Chapter 25: International Relations

​INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

​International Relations refers to the cooperation or interaction between individuals or groups of nations of the world

​Benefits of international relations

1. Enhance peace and security in the world the diplomatic policies of nations call for peaceful settlement of disputes, thus reducing war incidences.
2. Promote understanding and unity. This done through Encouraging cultural exchange between nations.
3. Help in getting collectives solutions to world problems. Problems of global concern like desertification, global warming, armament and environmental pollution, are dealt with collectively.
4. Promote economic growth through trade. Due to good relations , there is expanded international trade which enables countries to acquire goods they don’t produce
5. Developing countries get financial assistance. Developed nations have continued to
6. ​provide financial and technical assistance to developing nations

​Ways in which nations relate internationally.

1. Economic relations. This is through trade and commercial activities among nations. For example, developed nations giving loans and grants to developing nations.
2. Diplomatic relations. This is a peaceful means of relationship between nations in which there is exchange of Ambassadors or High Commissioners.
3. Political relations. This involves cooperation between countries with similar political systems or ideologies. E.g. USA and Western Europe, in 1964, Tanganyika united with the island of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
4. ​Socio-cultural relations. This takes place in form of exchange and competition between dance troops, musicians, acrobats, sports teams, theatre groups etc, e.g. participation in Commonwealth Games.

​International Organizations

There are two types of international organizations;

1. International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) for example UN, Commonwealth, NAM and African Union.( formed by two or more sovereign states). 
2. International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) created by individuals or private organizations. E.g. International Red cross, Amnesty International and Transparency International.

​Role played by International Governmental Organizations.

1. The provide member states with a forum to consult and tackle problems of concern. 
2. They act as regulators in their fields to ensure the welfare of Humankind e.g World Health Organization (WHO) regulates health sector through immunization, vaccination and other prevention campaigns.
3. They enhance peace and security through peace-keeping missions and response to disasters.
4. They contribute to charity and facilitate equitable distribution of resources in the world. For example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank advance loans to developing nations.

​THE UNITED NATIONS

The UN was founded after world war Two as an organization of independent states with the following objectives;

1. To promote and maintain international peace and security and prevent the occurrence of another world war.
2. To foster friendly relations among nations of the world.
3. To promote respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms.
4. To promote social progress and better living standards of the people.
5. To protect the interests of minority groups such as women and children.
6. To promote economic growth among member states who are working towards reconstructing the world economy that was destroyed by the World War 2.
7. ​To replace the league of nations which had collapsed before the outbreak of world war 2

Formation of the United Nations

The signing of the Allied declaration in London on 12th June 1941 marked the first step in the formation of the UN. On 14th August 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt of USA and Winston Churchill of Britain, meeting in USA, proposed a set of principles for international collaboration in maintaining peace and security. This was the Atlantic Charter. The charter pledged respect for human Freedom, Allowed all nations the freedom to choose the form of government they preferred and provided that no territory should change hands after war without consent of its people.
On 1st January 1942, representatives of Allied nations meeting in Washington signed the
 
‘Declaration by United Nations’ and proclaimed support for the Atlantic Charter This marked the first official use of the term ‘United Nations’ as suggested by President Roosevelt in reference to the 26 nations
 
The first Blueprint of the UN was prepared at a conference held at Dumbarton Oaks Estate, Washington from 21st September to 7th October 1944. Representatives of USSR, USA, UK and China agreed on the aims, structure and functions of a world organization. On 11th February 1945, the Yalta Conference held by US president Roosevelt, UK PM Churchill and Russian PM Stalin declared the resolve to establish an international organization to maintain peace and security.
 
On 25th April 1945, the United Nations Conference on International Organization began in San Francisco, USA attended by delegates from 50 nations. It drew a 111-Article Charter which was adopted on 25th June 1945.
 
The UN began its official functions on 24th October 1945 after ratification of the charter by USSR, USA, Britain, China and France.

​Organization of the UNO

Membership to the UN is open to all peace-loving nations that accept the obligations of the charter. By 1945, only 51 states had signed the charter. Kenya Joined on 16th December 1963. By April 2003 membership had grown to 191 states. 
To achieve its aims, the UN spelt out in its charter the following principles;

1. It is based on the sovereign equality of all its members.
2. All member states must fulfil, in good faith, their charter obligations.
3. All member states must settle international disputes by peaceful means and without endangering peace, security and justice.
4. They must refrain, in their international relations, from the threat or use of force against others.
5. They must give the United Nations every assistance to any action it takes in accordance with the charte`r, and shall not assist states against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
6. The United Nations must ensure that states which are not members act in accordance with these principles insofar as necessary for maintenance of international peace and security.

