Part 16 – The United Nations

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BBC Learning English
Talk about English
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Part 16 – The United Nations

NB: Please note this is not a word for word transcript of the audio programme


Abigail: In this series, we’re considering the major themes of BBC World Service
news programmes. Giving you the background facts and key language you
need. Today’s “big story” is the United Nations. Its central role in
international politics means the organisation is mentioned in news reports
daily and images of the UN are familiar to many of us - from the blue berets
of its peacekeeping forces, to the logo of the UN itself: a picture of the world
held in the 'olive branches of peace'.
But how many of us really understand how the UN works? Our reporter
Colin Babb went to meet BBC World Service reporter Pam O’Toole. Pam is
a former UN correspondent for the BBC and she’s also worked for the UN
in Geneva. She explained to Colin how it all began:

Clip Pam O'Toole
The United Nations was born in 1945 after the horrors of the Second World War, it developed
in a way from the League of Nations that had been formed after the First World War, but
collapsed. The aim was to preserve security through international cooperation.


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Colin: Why does a country join?
Pam: It started out with 51, now 190 members - so massive increase. People join because if
they haven't joined, they're not part of the international club. Most countries belong to it
because it gives them a voice in international affairs. Members have missions to the UN, they
meet other diplomats and bargain on resolutions.

Abigail: As we’ve mentioned, the UN is often in the news and there’s a whole UN
vocabulary that goes with it. Terms like veto, Security Council, General
Assembly - and perhaps the most frequent, ‘resolution’ and ‘draft
resolution’:

Clip Pam O'Toole
A resolution is a document which states ‘The UN resolves to do this or that’. It takes note of
the situation in a country, it believes that this step should follow and sometimes it lays down a
deadline that by this date such and such a country should have taken this step.
If it’s a General Assembly resolution, it doesn’t have any binding power over member states.
The General Assembly - which is kind of a parliamentary body almost, one country one vote -
can consider a draft resolution, adopt a draft resolution either by voting on it or by consensus -
but that won’t have any binding power. Any resolution adopted by the Security Council has
binding power on a member state so it should actually take action on what the Security
Council says.



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Abigail: The Security Council and the General Assembly are just two parts of the UN
- a massive organisation, which is made up of many smaller organisations.
Other important parts of the UN are the International Court of Justice and
the Secretariat, as well as 15 agencies and several other programmes and
bodies. The UN carries out scientific research, promotes health, distributes
aid, has a peacekeeping force. You might have heard of UNHCR, which is
the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, or UNICEF - the United
Nations Children's Fund.
The General Assembly is the main parliament of the UN, and the Secretariat
administers the UN, it carries out the day-to-day work of the organisation.
Altogether thousands of people work for the UN all round the world - with
its headquarters in New York and offices in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut,
and Santiago among others. The Security Council is made up of 15 member
states. 5 of those are permanent members, and the ways those members were
chosen very much reflects the politics of the time the UN was formed - the
war in Europe had just ended and the Cold War between communist and
capitalist countries was just emerging:

Clip Pam O'Toole
The Security Council has 15 member states on it, 5 of those are permanent - US, Russia,
China, France and the UK - the other ten are rotating members, so as they change, every year 5
countries will leave and 5 more will join.
Colin: How would you define the Security Council?
Pam: Its role is to maintain international peace and security. And it does that by convening at
any time - a member state can ask them to convene for an emergency session if it feels peace is
threatened. E.g. one country invades another, or Israel bombing Syria - or in late 80s Iran,


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which till then had not been keen on the Security Council, decided to call for convening when
the US shot down a civilian airliner. It’s the ultimate back-up for a country when they feel their
security is threatened by a particular event.


Clip News reports about resolutions and vetoing
Barnaby Mason
In Moscow, the Russians confirmed this co-ordination by announcing that their Foreign
Minister, Igor Ivanov, had discussed the resolution with his French and German
counterparts…
Greg Barrow
The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Faisal Mekdad, said his government was
preparing a draft resolution that council members would be asked to consider…


Clip Pam O'Toole
Colin: Can you give us an example of the way the Security Council voting works on a
resolution?
Pam: A resolution can be tabled before the Security Council - a country or a group of
countries will draw up what they think should happen. If you've just tabled a resolution, you
don’t want one of the permanent members to use their veto power. There might be
amendments if one of the permanent 5 threatens to veto. Or sometimes they refuse to make
amendments.
Colin: Which countries tend to veto the most?


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Pam: It depends - during the Cold War you’d get either the US or the Soviet Union ready to
veto at the drop of a hat. In recent years you've seen the US willing to veto on certain
resolution put forward on Israel. It depends on the times - who vetoes the most and why.


Abigail: The United Nations is central to so many news stories that journalists like
Pam O’Toole have to be able to explain UN processes clearly. But we’ve
seen how complex the United Nations is, and finding the language to
describe it is difficult, as she explained to our reporter Colin Babb:


Clip Pam O'Toole
Colin: As a journalist, what are the difficulties in trying to explain that to an audience or to
people who are not too sure about what the UN does?
Pam: Yes, I think who does what and when is always a matter of great confusion. The
Secretary General might come out and say, 'I think such and such should happen'. He might
prefer a particular course of action, but if the Security Council decides to go in a different
direction, it’s the Security Council vote that carries the weight. The Secretary General is the
human face of the United Nations. He's recognised around the world. But he's also a contact
point… advises… steers UN policy… and helps deciding how UN will develop and evolve.


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Abigail: What happens the UN in the coming years is still open to question. Pam
O'Toole:

Clip Pam O'Toole
The world has changed - now we're going to a decade where security seems to be the big
preoccupation. For instance if a terrorist group became armed with weapons of mass
destruction, should the UN consider a different approach than in the past? The UN is trying to
stay relevant and keep its position as a guarantor of international security in an ever changing
world.