The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions – The United Nations

The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions – The United Nations

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The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Answers

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EXERCISES

A. Fill in the blanks:

  1. The League of Nations was formed in 1920 after the end of the First World War.
  2. Each member state of the UN can send up to Five representatives to the General Assembly.
  3. The Security council is often referred to as the ‘Enforcement Wing’ of the UN.
  4. The five permament members of the Security Council are USA, UK, France, People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
  5. The objective of the ECOSOC is to free the world from want.
  6. The WHO is a specialized agency of the UN.

B. Match the following:
The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions - The United Nations 1
The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions - The United Nations 2
Answer:
The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions - The United Nations 3

C. Choose the correct answer:

1. 24 October/22 March/21 June is celebrated as United Nations Day.
Ans. 24 October is celebrated as United Nations Day.

2. The olive branches on the UN flag symbolize peace/wealth/ truth.
Ans. The olive branches on the UN flag symbolize peace.

3. The Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members elected by the General Assembly for a 3/4/5-year term.
Ans. The Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members elected by the General Assembly for a 5-year term.

4. The International Court of Justice is located in New York City in USA/The Hague in Netherlands/Paris in France.
Ans. The International Court of Justice is located in The Hague in Netherlands.

5.The Secretariat/General Assembly/International Court of Justice is the chief administrative organ of the UN.
Ans. The Secretariat is the chief administrative organ of the UN.

D.State whether the following are true or false:

  1. All the members of the UN are members of the General Assembly.
    True.
  2. French is one of the official languages of the UN.
    True.
  3. The Trusteeship Council is the most important organ of the UN.
    False
    Correct: The Security Council is the most important organ of the UN.
  4. UNESCO and UNICEF are specialized agencies of the UN.
    True.
  5. Most of the world’s problems have disappeared with the end of the Cold War.
    False.
    Correct: Most of the world’s problems have disappeared with the end of the Cold War. This, however, did not happen.

E. Answer the following questions in one or two words/ sentences:

Question 1.
Mention one important organ of the UN.
Answer:
The Security Council is the most important organ of the UN.

Question 2.
Who are the members of the General Assembly?
Answer:
All the members of the UN are members of the General Assembly.

Question 3.
What is a negative vote by one of the permanent members of the Security Council known as?
Answer:
Veto is the negative vote by any one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council which leads to the cancellation of the resolution.

Question 4.
Why was the Trusteeship Council established?
Answer:
When the UN was first formed, a large number of countries were not free. Many were affected by the war. The Trusteeship Council was established to look after the territories that were under foreign rule and to help them attain self-government.

Question 5.
Why did the UN impose economic sanctions against the South African government?
Answer:
By imposing economic sanctions against the South African government, it played a significant role in challenging the apartheid policy and liberating the South African people from apartheid.

Question 6.
What is the relevance of the UN in today’s world?
Answer:
The need of the hour is to reform and strengthen the UN and to make it strong and effective, capable of healing the wounds of our times and restoring sanity, balance and harmony to our strife-tom world.

F. Answer the following questions briefly:

Question 1.
The magnitude and scale of destruction during the Second World War created a great revulsion for war and a passionate yearning for peace. In this context
(a) The signing of the Atlantic Charter
(b) The basic rights or the four freedoms guaranteed by the charter
(c) The San Francisco Conference and establishment of the United Nations
Answer:
(a)
Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president of the United States of America, met aboard a battleship off Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean. They signed a document called the Atlantic Charter on 14 August 1941.
(b)
It was agreed that when the war ended, humans must be guaranteed the basic rights or the four freedoms. The basic rights included:

  1. freedom from want
  2. freedom of speech
  3.  freedom of religious belief
  4.  freedom from fear

(c)
In June 1945, 50 nations met in San Francisco to sign the Atlantic Charter. Poland, which was not represented at the conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 member states. On 24 October 1945, the United Nations was established to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights. 24 October is celebrated as United Nations Day.

Question 2.
With reference to the United Nations discuss:
(a) The UN flag
(b) Any four objectives of the UN outlined in the Preamble of the UN Charter
(c) The obligations of all nations that follow from these objectives
Answer:
(a)

The UN flag depicts two bent olive branches which are open at the top with a world map between them. The white olive branches and the world map are on a light blue background. The branches symbolize peace.
(b)
The objectives of the UN have been outlined in the Preamble of the UN charter. They are:

  1. To maintain international peace and security.
  2. To develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of equality.
  3. To achieve international cooperation in solving, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems.
  4. To promote human rights and fundamental freedom for the people of the world.
  5. To act as a common platform for harmonizing the activities of various nations for the attainment of the objectives of the UN.
  6. To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has twice brought suffering to humans.

(c)
This implies that:

  1. All nations, big or small, are equal.
  2. They must all obey the Charter.
  3. All disputes must be settled peacefully.
  4. No force should be used.

