Argument for an increase in representation
 More representative and relevant. This makes a better reflection of the new realities.
 More resources made available.
o Argument against more representation
 Causes a dilution to existing UNSC members. E.g, Fr and Br are against expansion because they might lose their individual seats and receive only 1 EU seat.
 Become unwieldy and more bureaucratic.
 Potential members bear unsavory past, e.g, Japan and Germany.

• Evaluating its effectiveness
o With regards to Veto powers
 Limitations in solving conflicts
 State of inactivity: The veto power brought the UNSC in a frequent state of paralysis. Permanent members would use it to block resolutions with which they happen to disagree. This was especially so during the Cold War period.
 In conflicts that involved permanent members: UNSC was unable to contribute much in solving interventions and armed conflicts in which the permanent members were directly involved.
o For e.g, the Suez Canal crisis (1956), Hungary (1956), Vietnam (1946-75), Sino-Vietnamese War (1979), Afghanistan (1979-88) and Panama (1991).
 In conflicts that permanent members take different sides: Opposition by one or other of the permanent members frequently prevented action in relation to other armed conflicts.
o E.g, In Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), UNSC took no action until by Resolution 598 of 20 Jul 1987 which demanded a cease-fire.

 Limitations in making UN truly universal
 Kept countries from gaining UN membership:





 Positive
 The use of veto reflects to some extent a degree of diplomatic isolation of the vetoing state on the particular issue.
 It also plays its part in keeping the major powers within the UN and saving it from being loaded with too many commitments, which the great powers may be unwilling to support.

B) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY – established under Chapter 4 of the UN Charter

• Functions
o Examine a wide range of issues: The UN can deliberate any question within the scope of the UN Charter. This includes the following:
 to consider and make recommendations on the principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and arms regulation;
 to discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is being discussed by the Security Council, to make recommendations on it;
 to discuss and, with the same exception, make recommendations on any question within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations;
 to initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and international collaboration in economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields;
 to make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation, regardless of origin, which might impair friendly relations among nations;
 to receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs;
 to consider and approve the United Nations budget and to apportion the contributions among members;
 to elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council and additional members of the Trusteeship Council (when necessary); to elect jointly with the Security Council the Judges of the International Court of Justice; and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to appoint the Secretary-General.

o The exception: In the area of peace and security, the UNSC has the ‘primary responsibility but the Gen Assembly does play a supplementary role’.

• Composition and Organisation
o Composition
 Representatives of member states
 191 countries, latest being Switzerland and Timor-Leste (2002).
o Sessions
 Regular sessions: From Sep to Dec each year
 Special sessions: Meet at the request of the UNSC, if a majority of member countries, or if one member of the majority of members concur
 Emergency sessions: May be called within 24 hours of a request by the UNSC on the vote of any 9 Council members, or by a majority of UN members, or by one member if the majority of members concur.
Presidency of the Assembly – Rotates each year among 5 groups of states: African, Asian, Eastern Europe, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other states.







• Workings of the Assembly
o Assembly sessions
 Debates:



 Resolutions:



o Annual work – The work decided in the Assembly sessions are carried out by:
 Committees and other bodies – They are established to study and report on specific issues
 Most questions are discussed in the 6 committees. They are:
• First Committee - Disarmament and International Security
• Second Committee - Economic and Financial
• Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian and Cultural
• Fourth Committee - Special Political and Decolonisation
• Fifth Committee - Administrative and Budgetary
• Sixth Committee - Legal

 Other committees and bodies include:
• Ad-hoc committees
• Advisory committees
• Executive committees
• High level committees
• Special committees
• Advisory commissions
• Panels
• Working groups

 International conferences – called for by the Assembly
 Secretariat of the UN – the Secretary-General and his staff of international civil servants

• Decision-making
o UN resolution
 A UN resolution is a formal text adopted by a UN body, in this case the GA. Most GA resolutions are said to be non-binding (Article 10 and 14), however they do carry the weight of world opinion, as well as the moral authority of the world community.
 On internal matters such as budgetary decisions or instructions to lower-ranking organs, these resolutions are certainly binding on their addressees.

o Voting
 One member state has one vote
 Regular matters: ___________________________
 Important maters: __________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

