WORKING TOGETHER

SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 9

WORKING TOGETHER

Student’s Book

Year 9

Ministry of Education
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
2000
3rd Edition 2000

Revised by Pierre Dumoulin

Layout: Raela Ruben

First edition 1987

Re-written & edited by Charles Pierce.

© Ministry of Education

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form,
or by any means, without prior permission from the publisher.

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 Contents
Chapter 1 Cooperation and Competition............................................................. 5
Introduction ......................................................................................... 5
Competition and Cooperation in Sports and Games .......................... 6
Cooperation at Work ......................................................................... 13

Chapter 2 Cooperation at Local Levels ............................................................. 19

Cooperatives ..................................................................................... 20
Trade Unions .................................................................................... 26

Chapter 3 Common Markets ............................................................................. 27

Introduction ...................................................................................... 28
The European Union ......................................................................... 28
The E.U. and the Pacific ................................................................... 36

Chapter 4 The United Nations ........................................................................... 43

Introduction ...................................................................................... 44
Aims of the United Nations .............................................................. 45
Membership ...................................................................................... 46
How the United Nations works......................................................... 48
What the United Nations is doing .................................................... 53
The United Nations in Vanuatu ......................................................... 62
The United Nations and the Future................................................... 63

Appendix A: Revision Test - Working Together..................................................... 67

Appendix B: Glossary ............................................................................................ 69

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4
 CHAPTER 1
CO-OPERATION AND
COMPETITION

5
Introduction
Your Social Science course this year has the general theme of Making a
Living. You have already seen that people need to work in order to satisfy
their basic needs for nutrition, water and shelter. You have found out that
such economic activity involves the use and misuse of resources. In this
unit, we shall see how people must work together in order to have a better
quality of living. Very few individuals can work completely on their own
to satisfy their needs. Most of us need to cooperate with others.
There are two important ways of working with other people. Cooperation
means that you help each other to complete a task. Competition means
that you try very hard to be better than someone else. We use both these
ways in our work and in our games.
In this Book we will look at examples of cooperation at local, regional
and international levels.

ACTIVITIES

1. Define cooperation and competition. Give two actual examples of

each from your daily life.
2. Look back to the cartoon on page 5. It shows two mules trying to
eat from two piles of dried grass.
a. Tell the story shown by the pictures.
b. What message about cooperation and competition is the
cartoon trying to give?

Competition and Cooperation in Sports and

Games
ACTIVITIES
1. Hockey and Soccer
The class should form small groups and discuss the simplified rules
of either hockey or soccer, as shown on page 7. You should talk
about the following points:
a. For each rule, say why you think it was made, and what would
happen if we did not have the rule.
b. Why do you think an umpire or referee is needed in each game?
c. If people do not follow the rules of the game, what do you
think should happen to them?
d. Do you think the game is cooperative, or competitive, or both?

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 Simplified Rules of Two Games
Football (Soccer)
Aim: to get the ball between
the goal posts, and
thus score a goal.
Time: two equal periods of
45 minutes with a 10
minute interval.
(Change ends at half-
time.)
Referee: one referee, with two
linesmen.
Essential Rules
1. At the starting kick, no
player may be within nine
metres of the ball.
2. A player advances the ball
by use of the feet primarily.
3. A player may not touch the
ball in any way with his
hand or arm (except the
goal-tender, when he is in
his penalty area).
4. A player may advance the
ball by using any other part
of his body - shoulder, head
and knee.
5. A player may not trip, push
or violently charge an
opponent.
6. Ball is brought into play
from the sidelines by a
throw directly over the
head, using two hands.
Hockey
Aim: to shoot ball off stick
into the net between
the goal posts, and
thus score a goal.
Time: 70 minutes with a 10
minute interval.
(Change ends at half-
time.)
Umpires: two, one at each half
of the ground.
Essential Rules
1. At the start, no player is to
be within 4.5 metres of the
two players bullying. All
must be behind the ball.
2. A player must not raise his
stick above shoulder level.
3. A player cannot stop the ball
with any part of his body
except the hand, and then it
must be dropped vertically
and immediately.
4. The ball cannot be picked up,
kicked, thrown, carried or
propelled except with a stick.
5. A player may not interfere
with an opposing player’s
stick through hooking,
holding or hitting.
6. A player may not charge,
kick or trip an opponent.
7. The ball is brought back into
play by being placed on the
side line and pushed into the
field.
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 2. Inventing your own field game
The class should divide up into three large groups, called A, B
and C.
a. Each group should invent, or make up, their own field game
for two teams, and write up six rules for it. The aim of the
field game is that all members of each team should get from
their end of the field to the other end, without being caught.
b. Group A should give their written rules to Group B, but they
are not allowed to explain anything by talking. Groups A and B
then play the game invented by A, for 10 minutes. Group C
becomes the observer team, and each member of C should
copy and complete the Observer Team Worksheet shown
below:

Observer Team Worksheet

1. How many members are playing in each team?

2. List the rules that you can see are being followed.
3. Are the teams playing together?
4. Name one or two players who are better at the
game than the others.
5. Is this a hard game? Why/why not?
6. How long does the game last?
7. How did the game start?
8. How did the game end?
9. Was there a winning team?

c. Group B must now give their rules to Group C. This time, any
questions about the rules should be discussed, so that both
teams understand the rules clearly. The game is then played
for 10 minutes between B and C. Members of Group A should
complete the Observer Team Worksheet.
d. Group C then give their rules to Group A. Any questions about
the rules are discussed, until both teams understand the rules
clearly. A referee is appointed. The game is played for 10
minutes between A and C. Members of Group B should
complete the Observer Team Worksheet.

8
 e. After the games are over, the class should come together and
discuss the following:
i. Why do we need to have rules in games?
ii. What is the job of a referee?
iii. Does it matter whether you win or lose in a game?
iv. In what way is a “team game” cooperative? In what way
is it competitive?
3. Name any five “team” sports and any five “individual” sports.
Which do you prefer - a team sport or an individual sport?
4. Here are some famous international “Games”:
• Olympic Games
• South Pacific Games
• Commonwealth Games
For each, find out:
a. When and where the last one took place.
b. When and where the next one will take place.
c. Which countries normally take part.
5. Study the advertisement shown on page 10, and answer the
following questions:
a. What sports event is being described?
b. How many people took part in this event, and what did they
do?
c. Why was this event held?
d. State one way in which this event was a good example of
cooperation.