Question 3.
With reference to the General Assembly and Security Council of the UN, answer the following questions:
(a) Mention any four functions of the General Assembly.
(b)Explain the veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council. What happens when the Security Council cannot take any action because of the veto?
(c) State three important functions of the Security Council.
Answer:
(a) Important functions of the General Assembly:

  1. To discuss international problems and make recommendations for their solution.
  2. To make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
  3. To consider and approve the UN budget.
  4. To elect non-permanent members of the security council members of the economic and social council (ECOSOC) and the trusteeship council.
  5. To supervise the work of the other organs of the UN.including the use of armed forces’ during a crises (Uniting for Peace Resolution)
  6. To make recommendations for ‘collective measures.

(b) A negative vote by any one of the permanent members would lead to a cancellation of the resolution. This right to prevent action from being taken is known as the right to veto.When no action can be taken by the Security Council because of the     veto, the General Assembly  can deal  with the crisis. It can take whatever action may seem appropriate to restore and maintain world peace.

(c) Functions of the Security Council:

  1. To investigate international disputes and recommend ways of settling such disputes peacefully.
  2. To call on member states to apply economic sanctions against the aggressor.
  3. To take military action against the aggressor, if necessary.

Question 4.
With reference to the organs of the UN, discuss:

(a) Any three functions of the Economic and Social Coucil (ECOSOC)
(b) The composition and functions of the Internatinal Court of Justice
(c) Any four significant achievements of the UN
Answer:
(a) Functions of the ECOSOC:

  1. To promote economic growth and social progress
  2. To create a spirit of respect for human rights .
  3. To solve problems related to health, illiteracy, drugs, employment, status of women etc.
  4. To supervise the work of various specialized agencies such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labour Organization (ILO) Food and Agricultural organization (FAO), etc.

(b) The International Court of Justice (ICJ) consists of 15 judges from different countries, elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. Each judge has a 9-year term. Two judges cannot be from the same country.
Functions of International Court of Justice:

  1.  To settle disputes brought to it by member nations.
  2. To give legal advice to the other organs of the UN, on request.

(c) Achievement of the UN

  1. Although it has not been able to prevent war, in many cases, it has taken effective action to restore peace, e.g., the Korean War, the Suez Canal crisis, the Gulf War, etc.
  2. Many countries like Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, have achieved their independence with support from the UN.
  3. By imposing economic sanctions against the South African government, it played a significant role in challenging the aparthied policy and liberating the South African people from aparthied rule.
  4. It has worked consistently for the protection and preservation of human rights around the world.
  5. It has worked actively to end the nuclear arms race and encouraged the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
  6. It has achieved great success in the fields of labour, health, welfare of children and education by fighting poverty, ignorance, malnutrition, hunger and disease through its specialized agencies.

G picture Study:

This buliding is the headquarters of an international organization which was established in October 1945 to maintain international peace and security.
The Trail History and Civics for Class 8 ICSE Solutions - The United Nations 4

Question 1.
Name the organization.
Answer:
United Nation (UN)

Question 2.
Where are the headquarters of this organization located?
Answer:
New York City

Question 3.
Mention four important objectives of this organization.
Answer:
The objectives of the UN have been outlined in the Preamble of the UN charter. They are:

  1.  To maintain international peace and security.
  2. To develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of equality.
  3. To achieve international cooperation in solving, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems.
  4. To promote human rights and fundamental freedom for the people of the world.
  5. To act as a common platform for harmonizing’ the activities of various nations for the attainment of the objectives of the UN.
  6. To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has twice brought suffering to humans.

Question 4.
Name three major organs of this organization.
Answer:
Organs of the UN:

  1. The General Assembly
  2. The Security Council
  3. The Economic and Social Council

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Question 1.
What is meant by the term ‘veto’?
Answer:
A negative vote by any one of the permanent members would lead to a cancellation of the Resolution. This right to prevent action being taken is known as the right to veto. This means that any resolution becomes ineffective even if one of the permanent members votes against it. This means that all decisions have to be taken with the consent of all the permanent members.

Question 2.
The Cold War has ended. What is the relevance of the UN in today’s world?
Answer:
There were deep rooted ideological, economic and political differences between the United States ans Soviet Union before the Second World War. These differences were intensified as a result of their mutual suspicions immediately after the Second World War. After 1953 , The Cold War was waning. There were two reasons which could explain the easing of the tension. The first reason was that since 1953, both the United States and Soviet Union possessed by hydrogen bombs. Both sides realized that the use of these destructive weapons in war would destroy each other. Thus they were determined to improve their relations in order to avoid direct military clash. The Second reason was that since 1954, the bonds between The ‘Super Power’ and their satellites began to slacken. As their satellites did not fully support their leaders, it made political sense for the two super power to improve their relations.

 

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