INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Text 1
The United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after
the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international
peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting
social progress, better living standards and human rights.

Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its
founding Charter, the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and
provide a forum for its 193 Member States to express their views, through the
General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and
other bodies and committees.

The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although
best known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian
assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations and its System
(specialized agencies, funds and programmes) affect our lives and make the world
a better place. The Organization works on a broad range of fundamental issues:
from sustainable development, environment and refugees protection, disaster relief,
counter terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation to promoting democracy,
human rights, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance,
economic and social development and international health, clearing landmines,
expanding food production, and more, in order to achieve its goals and coordinate
efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

The UN has four main purposes:

 To keep peace throughout the world;

 To develop friendly relations among nations;
 To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to
conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each
other’s rights and freedoms;
 To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.
According to The United Nations website, there are currently 193 member
states in the UN. Three countries out of the 196 countries of the world are not
members of the United Nations. They are Kosovo, Taiwan and the Holy.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008 but has
not gained complete international recognition to allow it to become a member of
the United Nations.
In 1971 the People's Republic of China (mainland China) replaced Taiwan
(also known as the Republic of China) in the United Nations.
 The Holy/Vatican City is the independent papal state of 771 people
(including the Pope) created in 1929. They have not chosen to become a part of the
international organization.)
In addition, two non-member states have permanent observer’s status: the
Holy and Palestine.
Reading comprehension exercises:
1. Read the text, make up a plan and write down the key words.
2. Put ten questions to the text.
3. Explain the meaning of the words ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘peacebuilding’.
4. Translate the following expressions into Ukrainian: vested powers,
sustainable development, refugees protection, disaster relief, to counter
terrorism, gender equality, advancement of women, clearing landmines, to
gain international recognition.
5. Find in the text the equivalents for the following words and phrases:
рівень життя, запобігати конфліктам, гуманітарна допомога,
роззброєння, побороти голод, хвороби та неписьменність, зараз (нині),
проголосити незалежність.
6. Retell the text.
7. Give the summary of the text.

Text 2
Part 1. The history of the UN
The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D.
Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942,
during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their
Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.

States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific

matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the
International Telegraph Union, and the Universal Postal Union was established in
1874. Both are now United Nations specialized agencies.

In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to

elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying
rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of
International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which
began work in 1902.
 The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an
organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first World War, and
established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international
cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour
Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated
agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to
prevent the Second World War.

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United

Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations
Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the
representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United
States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. The Charter
was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland,
which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the
original 51 Member States.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when
the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United
Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories. United Nations
Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

Part 2. The organs of the UN

The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations: the
General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the
Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The
United Nations family, however, is much larger, encompassing 15 agencies and
several programmes and bodies.

Quick facts

 General Assembly: 193 Member States

 Security Council: 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent
 Economic and Social Council: 54 members
 International Court of Justice: 15 judges

General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the UN and is composed
of representatives of all Member States. The work of the United Nations year-
round derives largely from the mandates given by the General Assembly. A
revitalization of the Assembly is under way to enhance its role, authority,
effectiveness and efficiency.

General Assembly Subsidiary Bodies

Economic and Social Council

 The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established by the UN
Charter, is the principal organ to coordinate the economic, social and related work
of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and institutions. Voting in the
Council is by simple majority; each member has one vote.

ECOSOC Subsidiary Bodies

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice, located at the Hague in the Netherlands,

is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes
between states and gives advisory opinions to the UN and its specialized agencies.
Its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations Charter.

Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for
the maintenance of international peace and security. A reform of the Security
Council, including its membership is under consideration.

Security Council Subsidiary Bodies

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter to

provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under the
administration of 7 Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to
prepare the Territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all Trust
Territories had attained self-government or independence. Its work completed, the
Council has amended its rules of procedure to meet as and where occasion may
require.

Secretariat

The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the Organization. It

services the other principal organs and carries out tasks as varied as the issues dealt
with by the UN: administering peacekeeping operations, surveying economic and
social trends, preparing studies on human rights, among others.

Repertory of Practice of the United Nations Organs

The Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs is a legal publication

containing analytical studies of the decisions of the principal organs of the United
Nations. It is a comprehensive summary of the decisions of United Nations
Organs and serves to throw light on questions of application and interpretation of
the UN Charter in practice.