The UNO structure comprises six principal organs as follows;

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​THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

This is the main deliberative organ of the UNO, but which cannot enforce action on members. It comprises all member states. 
Functions of the UN General Assembly
*****MAKE REFERENCE TO EVOLVING WORLD PAGE 44
To help in its operation, the general assembly has the following committees;
The political and security committee, the special political committee, the economic and financial committee, the committee on social ,humanitarian and cultural issues, the trusteeship committee , the administration/budget committee and the legal affairs committee.

​THE SECURITY COUNCIL

It has 15 members from 15 countries. Ten of these are non-permanent. It also has five permanent members namely china, France, USA, Russia and UK. 
Its main function is to maintain world peace and security.

​ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Its membership is 54. 18 are elected each year for a term of three years. 
Its function is to coordinate the economic and social work of UN and its specialized agencies. E.g. in trade, status of women, Population, science and technology

​TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

It inherited the work of the Mandates Commission of the former League of Nations. It had responsibility over the territories under colonial rule-. - To promote social, economic, political and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories. 
Consists of five permanent members and six additional ones appointed by the General Assembly

​THE SECRETARIAT

​The head of the secretariat is the secretary general. It has its headquarters in New York. Its staff members come from 139 countries. Its work covers all areas outlined in the UN Charter.

​THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

​It has its headquarters at Hague. It is the principal judicial body of the UN. It gives advisory opinions on legal questions. It has 15 judges.

​SPECIALIZED AGENCIES

These are separate specialized agencies which are autonomous organizations related to the UN by special agreements. (REF TO PAGE 49 OF EVOLVING WORLD) 
Past Secretary Generals of the United Nations Organization since its inception 

1. Trygve lie of Norway (1946-1953).
2. Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden (1953-1961)
3. U Thant of Burma (1961-1971)
4. Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1972-1982)
5. Javier Perez de Cueller of Peru (1982-1991)
6. Boutros Ghali Boutros. Of Egypt (1992-1996)
7. Kofi Annan of Ghana (1997-2000)
8. ​Ban Ki Moon.(2000 up to present)

​Achievements of the United Nations Organization

1. The organization has succeeded in keeping peace amid the threats of nuclear war and seemingly endless regional conflicts in the world. UNO has developed more than 35 peacekeeping missions and observer nations.
2. The UN specialized agencies are engaged in a vast array of social work, affecting positively, every aspect of people’s lives around the world. E.g., child survival and development, environmental protection, medical research, agricultural development, education etc.
3. The organization has helped in promoting democracy around the world. It has enabled people in more than 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections, e.g. in Namibia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Eritrea, Mozambique, South Africa etc.
4. The UNO has promoted development of skills and potentials vital for all aspects of development. The UNDP, in close co-operation with over 170 member states and the UN agencies designs and implements projects for agriculture, industry, education and environment.
   
5. It has helped in promotion of Human Rights. Since the adoption of the universal declaration of human rights in 1948, the UN has helped to enact more than 80 agreements on political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.
6. It has played a vital role in environmental protection. ‘The Earth Summit’, the UN
7. Conference On Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro in 1992, resulted in treaties on biodiversity and climate change
8. Promoting self-determination and independence. The organization has brought about independence of 80 countries that are now among its member states.
9. Providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflicts. More than 30 million refugees fleeing war, famine or persecution have received aid from the UN high commission for refugees since 1951.

​Problems facing the United Nations Organization in its operation

1. National sovereignty. Many countries disregard the UNO resolutions in favour of their sovereignty.
2. It is unable to stop aggressions and conflicts between individual countries when superpowers are involved.
3. Lacks sufficient funds to carry out its work efficiently. E.g it has not always been able to send enough peacekeeping forces due to lack of sufficient funds.
4. It lacks an effective machinery to affect its decisions. It also lacks a standing army to implement and effect its resolutions.
5. The permanent members with veto powers often adopt policies that promote their own national interests at the expense of the collective interests of most countries in the world.
6. Loyalty to other organizations. UNO members are also members of other organizations; the interests of these organizations are not in accord with those of the UNO.
7. Ideological disputes among member states have hampered the work of UNO in promoting world peace. This was manifested in the cold war period.
8. The arms race. The UNO has found it difficult to achieve world peace because of the arms race in different parts of the world. The arms race generates and sustains conflict rather than peace.
9. Differences in economic development levels of member states militate against co-operation.
10. The increased occurrence of natural disasters such as famine, floods and epidemics has created an unexpected demand for economic resources. This automatically the UN’s resources. 

THE COMMONWEALTH
Origin and structure of Commonwealth of Nations

It is a voluntary association of 54 sovereign countries around the world, which were initially part of the British Empire.The commonwealth origin is the British Empire  comprising the British protectorates, colonies and dominions, which included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Newfoundland, Irish Free State and South Africa.
 
