increase in the total number of internationally-recognized states after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia. Paradoxically,
two of the then Soviet republics, Belarus and Ukraine, became full and
independent members of the UN from its inception as part of a political
compromise made to retain the joint membership of both the USA and the
Soviet Union. Given that the vital first few years of the UN coincided with the
worst of the earlycold wardays the continued membership of bothsuper-
powerswas quite an achievement. By contrast, until 1971 the ‘China’ that
occupied a seat at the UN was not the communist People’s Republic of China
(PRC), the major world power led byMao Zedong, but the island Republic
of China (Taiwan), as the USA refused to recognize the mainland govern-
ment.
The UN’s wartime origins show also in its basic organization. The most
important organ of the UN is the Security Council, in permanent session and
charged with maintenance of international peace and security, including
calling on the member states to put together peace-keeping forces to monitor
cease-fires or conflicts in specific disputes. Peace-keeping forces are allowed to
use their weapons only in self-defence, but ultimately the Security Council
may sanction a full military operation. The body has 15 members, of which
five are permanent. They are, in effect, the main victorious allies of the Second
World War, the USA, Russia (having inherited the seat of the Soviet Union
upon its dissolution in 1991) the UK, France and the PRC. Until the PRC
replaced Taiwan in 1971, therefore, this insignificant island was actually a
permanent member of the Security Council. Even since then the second-tier
powers of the UK and France have retained permanent membership, while
equal or superior powers, at least in economic terms, such as Germany and
Japan, only serve for two-year periods as and when elected. As the five
permanent members each have an absolute veto on Security Council resolu-
tions, the international power balance has been effectively freeze-framed at
1945, and any one of them has been able to block effective UN action, and
frequently has. Since the collapse of the superpower status of the Soviet Union
there has been evidence of a new world order, in which the greater recognition
of global common interests has greatly reduced the tendency for one or other
of the permanent members to use their veto. The first mark of this was the
Council’s ability to recruit a force, under US leadership, to fight theGulf War
after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. As the USA involved itself in a self-declared
‘war on terrorism’ after the attacks on its territory in September 2001, it spared
no effort to ensure UN support for as much of its activity as possible. It was
quite clear, however, that both the USA and its main ally the UK would not be
deterred from acting without a UN mandate were that unavailable.
The other main organ, the General Assembly, consists of all members and
can debate and pass resolutions on any matter covered by the Charter, except
United Nations (UN)