Odisha State Board CHSE Odisha Class 11 History Solutions Unit 5 Long Answer Questions Part 2.
CHSE Odisha 11th Class History Unit 5 Long Answer Questions Part-2
Long Questions With Answers
Question 1.
Discuss the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (N.A.T.O.).
Answer:
The genesis of NATO :
After the initial success of the Marshall plan, it became increasingly evident that the plan by itself would not be enough. Soviet infringement in East Europe became overtly aggressive and it was well demonstrated in the Soviet-engineered coup detat in Czechoslovakia in February 1948. In June, the Soviets imposed a blockade on Berlin aimed at dislodging the western powers from there. It suddenly became too apparent that a basic necessity for Europe’s recovery was not merely economic but also military security.
An initiative by European Powers :
The first move in this direction had already been made by the Europeans themselves when in March 1947 France and Britain signed the Treaty of Dunkirk for their mutual defense against a threat to their security. An extension of this treaty was made in 1948 then through the Brussels Pact, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg signed a collective treaty of self-defense.
The Brussels pact was established as a military counterpart to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation, OEEC. Just as the success of the OEEC depended upon American capital the pact members expected their alliance to attract American military support too.
Question 2.
State the formation of NATO.
Answer:
The Europeans were not disappointed. The United States which sustained Europe economically and as the leader of the movement to stop the rising tide of communism was irresistibly drawn toward this new European alliance In April 41949 Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norwày, Portugal, and the United States created the historic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The signatory powers stipulated that an attack by an aggressor on one was an attack on all, and that ‘each of the other nations, individually or together, would take such action as it deems necessary including and force. American justification of NATO Unquestionably, for the United States, the NATO commitment set a new precedent. For the first time in its history, the Americans had committed themselves to an âlliance in peacetime.
Europe thus became America’s ‘first line of defense’. Yet despite this drastic departure from tradition, the pact met with widespread public favor. There was a general feeling that if another world war broke out in the beginning and since this, she might be able to avert it, unlike in 1914 and 1939, by issuing a warning to potential aggressors that they would have to face American opposition from the very outset.
Thus, it was precisely intended to give a clear message to the Soviet Union that the United States would fight to preserve Europe’s freedom. Europe’s vital importance to American security had been proved beyond doubt with the American participation in the two world wars. Instead of again allowing the balance of power to be upset and once more getting drawn into war after it had started the United States now wanted to prevent such an outbreak by committing herself to the preservation of Europe in peacetime.
It was presumed that the fear of meeting stiff American resistance and fighting an all-out war with the United States would deter a potential aggressor. The North Atlantic Pact was approved by the American Senate on July 21, 1949, by a vote of 22 to 13. NATO Civil Organisation The North Atlantic Treaty provides for a directing council, to be “so organized as to be able to meet pràmptly at any time.”
Originally the council was composed of the foreign ministers of the member states, but in 1951, the participating states agreed to add the defense, economic, and finance ministers to the council wherever problems of direct interest to them were concerned. The NATO council meets at the ministerial level two or three times a year and once or twice a week at the level of permanent representatives.
Though many think of NATO as an exclusive military organization, in actual point of fact Article II of the North Atlantic Treaty calls for cooperation among member states on a wide front. The council has set up committees to direct activities in many fields like information and cultural relations, armaments, infrastructure, emergency planning, food and agriculture, industrial raw materials, and manpower planning.
There are also committees of political and economic advisers and planning boards for ocean shipping and for European inland surface transport. NATO’s secretariat has major divisions of political affairs, economics, and finance as well as an office of the scientific adviser. Most of the secretariat staff work in NATO’s permanent headquarters in Brussels.
Question 3.
What is the genesis of CENTO the Baghdad Pact?
Answer:
If NATO had its origin in the Brussels Pact, the CENTO [Central Treaty Organizatiori] too had its ancestry in the Baghdad Pact of 1955. Anti-communism being the main thrust of American Foreign Policy, it now tried to seek out ways and means to contain communism wherever it was possible.
In 1951, an Anglo-American effort for the setting up of a Middle East command misfired, largely because of its prompt rejection by Egypt. But the new Republican administration in the United States in 1953 gave another look at the idea and it encouraged the development of the “northern tier” concept.
The middle Eastern states of Asia were on the southern flank of the European continent and ran along the northern belt of the Asian continent. The Americans considered enhancing European Security by including the Middle Eastern Asian states under their security belt. Such a scheme would be advantageous to the Americans since it could give them a continuous security chain covering western Europe by NATO and the Middle East with some new regional military alliance.
