Why the UN Was Set Up During World War II - Essay Example

This is why the UN was set up while World War II was still going on.  If the goals of the organization are peaceful, it is still essentially an organization that started as an alliance of powers against a common enemy and was a military endeavor.  “The 50 nations represented at San Francisco signed the Charter of the United Nations on June 26, 1945.  Poland, which was not represented at the conference but for which a place among the original signatories had been reserved, added its name later, bringing the total of original signatories to 51” (Background, 2010).  Of course, today, the UN serves as a peacekeeping organization more than a military one, but it remains effective nonetheless.

            During the Cold War, the UN acted as an agent of stability, but it was still

concerned with essentially military matters through the extension of its most important facet, the Security Council.  However, the drafters of the organization put into effect a rule of veto that has proved to make the UN somewhat ineffectual at times.  Even when the Soviet Union had veto power, though, the UN remained a strong and viable organization.  As time went on, the membership in the United Nations increased as new nations became de-colonized and joined the organization.  With these new nations entering into the equation, things became more complicated as the number of nations increased from fifty to almost two hundred. The UN accordingly turned to issues like the environment and human rights as important issues to tackle and began to try to legislate internationally.  “UN membership is open to all "peace-loving states" that accept the obligations of the UN Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to fulfill these obligations.  Admission to membership is determined by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council” (Background, 2010).

The UN wanted to make peace and therefore was well-suited for problems like human rights and the environment, which became an increasing problem as time progressed.  Still, even through all of this, the main and most powerful function of the UN remained the Security Council.  If the members agreed, the Security Council could be called upon to enforce peace where conditions were rough.  But this only happened if the governments chose to use the UN:  the organization itself did not have its own power, as it sort of revolved around the powers of its members, who had to agree for anything to happen.  In some cases, the many catch-22s in this situation have caused nations to go off on their own policies.  However, this is not an indication that the organization is ineffective.  Saying that an organization is limited does not mean that it is ineffective or flawed.  While it is true that the UN could be more powerful in some of its military functions, it remains a vital and effective international organization dedicated to the propagation of peace.  Although the UN is more of a peacekeeping organization than a military one, it is still dynamic and effective at conflict resolution.