How Does the UN Charter Try to Limit the Incidence and the Severity of Wars? Does It Work?

The United Nations is an organization established 24 October 1945. It was a replacement for the League of Nations. The UN was created following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. The organization is financed by giving its member states a substantial fee. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and is argued to have power to intervene in the most serious issues which disrupt world order.

The United Nations was to be a place where there was peace between the countries, a place where they can dispute their differences, a place to support each other and benefit from the allies a country made by being in the United Nations. It was “designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members” (Document B). Not long after it was founded, it started falling apart. People had different idea of how it should have been ran but the people who got their way was the bigger and stronger countries. They came to an agreement that the bigger countries—the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China—would have veto power and the other countries that were a part of it would take smaller roles in the decisions

“Jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war. “— Winston Churchill, and that’s what the United Nations purpose is. The United Nations is an organization created after World War 2 on October 24, 1945. Throughout the years United Nations has grown there are currently with 193 countries involved. They provide security, aid and peace to many countries in the world.

These countries agree to peacefully settle disputes, refrain from threatening or using force against each other, and refuse to help other nations that oppose the U.N.’s mission.

“We all have a responsibility, a universally endowed responsibility, to ensure that a history of violence is not going to be followed by a future of vengeance. The only way to properly honor the millions of lives lost is through peace, and the only way to achieve that peace is for the United Nations... and all of the countries with the capacity to step up and help show the way forward.”

The United Nations is a vessel to keep the peace, they work to prevent conflicts, step in and help parties in conflict to make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace. The UN security council has the primary responsibility for the aforementioned. They are the division of the UN that is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. There are fifteen members and each member has one vote, and under the charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with the council’s decisions (The United Nations, n.d.). The United Nations along with the security council was formed in 1945, leaders of 50 nations met in San Francisco with representatives of non-government organizations. It took place at the end of the second world war to prevent that type of widespread destruction, they formed the United Nations.

Over the last decade, the idea of the Security Council going under reform has caused much of a debate. Academics have been questioning whether the Security Council has been fulfilling its duties and obligations under Article 24 of the Charter of the United Nations . Another question, which arises frequently, is whether it is accountable and legitimate. The combinations of these effectively show whether the Security Council is fit for purpose in the 21st Century.

The United Nations was founded in 1945, after World War II had ended. its objectives were to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights, foster social and economic development, protect the environment, and provide humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.  But the principal purpose was to prevent another war from happening. This is an extremely important factor in history because this organization has been successful thus far in keeping the member nations united and in line.

Due to the two world wars the United Nations was established to prevent another world horror from occurring. Before the United Nations, the League of Nations was formed to express their concerns and settle disputes however due to the lack of power it failed. However, luckily a second attempt was made and UN was created on 24 October 1945.

Misunderstandings arise looking at Article 51 in international law that gives the right to self- defence. It is debatable as to whether this is an explicit right, only exercisable in response to armed attack or whether it allows force in response to potential attacks. Article 2(4) of the UN charter states that the use of force by states is banned however this has not stopped over one hundred large conflicts since 1945. States generally use international law as an excuse and form of justification for their actions (Evans, 2006: 589). Article 2(4) declares “all members shall abstain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the UN.” Yet the main exception is self- defence (Evans, 2006: 598). The article does not make clear what constitutes self- defence. How is a state to distinguish self-defense from hegemonic desires?

I will shed the light on the Security Council which is the keystone of the United Nations system of collective security, and its role in maintaining international peace and security by settling disputes pacifically under chapter VI of the UN Charter and by taking action regarding threats, breaches, and acts of aggression under chapter VII. I will then discuss the several options that Nation states had resorted to in the past to intervene in order to protect civilians. And I will finally highlight the notion of the responsibility to protect which emerged in 2001 and its implication on populations under

Article 2 emphasizes the rudimentary importance of sovereignty in international law as almost absolute. This belief has been further demonstrated in General Assembly Resolutions. Resolution 2625, accepts the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States. Amongst other considerations, it confirms the importance of the Charter and sovereign equality. General Assembly Resolution 3314, defines aggression and calls upon members to refrain from aggression as well as other uses of force that would not be in compliance with the Charter. It also reinforces the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States. Declaration 42/22, the approval of the Declaration on the Enhancement of the Effectiveness of the Principle of Refraining from the Threat or Use of Force in International Relations, once again reaffirms the importance of non-intervention, the importance of peaceful relations and the necessity for peaceful means to be used in conflict resolution because a) the risks and concerns associated with conflict and more importantly in this

“ Here is a task truly of, by and for the world, one that should rally nations. The nature of this task however, must be clearly understood; only then can suitable means for accomplishing it be formulated, only then can the role that the United Nations could and should play be appreciated” ( Wilcox/Haviland, 29). There are many international organizations that have been talked about throughout this semester. One of the most important ones is The United Nations. The United Nations was established October 24, 1945, and has since then been impacting the country. The United Nations main purpose according to the lecture notes is “ to provide a global additional structure through which states can sometimes settle conflicts with less reliance on the use of force , for whole purpose of the United Nations is to provide the globe a forum by which countries may settle disputes through this forum peacefully as opposed to relying on a force which has been the case historically” ( Kopalyan, Module 8). Thus meaning The United Nations was set up to handle problems peacefully rather than going to war to try and solve problems. “Powerful economic as well as political forces are at work to bring about a growing integration of the world community, and the United Nations and its related agencies are uniquely fitted to assist in the task” (Wilcox/Haviland,45). This was some of the reason that the United Nations was created.

First, the Theory of UN Collective Security briefly summarizes why the UN was established after WWII and how it has served the global community as a method to avoid war and conflict through collective security. Collective security is introduced as a principle that allows nation-states to be interconnected in a way that no only prevents war and conflict, but also provides methods that can be