The states of the “northern tier” from Turkey to Pakistan [except Afghanistan], had already come together in a series of bilateral security pacts, like the pacts between Turkey and Pakistan in August 1954, and between Turkey and Iraq in February 1955. This became the basis of the multilateral Baghdad Pact when Britain adhered to the Turkey-Iraq Pact in April, Pakistan in September, and Iraq in October 1955.
The Pact was formalized in November 1955, when five “members of the pact met in Baghdad to set up a formal organization. The organization was to have a Council of Ministers, special committees for military planning, economic cooperation, communications, and counter-subversion, and headquarters at Baghdad with a secretariat headed by a Secretary-General.
In order not to offend Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the United States did not join the pact, but it welcomed its formation, sent an observer to its original meetings and greed full participation in the Economic and counter supervision committee, and established permanent contact with the Military Committee.
Question 4.
How CENTO is formed?
Answer:
After the Iraqi revolution in 1958, a new government came to power leading to the withdrawal of Iraq from the Baghdad Pact in March 1959. The headquarters of the Baghdad Pact was promptly shifted to Ankara, and the organization was renamed Central Treaty Organisation. Unlike NATO, however, CENTO had a very development with grave consequences for the future coincided in 1979.
The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Kampuchean crisis leading to the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979, the US involvement in El Salvador, and finally the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979, gave an ominous pointer that something had gone terribly wrong somewhere.
While the Americans came to suspect the Russians of trying to impose communist dictatorship in different parts of the world the Russians were convinced of a sinister American campaign to destabilize the Soviet Union. All this and many more were a perfect recipe for the beginning of Cold War II.
Question 5.
Describe UNO and its features.
Answer:
The setting up of the United Nations Organisation thus represented a renewed attempt with new vigor to establish world peace through an international organization. The organization has been formed by an international agreement known as the ‘Charter’ of the. United Nations and the makers of the UN charter were basically the representatives of the victorious powers [Allied] of the Second World War.
It was drawn up by the representatives of fifty states at the United Nations Conference on International Organisation which met in San Francisco, United States, from April 25 to June 26, 1945. The Charter consists of articles divided into 19 chapters which are also annexed to the 70 articles with 5 chapters of the statute of the International Court of Justice.
It was unanimously passed and signed by all the representatives on June 26, 1945, that is, even while the crucial stage of the war was still being fought in Europe and the Pacific. The United Nations officially came into being on October 24, 1945, when China, France, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States of America and a majority of the signatories ratified the creation of the UNO in their respective legislative bodies. Each year, October 24 is universally celebrated as United Nations Day.
Organs Languages Members Head Quarters of the UNO :
The organization, competence, procedure, and functions of the United Nations are governed by the Charter which also lays down the conditions for admission, suspension, and expulsion of member states from the United Nations. The composition, functions, and powers of the six main organs – the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC], the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat as well as their inter-relationship are set out in die Charter.
The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The permanent headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City, United States of America, and its European Office is in Geneva, Switzerland. From original members of 51 countries in 1945, the total membership of the UNO today has risen to 191.
Limitations of the UNO :
It is pertinent to observe that the United Nations is a comprehensive international organization that has replaced the League of Nations. As such, it is the most important of all international organizations established by States. The member states have pledged themselves to maintain international peace and security and to cooperate with one another in political, social, and economic fields. However, it is important to know that the United Nations is neither a world government nor a world federation.
Hence its member’s obligations are limited and only their cooperation can put UN functions into practice. Unlike national governments, the organization has no means of enforcing its decisions. Thus it is the moral obligation of the members that make the UN what it is rather than any contractual obligation on the part of the members towards the charter of the UN.
Question 6.
Describe the creation of the UN.
Answer:
Though the origin of the United Nations can be traced back to the days of the League of Nations, it would be an oversimplification to say that the UN, came into being all of a sudden in a single day. The making of the UN has been an arduous process that spanned a considerable period of time. It came into being after a series of meetings, conferences, and discussions. The genesis of the UN could be traced back to the following landmarks.
Stages of the UN creation :
St James Palace Declaration – June 12, 1941:
- The Allied powers resolved to continue fighting against the three Axis powers [Germany, Italy, and Japan].
- After the end of the war, an international organization for the purpose of maintaining international peace and for promoting economic collaboration among nations should be created.
The Atlantic Charter – August 14, 1941:
This is often referred to as marking the birth of the United Nations. In this document Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain and President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, meeting on a battleship ‘USS Atlanta’, in the North Atlantic Ocean, laid down eight general principles “on which they base their hopes for a better future for the world.”