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 LET’S CELEBRATE AND WORK TOGETHER
This year celebrates the Year of Peace. And the
aim is to unite everyone everywhere in a spirit of
1986
co-operation and peace. The International
Year of Peace
Peace begins within ourselves. So let’s unite and
work together to celebrate this special year.
Exciting plans are now underway to join with North
America Europe
people right across the world in a first ever world
relay. First Earth Run. There’s never been a run Pert - November 25,
like this. It’s a relay involving 26,000 runners Darwin - November 26,
passing a special torch through 40 nations. This torch will Start Adelaide - Noverber 26,
be used to light many more torches and candles, which will Middle East Melbourne - November 27,
be carried to another 121 nations. And the whole exercise Asia Hobart - November 28,
will involve a billion people. Africa Canberra - November 28,
South Sydney - November 28/29,
David Gershon (a major organiser of the 1980 Olympic Games torch America Brisbane - November 29.
relay) is the brains behind the Run. He describes it as “A great thread
of light passed around the world by tens of thousands of Australia
people, linking us and showing that we are together, igniting
a global sense of hope for the future.”
What’s Happening in Australia. The peace torch will arrive in Australia on
The Run Around the World. The First Earth Run begins on September 16, the November 25, touching down at 8 major cities: Perth, Darwin, Adelaide,
International Day of Peace. At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbance/Gold Coast.
the special torch will be lit. From there, it will begin a journey across the world
that will take the next four months. Along the way, local community projects At each city, 40 kilometres relays will take place. And Australians from all over
will be publicly recognised for the way they join people together. the country are invited to take part in a national draw to find our torch runners.
Then at midnight December 31, the original torch will return to the United Become Involved and Win the Opportunity to Run with the Torch. Various
Nations in New York where it will set alight an eternal flame. At the same competitions are being organised within your school and community groups.
time, all the thousands of torches and candles it has touched will be relit in Watch the newspaper for details.
one enormous celebration.
Or write to the First Earth Run Inc. Australia, C/- Ernst & Whinney, Box H265,
Thanks to the BBC and the producer of Live Aid, everyone in the world will Australia Square, Sydney, NSW 2000.
be able to watch this climatic ceremony on television.
Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of one of the most memorable world
events ever.

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6. Group game: Cooperative shapes
The class must divide into groups of 5 students.
a. The teacher will give each group one copy of each of the 5
maps shown on pages 11 and 12. But each map will have been
cut up into 5 pieces, A to E, and the pieces will have been
sorted into 5 envelopes labelled A to E. Each group will
receive a complete set of 5 envelopes, with 5 map pieces in
each envelope.
b. Each group of five sits round a table. Each member of the
group is given an envelope with a different letter on it.
c. The task facing each group is to make 5 maps of the world
which look exactly the same. The group can only finish when
each member has a map which looks the same as everyone
else’s.
d. There are two rules:
i. No talking or sign language may be used.
ii. You may not take a piece from someone else. You are only
allowed to give pieces to other members of your group
whom you think need them.
e. The first group to finish is the winner.
f. At the end, the class can discuss their feelings during this
activity. For example, how did you feel when you had to take
away a piece of your own map in order to help another person
in the group? How did you feel when another member of your
group saw what piece you needed and gave it to you? Do you
feel that this activity encouraged competition or cooperation?

D
B
A

11
 A
B
D B
E
C
C
A E
D
A B
D
C A B C D E
E

12
Cooperation at Work
In traditional subsistence farming, there are many ways in which people
help each other to complete a task. Can you give some actual examples?
(Think back to the book Making a Living in Vanuatu.)
One good example of cooperation in secondary industry is shown by the
making of bread in an urban bakery. We can find such bakeries in
Port-Vila and Luganville.
Bread that you buy in the store has been made in a factory. The factory is
called a bakery. In a bakery, many loaves of bread are made at the same
time. Many people are needed to produce the bread and to get it to you.

Let us now look at the different steps in bread-making at a bakery.

BAKING

SHAPING

G
MIXIN

ING
SIFT

13
 One man takes flour from the sacks and pours it into a large sifter
machine. Other things like yeast and liquid are added. This machine mixes
the dough. Dough is bread before it is cooked.

When the dough is mixed, two men move the mixing bowl along to
another machine. They put the dough into this machine, which cuts it into
pieces large enough to make a loaf of bread.
Two men take the pieces of dough and put them into another machine.
This machine makes the pieces into round or long shapes.

14
The shaped pieces come out of the machine on a conveyor belt or a
moving table top. The conveyor belt moves the shaped pieces along
slowly.
Men take them and carefully put them into bread tins. They put the tins on
trolleys.

Next, men put the trolleys into a special room. Machines make this room
warm and damp. Here the bread rises or grows. When it is the right size,
men move the trolleys to the ovens.
Other men put the bread into the oven to bake. The oven is very hot. It is
also large.
15
 When the bread is baked, the same men take it out of the oven. They wear
special gloves so that they will not burn their hands. The baked bread is
put on other trolleys and is moved somewhere else to cool down.

Men take some of the cooked loaves and put them, one by one, in
machines which slice the bread. They take the cut loaf and wrap it. They
place the wrapped loaves on large trays.
Men put the trays with loaves of bread into vans or trucks. The van drivers
deliver the bread to the stores. Now, you can buy your loaf of bread.

16
Men and machines work together to make the bread you eat. Each one has
his special job to do. If a machine breaks down, someone has to fix it, and
work is slowed down. If a man does not work well, it is hard for the others
to do their work. Machines and men must cooperate.

ACTIVITIES

1. Draw a flowchart to show how bread is made in a bakery.

2. In what ways does a bakery rely on cooperation between workers?
What would happen if the employees worked in competition with
each other?
3. In a bakery, we say that there is a division of labour. One man, by
himself, does not do all the tasks needed to make a loaf of bread.
Instead, he does just one part of the work needed. For example, he
may be the person who greases the bread tins before another worker
puts the dough into them. Or he may be the person who puts the
cooked loaves into the slicing machine.
Can you think of any other manufactured goods which are made by
using a “division of labour”? Choose one such article, and list
some of the different jobs done by different people in making the
article.

17
18
 CHAPTER 2
COOPERATION AT LOCAL
LEVELS

19
Cooperatives
When a group of people work together to carry out a job, or to buy and sell
goods, we say that they have formed a cooperative.

In a cooperative, the members own and control their affairs. They may
employ a manager or a secretary to look after the business, but it is the
members themselves who make the decisions and who are in charge.

How cooperatives started

Cooperatives were started in the 19th century in Europe. Groups of people
came together to protect themselves against shopkeepers and landlords
who were trying to cheat them.
The first cooperative was founded in Paris in 1834. Four jewellery workers
established their own business, the “Christian Association of Gold
Jewellers”, in which they were both the owners and the workers.
In 1844, 28 workers in a cotton factory at Rochdale, UK, set up their own
store. Each worker gave a small amount of money. With all the money that
was collected, the group was able to buy supplies of flour, oatmeal, sugar,
butter and candles.

ROCHDALE

U.K.

