The Role Of The Un In The Contemporary World International Law Essay

The Role Of The Un In The Contemporary World International Law Essay Despite the United Nations many failures and successes it still continues to be the worlds best peacekeeping component and therefore the best hope the worlds got. The above statement creates lots of debate in the modern world however even with the UNs many fails, it still provides many successes and therefore is the best hope the worlds got. Apart from peacekeeping the UN runs many other agencies and funds that aim to improve peace, development, the environment and health among many other things. The international organization known as the UN was founded in 1945 after the already existent League of Nations had failed to live up to its aims as it did not prevent the Second World War. In 1945, 51 countries signed the UNs peace charter in dedicating to maintain international peace and security. Today the United Nations has 192 member states and many peacekeeping operations. The United Nations aims to maintain international peace and security, promoting social progress, provide better living standards and basic human rights to all and to co-ordinate efforts for a safer world for our present and future generations. Evidently the League of Nations did not prevent war after World War One as the UN was a result of World War Two, another main factor that the UN wishes to maintain under control. The UN has a system that is based on five principal organs; it was previously six however the Trusteeship Council is currently suspended since 1994 as it had prepared the 11 countries to govern for themselves. Therefore the five councils are the General Assembly, The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Security Council, The Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. The General Assembly is the main reasoning assembly. It is composed of all the member states and it is the only time and place when all the members of the UN have an equal vote and when any nation may voice their opinion. All member states have the opportunity to address the assembly. The assembly is run by the Secretary-General (currently Ban Ki-Moon) who is also seen as the leader of the UN. Current issues are discussed such as peace and security actions, elections of members to organs such as heads and semi-permanent members for the Security Council and funding matters. Many positive actions take place due to the UN however as the assemblys resolutions are non binding they cannot force any actions on a state as the members are under no legal obligation. This leaves the UN with little power regarding the co-operation of member states; this problem also persists in the Security Council when the permanent members use their veto power. The Security Council could be seen as the most powerful part of the UN as any organ can make recommendations however the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions. All member states are bound by the UN charter to obey the Council however it is often that the council cannot come to an agreement due to the veto power. The Security Council has 15 members, which five are permanent. These five states are the allied states of World War Two who were seen as winning the war. They include Russia, America, UK, France and China. The other ten members are non permanent and change every two years. The council decides on certain resolutions for peace and security. The five permanent members have a veto power that they may use at any time, and as often as they like if they do not agree with a certain decision e.g. intervening between conflicting countries. Therefore many decisions and resolutions have been rejected as it only takes one permanent member to disagree. This is a huge negative regarding the UN as it has caused many problems e.g. during the Cold War between Russia and the USA the UN could never intervene and come to a decision as either one of the countries would reject a resolutions if they found it would put their country in danger. This explains why the council often cannot come to an agreement. Once the council has agreed and approved for action it first explores actions to settle the dispute peacefully under the terms of the charter, often the UN sends peacekeeping troops to the province where armed conflict would have been caused. The UN does not have army troops therefore they rely on voluntary admission from member states. An example where the UN was not successful was the intervention in the Rwandan Civil War in 1994. The Security Council voted to pull the peacekeepers out of the war, except for the UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) its objectives were to supervise and assist the utilization of the Arusha Accords; protocols that were signed to end the Rwandan Civil War. Before the withdrawal of the UN ten Belgian peacekeepers were held hostage and killed. The decisions of the UN could be blamed for the Security Councils indecisive approach. The Economic and Security Council (ECOSOC) stands for the basics of the UNs aims to improve the standards of living and promote international economic and social development, mainly focussing on the worlds poverty stricken groups. The council meets every year and since 1998 twice a year to also discuss the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The councils main activities oversee the activities of a large number of institutions that are known as the UN system, the system includes specialized agencies, programmes and funds. The UN founders decided that they should lighten the suffering of the worlds poorest as the UN believes that prosperous people do not go to war. This is achieved by the specialised agencies and programmes such as UNICEF and WHO. The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund was created to provide help for all the suffering children due to World War Two. UNICEF is still active today and cares for children throughout the world by providing health care, food, education and water regardless of their age, gender, religion or race. Unlike non-government organizations UNICEF is an inter-governmental organization and is obliged to governments. These organizations have lots of supervision and rely on contributions from anonymous donors, government and fundraisers. The use of well known sports teams has become a popular way of promoting UNICEF as the teams donate money to the organization and then promote the fund. The fund received criticism from the Vatican and Catholic groups when they used some finances to condone the sterilization and abortion in women. Despite the criticism and difficulties UNICEF, together with WHO, endures, many of their projects have been successful in improving the standards of l iving especially after war destruction and natural disasters. The World Health Organization is a specialized agency that obtained its approval and resources from its predecessor, the Health Organization which had been an agency of the League of Nations. It aims to improve the standard of health throughout the world and tries to assist countries in providing better health services and ending disease spreading from country to country. WHO have also attempted to control the outbreaks and spreading of infectious diseases such as malaria, swine flu, TB and HIV/AIDS. While the organization has had many successes in treating patients around the world there has been controversy with the Catholic church again as they do not believe in the use of contraceptives however WHO responded by stating that it was irresponsible to make statements against the practise of safe sex as there is a global pandemic which has affected many people around the world. The Security Council may not have lived up to its aims regarding the Rwandan genocide however ECOSOC managed to assist refugees as WHO and UNICEF provided the bare necessities such as food, shelter and health. These are perfect examples of the UNs fails and successes as the Security Council cannot make decisions based on peacekeeping however once the damage has been done seeing as the Security Council couldnt stop it, the ECOSOC council manages to restore some failures by providing health etc. and did what it could to enable them to return home. The main problem within the UN lies in the five permanent members of the Security Council. The ability to veto a decision does not make the organization democratic. Therefore the UN needs to plan ways to reform the Security Council.