The Declaration of the United Nations – January 1, 1942:
In this declaration, using the name later adopted for the new international organization, twenty-six nations agreed to cooperate in war and peace and emphasized that there should be an international organization based on the principle of sovereign equality of all nations, both large and small, for purposes of bringing about international cooperation.
Moscow Conference, October- November 1943:
Representatives of the USSR, USA, Great Britain, and China pledged that their united action would be continued for the organization and maintenance of peace and security and declared that they recognized the necessity of establishing at the earliest practicable date a central international organization based on the principle of sovereign equality of all peace-loving states.
Teheran conference – November 1943:
This was the first meeting of the Big, Three – Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, the Soviet Premier. In a joint statement, they promised that large and small nations would be invited to join a world organization.
The Bretton Woods Conference – July 1944:
This conference was attended by representatives of forty-four nations. As a prelude to the future economic and financial reconstruction of the world, it was decided to set up two important institutions
- the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD and
- the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It was emphasized that no peace could entire as long as economic chaos prevailed. The IBRD and the IMF are present functioning as Specialised Agencies of the United Nations.
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference – October 1944:
[Dumbarton Oaks is an estate in Washington D.C. owned by Harvard University]. Here representatives of China, Great Britain, the USA, and the USSR, worked out proposals for the world organization to be set up. They agreed upon the blueprint and the first draft of the United Nations Charter.
Yalta Conference, February 1945:
The ‘Big Three’ – Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt discussed the voting procedure of the Security Council, the most important organ of the proposed world organization. It was decided here to incorporate the ‘Veto’ formula of voting which became an accepted feature of the new United Nations voting structure. France and China were made co-sponsors along with the three members of the Yalta conference. These five states finally became the five permanent members of the Security Council.
San Francisco Conference – April 25 – June 26, 1945:
Fifty-one nations [including India] were invited to attend this conference. This was the last step in the long drawing process that led to the emergence of the United Nations. A number of proposals made by medium and small powers attending the conference were discussed and it resulted in the creation of the Economic and Social Council as one of the primary organs of the United Nations.
The powers of the General Assembly and die Security Council were clearly defined and altogether there were to be six principal organs of the United Nations. On July 28, 1945, the United States of America approved its membership in the UN. Within another three months, the charter was ratified by all of the permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the signatories. The launching of the United Nations marked the beginning of a New World Order.
Question 7.
Write the objectives of the UN.
Answer:
The primary objectives of the United Nations are incorporated in the charter of the United Nations. Article 1 of the charter gives an elaborate and vivid description of these objectives.
Maintenance of International Peace and Security:
The maintenance of international peace and security is the primary objective of the United Nations. In order to save succeeding generations of mankind from the curse of war, world peace is to be maintained by preventing and suppressing breaches of the peace and by promoting conditions conducive to the preservation and maintenance of peace.
Avoidance of war is to be achieved by measures known as collective security. Provision is placed in the charter for powerful sanctions against states which have violated peace. The Security Council is empowered to decide on matters of world peace. The United Nations is expected to maintain the necessary armed forces from the member nations in accordance with an agreement to be concluded between the Security Council and the members of the United Nations individually.
Thus the Peace Observation Commission and the United Nations Emergency Force were created in 1950 and 1956 respectively for the basic purpose of enforcing peace where it is violated. Preservation of the world order necessitates peaceful settlement of disputes among members of the United Nations and a variety of methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes are offered to the member states.
Self-government & Independence:
Development of friendly relations among the states based on respect for equal rights and self-determination of peoples. This is another fundamental objective of the UNO, wherein it is to promote the people of different areas of the world who are hitherto dependent, to be given the right of self-government and independence.
Cooperation Socio-economic fields & Championing of Human Rights :
Furtherance of cooperation among the members in social, economic, cultural, educational, and humanitarian problems and to promote respect for human rights. To put these goals into practice the Economic and Social Council serves as a major organ and it receives adequate support from the General Assembly and various other international specialized agencies.
The ECOSOC is empowered to establish as many commissions as it deems necessary in the area of human rights and it can recommend and prepare draft conventions on human rights and fundamental freedom for all. Encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedom is also stated to be a basic objective of the trusteeship system. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was overwhelmingly adopted in the General Assembly in 1948.
Disarmament:
To work for the successful implementation of the principle of general and completed disarmament in nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.
