Section 4 (Trade, Development and Poverty Eradication)
Q33. Do you think the UN has benefited small member states? If so, how and in what way? If not, why?
By Linus Wong, National Junior College
Membership in the United Nations is often seen as a prerequisite for a country or state to be considered fully sovereign. The United Nations has often been criticized for being a talk shop, a forum for world discussion that results in no tangible benefits. But critics have often been overly harsh in their assessment of this supranational organization. The UN has many tangible benefits for member nations. This is especially important for small states that often lack the capability to handle complex and destabilizing situations by themselves.
These benefits for small states include and are not limited to:
1. The UN serves as a guarantor of a member state’s sovereignty. If a member state’s sovereignty is infringed, the UN has the ability to authorize other member states to act in the name of collective security and allow the use of armed force to defend or regain the sovereignty of an invaded member state.
(Key examples include the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the invasion of the Republic of Korea by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
2. Even if armed action is not taken, the opinion of the UN, the voice of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly represent the voice and will of the international community. International condemnation for the aggressor and support for the attacked state lends legitimacy to the government in need and denies the invader of any credibility. This is essential for small states as they may be unable to defend themselves against an armed assault by a stronger and more powerful nation, and this level of support galvanizes the occupied people and gives hope to the afflicted government.
(A key example would be the UN’s condemnation of Vietnam after it invaded Cambodia on a yearly basis till Vietnam withdrew from Cambodia in the face of strong, sustained international condemnation.)
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| UN General Assembly |
3. In addition, due to the limited resources that small states have, it is not possible for them to have as wide a diplomatic outreach as the larger nations. (not as many embassies due to a smaller budget) Thus the UN serves as an invaluable platform for them to carry out state to state relations and to conduct diplomatic relations and trade agreements.
(Small island states like Nauru, the Maldives and Singapore use the UN as a key platform upon which they can conduct diplomacy and maintain diplomatic relations with other nations.)
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| Singapore's Permanent Representative, Mr Vanu Gopala Menon |
4. Furthermore, the UN is able to guarantee a state’s neutrality. This ensures that nations that wish to remain neutral to world events and world conflicts are able to do so.
(Key examples include Turkmenistan, whose neutrality was recognized by the UN in 1995 and other neutral states like Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria)
5. In addition, the UN is able to assist small states economically through the various organs and programs it has like the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Small states often have limited resources and may be disadvantaged geographically. Those small landlocked states are helped by the UN Law of the Sea which ensures that these states too have access to the sea as a means of communication and trade. States that have limited natural resources or infrastructure are assisted by UN developmental experts as well as aid from fellow UN member states.
(A key example would be the UN developmental expert to Singapore, Dr Albert Winsemius, who played a major role in formulation Singapore’s economic development)
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| Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) |
6. In the past, the UN was also the main advocate for decolonization, using the UN Trusteeship Council to aid states on the path to independence by helping them build up their economic capabilities, by building up stable and functioning government and political structures and by providing long term development aid and assistance.
(Key examples would be the 7 African states and 4 states in Oceania, with Palau the last Trusteeship territory achieving independence in 1994)
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| UN Trusteeship Council |
7. Furthermore, the UN’s policy of the “one state, one vote system” gives small member states a large say in global events. As the number of small states far outweighs that of large and powerful states, the potential for small states to determine policy and resolutions in organs like the General Assembly is very large. Thus the fact that the UN allows small states to have this position to influence international events is perhaps one of the greatest benefits that small member states can gain.
8. Most importantly however, the UN recognizes the equality of all states. States large or small, states rich or poor, states powerful or weak are all seen as having equal rights and equal say in the United Nations. This understanding that no sovereign state is legally more important or more powerful than another is a powerful principle that forms the bedrock of our understanding of international law and the conduct of diplomacy between nations.
As beneficial the UN has been to small states, there are still many limitations that the UN has that hampers its true potential and the additional benefits that the UN may give its member states. The domination of the UN by large states, powerful states is still a problem even though all nations are perceived to be equal. States that are not committed to the UN, states that are not committed to the organization’s goals will also not see the UN as beneficial but sometimes even redundant and restrictive.
Ultimately though the UN’s strength and the benefits that it can give are dependent upon each and every individual member state, dependent upon the strength of their support for the UN and their attitude towards the international community.
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