Reading comprehension exercises:

 1. Read Text 2 (Part 1 and Part 2), make up a plan and write down the key
words.
2. Put ten questions to the text (Part 1, 2).
3. Explain the meaning of the following: ‘Axis Powers’, ‘the Treaty of
Versailles’.
4. Translate the following words and expressions into Ukrainian: to pledge
the governments, to codify rules of warfare, affiliated agency, to come into
existence, deliberative organ, to give advisory opinions.
5. Translate the Ukrainian words and word combinations into English:
a) Розробити інструменти для мирного врегулювання криз,
попередник, започаткована за подібних обставин, припинити
діяльність, модернізація (відновлення), невід’ємна частина,
самоврядування, повсякденний (щоденний, буденний), досліджувати
економічні та соціальні тенденції.
b) As the world only truly universal (світова організація), the United
Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that (виходять за
межі національних кордонів) and cannot be resolved by any one country
acting alone.
To its (першочергових цілей) of (збереження миру), protecting human
rights, establishing the framework for international justice and promoting
economic and social progress, in the six and a half decades since its creation
(ООН) has added on new challenges, such as climate change,
(міжнародний тероризм) and AIDS.
While (розв’язання, вирішення конфліктів) and peacekeeping continue
to be among its most visible efforts, the UN, along with its specialized
agencies, is also engaged in a wide array of activities to improve people’s
lives around the world – from disaster relief, through education and
advancement of women, to (мирне використання атомної енергії).
6. Retell the text.
7. Give the summary of the text.

Text 3
The European Union
The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European
countries that together cover much of the continent.
The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first
steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade
with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid
conflict. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in
1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries:
Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a
huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards its full
potential.

From economic to political union

What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation

spanning policy areas, from development aid to environment. A name change from
the EEC to the European Union (EU) in 1993 reflected this.

The EU is based on the rule of law: everything that it does is founded on

treaties, voluntarily and democratically agreed by all member countries. These
binding agreements set out the EU's goals in its many areas of activity.

Mobility, growth, stability and a single currency

The EU has delivered half a century of peace, stability and prosperity,

helped raise living standards, and launched a single European currency, the euro.

Thanks to the abolition of border controls between EU countries, people can

travel freely throughout most of the continent. And it's become much easier to live
and work abroad in Europe.

The single or 'internal' market is the EU's main economic engine, enabling
most goods, services, money and people to move freely. Another key objective is
to develop this huge resource to ensure that Europeans can draw the maximum
benefit from it.

Human rights and equality

One of the EU’s main goals is to promote human rights both internally and
around the world. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law
and respect for human rights: these are the core values of the EU. Since the 2009
signing of the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights brings all
these rights together in a single document. The EU's institutions are legally bound
to uphold them, as are EU governments whenever they apply EU law.

Transparent and democratic institutions

As it continues to grow, the EU remains focused on making its governing

institutions more transparent and democratic. More powers are being given to the
directly elected European Parliament, while national parliaments are being given a
greater role, working alongside the European institutions. In turn, European
citizens have an ever-increasing number of channels for taking part in the political
process.

Reading comprehension exercises:

1. Read the text, make up a plan and write down the key words.
2. Put ten questions to the text.
3. What do you know about ‘the Treaty of Lisbon’ and ‘Maastricht Treaty
(Treaty of Maastricht)’?
4. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Ukrainian:
in the aftermath of, to span policy areas, development aid, abolishing of
border control, to draw benefit from smth, to be legally bound, to uphold
smth.
5. a) Find in the texts the equivalents for the following Ukrainian words
and word-combinations: унікальне партнерство, винятково (лише)
економічний союз, засновуватися на угодах, єдина валюта, ключова
(основна) мета, гарантувати (запевняти), людська гідність, звести в
єдиний документ, застосовувати закон, поряд (разом) з, у свою чергу.
b) Translate the following sentences into English:
Європейський Союз – це міждержавне утворення. Країни, що входять
до його складу, заснували спільні інституції, яким було делеговано
частину їхніх суверенних повноважень, завдяки чому стало можливо
демократично приймати рішення з конкретних питань, які становлять
спільний інтерес на європейському рівні. Європейський Союз створив
спільну валюту, спільний ринок, в якому люди, послуги, товари і
капітал пересуваються вільно. Однією з його першочергових цілей є
зробити так, щоб внаслідок соціального прогресу та справедливої
конкуренції якомога більше людей могли скористатися перевагами
спільного ринку.
6. Retell the text.
7. Give the summary of the text.
Text 4
The World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body whose
purpose is to promote free trade by persuading countries to abolish import tariffs
and other barriers. As such, it has become closely associated with globalization.
The WTO is the only international agency overseeing the rules of international
trade. It polices free trade agreements, settles trade disputes between governments
and organizes trade negotiations.
WTO decisions are absolute and every member must abide by its rulings.
Therefore, when the US and the European Union are in dispute over bananas or
beef, the WTO acts as judge and jury. WTO members are empowered by the
organization to enforce its decisions by imposing trade sanctions against countries
that have breached the rules.
Based in Geneva, the WTO was set up in 1995, replacing another
international organization known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT). GATT was formed in 1948 when 23 countries signed an agreement to
reduce customs tariffs.
The WTO has a much broader scope than GATT. Whereas GATT regulated
trade in merchandise goods, the WTO also covers trade in services, such as
telecommunications and banking, and other issues such as intellectual property
rights.
China formally joined the body in December 2001 after a 15-year battle.
Russia joined only after convincing the EU and US that it had reformed business
practices, and after Georgia dropped its politically motived veto in late 2011.
The highest body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference. This meets every two
years and, among other things, elects the organization’s chief executive - the
director-general - and oversees the work of the General Council.
The Ministerial Conference is also the setting for negotiating global trade
deals, known as "trade rounds" which are aimed at reducing barriers to free trade.
The General Council is in charge of the day-to-day running of the WTO and is
made up of ambassadors from member states who also serve on various subsidiary
and specialist committees.
Among these are the Dispute Settlement Panels that rule on individual
country-against-country trade disputes.

Reading comprehension exercises:

1. Read the text, make up a plan and write down the key words.
2. Put ten questions to the text.
3. What do you know about ‘trade rounds’ and ‘Dispute Settlement
panels’?
4. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Ukrainian:
to abolish import tariffs, to oversee the rules, to settle trade disputes, to
breach the rules, to reduce customs tariffs, merchandise goods, to reform
business practices, to drop politically motived veto, chief executive, trade
deals, ambassadors from member states, subsidiary and specialist
committees.
 5. Translate the following Ukrainian text into English:
Світова Організація Торгівлі (СОТ) створена за результатами Уругвайського
Раунду торговельних переговорів 1 січня 1995р.
Секретаріат СОТ знаходитьcя у Женеві, Швейцарська Конфедерація (Rue de
Lausanne 154 William Rappard Centre).
Очолює СОТ Генеральний директор Паскаль Ламі (з 2005 р.).
Спираючись на Генеральну Угоду з тарифів і торгівлі (ГАТТ 1947 р.),
попередника теперішньої багатосторонньої торговельної системи, СОТ
побудована на дотриманні правил. Це - організація, якою керують і
діяльність якої визначають самі країни-члени. Основні функції СОТ:

 слугувати форумом для торговельних переговорів;

 слідкувати за виконанням угод СОТ;
 врегульовувати торговельні суперечки через спеціально розроблений
механізм;
 моніторити національні торговельні режими країн – членів СОТ;
 забезпечувати співпрацю з іншими міжнародними організаціями
(МВФ, СБ, ЮНКТАД, ОЕСР тощо);
 надавати технічну допомогу та навчання у сфері торговельної політики
СОТ.

Міжнародна торгівля базується на правових та інституційних рамках відомих

як «угоди СОТ», які мають на меті забезпечення якнайбільшого ступеня
відкритості торгівлі без небажаних негативних наслідків.
СОТ має свій Секретаріат, проте Конференція Міністрів країн-членів є
найвищим органом СОТ, а Генеральна Рада уповноважена керувати та
приймати рішення у періоди між Конференціями Міністрів, вона також є
Органом з вирішення суперечок.
Основоположними принципами СОТ є:
 режим найбільшого сприяння;
 національний режим;
 зниження торговельних бар’єрів;
 прозорість та передбачуваність через дотримання зобов’язань за
підписаними угодами;
 сприяння чесній конкуренції;
 сприяння розвитку та економічному зростанню.

6. Retell the text.

7. Give the summary of the text.