WEST

GERMANY

20
 At first, other people laughed at the members of this first cooperative
store. But they soon changed their minds!

After buying the goods, the Rochdale Cooperative sold them to its own
members. With the profit, the cooperative bought more supplies. Other
people saw that the cooperative members were buying their goods at
cheaper prices. They wanted to become members of this cooperative store.
One year later, there were three times as many members.
The rules followed by the members of the Rochdale Cooperative were very
simple:
• Anyone may join.
• Each member gives a small amount of money to the cooperative
to help it to run. This is called his share. Each member is called
a shareholder.
• When decisions are made by the cooperative, every shareholder
has an equal right to vote.
• All members share the profits or gains made by the cooperative.
• Some of the profits go back into the cooperative for buying
more goods.
• People are not allowed to buy goods on credit.

Consumer cooperatives
Cooperatives like the one first set up in Rochdale are called consumer
cooperatives. Members put in money to have a store. Together they buy
goods at a cheaper price. These goods are then sold to the general public,
who are the consumers. The profit made by the cooperative society is
shared out among all the members.

Agriculture cooperatives
In an agricultural cooperative, such as that started at Hlelling in Denmark
in 1882, each farmer cultivates his own land, but a group of farmers work
together to grow, harvest and sell their produce. The farmers’ cooperative

21
 may buy machinery or materials, such as tractor or some fertiliser, to help
its members grow their crops, and it may own a truck to carry the produce
to the local market.

Industrial cooperatives
In some parts of the world, groups of workers get together to set up their
own factory or workshop. They borrow money from a bank in order to buy
the buildings and equipment they need. One example is that of Paris in
1834, already mentioned.
Here are two modern examples:
• In western India, a cooperative organization called SEWA (Self-
Employed Women’s Association) helps poor village women to set up
their own workshops for the manufacture of articles in cane and
bamboo, and for making clothing. The women in a village
cooperative learn how to make the goods. They also learn how to
keep their own accounts and how to sell their products.

Making clothes in an Indian village cooperative

• In Italy, builder’s cooperatives have constructed about 25% of the

country’s houses. They have also helped to build fast motorways.

Cooperatives in Vanuatu
The Cooperative Movement began in Vanuatu in 1962, and quickly spread
to all the islands. In 1998 there were 133 cooperatives active in Vanuatu, 3
were functioning in Port Vila, 3 in Luganville, and the other 127 in villages
throughout the country.
The table on the following page shows the number of registered
cooperatives and their members in each region in 1997:

22
 Local Government Region Number of Number of Members
Cooperative Societies

Banks / Torres 4 77
Santo / Malo 18 817
Ambae / Maewo 13 46
Pentecost 8 757
Malakula 25 1890
Ambrym 14 867
Paama 4 343
Epi 9 195
Tongoa / Shepherds 4 46
Efate 11 647
Tafea 22 892
VCF 22 ?

Total 133 6 947

Nearly all Vanuatu’s cooperative societies are consumer cooperatives. They

exist to buy consumer goods from wholesalers and to sell these goods
through a retail store. In addition, they buy copra, cocoa or sea shells
produced in the local area, and they sell this produce to the Vanuatu
Commodities Marketing Board.
To become a member of a village cooperative society, a person has to buy
a share. The price varies according to the number of members and the
activities of the cooperative. By law, it is necessary to have at least 8
members to start a cooperative.
Each year, the members of a cooperative hold a meeting to decide on the
ways in which the profits will be used or divided up.
An actual example of the annual accounts of a cooperative society on
Malekula in 1997 is given below. Its activities include wholesale and retail,
sale of fuel, a bakery, a restaurant, chainsaws and transport.

Sales

Total sales + 127 524 457

Total purchases - 97 048 699
Gross Profit 30 475 758
Expenses (running the society) - 14 018 017
Net Profit 16 457 741
Other income (bank interest, etc.) 605 023
Net surplus 17 062 764
Money reinvested (put back into the store as reserve) 6 551 846
Money or dividend distributed to members 10 510 918

23
 The money that is distributed is divided into as many parts as there are
activities in the cooperative society: each person involved in an activity
receives a part, the dividend.
As well as the village cooperatives in Vanuatu, there is also the Vanuatu
National Cooperative Federation (VNCF). This organisation used to
import goods at wholesale prices and distribute them to the village
societies. But since 1986, it no longer does it itself. Now, it makes
arrangements through private wholesale companies.
Another result of the cooperative movement in Vanuatu has been the
establishment of the Cooperative Savings Bank. It encouraged village
people to save their money but it did not give credit, that is, it was not a
lending bank. In 1991 the Cooperative Savings Bank became the National
Bank of Vanuatu which is owned and controlled entirely by the
government.
The Cooperative Service of the Vanuatu Government plays an important
role in the development of cooperatives. It employs 34 people. Since 1988,
it has also helped in the development of small rural businesses (even if
they are not cooperatives). Its development officers organise training
courses for cooperative secretaries and business owners. They teach them
how to organise and run their businesses better. The Service also gives
advice on management, accounting and legal aspects of running a
business. Three woman advisers are particularly involved with women
who either start businesses themselves or take part in them. It has set up
regional asociations of village cooperatives. These groups of cooperatives
run 5 Commercial Centres at Lenakel (Tanna), Craig Cove (Ambrym),
Lolowai (Ambae), Ringdove (Epi) and Litzlitz (Malekula).
Each Commercial Centre building has:
• a wholesale section (which sells big quantities of products to village
cooperatives);
• docks for copra, cocoa and shells;
• a branch of the National Bank of Vanuatu;
• a retail store.

24
 The Commercial Centre at Lenakel, Tanna

ACTIVITIES

1. What is a “consumer cooperative”? Name two consumer

cooperative societies in Vanuatu, stating the village in which each
is found.
2. State the six basic rules for running a cooperative society. Why are
these sometimes called “Rochdale Rules”?
3. Draw a bar chart to show the number of village cooperatives in
each Local Government region in Vanuatu.
4. Here is a list of 7 steps to show how a consumer cooperative
operates in Vanuatu. The steps have all been mixed up and put in
the wrong order:
• Secretary or manager operates store.
• People buy shares and become members.
• Some of the profits are put back into the store. The rest are
divided equally among the members.
• The committee appoints a secretary or manager.
• The store makes a profit.
• The annual general meeting of the shareholders, committee
and cooperative inspector is held. Decisions are made about
how to use the profits.
• A committee is elected from among the members of the
society.
Your task is to write down the 7 steps in the correct order, and then
to show them in the form of a flowchart.
5. With reference to 1997 the accounts for the cooperative society on
Malekula (shown on page 23), calculate the amount that each
member would receive as his dividend.

