United Nations Organisation (UPSC International Relations)

The United Nations is the only universal multilateral organisation — 193 member states, 6 principal organs, dozens of specialised agencies, and a charter that remains the reference for modern international law. It was designed for the world of 1945 and has barely changed since. The P5 veto, an unrepresentative Security Council, and a funding crisis have thinned its authority. For UPSC GS II, the UN is a core topic — it tests global groupings, reform of the Security Council, peacekeeping, and India's long campaign for a permanent seat.

Historical context

The UN was created by the Charter signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945, entering force 24 October 1945. It replaced the failed League of Nations. Decolonisation in the 1960s expanded membership from 51 to 150+. The Cold War paralysed the Security Council for decades; the 1990s saw peacekeeping boom (and fail — Rwanda, Srebrenica); the 2000s brought Millennium Development Goals and R2P; the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals set the current agenda to 2030.

Structure: six principal organs

What the UN does: five core areas

1. Maintain peace and security — peacekeeping in South Sudan, Mali, Lebanon; mediation in Yemen, Syria, Ukraine.
2. Protect human rights — Universal Declaration (1948); Human Rights Council; Special Rapporteurs.
3. Deliver humanitarian aid — WFP fed 128 million people in 2022; UNHCR covers 35 million+ refugees; UNICEF, OCHA.
4. Sustainable development and climate — 2030 Agenda; UNFCCC COPs; Green Climate Fund.
5. Uphold international law — ICJ, ICC (separate treaty), 560+ multilateral treaties.

Challenges

Structural deficit

• P5 veto shields states and their allies; 5 members still decide on global war and peace.
• Global South under-represented — no African or Latin American permanent member; only one Asian P5 (China).
• Wealthier Northern members control funding and agenda-setting.

Exclusion

Taiwan has been excluded since UN Resolution 2758 (1971); the COVID-19 years highlighted the cost (Taiwan barred from WHO despite a strong pandemic record).

Effectiveness

Failures in Somalia (1990s), Rwanda (1994), Srebrenica (1995), Syria (2011-), Ukraine (2022-), Gaza (2023-). Russia vetoed Ukraine-related resolutions; China and Russia vetoed Syria sanctions.

Bureaucracy and corruption

Oil-for-Food scandal (1996-2003) — billions in kickbacks; renewed scrutiny over peacekeeping misconduct allegations.

Declining multilateralism

Rising US-China tensions erode institutional consensus; status-quo powers resist reform; mid-powers pursue alternative alliances (Quad, BRICS).

Financing

Peacekeeping financing depends on assessments; top contributors occasionally withhold — a structural risk.

UNSC Reform: the long game

The demand

G-4 — India, Brazil, Germany, Japan — seek permanent membership. L.69 Group (40+ countries from Global South) backs UNSC expansion. African Union's Ezulwini Consensus demands two permanent African seats with veto.

The resistance

• P5 reluctance to dilute veto.
• Uniting for Consensus (UfC) — Italy, Pakistan, Mexico, South Korea, Argentina — oppose new permanent seats; prefer more non-permanent seats.
• China opposes Japan and India on permanent status.

Reform proposals

• Add permanent members reflecting demographic and economic realities.
• Cap veto use — supermajority override; ban veto on genocide/war-crimes resolutions (French initiative).
• Expand non-permanent seats proportionately to regions.

India's role at the UN

Founding contributions

• Original signatory to the UN Charter (1945).
• First country to bring apartheid to the UN (1946).
• Contributed to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

Peacekeeping

• 5th largest troop contributor globally, with over 5,300 personnel in active missions.
• Participated in nearly 50 of 71 missions since 1948.
• First country to deploy an all-women police unit (Liberia, 2007).
• First contributor to the 2016 Trust Fund on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in peacekeeping.
• Launched the Group of Friends to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers (UNSC Resolution 2589).

Development agenda

• Co-founded UNCTAD (1964).
• Champions ODA, fair trade, and technology transfer.

