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America Enters World War I
America entered World War I in 1917, which resulted in a horrified response from the entire country. In order to avoid repitition of such an event, America felt that an organization needed to be born. The ultimate goal of this organization was to mantain world peace by sorting out international disputes if they were ever to occur again. As a result, the League of Nations was created. -
Constitution of League of Nations
The constitution of the League of Nations was adopted during the various of Paris Peace Conferences taking place. This constituion called for collective security and peaceful settlements of dispute, which was the main purpose that the organization was created. -
First Failure of the League of Nations
In 1919, Italian nationalists had agreed that the "Big Three" had broken their promises to Italy at the Treaty of Versailles through capturing the small port of Fiume. Despite that the only job the league had was to maintain peace, they did nothing to help. As a result, Italy had to solve the problem themselves with no assistance. -
The Aaland Islands
The Aaland islands officially belonged to Finland. However, the people wished to be governed by Sweeden. The two countries, Finland and Sweeden, could not decide who should be in control of the island. As a result, they asked the League of Nations to officiate. The League decided that the island would belong to Finland, but no weapons would be allowed to be kept there. The is the first major success that the organization had. -
The Munich Agreement
As a result of World War II, many people began to develop a grudge against Germany. As an attempt to resolve this, Benito Mussolini suggested a meeting that was to take place between four different countries; Germany, Britain, France and Italy. These 4 powers signed what was known as the Munich agreement, The League of Nations decided to remain silent on the invasion. -
Expelling of the Soviet Union
The negotiation of stationing troops in various parts of Finland had failed. As a result, Stalin ordered the the Red Army to invade them. The League of Nations decided to finally take action, which resulted in the expelling of the Soviet Union. -
Indonesia Freed
As soon as Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch, they sent out troops in order to deal with this. However, the Security Council ordered them both to cease fire. Afterwards, the U.N. said they supported Indonesia, resulting in their independence. This was one of the better successes of the U.N. -
United Nations Created
The United Nations was created in 1945 in order to replace the League of Nations. The purpose of this organization was to work towards peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of people. It affords opportunities for countries to balance global interpendence and national interests. Currently, there are 192 members of the United Nations. -
World Bank Created
In 1945, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Developement (also known as the World Bank) was created. Originally, the purpose of this organization was to grant loans to Europe to help the process of rebuilding them after the wars that they'd participated in. However, now that Europe is more stable, the purpose is to facilitate the expansion of global trade and promote change stability. There are currently 179 members of the World Bank. -
League of Nations Disbanded
The League of Nations officially disbanded at the end of World War II. This was primarily due to the fact that they didn't have any real amounts of power, except for economic sanctions. Although they did have some success, they are easily forgotten due to its failure at political levels. -
Iran and Russia
After World War II, Iran had complained to the U.N. that there were still USSR troops being stationed there, which interferred with internal Iranian matters. However, due to the Cold War, the U.N. did nothing, resulting in the USSR and Iran having to come up with a solution themselves. -
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
In 1948, the U.N. began to raise the society's conciousness of human rights by adapting a document known as the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The U.N.Commission also helped in promoting free and fair elections, which helped countries from all around the world transition into democracy. -
International Finance Corporation Created
In 1956, the IFC was established and created for the purpose of promoting private sector development in developing countries. Currently, it is the largest multilateral source of loans and equity financing in the world. The help in financing and helping private companies, as well as providing advice and technical assistance to governments and businesses. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world had ever come to to a nuclear war. During this time, the U.N. was used as a podium by the United States to challenge the Soviet Union's placement of missiles in Cuba. This dispute lasted approximately 14 days, when it finally ended on the 28. -
Iraq v.s. Iran
Due to a long running dispute between the two countries, Iraq eventually decided to invade Iran. The Security Council stepped in and told the two to ceasefire. However, the U.N. remained powerless and the war continued for approximately 8 years. -
World Trade Organization Created
Russia began to hold negotiations ever since 1993. The creation was delayed due to various disagreements that occured between the members. Regardless, the World Trade Organization commenced in 1995 on the basis of multilateral trade negotiations, which was conducted by GATT members. The purpose of the organization was to control the implementation of trade agreements, organize and mantain negotiations and settle trade disputes. -
General Agreement on Trade and Services
As a result of the Uruguay rounds, this treaty was created by the World Trade Organization. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector. -
WTO Ministerial Conference
The World Trade Organization's Ministerial Conference was hosted by the Singaporean governemtn in Suntec City. During this meeting, the conference established 4 primary working groups. These groups are transparency in government procurement, trade facilitation (customs issues), trade and investment, and trade and competition. -
WTO's New Focus
The world leaders all gathered in Seattle at a conference. Their intention is to ensure that the poor, developing countries become partners as well and gain benefits from world trade. They've also planned to make the WTO talks more inclusive and accessible for poorer countries. -
Seattle Ministerial Conference
The third Ministerial Conference takes place in Seattle, USA. However, this time, the conference ends in failure, which results in mass demonstrations and riots (approximately 30,000 people participating), drawing world wide attention.