The idea to launch the association is traced back to 1839, with the publication of the Durham report.The modern commonwealth began in 1947 with the end of the British rule in India.
 
In 1949, India and Pakistan joined the commonwealth.
 
The commonwealth secretariat is based in London. It deals with day to day running of the organization and organizes meetings. The head of the commonwealth is the Queen/King of England. The Commonwealth has the Heads of State Summit which meets for a week every two years to discuss political and economic issues.
 
There are also the Ministerial meetings once after every three years to deal with different issues.
The commonwealth has specialized agencies dealing with various areas of concern.

​Membership to commonwealth

It comprised 54 developed and developing nations. The members are categorized as follows;

1. Britain and her Dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
2. African Nations.
3. Asian nations.
4. ​Islands from the Caribbean, Pacific and Mediterranean.

​Characteristics of commonwealth states

1. Members of the commonwealth use English as a common language.
2. Members maintain cultural ties. For instance, they participate in the commonwealth games every four years.
3. Members co-operate in the field of education.
4. Members recognize the queen of England as the head of commonwealth.
5. Members have a common military tradition based on the British military system. They also promote military exchange programmes.
6. Members share common democratic institutions from Britain such as parliamentary system of government.
7. Members have adopted constitutions that are almost similar.

​Objectives that led to the formation of the commonwealth nations  

1. To promote world peace and international understanding. Members are expected to abide by the UN Peace programmes.
2. To promote development of poor member states.
3. To intensify co-operation between member states, in matters of education, sport and economic development.
4. To ensure personal liberty and equality of rights to all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political beliefs.
5. To oppose all forms of colonial dominion by being committed to the principles of human dignity and equality, self-determination and non-racism.
6. To promote the exchange of knowledge, professionalism and cultural, economic, legal and political issues.
7. To fights poverty, ignorance and disease to remove wealth disparities and raise the living standards, and achieve a more equitable international society.
8. To enhance free international trade by removing trade barriers, but at the same time, giving due consideration to the special requirements of the developing countries.

​Organization of the Commonwealth

The structure of the commonwealth comprises of three organs;

1. The Head of state Summit. It meets once in every two years for a week for extensive decisions and consultations. Decisions are reached by consensus.
2. Ministerial Meetings. The commonwealth ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and defence hold regular meetings once every year. Ministers of Health, Education and Law hold meetings once every three years
3. The Commonwealth Secretariat: headed by the secretary general and with astaff of 350 drawn from member countries. It co-ordinates co-operation among members. The first secretary General was Arnold Smith of Canada. In 1990, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria became the first African Secretary General.
4. Specialized Agencies;
   
   1. The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-Operation; supplies funds, finance, experts and advisers for projects carried out in member states.
   2. The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau; it provides co-operation in the field of agriculture.
   3. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association; helps to improve relations between parliamentarians of member states.
   4. The Commonwealth Regional Health Secretariat for East, Central and Southern Africa; promotes cooperation in health.

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​Benefits of membership to Commonwealth

1. Member states have received technical expertise through the provision of experts and advisers in various fields e.g. agriculture. 
2. The developing member states of the organization have acquired skilled manpower through the provision of scholarship and setting up of training programmes by nations like Britain and Canada.
3. Member states have been able to interact with one another through activities such as the commonwealth games and cultural exchange programmes.
4. Member states have conducted trade among themselves with relative ease and this has helped them to develop their economies.
5. The organization has promoted friendship and understanding among member states through conferences such as The Heads of Government meetings.
6. ​It has enhanced democratization process in developing member states of the organization

Functions of commonwealth (REF to evolving world page 60):
Problems facing Commonwealth of Nations  

1. Differences in economic development levels of member states militate against co-operation. Members coming from developing world have very different outlook from those coming from the developed world.
2. Ideological disputes among member states have hampered the operations of the Commonwealth of Nations.
3. Lacks sufficient funds to carry out its work efficiently. Poor members normally owe many debts to their foreign masters and would therefore toe to their demands.
4. The problem of sovereignty. Many countries disregard the commonwealth resolutions in favour of their sovereignty.
5. It lacks an effective machinery to affect its decisions. It also lacks a standing army to implement and effect its resolutions.
6. Loyalty to other organizations. commonwealth members are also members of other organizations; the interests of these organizations are not in accord with those of the commonwealth
7. The colonial legacy. Many problems arising from past colonial policies have rocked the organization. E.g. the land issue in Zimbabwe.
8. The influence of other organizations like NATO who weaken the commonwealth by wooing members to their regions.
9. Race and colour problem. The conflict between white and black people or other color has become another setback.
10. ​Dominance by the big powers. This has caused dismay to the organization. Serious inner tension still undermines the commonwealth activities.

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