1999 E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart and students from Marin Academy High School, UC Berkeley's Model UN Program, and Boalt School of Law: March 1999 with Harry Kreisler

UN History

Did the way that the British ignored the problems in Nazi Germany in the 1930s inspire you to get involved in the United Nations? If not, what inspired you?

Naomi G., Marin Academy High School

The whole dismal history of the interwar years between 1919 and 1939, during which I grew up, and the failure to make the League of Nations work gave me a strong desire to work for an effective world organization. This desire was greatly reinforced by my experiences in six years as a soldier in the British army during World War II.

How has the role of the United Nations changed since it started in 1945?

Marcus C., Marin Academy High School

The name United Nations comes from the Atlantic Charter of 1941 and refers to nations united in war, not in peace. The initial concept of the United Nations was a continuation of the wartime alliance of the United States, China, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France, as a group which would maintain and if necessary enforce the peace. Of course, this idea quickly broke down when the Cold War started in 1947. At the outset the UN had fifty members. Due to decolonization, it now has 186, and in fact the so-called Third World, which was unheard of in 1945, has a large majority in the General Assembly. Although the Security Council continues to be the most important organ of the United Nations, the organization has moved into a series of global concerns -- development, human rights, the environment, and many others which were not even considered in 1945.

Sir Brian, I am interested to know what you believe to be the greatest accomplishment that the United Nations has done since the establishment of the charter in 1945?

Matt R., Marin Academy High School

I think it is remarkable that the United Nations has been able to stay in business and to multiply its membership fourfold. It is worth recalling that its predecessor, the League of Nations, collapsed in less than twenty years.

As far as historic achievements are concerned, I would mention decolonization -- the gaining of independence by something like a third of the territories of the world from colonial status -- something that was supposed in 1945 to take more than a hundred years. I think future historians will regard the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as one of the most significant achievements of the twentieth century because it has substantially changed the priorities of human society from the rights of states to the rights of individuals.

I would also list the world community approach to a number of so-called global problems -- the environment, population, women's rights, and a number of others. This is the first time that the governments of the world have got together, working with nongovernmental organizations, to agree on strategies and plans of action to deal with these absolutely vital questions.

In the creating and shaping of the UN in its early days, were there one or two major events that really defined the course the UN would develop in later years, events either outside of the organization or internal to it?

Jennifer Co, Model UN Program, UC Berkeley

The Cold War and the threat of nuclear conflict provided for over forty years the basic motivation for UN action in keeping the peace. The UN provided the ultimate safety net for East and West on the occasions when they found themselves on a potentially fatal collision course. The other major event which defined the course of the UN was the emergence of the so-called Third World and with it a new emphasis on the importance of certain global problems -- development, population, natural resources, the environment, etc. A third major event, which may turn out to be the most important of all, was the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has increasingly redefined the relationship between the state and the individual. The problem at the moment is a certain fatigue and cynicism over the concept of multilateralism and the lack of a forceful motivation for making international institutions work.