International Organisations
International Organisations
The exam tests the UN system, Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO: who makes decisions, what is binding, and why reform is difficult. You need institutional structure and mandate, not just founding dates.
Core rules and concepts
- The UN was founded in 1945. The General Assembly has one state, one vote but its resolutions are generally non-binding. The Security Council has five permanent members with vetoes and ten elected members serving two years; it has primary responsibility for peace and security.
- The ICJ is the UN's principal judicial organ and hears states' disputes. The ICC is independent, created by the Rome Statute, and is not a UN organ.
- Peacekeeping rests on consent of parties, impartiality and minimum use of force; it is not enforcement action.
- Specialised agencies linked to the UN include WHO, UNESCO, ILO and FAO. The IMF and World Bank are specialised agencies; the WTO is not a UN specialised agency.
- IMF lending addresses balance-of-payments problems, uses quotas and conditionality, and issues SDRs. The World Bank group lends for development. The WTO, created in 1995, runs trade rules and dispute settlement.
- Reform: UNSC expansion, the G4 claim, Africa's demand, veto restraint; IMF quota reform; WTO Appellate Body crisis.
Worked example
Why is India's UNSC permanent-seat bid hard? Reasoning: reform needs a Charter amendment, two-thirds support in the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of members including all P5. India argues representativeness, peacekeeping contribution and developing-world voice, but rival claims and the veto make consensus difficult.
Traps
Calling the ICC a UN body; calling the WTO a UN specialised agency; assuming GA resolutions bind states; treating the veto as a democratic device.