• Development of the Gen Assembly

i. 1945-60s – ___________________________________
• 2 main achievements
 Decolonisation: Was active in helping 3rd world states gain independence in its support for the decolonisation movement
 Increased authority and influence: Was able to progressively increase its authority and influence vis-à-vis UNSC. This is by:
 The Articles drawn up under the Charter: Initially primary authority of all security matters were reserved in the hands of the UNSC (i.e., the permanent members + veto powers). But the member states were able to redress this balance at San Francisco in the framing of the Charter. Under the Charter, the Assembly was at least able to make recommendations on almost everything so long as the matter was not actually under consideration by the Council (refer to Articles 10, 11, 14).
 Special Assembly sessions for particular problems: This was to by-pass the UNSC in the early years of UN’s life, which was frustrated by the frequent use of vetoes, mainly by the SU. For e.g, the Palestine issue in April 1947.
 Uniting for Peace Resolution, in 1950: Happened after the outbreak of Korean War when the Soviet delegation was absent from the UNSC (in protest at its refusal to seat Communist China). In circumstances where the UNSC is unable to act for any reason, the Gen Assembly could take measures on matters that are primarily the responsibility of the UNSC. This include:
• Calling for a special Assembly: to be called at any time when the Security Council found itself frustrated by a veto from taking effect, on the affirmative vote of 7 members of the UNSC or a simply majority of the Assembly.
• Recommending the use of force: this certainly extended the Assembly’s powers.
• Creating other bodies: A Peace Observation Commission and a Collective Measures Committee was created to help protect international peace and security.
E.g. of resolution being used:
• Suez Crisis in 1956: A Special Assembly was called and it led to the creation of the UN Emergency Force that was controlled by the Assembly.
Hungarian Crisis in 1956: However, the Special Assembly achieved little but perhaps to focus public attention on the crisis and to express the verdict of the majority of world opinion on Soviet action.
• Jordan and Lebanon Crisis in 1958: A force of observers was sent to cool the situation and to deter foreign infiltration.
• Congo Crisis in 1960s: UN force was authorised and controlled by UNSC but the Assembly played a dominant role in influencing UN action in the area.

• 1965- early 80s – _____________________________
 Great power rivalry: SU and France opposed to the use previously made of the Assembly. They refused to contribute to the cost of peace-keeping operations that the Assembly had authorised and the prolonged financial crisis which resulted from this constitutional difference of view induced some caution among other major powers in mobilizing the Assembly.

 Increased size and composition of the Assembly:
• Inclusion of more developing countries: The addition of more developing countries i.e. Afro-Asian members which came to hold more than 2/3 of the votes meant that they were keen to mobilise the UN to pass certain resolutions to help them.

 Shift in focus of issues
• In early years: Primarily European problems e.g, division of Germany, Berlin, human rights in East Europe and other similar issues that dominated the early years were rarely discussed
• In late 1950s-1960s: Colonial issues dominated e.g, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Africa
• From the 1960s onwards: Greater emphasis on development problems, e.g, achieving economic sovereignty
 Emergence of bloc politics among new members

 UNSC desire to restore its position: The desire of the permanent members to retain the special influence they held in the UNSC encouraged them to restore its supremacy in security questions. Furthermore the far less frequent use of the Soviet veto in the Council also reduced the need for an alternative agency. Thus, in times of crisis, the Council rather than the Assembly was once again the place to which injured parties looked for redress.





ii. 1980 onwards – ___________________________________
• GA sidelined: After the UN’s rise in power (1945 - early 1960s) and the eventual stagnation (1965 - early 1980s), the GA went into a period where it was unable to satisfy its members. The developing countries were disillusioned and the US remained hostile, thus, turning the North-South dialogue into a North-South conflict. This was because:
 New members were poor: The developing countries formed ¾ of Gen Assembly; they were rather generally poor and yet demanded a lot. They constantly offended the Western countries and split the UN into power blocs, i.e., Western countries (formerly colonial powers) versus the pro-Soviet and non-aligned developing countries.
 Problems with the US: The US had since 1971 realised that it was no longer capable of rallying a 2/3 majority in the GA. E.g., in 1971, the UN recognised China and expelled Taiwan, an ally of US. This was read as an obvious collusion between non-alignment and Soviet ideology and thus the US became less supportive of UN and withdrew financial aid from the South, i.e., developing countries, thereby contributing to the world depression of 1982.
 Deteriorating economic climate and end of North-South dialogue: Since 1982, things became worse for the Southern hemisphere countries. The price of raw materials shot up. The debt crisis destablised Latin America and Africa. All these induced countries to negotiate their own cases. With the end of the North-South dialogue (result from the ‘collapse’ of the South), the prestige and importance of the GA took a heavy blow. The bargaining places were no longer in the GA and UNCTAD, but the financial institutions where debt restructuring is negotiated and new lines of credit opened, at the painful price of Structural Adjustment Programmes. UN specialised agencies, e.g, the IMF and World Bank became more important than the GA itself.

