SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1954
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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United
Nation's
Strength
A ssessed
on
UN Day'
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Organization, Background,
Function of UN Reviewed.
By MARY ANN THOMAS
As a concept the United Nations has existed in the hearts of men
from the time of the ancient Greeks when city-states united in an
Athenian League for their mutual protection.
As a ,reality the United Nations is still in its infancy, with just
eight years of experience behind it.
As the Athenian League was formed for protection, so was the
present-day world organization, but with important differences.
Fifty nations representing nearly two billion people resolved on
June 26, 1945, "to combine our efforts" to make a secure and better
world through "an international organization to be known as the United
Nations."
Charter Signed
After four years of hope and prep-
aration the Charter was signed.
The famed Atlantic Charter laid
the foundations for the United Na-
tions. Issued during the summer of
1941 by Winston Churchill and
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the docu-
ment asked for abandonment of
the use of force and expressed fa-
vor in some type of international
organization.
Next step in forming the UN was
the declaration of the Allies in
January of 1942 that stated that
none would sue for a separate
peace at the end of World War II
but that they would organize.
Moscow Declaration
Drawing closer to realizing ful-
fillment of their hopes, the Big
Four (Great Britain, France, So-
viet Union and the United States)
issued the Moscow Declaration rec-
ognizing the need to establish an
international organization based on
the principle of sovereign equality
of peacelovinghstates.
Finally at the Dumbarton Oaks
Conference in 1944 the framework
>t of the United Nations was drawn
up to be affirmed at the historic
San Francisco Conference in 1945.
Purposes of the world organiza-
tion as outlined in the Charter are
to maintain peace and security, to
develop friendly relations between
nations, to create international co-
operation on economic and social
problems and to be the center for
harmonizing the actions of nations
in achieving these ends.
Six Main Organs
To cope with the intricate prob-
lem of carrying out these purposes,
the United Nations has a detailed
organization consisting of six main
organs-the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and
Social Council, the Trusteeship
Council, the International Court of
Justice and the Secretariat.
The heart of the UN is the Gen-
eral Assembly. Made up of all
members who have one vote, this
body is a discussion group and not
designed to take action on issues.
' However, since anything can be
brought up for consideration, it is
termed the conscience of the world.
At the time of the Korean War
an important implement of power
was given to the General Assem-
bly. A resolution by Dean Acheson
enables the Assembly to take im-
mediate action on any serious mat-'
ter if the Security Council fails to
take action.
This power enables the delibera-
tive body to circumvent the veto
of important matters in the upperl
council.
The Security Council is the ac-+
tion body although its action has
been seriously hampered by the
veto. It consists of eleven members
of which five are permanent. Non-
permanent members chosen by the
General Assembly serve two years
with overlapping terms.
Intricate Voting System
Voting in the Security is an in-
tricate system. Seven positive
votes are necessary to pass pro-
cedural or substantive motions.
The weakness of the system lies
in the rule that the five permanent
members must agree on substan-
tive motions. Disproval by one per-
manent member constitutes the
veto.
This is the only body that is giv-
en power to preserve the peace. It
can use arbitration, wage economic
sanctions with embargoes or it
may resort to military force and
call upon members to contribute
troops.
The Secretariat performs all the
business of the world organization.
In many aspects itcan be called
the most influential body in the
UN. The difficulty in appointing a
successor to Trygve Lie testifies to
the importance of the Secretary-
General. Appointment of Swedish
diplomat Dag Hammarskjold to
the post came after many months
of argument and arbitration.
Economic and Social Council
Working under the authority of
the General Assembly, the Eco-
nomic and Social Council organ-
izes technical assistance to needy
areas of the world. It makes stud-
ies, reports and recommendations
on international economic, social,
cultural, educational, and health
matters and also with respect to'
human rights.
This group is composed of eigh-
teen member states, six of whom
are elected each year by the Gen-
eral Assembly for a three-year
term.
To ensure that member states
who govern territories carry out
their obligation to promote "polit-
ical, economic, social and educa-
tional advancement, the Charter
set up the Trusteeship Council.
Sixth main body of the United
Nations is the International Court
of Justice. Set up after the first
worldwar with its own statute,
the Court is an annex to the UN
charter. Sitting at The Hague, the
World Court consists of fifteen
judges elected independently by
the Security Council and the Gen-
eral Assembly.
Every member state of the UN
has automatic access to the Court
and is pledged to comply with any
decision of the body.
Professors
Analyze UN
Progress
(EDITOR'S NOTE - The following
comment story is a general appraisal
of the United Nations; the progress
it has made as well as its shortcom-
ings.)
By RONA FRIEDMAN
"The United Nations, as an in-
ternational organization, can be as
strong as. its members wish to
make it," Prof. N. Marbury Efim-
enco of the Political Science de-
partment, pointed out.