Conflict resolution

• Non-Aligned Movement tradition; sovereignty and non-interference emphasis.
• Development assistance to conflict-affected regions (Afghanistan, Sri Lanka).

Reform agenda

• G-4 coordination.
• Led thematic UNSC debates during 2021-22 non-permanent term (8th stint).
• India's 2023 G20 Presidency pushed for UN reform language in the New Delhi Declaration.

Challenges India faces

• UNSC reform gridlock — no text-based negotiations; "Intergovernmental Negotiations" have been circular since 2008.
• Pakistan-China blocking on terrorist designations (pre-2022), and on regional resolutions.
• Human rights scrutiny over Kashmir and minority issues.
• Development financing — Western and OECD dominance in allocation.
• Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism stalled since 1996 — stuck on the definition of terrorism.

Latest developments (2024-26)

• UN Summit of the Future (September 2024) adopted the Pact for the Future, including a declaration on UN reform; India welcomed but flagged pace.
• G20 New Delhi Declaration (2023) called for reformed multilateralism; African Union admitted to G20.
• Israel-Hamas conflict: multiple UNSC vetoes and stalled ceasefire resolutions; UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) funding crisis (2024) after alleged staff involvement in 7 October attack.
• Russia-Ukraine update — UN General Assembly resolutions continued condemning Russia; UNSC blocked by veto; Guterres's proposals rejected.
• Red Sea crisis (Houthis) — UNSC adopted Resolution 2722 (2024) demanding end to attacks.
• BRICS expansion (2024) — reshaping multilateral alignment; UAE, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia joined.
• AI Action Summit (Paris 2025) — parallel to UN's AI Advisory Body recommendations; India's role in digital public goods recognised.
• UN80 reform initiative (2025) launched by Guterres targeting cost-cutting, mandate consolidation, and Geneva/Vienna/Nairobi decentralisation.
• Trump 2.0 — US announced UNHRC withdrawal (2025), renewed pressure on UN funding.
• Quad Summit Wilmington (2024) endorsed UN reform and Security Council expansion including permanent African representation.
• Operation Sindhu Thakur-style NEOs coordinated with UN missions in conflict zones.

Reforms needed

• UNSC expansion with representation for G-4 and Africa.
• Veto reform — supermajority override or scope limits.
• Peacekeeping financing predictability.
• IMF and World Bank quota reform to reflect emerging economies.
• Specialised agency reform — WHO independence, UNHRC membership criteria.
• Counter-terrorism — CCIT adoption.
• Sustainable financing for SDGs; Green Climate Fund capitalisation.

India's UNSC stints

India has been a non-permanent UNSC member eight times:

Specialised agencies India engages most with

UN at 80 and the 2024 Pact for the Future

The Pact for the Future, adopted at the UN Summit of the Future (September 2024), includes a Declaration on Future Generations and a Global Digital Compact. India welcomed its direction but flagged the absence of concrete UNSC reform timelines. The UN80 initiative launched by Guterres in 2025 targets cost savings, mandate consolidation, and partial decentralisation to Nairobi, Geneva and Vienna.

Multilateralism under stress

• G7 vs G20 dynamics — G7 seeks to shape the rules; G20 (expanded with AU) wants to rewrite them.
• BRICS expansion (2024) — UAE, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia joined — a parallel architecture.
• US partial disengagement — UNHRC withdrawal (2025); WHO funding threats.
• Global South coalitions — L.69, G77+China, African Group increasingly assertive.

UPSC Relevance

UN is a GS II core topic — important international institutions, agencies and fora — their structure, mandate. Prelims has tested specialised agencies, UNSC non-permanent seats, ICJ vs ICC distinction. Mains prompts focus on UNSC reform, India's campaign, peacekeeping, and credibility of multilateralism.

Practice question (Mains): “The UN was designed for 1945, not 2025.” Critically examine the demand for UN Security Council reform with reference to the G-4 and India’s candidacy. (250 words)

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