• GA under siege: In the mid 1980s, the GA suffered under US direct ‘attacks’
 US’s verbal criticisms: The Reagan administration accused the GA of being anti-American and anti-Israeli; of legitimating national terrorist liberation movements supported by the Arab League and the USSR; of being in principle hostile to free enterprise; of being a mouthpiece for the USSR and its evil ideology (e.g. the GA did not ‘condemn’ the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, only to ‘strongly deplore’).
 US’s active anti-UN policies: In 1985, the US Congress passed the famous Kassenbaum-Solomon Amendment. The text affirmed that the UN budgetary policy did not take the main contributing states into account, i.e., the US and it asked for more voting rights for countries that contribute more financially, thus, challenging one of the essential provisions of the UN Charter that each member of the GA should have 1 vote. Furthermore, the US took the step to reduce its contribution to the UN from 25% to 20%.

Impact on end of Cold War: The end of the Cold War witnessed the continued decline in the GA’s fortunes as the Security Council gained prominence in world policies. The GA was less able to capture the public’s attention. Nevertheless, it remained an important forum to provide a voice for every member country.

• Implications of an increase in membership on the GA
Growth in membership*
Year Membership
1945
1955
1965
1975
1984
1992
1994
2002 51
76 decolonisation
117
144
157 15 states in
179 Soviet bloc &
185 former USSR
191
Countries/Year 1955 1960 1990

Africa
Asia/Middle East
Latin America
Oceania (mostly islands in Asia Pacific)
Europe
5
23
22
3
22
37
25
22
3
23
52
36
35
3
27
* Estimates given.

o Impact on the composition of GA

 1945-1960, __________________________: This was because UN mainly consisted of members from Europe and Latin America, and they were more pro-US. This therefore allowed the US to use the GA to pursue its own foreign policy agenda.

 1965-1991, ________________________________: This was due to a marked increase in 3rd world membership into the UN due to the process of decolonisation. These newly independent countries were largely politically unstable, economically poor and socially divided with high population growth rate. Many of them were anti-West, anti-US and more pro-Soviet in nature.


 1991-2002, _________________________________: With the breakup of the USSR, the addition of the former Soviet republics has certainly increased the UN membership to what it is today.

o Impact on UN resolutions
 Bloc politics among new members: Particularly so among the Third World countries who used their strength in numbers in the GA to table and pass resolutions, and to outvote the resolutions of Western countries in other instances.
 Floating votes: Another typical behavior of Third World countries was the tendency for them to take sides whichever was to their advantage. Thus, especially during the Cold War period, the US and USSR had to compete for these floating votes to bring them onto their sides.

The nature of discussions and resolutions: The increased membership not only resulted in an increase in number of resolutions passed, but also affected the type of resolutions passed. Many of the resolutions reflected Third World interests, which were very much concerned with their disadvantaged position vis-à-vis developed countries. They often tabled resolutions that were idealistic, unrealistic, repetitive and difficult to implement. This affected the efficiency of the GA, since a lot of time was required to read the resolutions and the ensuing delays before a definitive resolution could be produced.

o Impact on UN effectiveness
 Third world demanding more and contributing little financially: In many ways the GA, especially in the 1960s, was the ‘battleground’ between the Third World and developed countries. The Third World’s actions in the GA tended to antagonise the developed countries with their anti-West sentiments and numerous demands. On the other hand, though numerically stronger in the UN, they were financially contributing little to the UN budget, providing only 0.001% of UN funds.
 Developed world under siege and yet contributing more financially: The developed countries became increasingly less supportive of the UN as they were unhappy as to how the Third World countries were using the GA to advance their agenda and demand reforms. They also accused the Third World of improper international behavior, e.g, violations of human rights, and to the extent that they were prepared to withhold or delay financial payments to the UN. A notable example was the US, the single largest contributor to the UN (providing 25% of the budget), which withheld payment and accumulated unpaid debts especially during the Cold War resulting in financial problems for the UN