25
Trade Unions
Groups of people employed in the same kind of job or industry come
together to form a trade union. Their aim is to try and get better conditions
in the factory or place of work - better working conditions, more money,
fewer hours of work, etc.
Trade unions were first set up about the same time as the early
cooperatives. Today, they are found in most countries of the world. Here
are some of the trade unions that have been formed:

Carpenters’ Union Teachers’ Union

Doctors’ Union

Taxi Drivers’ Union

Waterside Workers’ Union

ACTIVITIES

1. State two differences between a trade union and a cooperative.

2. Find out the exact names of 5 trade unions that operate in Vanuatu.

26
 CHAPTER 3
COMMON MARKETS

27
Introduction
A market is a place where people come together to buy and sell goods.
When whole countries come together as a group to buy and sell goods, we
have a common market. The member nations of a common market
cooperate together in trading their goods. They allow goods to move
freely between them, without charging customs duty.
There are many common markets already active or in the process of being
established. One of the first and most important common markets of the
world was created in Europe. It now forms the European Union.

The European Union

Birth of the European Union
In 1957, six countries signed in Rome a treaty founding the European
Economic Community (EEC). Western Germany, Belgium, France, Italy,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands decided to come together to avoid
another war in Europe and to accelerate their economic development. This
treaty has led progressively to the disappearance of customs duties and to
the free circulation of goods and people. This has made it possible for
goods from one member country to be sold in another member country at
lower prices. The industrialists of these six countries have now found
themselves faced with a bigger market, but also with one that is more
competitive. This has forced them to become progressive, in order to make
better sales.

28
 When other countries saw that cooperation in this way was good for trade,
they asked to join the Common Market. The United Kingdom, Ireland and
Denmark joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, and Spain and Portugal in 1986.
In 1993, the European Economic Community changed its name and
became the European Union.
In 1995 it welcomed three new members: Austria, Finland and Sweden. It
now has 15 member countries.
At the present time, 12 other European countries and Turkey have applied
for membership. Five of them are likely to be admitted soon.

How the European Union works

The European Union is run by four institutions or bodies:
The European Parliament
It has 626 members elected by universal suffrage and meets in Strasbourg
in France. It controls and introduces amendments to the laws and rules
common to all the countries of the Union; it votes on the budget of the
Union; and controls the European Commission and the Council of the
European Union.
The Council of the European Union
It is composed of the fifteen foreign ministers of the member countries. Its
headquarters are in Brussels in Belgium. It brings in for meetings the
ministers of Agriculture, or those of Education or of Transport etc.,
depending on what topic is under discussion by the Council. It takes
decisions and establishes rules which must be applied in all member
countries.
The European Commission
This also has its offices in Brussels. It is the main body that ensures the
functioning of the Union. It is directed by 20 Commissioners nominated
by the different governments of the member countries and approved by the
Parliament. It has a staff of 15 000. It makes suggestions to the Council
and to Parliament about the European rules (laws common to all the
members). It makes sure that the decisions taken by the Council are put
into practice.
The Court of Justice
The Court has its seat in Luxembourg. It makes sure that the rules made by
the European Union are respected by everyone. It settles arguments
between member countries or appeals by businesses, or breaches of the
European rules.

29
 The European Union has its own flag: blue with a circle of twelve gold
stars.

Headquarters of the Commission (centre) and the

Council of Ministers (left), Brussels, Belgium.

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 Oganisation of the functioning of the European Union

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APPLIES THE DECISIONS

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15 GOVERNMENTS
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PEOPLE OF THE 15 MEMBER COUNTRIES

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CHOOSES
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SENDS

31
 6 European Union - 1998
15
1957
4
9
1973
14 12
3
1
11
1981
7 2
10
1986
13 5
1995
8

32
 Member nation Area (*100 km2) Population (millions)

1. Austria 84 8 040

2. Belgium 31 1 131

3. Denmark 43 5 216

4. Finland 338 5 099

5. France 544 58027

6. Germany 357 80 553

7. Greece 132 10442

8. Ireland 70 3 557

9. Italy 301 57 248

10. Luxembourg 3 407

11. Netherlands 42 15 423

12. Portugal 92 9 912

13. Spain 506 39 170

14. Sweden 450 8 816

15. United Kingdom 244 58 276

European Union 326 371 485

Source Eurostat 1995

The members of the European Union each have their own government,
their own laws and their own way of life. But as members of a common
market, they are expected to adopt and respect new rules for everything
that concerns their countries together.

Here are some of the decisions that have already been made:
The common market: Goods can now be freely traded between all member
nations. An Italian firm can export as many washing machines as it likes to
France, and no taxes need to be paid when the machines come in.
Similarly, France can sell motor cars to Germany. Germany can export
typewriters to the UK. The result of this free trade system is that imports
and exports between members have greatly increased.

33
 Countries outside the EU must still pay customs duties when they send
goods into the Common Market. This means that the prices of most goods
coming in from outside the EU are always higher than the prices for the
same goods produced inside the EU. This helps to protect the producers of
the EU from outside competition.

But the EU has also taken decisions which go far beyond the scope of a
simple common market with free exchange of goods:

The free circulation of people: All the citizens of the 15 countries of the
EU can move freely between the member countries. They do not need a
passport or work permit; they can settle in any country of the Union to live
and work there. A coal miner from Germany can go and work in France if
he wants to, and take his family with him. A labourer from Greece can
move to Denmark. All the passports of the member nations follow the
same design.

A European Union Passport

European rules are made in many different areas: labour laws, laws about
safety, health, transport etc. In this way more and more of the laws of the
member countries become identical.

34
The prices which farmers can expect to receive for selling their crops and
animals are now fixed each year by the Council of the European Union (at
a meeting of all the agriculture ministers), so as to be the same for all the
farmers of all the member countries.
A common system of currency has been established: originally named the
Ecu, it is now called the Euro. In 2002, the currencies of the different
countries (the French Franc, the German Mark, the Dutch Florin, the
Danish Crown etc.) will no longer exist and will be replaced by the same
coins and notes throughout the EU. The aim of this is to strengthen the
power of the currency and to facilitate commerce both between member
countries of the Union and with foreign countries.
The metric system of weights and measures: has been adopted by all
member countries.
The members of the EU hope to reach agreement over many other
questions in the years to come. These include a common system of road
signs and a common system for the labelling for packages, jars, cans etc.
Besides this, the EU is working hard towards introducing rules to bring to
an end unfair competition between companies which produce goods of the
same kind. It is seeking to improve the working and living conditions of
all the inhabitants of the member countries.

35
The EU and the Pacific
The combined population of the EU is now 371.5 million, which is larger
than the population of the USA and Russia. The EU is the largest market
for goods exported from the developing countries of the world.

