United Nations and Global Conflicts

By Dr. Arambam Noni Meetei | Department of Political Science, D.M. University, Manipur

Learners enrolled: 488

The United Nations is a global organisation. It was founded in the year 1945 after the devastating Second World war. As it was initially committed by 51 member states for global peace, development, social equity and setting human rights standards, the course is to train the UG students with old and new issues that confront an international organisation like UNO. The significance of UNO lays in the fact that today at least 193 member countries are on board. It is an apex body that has an overall supervisory role in ensuring freedom and rights across the borders. Its main organs like the General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, etc., have been playing critical roles. Due to its critical nature of intervention, often it has faced conflicts with the member states. However, it is pertinent for students to know that a strengthened UNO is to ensure the interest of the weak and even the stronger nations; a win-win situation. It not only deals with global states, but also takes up disadvantaged issues and peoples’ rights. For instance, human rights in conflict zones, fair trial, speedy justice, freedom to dissent, protecting environment through sustainable development, etc.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	6
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	04 Jul 2022
End Date :	31 Oct 2022
Enrollment Ends :	15 Sep 2022
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1:

The need for an international order
The scope of UNDHR
Peace and Ideologies
Objectives of UNO

Week 2:

Liberal principles of UNO
Precedents of minority rights
UNO and Women’s rights
UNO and Indigenous rights

Week 3:

Structure of General Assembly and role
Security Council: Its Structure Veto system and Security Council
Veto system and Security Council
Economic and Social Council

Week 4:

Contributions of ECOSOC
Idea of ICJ
Landmark interventions of ICJ
Specialised agencies: Its importance

Week 5:

ILO: Structure and Role
ILO: Issues and Labour rights
UNESCO: Main contributions
WHO: Issues and Contributions

Week 6:

WHO: Fighting Pandemics
UNICEF: Structure and Function
UNICEF and Child rights
UNDP and its Functions

Week 7:

UN Environment Programme and global climatic issues
UNCHR: Refugee questions and stateless people’s rights
Some distinctive contributions of UNCHR
Peace Keeping: UN’s Role

Week 8:

Millennium Development Goals: The case of developing countries
Causes of Korean war
Fallout of Korean war
Global dynamics and Korean war

Week 9:

Korean War and UN
Korean crisis and arm race
Vietnam War: Causes
USA and Vietnam war

Week 10:

Internal sovereignty and regional power struggle in Vietnam
Military alliances and ideological consequences
Vietnam war: Hope and Despair
Afghanistan war: The cold war politics

Week 11:

Politics of Detente
Afghanistan and global power dynamics
The rise of militancy in Afghanistan as a fallout
9/11 attacks and Afghanistan

Week 12:

Balkan Conflict: Identity politics
The question of Serbs
The Bosnian dream
Balkanisation: The Ethnicisation

Week 13:

The Human rights issues in Balkans
The issue of reforming UN
The issues raised by Global south
The problem of veto system

Week 14:

Reforming the Security Council system
WHO and Critical claims
Demand for expanding security council
UN and lingering conflicts around the world

Week 15:

The question of Non-Self Governing territories
UN and Climate change: Challenges and Prospects
Climate change and Responses of the Industrialised countries
Role of the developing countries and climate change

Books and references

Achieving Sustainable Development and Promoting Development Cooperation: Dialogues at the Economic and Social Council. Published by: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination. United Nations: New York, 2008.
Finkielkraut, Alain 1988, The Undoing of Thought, translated by Dennis O’Keefe. London: Claridge Press. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Report of the UN Secretary-General: Agenda for Peace, June 17, 1992, Geneva: UN.
Macartney, C. A. 1967, “League of Nations Protection of Minority Rights”. In Evan Luard (ed.), The international protection of human rights, New York: Praeger.
Howard Tolley, The U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Review by Roger S. Clark. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 83, No. 1 (Jan., 1989), pp. 189-190; American Society of International Law.
Edgar Turlington, The United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct., 1945), pp. 757-758. American Society of International Law

Instructor bio

Dr. Arambam Noni Meetei

Department of Political Science, D.M. University, Manipur

Dr. Arambam Noni Meetei is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, D. M. College of Arts, Imphal, D. M. University, Manipur. He has been teaching and actively involved in academic activities for the last 12 years. He has delivered numerous public lectures, television talks, radio talks and published articles and books of international repute.

His books include:
1. 'Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur', Routledge, London, 2016.

2. '1949: The Story of India's Takeover of Manipur', CADM, Manipur, 2018. His second book has been reportedly one of highest selling books in Manipur.

Dr. Noni is presently the Editor, Alternative Perspectives - a quarterly academic journal since 2005.

Dr. Noni completed his Graduation from Delhi University, M.A. in political science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and M. Phil from Delhi University. He completed his Phd from Centre for Political Studies, JNU, new Delhi.