Centre for harmonizing relations :
Another basic objective of the United Nations is to act as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these common ends and more specific goals, e goa s as spelled out in the charter are:
- taking appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace,
- practicing tolerance and living – together in peace as good neighbors and
- establishing justice and respect for international law.
Other Objectives:
Article 2 of the Charter prescribes certain other principles upon which the United Nations acts. They are:
- The UN is based on the principle of sovereign equality of all its members.
- All members are required to fulfill in good faith their Charter obligations.
- Members are advised to settle their international disputes by peaceful means and without endangering peace, security, and justice.
- Member nations are to refrain from the threat or use of force against other states.
- Member nations are to render every possible assistance for any action the UNO takes in accordance with the Charter and shall not provide any help to the state or states against which the UN is about to take preventive or enforcement action.
- The UN shall ensure that states which are not members act in accordance with these principles in so for as is necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
- The Charter does not authorize the UN to intervene in matters which are entirely within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. The basic objectives and principles of the United Nations as enshrined in the charter are thus directed toward the maintenance and preservation of world peace and security.
Question 8.
Discuss the General Assembly and its compositions and functions.
Answer:
The General Assembly, one of the six main organs of the UN as specified in Article 7 of the charter is the deliberative organ of the UN and is its pivotal organ. It frames been described as a ‘world forum’ or the ‘world’s own meeting’.
Composition:
The General Assembly has the states as its members and all member nations are equally represented in this organ. Each member state is entitled to send 5 representatives and 5 alternate representatives. Irrespective of the number of its delegates present in the General Assembly, each member country is entitled to one vote only.
Functions:
The General Assembly’s functions are as under:
To consider and make recommendations on the principles of international cooperation in the maintenance of peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament. To discuss any problem affecting peace and security, except where a dispute is being currently discussed in the Security Council.
To initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedom for all, and international collaboration in economic, social, cultural, and educational arid health fields. To receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other organs of the UNO.
To elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Ecosoc, and the elective members of the Trusteeship Council. To take part with the Security Council in the election of Judges of the International Court of Justice and On the recommendation of the Security Council to appoint the Secretary-General.
To consider and approve the budget of the United Nations, and to examine the budgets of specialized agencies. The Uniting for Peace Resolution adopted in 1950 enlarged the sphere of activity of the General Assembly. As per this Resolution, if the Security Council failed to exercise its power for the maintenance of international peace and security due to the lack of unanimity among the permanent members, the General Assembly was authorized to consider the matter immediately and make appropriate recommendations for collective measures.
In case of a breach of the peace or an act of aggression, the General Assembly can authorize the use of armed forces when necessary. In theory, though the Charter maintains that the Security Council is the most important organ of the UN., in practice, particularly after the passage of the UN for Peace Resolution, the General Assembly has been transformed from mg the deliberative organ to the most effective organ of the UN.
Question 9.
Discuss the structure of the General
Assembly.
Answer:
Since the General Assembly is a very large body, it becomes very difficult to have a normal transaction of a business. Hence the General Assembly functions through its committees – seven main committees, two standing committees, two procedural committees, and a number of permanent, semi-permanent, and ad hoc committees.
Apart from the seven main committees, other important committees and commissions under the General Assembly are the Little Assembly, the International Law Commission, the Peace Observation Commission, the United Nations Emergency Force, the UNICEF [United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund], the UNCTAD [United Nations Conference of Trade and Development], UNIDO [United Nations Industrial Development Organisation].
Sessions and voting procedure:
The General Assembly meets for the annual plenary session in September every year. The session extends up to the middle of December. The General Assembly can also be convened for special sessions and emergency special sessions. Voting in the body is conducted on the basis of a simple majority of those present and voting when minor issues are concerned. But for major international issues like admission, suspension, and expulsion of a member nation, a two-thirds vote of the Assembly is required.
Jurisdiction :
Though the General Assembly can discuss any issue affecting international peace and security, it cannot discuss any matter falling within the domestic jurisdiction of any member state. Since the General Assembly is not a world parliament, its de ions are not obligatory but only recommendatory in character. Members States are free to accept or reject the decision of the General Assembly.
Question 10.
Discuss the Security Council and its composition and functions.
Answer:
The Security Council functions as the executive wing of the UNO. As long as there is unanimity among, the Big Five, this organ can function very effectively and efficiently. Article 7 of the Charter states that the Security Council like the General Assembly is a primary organ of the UNO.
