Külpolitika - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet elméleti-politikai folyóirata - 1985 (12. évfolyam)
1985 / 5. szám - A tanulmányok orosz és angol nyelvű tartalmi kivonata
Mihály Simái The future of the UN Assesing the activities of the United Nations, many raise the question: what explains that the world organization was able to survive after World War II and that subsequent international crises did not lead to its collapse. For an answer one must examine the political structure that evolved in the period after World War II. The UN has been created by the victorious powers of the anti-fascist coalition as an expression of the fundamental oint interests of that coalition, with the aim of preventing the breakout of another world war. As concerns the above fundamental issue, the leading powers of the two world systems, the Soviet Union and the United States continued to share certain interests and this was also true to other countries of the world. Ther- e was an understanding that the organizational system should continue to operate since in case of a loosening of bilateral relations or their eventual breakup, it should provide possibility for the discussions of crisis situations. In the course of the past fourty years, there emerged many problems, the solution of which require global cooperation. The framework for cooperation in assessing and , solving these problems have been provided by the UN and the necessity of this framework did not decrease, just the opposite, it did increase in the past decades. As concerns the development, operation and efficiency of the UN, the extent to which it can adjust to the realities of the world and to the realities of international relations is of essential importance. Today, world political relations are much more complex than they had been at the time of the birth of the UN. The activities for the realization of the fundamental task of the UN, the prevention of a nuclear catastrophe, demand new efforts and a qualitatively different approach by the states. Cooperation in solving the international political and world economy problems of our age and that of the future necessitates that the efficiency of the world organization be considerably increased. Amidst the economic and political conditions in the decades to come, the world organization will only be able to fulfill its tasks if it will be able to forestall the problems to a certain extent and if it handles these problems flexibl , taking realities into consideration and helping their sol útion b seeking alternatives and compromises. Zoltán Szilágyi The UN system of and its operation Forty years ago, the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco signified the birth of one of the most significant peace documents of humanity. The progressive forces of the world defeated war itself. In the course of the forty years, the world organization has no doubt been playing an important role in preserving international peace and security and in solving problems linked to the economic, social and cultural development of the peoples. It is likewise beyond doubt however that so far the UN failed to have itself fully accepted as a multilateral forum or to realize fully all the fundamental aims that had been set forth in the UN Charter. In spite of all these, however, the United Nations continues to remain an irreplaceable instrument of cooperation between the member states. The United Nations is a product of historical necessity. Its establishment had been directed at developing the wide anti-fascist coalition that existed during World War II, into cooperation within a postwar peaceful organization. With the UN Charter entering into force there emerged a new system of international relations directed at preserving international peace and security, the peaceful settlement of debates between the member states and joint action against acts of aggression. With the proper utilization of the principal and affiliated organs belonging to the UN system and its specialized agencies an adequate framework is provided for the manifold political, economic, social and cultural activities serving universal interests. Codifying statutes and adopting resolutions, the UN had been in the vanguard of urgent global efforts for cooperation in the service of world peace. As a result of the treaties negotiated in UN framework, the seabed, the space and the Antarctic remained free of nuclear arms; bacteriological weapons had beeil banned, and the transformation of environment for military purposes and the proliferation of atomic weapons have also been limited. Under the Charter, the maintenance of international peace and security is a primary task of the Security Council, which however, owing to a lack of concensus among the big powers, failed to fulfill its function in many of the eases. Nevertheless it contributed to VIII
