The History Of The United Nations

The United Nations was founded with great expectations to establish world peace, based on the principles of collective security and self-determination. Its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations, had not been able to secure peace and had fallen apart due to World War 2. As the war came to an end the UN was being setup and tensions between the USA and the USSR were quickly escalating into the conflict known as the Cold War. The UN’s effectiveness was going to be tested out very soon. Could the organization succeed in maintaining peace and enforce collective security or was it going to become a mere instrument of super power policy?

United Nations Organization was planned in the Atlantic charter of 1941 by Roosevelt and Churchill and further developed in the wartime conferences. It was founded in 1945 under the treaty of San Francisco. The organization is based on a charter that outlines the main goals of this international organization. The two most important bodies in the United Nations are the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly is a forum for all member states to discuss and make decisions. However, the most powerful body is the Security Council that presides over the most important and critical issues. It is composed of five members, the USA, the UK, the USSR, China, and France. Each which hold veto power.

During the late 1940’s, tensions between the USA and the USSR started to become more serious. This was a clear threat for the UN, as it drastically challenged its ability to pursue its charter in a wholesome and meaningful way. The USA and the USSR were at the core of the organization and these tensions meant they would not be willing to cooperate and thus it would hinder the ...

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...announced and expelled all Soviet in Eastern block diplomats from the capital. The Soviet’s thought the West was behind this. Mubutu, the AMC commander and Kasavubu, drew together to turn against Lumumba. They later turned for protection to the UN, who decided to support Mubutu and Kasavubu. Lumumba organized an attack on the regime, but this was quickly repressed and Lumumba was captured and murdered. The UN Security Council was called into session on 7 December 1960 to consider Soviet demands that the UN seek Lumumba's immediate release, the immediate restoration of Lumumba as head of the Congo government, the disarming of the forces of Mobutu, and the immediate evacuation of Belgians from the Congo. Hammarskjöld, answering Soviet attacks against his Congo operations, said that if the UN forces were withdrawn from the Congo "I fear everything will crumble."