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purposes of the Organization and given specific powers to see to it that the parts function progressively towards the accomplishment of such purposes. The success of world organization is dependent upon its growth in prestige and effectiveness.

The Assembly admits members to the Organization, upon the recommendation of the Security Council. It suspends members who do not fulfill their obligations under the Charter. It elects the nonpermanent members of the Security Council. It elects the members of the Social and Economic Council. It assists in the election of the justices of the World Court. It elects the Secretary General upon the recommendation of the Security Council, and establishes the regulations for the Secretariat. It is responsible for the trusteeship system for non-self-governing peoples and development of such peoples toward self-government.

The Assembly is responsible for the financing of the Organization. It apportions the costs among the nations. It examines and makes recommendations on the budgets of the various specialized agencies with a view toward the coordination of all the parts.

Throughout the text of the Charter, time after time, the Assembly is charged with initiating studies and recommending and encouraging international cooperation including the principles of disarmament. It must approve the way in which new agencies are brought into the Organization. It is charged with promoting the progressive development of international law and its codification.

The powers of the Assembly to discuss and recommend are inherently great. The Assembly has the right to discuss and recommend on "any matter within the scope of the Charter," except that it may not discuss or recommend on a dispute when it is under consideration by the Security Council.

What is "right" and what is "wrong" in international behavior is at present only partially defined. It is the duty of the Assembly through its debates, its recommendations, and its other responsibilities, to build constructive world opinion and help to provide the means of a new and higher type of international behavior.

All

Dependent peoples.-One way in which the Charter has been strengthened over the original Dumbarton Oaks agreement is in the field of dependent areas. members of the United Nations Organization accept certain standards of good conduct and agree to administer their colonial areas in the welfare of the peoples concerned. They further agree to report to the United Nations Organization on the economic, social, and educational conditions in the area.

Trusteeship Council.-For other than colonial territories, a plan has been set up for trusteeships of such areas as may be placed under the system from the following categories: areas which may be detached from enemy states, areas formerly mandated under the League of Nations, and territories voluntarily placed under the system by the nations responsible for their administration. In order to assist the Assembly in this phase of its work, provision is made for a Trusteeship Council to be composed of equal numbers of representatives of the nations who will administer trusteeships and nations who do not have any such specific responsibilities. The nations who are permanent members of the Security Council must each have a seat on the Trusteeship Council in one of these two capacities. This Council will consider reports and make inspections of trust territories.

The Charter has established excellent aims for the trusteeship system:

1. To promote political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the trust territories.

2. To encourage progressive development toward self-government or independence.

3. To promote the fundamental freedoms without regard to race, language, sex, or religion.

4. To insure equal treatment in social, economic, and commercial matters in the trust territory for all the members of the United Nations.

The question of what to do about strategic bases has been settled so that the trusteeship plan will not in any way interfere with the work of the Security Council in policing the world. Areas which are militarily necessary to the security of any country can be either annexed or placed under the trusteeship of that nation outside the supervision of the General Assembly and under the Security Council. The territory outside the strategic area will be supervised under the trusteeship system with the administration accountable to the Trusteeship Council, which in turn reports to the General Assembly.

The machinery for carrying out these aims is flexible and should be sufficient to insure the attainment of the purposes of the trusteeship system. It will, however, require the whole-hearted will to make it work which will be necessary

in other parts of the Organization. The trusteeship system is a decided improvement over the former League of Nations mandate system, although it loses some of its effectiveness because of the optional provisions.

SECURITY COUNCIL

There is a clear cut line separating responsibilities between the Assembly and the Security Council. The Assembly has administrative functions and responsibilities for coordination and policy recommendation. The Security Council is an action body and the strong arm of the Organization. It is made up of 11 members, 5 permanent and 6 nonpermanent. Britain, the Soviet Union, China, France, and the United States will occupy permanent seats. The Security Council makes specific plans and recommends methods for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. It is empowered to take forceful action, first economic and then military, against nations who undertake aggression.