KILLER ANGELS :: essays research papers

This books message was that the South was not an evil empire history made it out to be. The book portraits slavery as the major reason the civil war was started. The South was against freeing the slaves, and the North fought for the latter. The book also stated that the south was dependent on the slaves and fought to keep their society enact. Killer Angels was informative, very fascinating, and I disliked it. I learned many things from it. I learned from the book that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. Before the battle of Gettysburg the South had won most major battles. Gettysburg is defined as a major victory in the war for the North. The winning of this battle gave the North momentum as defined in the book resulting in the North winning virtually every battle for the next two years. The Battle of Gettysburg greatly depleted ammunition and soldiers from both armies; because of the North’s industrialization they were able to replace men and ammunition faster than the South giving them a grater advantage. The book portrayed Confederate General Robert E. Lee as an intellectual who’s opinion of slavery was not partisan or predigest, but he believed that in the present state of their development they were not yet able to coexist equally or civilized with Anglo America. The author focuses on General Lee. and whether or not his decision to leave the U.S. military and join the Confederate Army was based upon selfish loyalty to a state flag†. And the author comes to the conclusion that Lee was a hero of great character who stood by what he believed in. The book also portrayed General Lee narcissistically. His over confidence in his army’s past victory’s compelled him to order his army to charge the North’s army from and unfortified position, up a hill in order to take control of a fortified position held by the North. And after failing numerous times he continued to do so. He even ordered his armory to charge over more than a mile of open field, resulting in the systematic bombardment of his troops; by the time the South’s army reached the North’s position their numbers were minute compared to the opposing army’s. This book focused more on details and moods, save the tactics that were used in the early battle.

Confidence in Students Essay

Statistics reveal that 95% of children and adults experience lack of confidence, self-belief, or low self-esteem at some point in their lives. Confidence is a feeling most adolescents have always struggled with and it is impossible to overestimate the lack of it amongst students. It ties in with stress, peer pressure, and other insecurities most teenagers face on a daily basis. Self-confidence can be altered by various life situations such as one’s school environment, home life, and individual motivation. What most educators fail to realize is that strengthening the confidence of their students is just as important as educating them. Educating students means more than giving academic knowledge. Giving positive and constructive feedback helps reduce weaknesses and enhance strengths. Telling a student how well he’s done on any task, whether it being an exam or regular classwork, helps him feel more accomplished. Students thrive on praise and will push themselves even hard er once they feel their work is being recognized. Even though giving praise is helpful, one should know self-confidence isn’t built from being spoiled with praise. Students will also know if the praise given is genuine. If they feel the praise is meaningless, they will not feel as motivated to push themselves harder. One should remain honest with each student to encourage him to address problems, instead of avoiding or denying their existence. Teachers should always make corrections without damaging a student’s confidence. A simple smile or letting students know you’re happy to see them also helps them to feel worthwhile and appreciated. Another key idea is goals set for each student. Teachers sometime tend to set goals too high or too low for certain students. Recognize that every child is different and has different learning capabilities. Always set realistic goals so the students will feel a sense of accomplishment when the goal is completed. Never make tasks too easy or too challenging. When students reach a point where they can overcome doubt to achieve objectives will help boost their confidence. Including them in your expectations for them and discussing their individual progress is always good to do. This will help students to see what approach or direction they need to take in order to complete the given task to their best ability. Rewarding students for meeting challenges lets them know they’re doing what they should. Most students don’t give themselves enough credit due to their personal insecurities. Encouraging students to set high standards for themselves will test their limits. When a teacher reassures a student that they are capable of achieving greatness, they will feel like somebody truly believes in them and it will motivate them greatly. With all this being said about the school environment, a student’s home life plays a major role with self-confidence as well. Parental relationships help in determining the self-esteem level one may have. Adolescents who view their parents’ communication as supportive and open are most probably to have higher self-esteem than those who perceived their parents’ communication patterns as controlling and unsupportive. Parents shouldn’t put any extra pressure on their children than they’re already facing. Being overwhelmed in numerous tasks and activities is never a good impact on one’s self confidence. It makes one panic and having a parent constantly yelling for one to complete it and do it well lowers self-confidence. A teenager wants to feel that their parents believe in them and their work capabilities. Despite how much a student’s home and school environment may affect their confidence, it all begins with individual motivation. For a student to be confident in their work and themselves, one has to be completely focused. A focused student shows determination and promise which helps the self-confidence level. Focusing on school and being very studious will make a student’s grades increase, boosting their confidence. Telling oneself positive motivational remarks helps also. Believing in oneself is the last step but indeed the most important. Confidence may be hard for teenagers to obtain in today’s society, but it isn’t impossible. The insecurities, peer pressure, and nearly unbearable stress student’s face shouldn’t be seen as a discouragement but instead as motivation to work harder. With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.