"It is not essential that we
change the machinery of the UN.
The basic issue is whether we are
psychologically ready to cooperate
under the present set-up," Prof.
Efimenco continued.
The fault does not lie with the
UN but the "burden of proof must
be placed on the nations them-
selves."
Similar opinions were voiced by
Prof. Philip Taylor, Prof. Daniel
Wit and Robert Curtis, all of the
political science department.
By-Pass UN
In the area of peace and inter-
national security, the success of
the United Nations has been lim-
ited, because the major nations
have by-passed it too frequently,
taking their disputes outside the
organization, Curtis commented.
The Geneva, London and Ber-
lin Conferences were mentioned
as examples of great power meet-
ings held outside the UN in the
traditional pre-UN style.
"The United Nations was not
intended to be a world govern-
ment when it was created and
therefore it would not be possible
to revise the UN at present to be a
world government," Prof. Wit said.
This is because the Soviet Union
and the United States both indi-
cate their preference to organize
on a regional basis and not a
world basis," he continued.
"The Korean War offered some
hope for collective action," he add-
ed, "but it indicates the possibili-
ties rather than a firm basis for
future police action."
World Police Force
At present a world police force
would be impossible, Prof. Wit
feels, because to be effective the
force would have to be more pow-
erful than the individual members
and they would never agree to
this.
Another explanation of the in-
effectiveness of the UN in dealing
with certain basic issues, was giv-
en by Prof. Taylor.
The UN supports the 1945 stat-
us quo in a territorial as well as
legal sense, Prof. Taylor comment-
ed. These principles which underly
the UN Charter also provide the
basis of United States foreign pol-
icy.
Thus close affiliation on terms
of law and principles commits the
United States to support UN pol-
icy, he explained.
USSR Violates Principles
The only attacker of the status
quo is the Soviet Union which has
violated territorial settlement and
By DAVE BAAD
United Nations architects de-
signed the UN General Assembly
Hall to accommodate 90 delega-
tions instead of the 60 that pres-
ently belong to the organization.
If present attitudes p e r s i s t
among UN members extra Assem-
bly Hall seats will be available for
some time to come.
Within a few weeks the Assem-
bly's Special Political Committee
will again discuss the possibility
of admitting new countries but
there is little hope in United Na-
tions circles that additions will be
made.
Twenty-one Fail
Twenty-one countries have failed
thus far to win approval of mem-
bership applications. To be ad-
mitted the nation's application
must be supported by seven votes
in the Security Council and be ap-
proved by the General Assembly.
Fourteen states supported by the
West consistently meet a Soviet
veto while Russia's seven proteges
are unable to get the seven votes
necessary for Security Council ap-
proval. The West always abstains
from voting.
The 21 countries include West
supported Finland, Ireland, Portu-
JUN Membership Applications
Blocked by Security Council
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER issues a "United Nations Day" proclamation and asks for a better
public understanding of UN achievements and problems.
supported Finland, Ireland, Portu-
the rights of individuals before
the state, he continued.
The USSR can not accept these
principles and this is the basic
reason why certain issues have
not been resolved in the UN.
"The Soviet Union can be com-
pared to a potential criminal on
a police force which is the rea-
son why that police force is not
more effective," he said.
Major Achievements
"The major achievements that
the UN has made have been in
social and economic areas," said
Prof. Efimenco. The record of
achievements has been quite re-
markable, slowly building a sphere
of new world order, though it
doesn't make headlines and has
not been given the proper public-
ity."
Prof. E f i m en co mentioned
UNESCO, World Health, FAO as
successful examples of the work
being done in the social and econo-
mic fields by the UN adding "sur-
vival depends on this work.
"However, the great problem is
to have peaceful coexistence con-
tinue so that the world is not
destroyed in the meantime," he
commented. If this progress con-
tinues for half a century, there
will be a stable world community
with a general higher standard of
living.
"The shift of emphasis from the
Security Council to General As-
sembly which was not intended by
the original charter, is not a fail-
ure by the UN but a constructive
development," he said.1
were pointed out by Prof. Tay-
lor. "For the first time there is
an international organization that
is partly devoted to the problems
of the smaller nations."
There is also a new moral cli-
mate in international relations,
exemplified by the Trusteeship
Council which has been partially
successful in obtaining reports
from the major nations on the
progress which their colonies are
making towards independence, he
commented.
Comparing the UN to the former
League of Nations, Prof. Wit
pointed out that some of the ma-
chinery of the UN is stronger than
that of the League. However, all
the improvements are ultimately
based on the agreement of the
great powers, he continued.
The success of both the League
and the UN was dependent on the
unanimity of the great powers.
For both could not coerce a great
power, he said.