Voting Procedure.-(1) The 11 Security Council members have one vote each. (2) Decisions on simple procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of any seven members. (3) All other decisions are made by an affirmative vote of seven members, but must include the affirmative votes of the five permanent members, except that a party to a dispute must refrain from voting when action for the peaceful settlement of disputes is under consideration.

This means that the five great powers must vote unanimously in order to take any kind of enforcement action such as economic or military sanctions. They must also be unanimous when action is taken to settle disputes by peaceful methods, but in this case no nation which is party to a dispute can vote. For example, if the Syrian incident were being considered by the Security Council, France, as a party to the dispute, would not vote while any of the peaceful means of settlement were under consideration. France would be able to vote if enforcement action were being considered. Any nation can bring a dispute before the Security Council for discussion if any seven members of the Council vote to consider it.

This unanimity rule has been much criticized, particularly by the smaller powers. It is to be hoped that in the future as the Security Council functions and the big powers learn to work together they will be willing to give up this special privilege.

There is historical precedent for the unanimity rule. Always in the past, on the theory that each nation must retain its sovereign rights, it was necessary to have the unanimous consent of every nation concerned before undertaking international action. In the League of Nations all important decisions required the unanimous vote of every member. In the United Nations Organization only the five big powers have to be unanimous, and their ability to veto action is restricted to action in the Security Council and the ratification of future Charter amendments.

The Security Council was kept small and weighted with the big powers in order to assure swift police action with preponderant force. The unanimity rule assures that when the United Nations Organization acts it will do so with overwhelming force. But will the unanimity rule tend to prevent action? There is hope that it will result in a compromise rather than a deadlock, with mutual concessions being made until a joint course of action is agreed upon.

It is generally felt that the United States Senate would not ratify the United Nations Charter unless our delegate had the right to veto Security Council action. One of the main arguments against our joining the League of Nations was the fear that the United States might be out voted in the League Council. The unanimity rule assures that the armed forces, which the United States agrees to make available to the Security Council, will never be used without our consent, and that the United States will never find itself engaged in economic or military sanctions against another great power. If a great power becomes an aggressor, the United Nations Organization will not be able to act, and the situation will have to be handled outside the Organization. This is because we are still in the experimental stage of collective security, and world opinion has not yet developed to the point where nations are willing to delegate sufficient authority to an international organization to make it capable of coercing a great power.

At San Francisco the smaller powers, led by Canada, insisted that they also needed assurance that they would not be called upon to provide armed forces without their consent. So the Charter contains a provision that when a decision to use force has been made, any state required to put forces at the disposal of the

Security Council, shall be asked to send a representative to the Council to participate in the decision of the employment of its forces. The Security Council is to negotiate agreements with the various member nations as to the number and type of armed forces to be available at the call of the Council. In electing a nation to the Security Council the Assembly takes into consideration that nation's ability to contribute to the maintenance of peace. This will tend to give middle-sized nations who are willing to cooperate on security measures some priority for election to the Council.

The military staff committee advises and assist the Security Council on all military requirements for the maintenance of peace, and such related problems as eventual disarmament. It is composed of the chiefs of staff of the permanent Security Council members. Other nations are to be asked to send a representative to sit with the Committee as occasion demands. Regional military subcommittees may be established after consultation with regional agencies.

Regionalism. A formula has been achieved to fit regional security systems, such as the inter-American system and the European system of security pacts, into the framework of the United Nations Organization. Regional arrangements which are permanent in character such as the Inter-American system are to be subordinate to the United Nations Security Council. But regional agencies are to make every effort to settle disputes locally before referring them to the Security Council, and they are to retain freedom to defend themselves in case the Security Council fails to act. The regional agencies must keep the Security Council informed of their intentions at all times. An exception is made of the European treaties of mutual assistance designed as protection against future aggression by present enemies. These arrangements are to operate outside the jurisdiction of the Security Council until the governments concerned request the United Nations Organization to assume this responsibility.

