Grade 10 Civics Unit 3 Lesson 2 United Nations

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1 Source - Grade 10 Civics Unit 3 Lesson 2 United Nations Background The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, 191 countries belong to the UN. The principles for international relations and the role defined for the United Nations are described in the UN Charter. This international treaty established four purposes for the United Nations: Maintain international peace and security; Develop friendly relations among nations; Cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and, Act as a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. The UN is not a world government. It does not make laws. Rather, it provides a structure and process to help resolve international conflicts, as well as a mean to build cooperative policies to address world issues impacting its members. The UN has served as a police force (e.g., peacekeeping during the Suez Crisis), helped established many international policies (e.g., 1967 ban on nuclear weapons in outer space, 1997 Ottawa Convention outlawing land mines), and created the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1998 International Criminal Court. Organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization operate from under the United Nations umbrella. Yet, the UN does not seem to act quickly, decisively or effectively in our modern world. In the last two decades, mass killings and cultural genocides have occurred in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sudan, strife has gripped the Middle East, poverty and crime continue to plague poor nations such as Haiti, AIDS has reached epidemic proportions in Africa, avian flu is an threat and Afghanistan is fighting. It seems that the role of the United Nations has diminished, and from some corners, its effectiveness questioned. In October 2006, a new United Nations Secretary-General was elected. He is the former Foreign Minister for South Korea. In the same week, it was alleged that North Korea detonated an atomic bomb.

2 The United Nations - Background The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 when the UN Charter was ratified by the original 51 member nations. The day is celebrated as United Nations Day. The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well being of all people. It affords the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems. There are currently 185 Members of the United Nations. They meet in the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single vote. None of the decisions taken by the Assembly are binding. Nevertheless, the Assembly's decisions become resolutions that carry the weight of world governmental opinion. The United Nations Headquarters is in New York City, but the land and buildings are international territory. The United Nations has its own flag, its own post office and its own postage stamps. Six official languages are used at the United Nations - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The UN European Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has worldwide offices in Vienna, Austria and Economic Commissions in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Amman in Jordan, Bangkok in Thailand and Santiago in Chile. The senior officer of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General. The Aims of the United Nations To keep peace throughout the world. To develop friendly relations between nations. To work together to help people live better lives, to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world, to stop environmental destruction and to encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms. To be a centre for helping nations achieve these aims. The Principles of the United Nations All Member States have sovereign equality. All Member States must obey the Charter. Countries must try to settle their differences by peaceful means. Countries must avoid using force or threatening to use force. The UN may not interfere in the domestic affairs of any country. Countries should try to assist the United Nations.

3 The Charter of the United Nations When a country joins the United Nations, it has to agree to obey the following rules. All Member States are equal. All Member States must obey the Charter. Countries must try to settle their differences by peaceful means. Countries must avoid using force or threatening to use force. The United Nations may not interfere with the domestic affairs of any country. Countries should try to assist the United Nations. Task - Think of the UN rules in terms of our school. 1. What might the rules mean to behaviour at school? 2. Rewrite the UN rules as rules that would be used for school. 3. Who and what do these protect? What kinds of responsibilities go along with them?

4 The United Nations Answers Using Page in your textbook Citizenship: Issues and Actions, answer the following questions. 1. What are the chief concerns of the United Nations? Protection of human rights Elimination of poverty and disease Development of economic and civic stability 2. When the UN was formed it has 51 members. How many members does the UN have presently? 191 countries 3. The United Nations is not a government. It is an organization that allows for communication and cooperation among nations. Why is this structure and role important? It enables countries to pool their resources when dealing with crises such as war, hunger or poverty. 4. What are some of the branches of the United Nations? General Assembly meeting place of all members Security Council negotiates peace, evaluates areas of conflict and provides advice on actions during time of war Secretary-General provides administration and guidance to the UN International Court of Justice advises UN on legal issues and resolves disputes between countries Economic and Social Council coordinates humanitarian and economic aid 5. What is the difference between Peacekeeping and Peacemaking? Peacekeeping is the process or activity of keeping the peace by military forces (especially when international military forces enforce a truce between hostile groups or nations). Peacemaking is conducted with the mutual consent or request of two fighting sides. The fighting sides may decide to cease military actions, but they are unable to do so without help from the world community and international military / peacekeeping forces. 6. Read the information on Pages about the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and answer Questions 1 and 4 on page 191 in the section Activities The Inquiring Citizen.

5 The United Nations Using Page in your textbook Citizenship: Issues and Actions, answer the following questions. 1. What are the chief concerns of the United Nations? 2. When the UN was formed it has 51 members. How many members does the UN have presently? 3. The United Nations is not a government. It is an organization that allows for communication and cooperation among nations. Why is this structure and role important? 4. What are some of the branches of the United Nations? 5. What is the difference between Peacekeeping and Peacemaking? 6. Read the information on Pages about the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and answer Questions 1 and 4 on page 191 in the section Activities The Inquiring Citizen

6 Activity Grade 10 Civics - Unit 3 Lesson 2 Global Connections Part A Decision-Making and Consensus Building Working in a group with five members, make a web noting world concerns. As a group, discuss and rank the concerns and come to a collective agreement on the top three. Put a three next to what the group thinks is the most important, a two by the one that is second most important, and a one beside the concern that is least important to the group. Write down your decision-making process (e.g., What arguments for and against were presented? Did one or two people dominate and decide for the group? How was the collective agreement established?) Present your top three concerns to the class, and write your concerns on the blackboard. As a class, discuss and adopt a process to rank the top four concerns. Rank the top four concerns for the class. Part B - Conflicts As a class, identify some recent conflicts local, national, international Discuss their causes. Compare the events to the rankings you created in Part A.