Composition:
Despite all claims of equality among large and small nations made in the Chapter, there is no denying the fact that the Security Council is built along the core of Big
Powers:
Membership in the Security Council is of two kinds – permanent and elective [non-permanent]. The five permanent members are named in Article 23 of the charter. They are – the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, France, and China, are the big five.
It is important to observe that till 1971 the China seat in the Security Council was represented by Nationalist China based in Taiwan, but since 1971 this seat has been allotted to Communist China based in Beijing. Similarly, with the dissolution of the USSR [Soviet Union] in 1991 with the end of the cold war, the USSR seat is at present represented by Russia
Functions:
The functions of the Security Council are:
- To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
- To investigate any dispute which might lead to international friction.
- To formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments.
- To call upon members to apply economic sanctions against a potential aggressor nation so as to prevent actual aggression.
- To take military action against the aggressor.
- To recommend the admission of new members
- To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and together with the General Assembly to elect the judges of the International Court of Justice.
- To submit annual and special reports to the General Assembly.
Question 11.
Explain ECOSOC and its functions.
Answer:
The ECOSOC consists of 54 members. The General Assembly elects by a vote of two t s majority present and voting the members of the ECOSOC for three-year terms. Retiring members are eligible for immediate re-election. Eighteen members retire every year and every member state is entitled to one representative. Though there are no permanent members in the ECOSOC, in actual practice the Big Five and medium-range powers like India, Canada and Yugoslavia are frequently re-elected.
Functions:
- To be responsible under the authority of the General Assembly, for the economic and social activities of the United Nations.
- To initiate studies, reports, and recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related matters.
- To promote respect for and observance
of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. - To call international conferences and prepare draft conventions for submission to the General Assembly on matters within its competence.
- To negotiate agreements with the specialized agencies, defining their relationship with the U.N.
- To coordinate the activities of specialized agencies of the U.N. and to obtain reports from them.
The most significant of all its activities, however, is its persistent concern for human rights. Since 1960 ECOSOC has remained busy in solving the problems of and fulfilling the aspirations of developing nations. A structure like the General Assembly ofthe United Nations, the ECOSOC which has been authorized by the provisions of the Charter to establish as many subsidiary organs as may be necessary for the fulfillment of its functions, has set up a cobweb of commissions and committees.
Thus the ECOSOC works through commissions, committees, and various other subsidiary bodies.
There are seven functional commissions:
- The Statistical Commission.
- Population Commission
- Commission For Social Development.
- Commission on Human Rights.
- Commission on the Status of Women.
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
- Commission on Commodity Trade.
There is also a sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of minorities which works under the direction of the Commission on Human Rights.
Regional Economic Commissions:
The ECOSOC has set up five regional commissions which study the economic problems of their respective regions and recommend courses of action related to economic development, such as electric power, inland transport, and trade promotion.
These commissions are:
- Economic Commission for Europe [ECE]. This was established in 1947 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It was set up in 1947 with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Economic Commission for Latin America. Set up in 1948, it has its headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
- Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Economic Commission for Western Asia was established with headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon.
Besides, there are six standing committees:
- Programme and Coordination
- Natural Resources.
- Non-Governmental Organisations
- Inter-government Agencies
- Transnational Corporations and
- Human Rights.
Question 12.
What are the Trusteeship Council and state its objectives?
Answer:
The Trusteeship Council evolved from the idea of the die Mandates system of the League of Nations. Article 7 of the charter states that the Trusteeship Council shall be a primary organ of the United Nations. But like the ECOSOC, the Trusteeship Council to does not have an independent jurisdiction. It is directly subordinated to two of her primary organs like the General Assembly and the Secretary Council.
There are two types of Trust territories:
- Strategic Trust Territory,
- Non-strategic Trust Territory.
The Security Council and the Trusteeship Council supervise the functioning of the Strategic Trust Territory. Till 1994 there was only one group of trust territories in the North Pacific Ocean and they are the Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline Islands. In 1994 the islands became the Republic of Belau, hence there are no strategic trust territories at present.
The General Assembly and the Trusteeship Council are the supervising authorities of the Non-strategic Trust territories. At present, there are no strategic trust territories since all such territories have attained independence The Trusteeship Council was set up to supervise and administer trust territories placed under its disposal by individual agreements.
Chapter XII of the UN charter provides for an international trusteeship system that shall apply to
- Territories held under the mandate of the League of Nations after the First World War, like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine have all attained independence except Palestine which is now under Israeli occupation,
- Territories that may be detached from ex-enemy states as a result of the Second World War. The territory of Somaliland taken from Italy came under this category
- Territories are voluntarily placed under the System by states responsible for their administration. No such territory was voluntarily brought by any of the former colonial powers under the trusteeship system.