C) THE SECRETARY GENERAL (UNSG) – established under Chapter 15 (Articles 97-101) of the UN Charter

• Terms and Selection
o Appointment by UN: The GA appoints the SG on the recommendation of the Security Council. The selection is therefore subjected to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
o 5-year term: The appointment is a 5-year term and he usually serves 2 consecutive terms, but sometimes only one.
o By rotation of countries:




• Role of the SG
o Political role
 Internally, within the UN: the SG is to circumvent or resolve deadlocks in the SC or any disagreement or lack of cohesion in the GA.
 Externally, within the international community: His role includes:
 Preventive diplomacy – to diffuse tension or prevent conflict from escalating.
 Peacekeeping – to organise and deploy peacekeeping forces to execute the UN mandate.
 Peace enforcement – to ensure compliance to resolutions.
 Raise issues – to bring to awareness of the security matters and international humanitarian concerns.
 Appoint special and personal representatives/envoys: To undertake missions in areas of conflict, e.g., East Timor, Afghanistan.
 Use the good offices to reduce conflict. This is by gaining the confidence of contending parties since the SG is

 supposed to be impartial;
 creating a visible international forum for diplomacy instead of
resorting to military action;
 creating a favourable climate of debate and discussion to reduce the desire for conflict;
 making the issue internationally prominent even if it defies the resolution.

o Administrative role
 Chief administrative officer (Article 97): The SG is the head of the administrative civil service, the Secretariat. He is assisted by a staff of over 8,000 regular civilian staff members in New York and around the world. He manages the daily administrative activities, chairs meetings and report to the GA on UN activities each year.
 Under-Secretary Generals – Assists the SG. They run whole ‘departments’ (e.g. economic and social affairs and trusteeships) or have other special responsibilities (e.g. GA affairs, SC affairs). They act as the right-hand men of the SG in their own fields.




• Powers of the SG
o Has initiative to raise matters in the SC

 _______________________ (Article 99): Under the article, the SG can bring to the attention of the SC any matter in which his opinion may strengthen the maintenance of international peace and security. E.g, Article 99 was used by Trygve Lie in Korea, Dag Hammarskjold in the Congo and Kurt Waldheim in Iran.

 ________________________: Even behind the scene, he can press his views on the great powers. His personal judgement and readiness to run risks and take initiatives is crucial to the accomplishment of his duties.
o Has initiative to raise matters in the GA
 Right to put item on agenda: Under the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, SG could put an item on the agenda of the GA or make either oral or written statements to the GA concerning any questions under consideration.
o Scrutiny of his powers
 Member states scrutinise his words and actions: Occasionally, it can be quite scathing. E.g, U Thant was criticized by the West for pulling UN troops out of Sinai too quickly in 1967; Perez de Cuellar, Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan had been criticised for their actions in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq.

• Effectiveness of the SG: Limited by
The UN Charter:


The structure and character of the UN: The UN is supposed to safeguard the national interest of states and the SG on the one hand was not expected to be assertive nor independent, yet on the other hand was expected to be efficient.
o General circumstances and cooperation from the Big Five: E.g, during the Cold War, the SG found it difficult to show his initiatives and to send peacekeepers in the face of large numbers of vetoes. And if he was unable to rally the Big Five in the SC to act, the SG could not expect to be effective.

The personality and ability of the SG: How the SG is able to harness UN members would very much depend on his diplomatic and political skill, coupled with an endearing personality so as to win over detractors and secure his proponents




Secretary Generals so far:

NAME COUNTRY DATES TERM
Gladwyn Jebb United Kingdom (Europe) 24/10/45 – 2/2/46
Trygve Lie
Norway (Europe) 2/2/46 – 10/11/52
Dag Hammarskjold Sweden (Europe) 10/4/53 – 18/9/61
U Thant Myanmar (Asia) 30/11/61 – 31/12/71
Kurt Waldheim Austria (Eur) 1/1/72 – 31/12/81
Javier Perez de Cuellar Peru (South America) 1/1/82 – 31/12/91
Boutros Boutros-Ghali Egypt (Africa) 1/1/92 – 31/12/96
Kofi Annan
Ghana (Africa) 1/1/97 – 31/12/06
Ban Ki Moon South Korea (Asia) 1/1/07 -

On your own, find out what happened:

1. At the end of each Secretary-General’s term?
2. Was there any hint of bias in their voting, according to his critics?