Total exports from developing countries in 1982

ALL DEVELOPING BETWEEN

COUNTRIES 35 DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES

24
EEC 4
EASTERN
BLOC

15

22

NORTH
AMERICA JAPAN

Source: GATT (in %)

As well as being a very important trading partner for countries of the

Third World, the EU is now one of the world’s greatest aid donors. Money
is given in the form of grants and loans.
A major agreement has now been made between the EU and 71 nations in
Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (called the ACP countries). This
agreement was first signed in Lome, capital city of Togo in West Africa, on
28th February 1975.
Refer to the map on the next page:

36
 Cape Verde
Mauritania
Mail
Senegal Niger Niger?
Gambia Chad
na
Gu rki o
Guniea Bissau ine
a BuFas
Nigeria

ire
Seirra Leone

D’ICôte
Sudan

vo
Djibouti

n
roo
Liberia
Central Ethiopia

me
Ghana African Rep.
Equatorial

Ca
Togo Guinea
Benin Ouganda

o
ng
Sao Tome and Principe Rwanda Kenya

Co
Gabon Congo (R.D.) Seychelles
Tanzania
Burundi
Kiribati Angola
Comoros

Papua New Guinea Zambia

ue
biq
Solomon Tuvalu Namibia
-
m we zam

r
i

sca
Z ab o
a b M
an

ga
tw

da
Samoa Bo

Ma
Vanuatu Fiji
Rep. of Swaziland
S. Africa
Tonga Swaziland

Bahamas

Haiti
Andigua and Barburda

Rep. of Dominica Dominica

Belize Jamaica St. Lucia
St. Vincent and Grinadines Barbados
Grenada
Trinidad and Tobayo

Guyana

Suriname

Under the Lome Convention, the European Economic Community has

agreed to make special arrangements for produce from ACP countries to
be sold freely in the EU countries, without having to pay customs duties.
In other words, the agreement has helped ACP countries to increase their
exports and so earn more money for themselves. At the same time, the
ACP countries can import EU goods at lower prices. In addition, the Lome
Convention has arranged for funds from the European Economic
Community to be given or lent to ACP countries for their development
projects and for help in emergencies caused by natural disasters such as
cyclones and earthquakes.

37
 The 4th Lome Convention ends in the year 2000.
In the Pacific region, the EU has given 35 million Ecu (5,000 million vatu)
to develop fishing, tourism, air transport, agriculture and so on. These
developments are implemented by the secretariat of the Pacific Forum.

Financial assistance of 25 million Fiji Dollars

In the course of the past five years, the European Union has already
financed, to the sum of 25 million Fiji Dollars, the promotion of the
regional tourism industry. Financial assistance which must be
maintained in the future, according to Mr. Levy. The representative of
the European Union at this conference, Mr. Jones, indicated that this
financial assistance is provisional and allows each country of the region
to guarantee the self-financing of the promotion of its tourism industry.
Extract from Vanuatu Weekly about the South Pacific Tourism Council
of June 1996.

Over the period between 1995 and 1999, the European Union gave to
Vanuatu financial assistance amounting to 9.5 million ecu
(1,3 billion vatu).
• The two principal projects financed in 1996 by the European Union
were:
• The renovation of rural primary schools (658 million vatu).
• The construction or repair of roads on the islands of Espiritu
Santo, Ambae, Ambrym, Epi, Malekula and Malo
(429 million vatu).
• The E.U. has also financed projects in other areas:
• Research on the archaeological sites of Vanuatu.
• The extension of the tourism section at INTV.
• Technical assistance to the Fisheries and Public Works
Departments.
• It is currently providing the buildings and equipment for 18 new
junior secondary schools.
• The EU also finances Stabex to help compensate for the losses in the
export of agricultural products in the years when prices are very low.
These funds allowed for the reconstruction of the bridge over the
Sarakata River in Luganville in 1997.

38
 ACTIVITIES

1. Write one sentence to explain each of the following:

a. The Treaty of Rome
b. Customs duties
c. The European Commission
d. The Lome Convention
e. ACP countries
2. Draw your own map of the European Union on a larger scale, to
show:
a. the 15 member nations; each of them should be shaded in a
different colour, and its name printed in English; underneath
each one, write the year in which it joined the European Union.
b. the 3 places where you would find the headquarters of the EU.
c. the place where the agreement to start the EEC was signed.
3. Draw the flag of the European Union. Explain what is meant by an
“economic community”.
4. State two advantages of living in the European Union.
5. In what ways does the Lome Convention help:
a. the EU countries
b. the ACP countries

The Pacific Forum

The idea of forming a common market has spread from Europe to other
parts of the world.
In the South Pacific, an organization formerly known as the South Pacific
Bureau for Economic Cooperation (SPEC) was established on 17th April
1973. Seven countries signed the agreement - Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji,
Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa. These 7 countries had already
grouped together as a political body known as the South Pacific Forum.
Now, they felt that another special organization, SPEC, was needed to help
develop trading links between the scattered island nations of the Pacific. In
1988, SPEC changed its name to become the Secretariat of the Forum.
Other countries have joined the Pacific Forum: the Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands Republic,
the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and, in 1996, Palau.

39
 The aims of the Forum and the Secretariat are to encourage the member
countries to work together in economic and political areas. The Secretariat
is responsible for a certain number of regional projects related to the
economy and to commerce, but also to problems of energy, air and sea
transport, telecommunications, and so on.
The Secretariat works with a number of international funding agencies:
Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Nations Organisation
and the European Union. All member countries also make a financial
contribution. All have a vote in deciding on activities and all follow the
rules established by the Secretariat.
The headquarters of the Forum are in Suva, Fiji.

Work done by the Pacific Forum

Here are some of the activities that have been carried out by the Pacific
Forum:
• Helping island nations to increase their exports to each other and to
Australia and New Zealand. Fiji’s banana industry has been helped in
this way. A Regional Taro Agreement has been set up.
• Setting up the Pacific Forum Shipping Line to help carry more
produce from one country to another.
• Studying the energy resources of the region, and helping island
nations to develop new ways of obtaining energy.
• Looking after regional aid projects funded by the EEC under the
Lome Conventions.
• Helping the South Pacific Commission to carry out the Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP).

40
 ACTIVITIES

1. Copy the simple sketch map below of the South West Pacific. Add a
key to name the countries numbered 1 to 16 that are members of the
Pacific Forum.

8 12
16

4 9
11
13 14
7
15
2
3 10
6
1

0 2 000 km
5

2. Find out more about the Pacific Forum.

3. State two differences and two similarities between the Pacific Forum
and the European Union.
4. Find out some of the differences between the Pacific Forum and the
Pacific Community.
5. What do you think is meant by “regional cooperation”?
6. Give two examples of regional cooperation.

41
42
 CHAPTER 4
THE UNITED NATIONS

43
Introduction
After the First World War (1914 to 1918), an organisation called the
League of Nations had been created to keep peace in the world. It failed in
its task largely because the United States of America (USA) had refused to
join it.
The Second World War (1939 to 1945) was a disaster for the whole of the
planet: 50 million dead, 30 million refugees (people having to flee from
their own countries) and so on. To avoid the repetition of such a
catastrophe, the USA decided, with its allies, to form a new organisation
which would have as its aim, after victory, the maintenance of peace.