The objectives of the Trusteeship system are:
- To further international peace and security.
- To promote political, economic, social, and educational advancement.
- To promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all the people of the trust areas.
- To provide equal treatment for all the countries in respect of social, economic, and commercial interests in the administration of justice.
- To promote the peoples of the area concerned to self-government or ‘ independence in accordance with the provisions of the Trusteeship Agreement for the territory.
Question 13.
Discuss the functions and compositions of the Trusteeship Council.
Answer:
Functions:
The function of the Trusteeship Council is to supervise the administration of Trust territories. In carrying out this function, the council is authorized:
- To formulate a questionnaire on the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of Trust territories on the basis of which the Administering Authority is to make annual reports.
- To examine and discuss reports from Administering Authorities.
- To examine the petition in consultation.
- To expand the agreed upon with the Administering Authorities.
Composition:
The composition of the Trusteeship Council is based on three factors:
All the administering powers are to be represented on the Trusteeship Council. All the permanent members of the security council which is not have administering powers are also to be represented on the Trusteeship Council. The elective members of the Trusteeship Council are elected by the General Assembly.
Altogether there were 11 Trust territories of which 10 were designated as non-strategic trust territories and was designated as strategic trust territory. By January 31, 1968, all non-strategic trust territories had gained independence, leaving only the five permanent members of the Security Council as members of the Trusteeship Council.
In 1994 the only strategic trust territory too gained independence, hence the Trusteeship Council, with no business to perform, has become non-functional. Its works completed, the Trusteeship Council now consists of the five-year permanent members of the Security Council and it has amended its rules of procedure to allow it to meet as and when occasion requires.
Question 14.
Discuss the Jurisdiction of the Court of International Court of Justice.
Answer:
It is important to note that only states and not individuals can be parties before the court. But the greatest deficiency of the court lies in the fact that, unlike national legal systems, the ICJ does not have compulsory jurisdiction. In other words, its decisions are only recommendatory and not obligatory or binding in character.
Very often the Security Council may recommend that a legal dispute be referred to the court. The General Assembly and the Security Council can also ask the court for an advisory opinion on any legal question. Besides, other organs of the UN and specialized agencies can refer the court for an advisory opinion. Normally the maximum number of references to the court seeking advisory opinion is made by the General Assembly.
Guiding Principles :
The court while deciding disputes submitted to it in accordance with Article 3 8 of the statute, shall be guided by:
- International conventions establish rules recognized by the contesting states.
- International customary law.
- General Principles of law recognized by nations.
- Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations. At times the court may decide a particular case by deviating from strict law but in a spirit of conciliation, compromise and friendliness, provided the parties concerned agree to such a method.
Decisions by the Court:
Despite several weaknesses and loopholes, the ICJ has played a significant role in the growth of the international legal system. Perhaps the most outstanding, contribution made by the ICJ is in the field of systematic codification of international, law. Important decisions of the court can be seen in the following cases, to name only a few:
- The Asylum case.
- The Right to Passage Over Indian Territory case.
- Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Case.
- The Corfu Channel case.
Question 15.
Discuss the position of the Secretary-General and its functions.
Answer:
The Secretary-General is not the co-employee of the Staff of the Secretariat and there exists a gulf between the Secretary- 5. General and other members of the Secretariat. The members of the Secretariat are appointed by the Secretary-General in accordance with the rules established by the General Assembly.
In their appointment, promotion, and separation from service, the Secretary-General has considerable powers, The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the UN, and the staff members are drawn from more than 100 countries. The members of the staff being international civil servants are expected to fulfill their functions impartially.
The major functions of the Secretary-General are:
- To be the chief administrative officer of the organization.
- To act as Secretary to all the major delegate bodies of the United Nations.
- To perform functions assigned to him by the General Assembly, the Secretary Council, the ECOSOC, and the Trusteeship Council.
- To furnish annual reports to the General Assembly on the functioning of the organization.
- To appoint members of the staff of the Secretariat.
- To take initiative in bringing any matter before the Secretary Council war according to him might constitute a threat to international peace and Secretary.
In actual practice, the role of the Secretary-General has far increased in scope. And has gone much beyond the expectations of the makers of the charter Instead of being merely the chief. Administrative officer, he has become the most important political officer of the UN who constantly exerts himself for the preservation and maintenance of international peace and security.
Thus functions today may be classified under three categories
- political functions
- representative functions,
- administrative functions.
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