UN@75 Declaration

Recently, a commemorative declaration marking the 75^th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations (UN) Charter was delayed as member states could not reach an agreement on phraseology.

The Five Eyes (FVEY)— Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States— along with India, objected to the use of the phrase “shared vision of a common future”, which is associated with China. The Five Eyes (FVEY) network is an intelligence-sharing alliance between these five countries.

The ‘silence’ process was broken at the request of the U.K’s Ambassador to the UN, who wrote a letter on behalf of the six countries to the President of the 74^th General Assembly, suggesting alternative wording. Silence process is a procedure by which a resolution passes if no formal objections are raised within a stipulated time. However, China, on behalf of itself and Russia, Syria and Pakistan raised objections to the silence being broken.

The current impasse comes at a time when China’s relationships with a number of countries, including India, Australia and the U.S.A, are strained. Given the impasse, the UN General Assembly President has suggested an alternatively phrased declaration, which he has placed under the silence procedure.

75^th United Nations Day

• The United Nations (UN) will celebrate its 75^th anniversary on 24 October 2020.
  • To mark its 75^th anniversary in 2020, the UN is igniting a people’s debate: UN75.
  • Through UN75, the UN will encourage people to put their opinions together to define how enhanced international cooperation can help realize a better world by 2045.
• Each year on 24^th October, the UN celebrates its anniversary. UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter and the founding of the Organization in 1945.
• The name "United Nations" was coined by the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• The main organs of the UN are:
  • the General Assembly,
  • the Security Council,
  • the Economic and Social Council,
  • the Trusteeship Council,
  • the International Court of Justice,
  • the UN Secretariat.

The demand of Reforms at the United Nations

• Security Council Reforms: In UNSC, the permanent member countries (P5) have made the UN defunct in maintaining peace and order. Therefore, the veto powers of P5 and the composition of the UNSC must be made more representative of the current world order.

The P5 countries include China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

• Multilateralism: International relations today are characterized by the power relationships of the United States, China, Russia, India and Europe.
  • A new model of the UN must be formulated, as the current world order has changed from bipolar to unipolar to multi-polar today.
• The democratisation of UN: Developing countries like India are proposing reforms that seek to democratize the UN, such as UNSC reforms, and UN peacekeeping reforms.
• Financial Reforms: This holds the key to the future of the UN. Without sufficient resources, the UN's activities and role would suffer.