Birth of the United Nations

From 1941, the USA, which had not yet entered the war, was defining,
with the United Kingdom, the outlines for the organisation of the world
after the war.
Several conferences during the years that followed gave opportunities for
filling in the details of the structures of the future United Nations
Organisation.
Dunbarton Oaks Conference
In August 1994 in the USA, American, British, Russian and Chinese
jurists (specialists in law) prepared the framework of the organisation.

Yalta Conference
In February 1945 in the USSR, the three heads of state, Franklin D.
Roosevelt for the USA, Winston Churchill for the UK and Joseph Stalin
for the USSR, finalised the project and decided that the United Nations
should be launched during a large international conference.
San Francisco Conference
On 26th June 1945, 51 countries signed the United Nations Charter.
Afterwards, the founder states organised the different institutions which
together make up the system of the United Nations Organisation (UNO).
The United Nations Organisation was officially founded on
24th October 1945. In some countries, this day is celebrated as “United
Nations Day”.
The extract on the following page shows the opening paragraphs of the
United Nations Charter.

44
 Charter of the United Nations
We the peoples of the united
nations determined
to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war, which
twice in our lifetime has brought
untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person, in the
equal rights of men and women
and of nations large and small and
to establish conditions under which
justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties
and other sources of international
law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and
better standards of life in larger
freedom,
And for these ends
to practice tolerance and live
together in peace with one another
as good neighbours, and
to unite our strength to maintain
international peace and security,
and
to ensure, by the acceptance of
principles and the institution of
methods, that armed force shall
not be used, save in the common
interest, and
to employ international machinery
for the promotion of the economic
and social advancement of all
peoples,
Have resolved to combine our
efforts to accomplish these aims
Accordingly, our respective
Governments, through
representatives assembled in the
city of San Francisco, who have
exhibited their full powers found to
be in good and due form, have
agreed to the present Charter of
the United Nations and do hereby
establish an international
organization to be known as the
United Nations.

Aims of the United Nations

According to its Charter, the United Nations has four main aims:
• to keep peace between the nations of the world
• to help the nations of the world to understand each other better and
become friends
• to get the nations to co-operate together and solve the main problems
that are facing the world
• to help all people to enjoy their basic human rights and to live in
freedom.

45
Membership
Membership of the United Nations is open to all peace-loving democratic
nations that agree to follow the Charter.
There are now 185 members of the United Nations, representing over 98%
of the earth’s 5.8 billion people. On page 47, you will find a list of all the
members and the year in which they joined the organisation.
In terms of population, the largest UN member is China, with 1,734
million people. The smallest is Palau, with 15,000 people. But in the
United Nations, it does not matter how big or how small a country is. All
member nations are equal, and each has one vote.
The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish.
To carry out the work of the United Nations, all members must give some
money. According to Charter, each country is asked to give a certain
percentage of the budget, or money needed to carry out the work of the
UN each year. In 1993 the budget use to $US1,000,000,000 (137.5 billion
vatu). The amount given depends on how rich or poor a country is. It also
depends on its population. The USA must give 25% of the whole UN
budget. The five members of the Security Council alone give 45% of the
budget. On the other hand, countries like Bolivia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Fiji and
Vanuatu give only 0.01% of the UN budget.

$$$$ $$

$
UN
$$$$
$$$

Some countries also make voluntary contributions to support the work of

the United Nations and all its agencies.

A Growing Membership
In four decades, the membership of the United Nations has more than
tripled, from 51 to 159. The countries represented in the Organization now
account for over 98 per cent of the world’s population.
Refer to the list on the next page:
46
Afgahanistan 1946 Democratic Yemen 1967 Latvia 1991 St. Kitts-Nevis 1983
Albania 1955 Djibouti 1977 Lebanon 1945 St. Lucia 1979
Algeria 1962 Dominica 1978 Lesotho 1966 St. Vincent and the
Grenadines 1980
Andorra 1993 Dominican Republic 1945 Liberia 1945
Samoa 1976
Angola 1976 Ecuador 1945 Libya 1955
San Marino 1992
Antigua and Barbuda 1981 Egypt 1945 Liechtenstein 1990
Sao Tome and
Argentina 1945 El Salvador 1945 Lithuania 1991 Principe 1975
Armenia 1992 Equatorial Guinea 1968 Luxembourg 1945 Saudi Arabia 1945
Australia 1945 Eritrea 1993 The Former Yugoslav Senegal 1960
Republic of
Austria 1955 Estonia 1991 Macedonia 1993 Seychelles 1976
Azerbaijan 1992 Ethiopia 1945 Madagascar 1960 Sierra Leone 1961
Bahamas 1973 Federated States of Malawi 1964 Singapore 1965
Micronesia 1991
Bahrain 1971 Malaysia 1957 Slovak Republic 1993
Fiji 1970
Bangladesh 1974 Maldives 1965 Slovenia 1992
Finland 1955
Barbados 1966 Mali 1960 Solomon Islands 1978
France 1945
Belarus 1945 Malta 1964 Somalia 1960
Gabon 1960
Belgium 1945 Marshall Islands 1991 South Africa 1945
Gambia 1965
Belize 1981 Mauritania 1961 Spain 1955
Georgia 1992
Benin 1960 Mauritius 1968 Sri Lanka 1955
Germany 1973
Bhutan 1971 Mexico 1945 Sudan 1956
Germany Decromatic
Bolivia 1945 Republic 1973 Moldova 1992 Suriname 1975
Bosnia and Ghana 1957 Monaco 1993 Swaziland 1968
Herzegovina 1992
Greece 1945 Mongolia 1961 Sweden 1946
Botswana 1966
Grenada 1974 Morocco 1956 Syria 1945
Brazil 1945
Guatemala 1945 Mozambique 1975 Tajikistan 1992
Brunei Darussalam 1984
Guinea 1958 Myanmar 1948 Thailand 1946
Bulgaria 1955
Guinea-Bissau 1974 Namibia 1990 Togo 1960
Burkina Faso 1960
Guyana 1966 Nepal 1955 Trinidad and Tobago 1962
Burma 1948
Haiti 1945 Netherlands 1945 Tunisia 1956
Burundi 1962
Honduras 1945 New Zealand 1945 Turkey 1945
Cambodia 1955
Hungary 1955 Nicaragua 1945 Turkmenistan 1992
Cameroon 1960
Iceland 1946 Niger 1960 Uganda 1962
Canada 1945
India 1945 Nigeria 1960 Ukraine 1945
Cape Verde 1975
Indonesia 1950 Norway 1945 United Arab Emirates 1971
Central African
Republic 1960 Iran 1945 Oman 1971 United Kingdom 1945
Chad 1960 Iraq 1945 Pakistan 1947 United Republic of
Tanzania 1961
Chile 1945 Ireland 1955 Palau 1994
United States of
China 1945 Israel 1949 Panama 1945 America 1945
Colombia 1945 Italy 1955 Papua New Guinea 1975 Uruguay 1945
Comoros 1975 Ivory Coast 1960 Paraguay 1945 Uzbekistan 1992
Congo 1960 Jamaica 1962 Peru 1945 Vanuatu 1981
Costa Rica 1945 Japan 1956 Philippines 1945 Venezuela 1945
Croatia 1992 Jordan 1955 Poland 1945 Vietnam 1977
Cuba 1945 Kazakhstan 1992 Portugal 1955 Yemen 1947
Cyprus 1960 Kenya 1963 Qatar 1971 Yugoslavia (Serbia/
Montenegro) 1945
Czech Republic 1993 Kuwait 1963 Republic of Korea 1991
Zaire 1960
Democratic People’s Kirgizia 1992 Romania 1955
Republic of Korea 1991 Zambia 1964
Lao People’s Russian Federation 1945
Denmark 1945 Democratic Republic 1955 Zimbabwe 1980
Rwanda 1962

