| TRANSPARENCY | U.N. quote-of-the-day by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. |
| TRANSPARENCY | Objectives for lesson 2 |
| DISCUSSION | Have the students tell what they believe about U.N. peacekeeping operations around the world. |
| LECTURE | There are six major organs to the United Nations as set up by the U.N. Charter. They are the Secretariat, the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the International Court of Justice. The Three most powerful bodies are the Secretariat, the Security Council and the General Assembly. |
| POSTER | The United Nations (Secretariat, Sec. Council, Gen. Ass.) |
| TRANSPARENCY | Structure of the U.N. as set up by the U.N. charter |
| LECTURE | The Secretariat is the administrative unit of the U.N. and the head of the Secretariat is called the Secretary General. To make a broad generalization, the Secretary is similar in status to our U.S. President, or England’s Prime Minister. The Secretary presides over the General Assembly at times, but more often than not he sees to the basic administrative tasks of the U.N. The Secretary has no real executive powers. The Secretary from time to time will mediate peace talks and tour the world ironing out global problems. Most recently, we’ve seen U.N. Secretaries addressing the issues of world population and world famine. |
| QUESTION | Give me an example of what you think the Secretary General would do in a given day? (Application) (a) meet with heads of state, the Security Council, etc... |
| LECTURE | The Security Council is where the vast power of the U.N. lies. The Security Council monitors and makes the major decisions on matters of world peace and security. There are 15 seats on the council, and five of the seats permanently belong to the U.S., Russia, France, Great Britain and China. The other ten seats sit on the council for two years and rotate between other member states, with the General Assembly electing five new members each year. In the past decade though, Japan and Germany have both occupied steady seats on the council. Each seat has a vote, but the five permanent members have the special veto power. A veto by any member can cancel or prevent any action from being taken on any issue. |
| QUESTION | Why would a country veto a Security Council resolution? (Analysis) (a) to prevent an action from being taken that their country opposed |
| LECTURE | The General Assembly is the main body of the U.N., although it has little power. Every member nation (there are over 160) has a seat in the general assembly, and one vote. No nation has a veto authority in the General Assembly. The General Assembly meets annually and for special sessions on request of the Secretariat or Security Council. It debates many world issues each year, and it passes many resolutions too. The General Assembly has no enforcement authority though, and member nations are not bound to abide by General Assembly resolutions. The resolutions carry only the weight of morality and a common consensus. |
| QUESTION | If the General Assembly passed a resolution stating that state executions were illegal, would the U.S. have to abide by the resolution and no longer execute any prisoners? Explain. (Evaluate) (a) No. The U.S. could voluntarily agree to abide by the resolution, but the U.S. would not have to go along with the resolution. |
| LECTURE | The Economic and Social Council coordinates the social and economic functions of the U.N. The council has 54 members, 18 of which are elected every year by the General Assembly for three year terms. The ESC oversees the activities of several agencies including the World Health Organization and others. |
| QUESTION | Tell me in your own words what the ESC is for. (Translation) (a) coordinates social and economic functions of the U.N. |
| LECTURE | The Trusteeship Council was created after WWII, and its job was to administer the 11 territories placed under international trust after the end of the war. This council was monitored by the Security Council. As of 1991, all of the territories had either achieved independence or had become part of a larger nation state. Consequently, the Trusteeship Council no longer meets or functions. |
| LECTURE | The International Court of Justice is often the forgotten hand of the U.N. It is located in The Hague in the Netherlands. As the name indicates, it is the judicial branch of the U.N., not unlike our Supreme Court. The court has not enforcement powers though, so a member nation is not bound to abide by the court’s ruling. The court is often asked to provide advisory rulings to U.N. agencies. Fifteen judges sit on the court for nine year terms. The judges are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. |
| QUESTION | What kind of cases do you think International Court of Justice would handle? (Synthesis) (a) disputes between other countries and organizations |
| LECTURE | As said before, the purpose of the United Nations is to provide for global peace and security. The U.N. provides a forum for nations to resolve their disputes in a peaceful manner. When a nation refuses to solve its problems peacefully, and the Security Council determines the situation is a threat to world peace, the SC may intervene. This intervention may take two forms: military or non-military. Non-military means includes the use of embargoes and economic sanctions, while military options resort to peace-making and joint ventures with world armed forces. |
| LECTURE | U.N. Peacekeepers are predominantly, but not necessarily, soldiers from member nation armed forces that are placed under U.N. command for a period of time. There is one U.N. Peacekeeping training school that actively recruits non-service member persons, and it is located in Canada. Peacekeepers are often called Blue Helmets because of their distinctive blue helmets (the U.N. color). In most cases, U.N. peacekeepers are not allowed to actively pursure a conflict and may only fire their weapons unless fired upon first. U.N. Peacekeepers are charged with two main duties most of the time: to separate warring factions to allow time for negotiations and settlements and to prevent local conflicts from spreading over into other regions. Most of the time there are three criteria for U.N. troops to be deployed: a cease fire must be in effect, negotiations on a resolution to hostilities must be underway and the Peacekeepers must be invited by all sides involved in the conflict. |
| HANDOUT | U.N. Crossword Puzzle on the Components of the United Nations to be completed and turned in on the day of the unit test. |
| Transparencies: | U.N. quote of the day Objectives U.N. structure |
| Poster: | U.N. Poster with 3 Main Branches |
| Handout: | U.N. Crossword Puzzle on U.N. Components |