UN case study

• when and why was the UN set up?

  1945

  • to establish a peaceful and fair world
• how many member countries does it have?

  193 - has lots of authority as every country in world is a member
• what are the aims of the UN according to the UN Charter?

  • maintain global peace and security
  • develop friendly relations between nations
  • use cooperation to solve international problems
  • bring countries together to settle disputes
• what are the two organisations within the UN?

  General Assembly and Security Council
• what does the UN security council do?

  responsible for maintaining global peace and security
• what does the UN General Assembly do?

  acts as a 'parliament of nations' , makes decisions on range of issues
• how has the UN helped create growth?

  UN Millennium Development Goals - reduced number of people living in poverty , increased number of children in primary school and reduce child and maternal mortality rates
• in 2015 the UN did what?

  Adopted the Sustainable Development Goals. Set new targets for 2030
• how has the UN helped create stability?

  UN peacekeeping missions can help to end wars - peaceful elections were held in Cote d'Ivoire in 2015 after years of civil war

  • punishes countries that don't abide by international laws e.g put sanctions against Iran to deter their work on nuclear weapons
  • sanctions : blocking arms exports
• how has the UN created inequalities?

  developed countries hold the most power over decisions taken at UN

  • many global issues affect African countries the most e.g refugee crisis , NO African country has permament seat at UN security council
  • has bias against Israel in conflict - 68 / 135 resolutions targeted Israel (2006-2016)
• how has the UN created injustices?

  1995 - UN peacekeepers failed to protect 8000 people in Srebrenica in south-east EU when they were massacred by Bonsnian Serbs

  • UN's Kosovo Mission - peacekeepers - 800 counts of sexual abuse , 70 of murder
• has the UN reached their development goal for education?

  PARTIALLY

  • 2015 - 2021 : global primary school completion increased from 85% to 87% , upper secondary completion rose from 53% to 58%
  • YET 1 in 6 countries will achieve secondary school completion target by 2023 , 300 million students will lack basic numeracy and literacy skills to succeeded in life
• has the UN reached their development goal for poverty?

  PARTIALLY

  • global poverty rate decreased by an average of 1.1% each year - 11% in 2014
  • YET 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty , only 1/3 of countries will halved their national poverty level by 2030
• what is the jurisdictional gap?


  gap in increasing need for global governence and lack of authority with power to take action
• what is the incentive gap?


  gap between need for international cooperation and motivation to undertake it. The gap is closing as globalisation provides increasing impetus for countries to cooperation - concerns for Africa losing influence on global governance processes due lacking behind economically
• what is the participation gap?


  The participation gap refers to the difference in levels of involvement or engagement between different groups of people, often due to factors like access, skills, or resources.