Majority Language - Definition and Examples

A majority language is the language thats usually spoken by a majority of the population in a country or in a region of a country. In a multilingual society, the majority language is generally considered the high-status language. It is also called the dominant language or killer language, in contrast with minority language. As Dr. Lenore Grenoble points out in the Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World (2009), The respective terms majority and minority for Languages A and B are not always accurate; speakers of Language B may be numerically greater but in a disadvantaged social or economic position which makes the use of the language of wider communication attractive. Examples and Observations [P]ublic institutions in the most powerful Western nations, the U.K., the United States, France, and Germany, have been monolingual for over a century or more with no significant movement toward challenging the hegemonic position of the majority language. Immigrants have not generally challenged the hegemony of these nations and have usually assimilated rapidly, and none of these countries has faced the linguistic challenges of Belgium, Spain, Canada, or Switzerland. (S. Romaine, Language Policy in Multinational Educational Contexts. Concise Encyclopedia of Pragmatics, ed. by Jacob L. Mey. Elsevier, 2009) From Cornish (Minority Language) to English (Majority Language) Cornish was formerly spoken by thousands of people in Cornwall [England], but the community of Cornish speakers did not succeed in maintaining its language under the pressure of English, the prestigious majority language and national language. To put it differently: the Cornish community shifted from Cornish to English (cf. Pool, 1982). Such a process seems to be going on in many bilingual communities. More and more speakers use the majority language in domains where they formerly spoke the minority tongue. They adopt the majority language as their regular vehicle of communication, often mainly because they expect that speaking the language gives better chances for upward mobility and economic success. (Renà © Appel and Pieter Muysken, Language Contact and Bilingualism. Edward Arnold, 1987) Code-Switching: The We-Code and the They-Code The tendency is for the ethnically specific, minority language to be regarded as the we code and become associated with in-group and informal activities, and for the majority language to serve as the they code associated with more formal, stiffer and less personal out-group relations. (John Gumperz, Discourse Strategies. Cambridge University Press, 1982) Colin Baker on Elective and Circumstantial Bilingualism Elective bilingualism is a characteristic of individuals who choose to learn a language, for example in the classroom (Valdà ©s, 2003). Elective bilinguals typically come from majority language groups (e.g. English-speaking North Americans who learn French or Arabic). They add a second language without losing their first language. Circumstantial bilinguals learn another language to function effectively because of their circumstances (e.g. as immigrants). Their first language is insufficient to meet their educational, political and employment requirements, and the communicative needs of the society in which they are placed. Circumstantial bilinguals are groups of individuals who must become bilingual to operate in the majority language society that surrounds them. Consequently, their first language is in danger of being replaced by the second language—subtractive context. The difference between elective and circumstantial bilingualism is important because it immediately locate s differences of prestige and status, politics and power among bilinguals. (Colin Baker, Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 5th ed. Multilingual Matters, 2011)[U]ntil recently, bilinguals have often been wrongly portrayed negatively (e.g. as having a split identity, or cognitive deficits). Part of this is political (e.g. prejudice against immigrants; majority language groups asserting their greater power, status and economic ascendancy; those in power wanting social and political cohesion around monolingualism and monoculturism).However, the portrayal of bilinguals varies internationally. In some countries (e.g. India, parts of Africa and Asia), it is normal and expected to be multilingual (e.g. in a national language, an international language and one or more local languages). In other countries, bilinguals are typically immigrants and seen as causing economic, social and cultural challenges to the dominant majority. . . . With both immigrant and indigenous minori ties, the term minority is decreasingly defined in terms of smaller numbers in the population and increasingly as a language of low prestige and low in power relative to the majority language. (Colin Baker, Bilingualism and Multilingualism. The Linguistics Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer. Routledge, 2004)