the UN key and simple

when was the UN founded

in 1945 after WWII

how many member states are in the UN

193

what are the four main roles/aims of the UN

1. peace and security

2. humanitarian aid

3. human rights

4. environmental governance

give an example of how the UN failed in peace and security

• Rwanda Genocide

discuss the Rwanda Genocide

• target killing of Tutsi population

• around 800,000 people killed in 100 days

• peacekeeping troops were not allowed to intervene militarily

give an example of how the UN improved after Rwanda in peacekeeping

South Sudan

discuss South Sudan conflict

• 18,000 troops were deployed

• UN troops actively protected civilians

• however… UN couldn’t fully stop the conflict, so it had limited effectiveness

give an example of the UN providing humanitarian aid

• Yemen crisis

• UN provided food aid to millions

• UN provided vaccination programmes

• shows the UN directly saving lives

what organisations within the UN are involved in humanitarian aid

• UNICEF and World Food Programme (these were involved in Yemen)

what declaration by the UN protects human rights

the universal declaration of human rights (1948)

how does the UN enforce human rights

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• investigations into human rights abuse globally

what are the limitations to the UN trying to enforce human rights

• UN cannot enforce rules, and it instead relies on voluntary compliance

what agreement was made by the UN in 2015 to support environmental governance

the Paris Agreement 2015

how does the UN support environmental governance

• Paris Agreement

• facilitates global negotiations about the environment (COP meetings)

• encourages strong international cooperation

give some limitations of the UN in environmental governance

• no enforcement power

• countries set their own targets (e.g. the UK’s target is to be net zero by 2050)

• not legally binding

who are the members of the security council

USA, UK, France, Russia, China

evaluate the UN Security Council

• veto power limits fairness and makes decision making dominated by powerful countries

• leads to power imbalances

how does a lack of enforcement from the UN limit its effectiveness

• it cannot force countries to act

• depends on cooperation

what does the Un generally do well

aid and dialogue

what is the UN less effective at doing

conflict prevention