Today there is more hope that
an international organization will
succeed for the situation is more
desperate with the threat of ano-
ther world war and hydrogen
bombs, he concluded.
Stateless Persons
Italy is the 18 country to sign
the Convention Relating to Sta-
tus of Stateless Persons opened for
signature on Sept. 28.
The Convention provides cer-
tain minimum standards of treat-
ment for persons who have no link
BAT GALIM:
Arab-Israeli Peace Efforts
Halted by Ship Controversy
gal, Italy, Libya, Jordan, Nepal,
Laos, Cambodia, Ceylon, Japan,
Austria, South Korea and South
Viet Nam.
Russia is in favor of admitting
the Mongolian People's Republic,
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Al-
bania, North Korea, and North
Viet Nam.
Examine Two Proposals
Last year the Assembly exam-
ined two proposals to break the
new membership deadlock.
Latin American states advocated
an interpretation of the UN char-
ter, allowing the Assembly to by-
pass the Security Council and take
definite action itself. The proposal
received little support.
When this failed Russia suggest-
ed a package deal admitting all
the 21 states at once except the
two Korean states, the four Indo-
China states and Japan.
Offer Turned Down
The West turned this down so
Russia as a last resort asked for
admittance of the five countries
which had signed the 1946 World
War II peace treaty in Europe,
Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Hungary
and Romania.
With all concrete plans rejected
the Assembly set tip a Committee
of Good Offices "empowered to
consult with members of the Se-
curity Council with object of ex-
ploring possibilities of reaching an
understanding which would facili-
tate admission of new members
in accordance with Article Four of
the UN Charter."
Committee members included
Egypt, Netherlands and Peru.
The deadlock, however shows no
signs of breaking during this ses-
sion. United States officials will
not agree to a package deal as
long as West Germany, Japan and
Spain are excluded.
The United States is afraid that
these countries will be kept from
membership permanently if they
are not brought in with the next
admission arrangement.
The United States is instead ad-
vocating an interim ;solution en-
abling certain countries to take
part in Assembly debate without a
vote.
British officials have been cgpl
to this however, and so have many
countries who would supposedly
benefit by the solution. Affected
countries speak of responsibility
without authority and of 'second
class' membership which the idea
entails.
'Toughest Job'
When Dag Hommarskjold, Swed-
ish diplomat, became Secretary
General of the United Nations in
1953, he assumed one of the world
diplomacy's highest posts and also
-in *the words of his predecessor,
Tyrgve Lie-"the most impossible
job in the world."
When the United Nations Gener-
al Assembly adopted a modified
plan to partition Israel on Nov. 29,
1947, no means of enforcing the
recommendation was provided.
The British Mandate of Pales-
tine ended at midnight, May 14,
1948 and the State of Israel was
proclaimed. The next day forces
from Egypt, Jordan and Iraqbe-
gan to move into Palestine.
The outcome of the Arab-Israel
struggle left four unsolved prob-
lems:
Four Problems
1) Lack of final peace settle-
ment; 2) A zig-zag frontier which
causes continual disputes; 3) Re-
sponsibility for Arab refugees; and
4) Settlement of the final status
of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Premier Moshe Sharett of Israel
appealed to Arab nations on Sept.
27 for a peace settlement, agreeing
to: Arab transit and free port fa-
cilities in Haifa; allow Arab states
in Africa and Asia to use Israel as
a link without infringing upon Is-
raeli sovereignty; and set up a
compensation project for Arab ref-
ugees in Palestine.
However, the efforts to establish
some type of peaceful settlement
between Israel and the Arab states
was blocked by incidents of Sept.
29, when Israel accused Egypt of
seizing an Israel merchant vessel,
the Bat Galim, in the Suez Canal
area.
Demands Crew Release
Israel's Permanent Representa-
tive to the United Nations, Abba
Eban, demanded that the ship and
its crew of ten men be released,
and on Oct. 4 called for an early
meeting of the Security Council
to consider the complaint of alleged
Egyptian interference with ship-
ping in the Suez Canal.
However, a few days later, and
before discussion began in the Se-
curity Council, Egypt lodged a
complaint with the UN Egyptian-
Israeli Mixed Armistice Commis-
sion, maintaining that the Bat Ga-
lim was seized after it fired on
Egyptian fishing boats in territor-
ial waters near the port of Suez.
This was denied by Representa-
tive Abban, who asserted that the
only firearms aboard the Israeli
merchant vessel was the captain's
pistol.
After a meeting to hear both
sides on Oct. 14, the Security Coun-
cil postponed further debate until
a report from the Egyptian-Israeli
M i x e d ,Armistice .Commission,
which is making an on-the-spot in-
vestigation, is submitted.
Other achievements of the UN I of nationality with any state.
............vestigation,..is-submitted.-
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