47
How the United Nations works
The United Nations is not a world government which tells different
countries what they must do. The nations maintain their own sovereignty
and are free to do whatever they want within their own frontiers.
The different organs, or parts, of the United Nations enable these
countries to talk to each other and make agreements, and then to carry out
what they have decided.
There are six main organs of the United Nations, as shown in the diagram
on the following page. All except the Court of Justice are based at UN
headquarters in New York. There are also 16 special agencies such as
WHO and FAO. These agencies belong to the United Nations but are more
or less independent and make their own programmes of work.

48
 Structure of the United Nations

International Court
Trusteeship Council of Justice Secretariat

General Assembly

Economic and Security Council

Social Council

Intervention Forces
Specialized Agencies Other Bodies (Blue Helmets)

GATT HCR Iraq

International Commerce Commission for Refugees Somalia
India Pakistan
FAO UNICEF West Saraha
Food and Agriculture International Children’s Georgia etc.
Emergency Fund
UNESCO
Science and Culture UNEP
Environment Programme
WHO
Health UNDP
Development Programme
ILO
Work UNIDIR
Institute for Research
WORLD BANK on Disarmament
Finance, aid, loans
INSTRAW
ICAO International Research and
Civil Aviation Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women

Regional Commissions

ECA Africa
ECE Europe
ECLAC America and Caribbean
ESCAP Asia Pacific
ESCWA Western Asia

49
The General Assembly

The General Assembly of the UN

This is almost like a world parliament. Each member country sends a

representative to the Assembly, and each has one vote. The Assembly
normally meets from September to December each year, but it will meet at
other times if necessary.
The General Assembly can discuss and make suggestions about all matters
mentioned in the UN Charter. It cannot force any national government to
do what it says. But its recommendations are usually followed because
they represent the opinion of most of the world’s nations.

50
 The General Assembly receives reports from all other organs, admits new
members of the UN, approves the budget and appoints the Secretary-
General. It also decides on the theme that the United Nations will adopt
for a particular year: 1995, for example was International Year of
Tolerance; 1996, the International Year of the Struggle against Poverty;
1999, that of Aged Persons; 2000, the International Year of the Culture of
Peace.

The Security Council

Meeting of the Security Council

The main job of this organ is to keep peace. It has 15 members. Five of
these - China, France, Russia, USA and UK - are permanent. The other 10
are chosen by the General Assembly for a two year period.
The Security Council tries to stop countries from fighting each other. If it
cannot arrange a cease-fire, it may send a peacekeeping force of UN
soldiers to keep the two sides apart. At present, there are UN peacekeeping
forces in Lebanon, Kashmir, Rwanda, Haïti, Cyprus, Yugoslavia, and other
countries.
51
 The Security Council issues resolutions, texts that all the UN members
are obliged to apply.
Since the creation of the United Nations Organisation, there have been 7
Secretaries-General:
Mr. Trygve Lie (Norway)
Mr. Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden)
Mr. U Thant (Bruma, now Myanmar)
Mr. Kurt Waldheim (Austria)
Mr. Javier Pérez de Cuellar (Peru)
Mr. Boutros Boutros Ghali (Egypt)
Mr. Kofi Annan (Nigeria)

The Trusteeship Council

This was formed to make sure that territories held in trust by colonial
powers were prepared for their independence. It was very successful in its
work. It had 5 members - China, France, USA, USSR and UK.
Once Palau, the last country that they were dealing with, became
independent in 1994, the trusteeship council did not have to meet
anymore.

The Economic and Social Council

This organ looks after the improvement of living and working conditions
of people around the world. It has 54 members. It encourages such things
as increased trade, improvement of the position of women in society, wiser
use of natural resources and energy, better standards of housing, and the
prevention of crime. It directs the activities of all the special agencies of
the United Nations.

The International Court of Justice

This organ is like a world court. It has 15 judges chosen by the General
Assembly and the Security Council. It makes judgements on arguments
between member countries of the United Nations. It also gives advice
about laws to other organs of the UN. The headquarters of the Court of
Justice are at the Hague, in the Netherlands.

The Secretariat
The Secretariat carries out the work of the other organs of the United
Nations. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is at present
Mr. Kofi Annan of Nigeria. Among his many duties, the Secretary-General
has the job of bringing to the Security Council any matter that might
become a threat to peace.

52
 The Secretariat has a staff of over 15,000, coming from over 150 countries.
Most of them work at the Secretariat Building at UN Headquarters in New
York. They are international civil servants who work for the United
Nations. The Secretariat has two other headquarters, one in Geneva
(Switzerland), the other in Venice (Austria), and many offices scattered
around the world.

ACTIVITIES

1. Make your own drawing of the symbol of the United Nations, and
explain what it means.
2. Find out the name of Vanuatu’s permanent representative at the
United Nations.
3. Draw a simple diagram to show the six main organs of the United
Nations. Next to each one, indicate how many members it has.
4. Which Pacific island countries are not members of the United
Nations? Can you suggest why?
5. Group discussion
The class should divide into small groups and discuss the following:
How could you make the United Nations into a more powerful
organization than it is at present?
Each group can then report to the rest of the class.

What the United Nations is doing

Working for peace
We have already seen some of the ways in which the United Nations
works to keep peace. The Security Council tries to settle arguments
between nations. The Secretary General plays the role of negotiator
between the adversaries, as did Mr. U Thant in 1962, when he resolved a
very serious problem between the USA and the USSR which could have
led to a new world war. The Secretary-General will sometimes go and talk
personally with nations who want to fight, and persuade them to talk
together and solve their problems. The UN peace-keeping forces have had
to be used on 35 occasions to bring a stop to fighting.
When a country refuses to apply the resolution of the UN and attacks its
neighbour, the Security Council or the General Assembly can decide to
mount an international military expedition to force it to obey, as it did in
1990 against Iraq or in 1994 to re-establish democracy in Haïti.