The insistence by the great powers on the veto right and the above exception for treaties aimed at curbing present enemies reflect the abnormal world conditions under which the Charter was written. The five big powers, as victors, must assume the immediate duty of restoring and maintaining order in a chaotic world, while at the same time they are attempting to work out a permanent system of collective security.

The power of the Security Council to investigate disputes and recommend peaceful procedures and settlements offers great opportunities for the prevention of war. These peaceful functions have been overshadowed in public discussion by the more dramatic power to use force.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

In the Economic and Social Council lies the power to solve many international problems. It is the duty of this Council to deal with some of the basic causes of war before they develop into political issues. Some of the delegates have pointed out that if it could succeed in its broad objectives it would reduce the Security Council to the status of the human appendix, an organ with a history but no remaining functions.

The Economic and Social Council has been set up without the rigidity of the Security Council. Its 18 members are elected for 3-year terms by the General Assembly and no nations have permanent memberships. Voting is by a majority of those present, and no one has any veto rights. Under the general supervision of the Assembly, the Council's three main purposes are to promote:

1. Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development.

2. Solutions of international economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and other related problems.

3. Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, language, religion, or sex.

To carry out its purpose, the Council can:

1. Study, report, and recommend on subjects within its jurisdiction.

2. Set up commissions to deal with special problems, including promotion of human rights.

3. Call international conferences and prepare draft conventions for the Assembly to submit to other nations.

4. Coordinate the work of agencies working in the economic and social field. The Economic and Social Council has gained both in strength and prestige at the San Francisco Conference. It has been designated a "principal organ" of the United Nations Organization along with the General Assembly, the Security

Council, and the World Court. Under the Dumbarton Oaks proposals it was a subsidiary council. An improvement at San Francisco was to give the Counci the right to report directly to the Security Council, which is in continuous session, In the Dumbarton Oaks plan, the Economic and Social Council had to wait for action until the annual meeting of the General Assembly.

In an air age no nation can safely, profitably, or peacefully conduct its social and economic life in a vacuum. Organizations are being set up to work on these problems which transcend national boundaries. The Economic and Social Council will be the overall coordinator of these groups which will include such organizations as the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the proposed International Office of Education.

Previous efforts to stop wars have concentrated on the use of force. Nations have acted like a doctor who gives medicine after smallpox has broken out. The Economic and Social Council would play the role of the doctor who urges vaccinations to prevent smallpox from ever appearing. It is encouraging to see how much emphasis the delegates at San Francisco put on lessening the causes of war.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The need for establishing a rule of law in international relations can hardly be overaccented, and in order to establish one, a court for the peaceful settlement of legal disputes between nations is essential. The body of international law, however, is quite different from the body of law which governs the conduct of the citizens of a nation. International law is made only by treaties or agreements between nations, or by the general acceptance of principles which have been customary in governing the relations between states. There is no international legislature which makes such law, and therefore each nation is bound by a law only if it has agreed to it by treaty or acceptance of a general principle. National law applies to all persons whether they wish it or not.

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The Charter provides that there should be an International Court of Justice as the judicial branch of the Organization. Joining the United Nations Organization automatically includes membership in the Court. The Statute to set up the Court follows very closely the pattern of the World Court which functioned under the League of Nations, but it is an entirely new body to avoid the troublesome question of membership in the old Court by nations who were not members of the United Nations at the San Francisco Conference. Such nations may, however, apply to the General Assembly to become members of the Court. All members agree to comply with the decisions of the World Court.

The Court is authorized to hear cases which are referred to it by the individual nations in the dispute. It will also have jurisdiction in cases where a specific treaty has designated the Court to decide any controversy which may arise under its provisions. Nations also may, if they choose, accept an optional clause, which gives the Court general compulsory jurisdiction over all disputes covered by international law in which they may become involved. In spite of some hope that the authority of the Court over all such disputes could be established as a part of the United Nations Charter, this was left optional, since many states, notably the United States and Rusisa, did not yet seem ready to surrender that amount of sovereignty to an international body. Decisions of the Court can be enforced by the Security Council. If the Court is to attain a high degree of usefulness in the peace structure, it will be important for many nations, and particularly the great powers, to adopt the optional clause as soon as possible,

THE SECRETARIAT

The administrative work of the United Nations Organization will be handled by a Secretariat under the direction of a Secretary General. A permanent staff is to be employed by the Secretary General according to highest personnel standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The Secretary General as chief administrative officer of the entire organization will hold a position of great importance. Among his powers is the specific authority to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. This power was not accorded the Secretary General under the League of Nations Covenant.

OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECTS

The Amending Process.-Amending the United Nations Organization Charter will be a fairly long and difficult process. First, two-thirds of the General Assembly must adopt the amendment. Then each nation must ratify the amendment in accordance with its own constitutional process. If two-thirds of these nations, including the permanent members of the Security Council, accept the amendment it becomes a part of the Charter. Here, too, the pattern has been kept of a unanimous vote by the big five so that none of them can be outvoted.

At San Francisco there was discussion regarding posible revisions of the Charter. The final outcome was that a general conference for revision could be called by a two-thirds vote of the Assembly plus an affirmative vote by any seven members of the Security Council. Any proposed revision would be acted upon in the same way as amendments. There are special provisions for considering a conference on revision at the end of 10 years if none has been held by that time.

Preparatory Commission. The Preparatory Commission has been appointed to make preliminary plans for the operation of the United Nations Organization after it has been ratified. An Executive Committee of 14, with headquarters in London, will handle the work of the Commission. They will establish salary scales, personnel qualifications, procedures for different sections of the Organization, operational and fiscal plans, and arrange for the first meeting of the Assembly. Careful plans must be laid to assure sound organization in the beginning.

RATIFICATION

Both in the committee hearings and on the floor of the Senate, the possibility exists that amendments to the Charter may be offered and reservations attached to United States participation. This procedure played an important part in defeating our membership in the League of Nations 25 years ago. Such a move would be dangerous at this stage since any changes would have to be accepted by the other 49 nations who participated in writing the Charter and might set a precedent for like action by other nations. It is possible that some Senators who are opposed in principle to United States participation in a United Nations Organization, but realizing the unpopularity of this stand, may seek to destroy the Charter by attaching amendments or reservations.

The main line of attack from opponents will doubtless take the form of creating doubt of the trustworthiness of other nations. In the League of Nations' fight, British imperialism bore the brunt of the antiforeign attacks. Now it is more likely that Russian communism will be the chief target. War has left the United States and Russia as the world's two most powerful nations. The vast difference between their social and economic systems greatly complicates the problems of understanding each other. Yet it is imperative that the democracies work out a method of cooperation with Soviet Russia. The success of the new collective security system depends on the ability of the great powers to act as a unit in the Security Council.

There is evidence that it is not always going to be easy to get along with Soviet Russia, but there are ample reasons to believe that mutual understanding can and must be attained. A dangerous attitude of mutual mistrust developed between Russia and the capitalistic countries during the long period of Russian ostracism after the first World War. This mistrust affects the actions of all countries concerned and thus influences the trend of international relations. is therefore of the utmost importance to the success of the United Nations Organization that the Soviet Government and the other great powers show patience, willingness to compromise, and a scrupulous regard for their pledged word so that experience will restore their faith in each other.

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There are many differences between Russia and the United States on methods and means, but fortunately their basic needs do not conflict. Russia does not need more space or natural resources. She needs peace to assure her longsuffering people a better standard of living. Evidence of the Soviet Government's good faith in wanting to work out an international order based on cooperation is to be found in past support given the League of Nations, where Russia backed the principles of collective security long after the western democracies had deserted them. Russia has taken an active part, first in formulating the Dumbarton Oaks proposals, and later in perfecting them at San Francisco.

There will always be differences between nations, and we can expect the opponents of ratification to accent all the mistakes and historical sins of other countries, in order to sow the seeds of distrust by playing upon our racial, religious, 75608-45-28

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