53
 A very important way in which the United Nations is working for peace is
in trying to get its member countries to cut down on the number of
weapons that they have. This is called disarmament. The UN is especially
anxious to stop countries from having nuclear weapons. In 1963, the
testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere was forbidden; since 1988,
the development of nuclear weapons has been limited; countries without
nuclear arms have undertaken not to make them.
Regrettably, countries like China, Pakestan and India have not respected
these treaties. Since 1997, all military nuclear testing has been forbidden.

The disarmament of members of

the Kmer Rouge by UN forces

54
 Mine clearance in Cambodia, 1992

Working for justice

Since its very beginning, the United Nations has aimed to obtain equal
rights for all people, and fair treatment for everyone. The General
Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10th
December 1948, a day which we now remember each year as Human
Right Day.
Since the UN has struggled hard to try and achieve recognition for the
equality of all people whatever the colour of their skin, their race or their
religion; thanks the efforts of the United Nations Organisation, the racist
political system of South Africa has disappeared. At present (2000) there
are only two which are officially racist (that is to say, they do not give the
same rights to all citizens regardless of their racial origin): Fiji and
Zimbabwe.
Other major issues are the establishment of the equality of men and
women, who in many countries are still considered inferior; the abolition
of torture and slavery; the recognition of the rights of the child, and so on.

55
 When the Charter was signed, many countries in the world were still
colonies. Their people were not free to govern themselves in the way they
wanted. The United Nations has worked hard to help these countries
achieve their independence.
More than 90 nations have become independent during the time that the
United Nations has been in existence. For most of them this happened
after 1960, when the Assembly General passed Resolution 1514,
recommending a rapid end to colonialism.

Flags of independent countries at UN Headquarters

Working for progress

Most of the work done by the United Nations has been aimed at raising the
standard of living of peoples in all parts of the world, but particularly in
the developing or Third World countries.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helps poorer
countries to build roads and power stations, to carry out training
programmes, and to make careful use of the local resources. At the
moment it supports 6,000 projects each year in more than 150 countries
with more than 5,000 UN experts giving technical advice.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is used to help the
developing countries improve the health, nutrition and education of their
children. Seven million children in tropical regions have been protected
against illnesses causing blindness.
Through organs such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO),
the United Nations has helped millions of people made homeless by war,
famine, hurricanes and droughts.

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Most of the work for progress, however, has been carried out by the
special agencies of the UN family, and by regional economic commissions
such as ESCAP. These bodies are working continuously to improve
education, increase food production, fight disease, improve working
conditions, improve communications and postal services, encourage the
peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to carry out many more different
services.

The United Nations helps developing countries to

increase food production and provide proper
nourishment for their people

ACTIVITIES

1. “Tolerance, another name for peace” (UNO)

• Find the meaning of the word “tolerance”.
• What is your understanding of the title of the International
Year of Tolerance?
• Why is tolerance among the major concerns of the UN?
• Find, around you (in your school or community) and in the
world (reported in the newspapers or on the radio) some
examples of tolerance and intolerance.
• What human rights are respected or violated in these examples?
2. Decolonization
Find examples of French, British, Portuguese, Dutch and Belgian
colonies which have became independent since 1960.
3. Development
Find example of a recent UN activity in Vanuatu.

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 The following list gives the year when each of the branches of the United
Nations was established:

1945 UNITED NATIONS

1946 UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
1949 UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA)
1951 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR)
1963 World Food Programme (WFP)
1964 Un Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
1965 UN Development Programme (UNDP)
1966 UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
1969 UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)
1972 UN Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO)
1972 UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
1974 UN Centre for Transnational Corporations (UNCTC)
1974 World Food Council (WFC)
1973 United Nations University (UNU)
1978 UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

Regional Commissions
1947 Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
1947 Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
1948 Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC)
1958 Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
1973 Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA)
Specialized Agencies
Linked to the UN are specialized organizations, some founded in the last century.
The range of activities they deal with indicates how essential international
cooperation is today.

1865 International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

1873 World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
1874 Universal Postal Union (UPU)
1883 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
1919 International Labour Organization (ILO)
1945 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
1945 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
1945 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
1946 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
1947 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
1948 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
1948 World Health Organization (WHO)
1956 International Finance Corporation (IFC)
1957 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
1958 International Maritime Organization (IMO)
1960 International Development Association (IDA)
1974 International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)

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Here are more details of some of the special UN agencies:
The World Health Organization aims to improve the people’s health of all
the peoples of the world. It does this by campaigns against diseases like
malaria and cholera, and by training health workers (nurses, technicians
and so on). It carries out research into tropical diseases. By helping
governments to educate people at village level, it wants to have Health for
all by the year 2000. It also helps to protect the people of the third world
against major diseases by vaccination and health campaigns, such as the
distinction of mosquitoes. It has succeeded in ridding the world of a
terrible disease: smallpox. At present are the priorities of WHO is the
prevention of and the struggle against AIDS.
Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Food and Agricultural Organization helps to increase the output of

farmlands, forests and fisheries. It shows people how to have a better
balanced, healthier diet. Its aim is to get rid of hunger in the world.

It shows developing countries how to manage their soil, water, energy and
forest resources properly. It teaches people how to avoid the erosion and
impoverishment of soils. It carries out agronomic research to show people
how to improve their yields of crops and animals, how to develop new
agricultural equipment, and how to fight plant and animal diseases. It
helps countries to prepare for the possible shortages of food in the future.
Its headquarters are in Rome, Italy.

59
 The International Labour Organization aims to improve conditions of
work. It helps countries to make laws about wages, hours and safety
conditions of work.
For a long time, the principal activity of ILO has been to rid the world of
child labour. It is estimated that at present there are 200 million children
around the world working in conditions dangerous for their health and
their lives.
Its headquarters are in Geneva.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

works to encourage cooperation between nations in the fields of education,
science, culture and communication.

It aims to make primary education available to all children in the world,

and to get rid of illiteracy. At present 100 million children receive no
education. UNESCO helps to train teachers and to provide equipment for
schools, particularly in science.
It helps countries to preserve their art and traditional cultures. It helps
developing countries to improve their information services.
Its headquarters are in Paris, France.

The World Meteorological Organization helps countries to set up weather

stations all over the world, and to make sure that information from these
stations is sent quickly between countries. By setting up the World Weather
Watch programme, the WMO encourages nations to work together in using
space satellites and computers to collect weather information over the
whole of the earth’s surface. Without the cooperation between the USA
and Russia, this programme could not be carried out.

60
 The headquarters of WMO are in Geneva.

UNICEF
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
works in 128 developing countries. It works to make sure that the
Declaration of the Rights of the child adopted by the Assembly General in
1959 is applied in all countries of the world. It aims to protect children and
to allow them to develop fully and normally. It helps with the training of
health workers, teachers, specialists in child nutrition and matters. It also
supplies all kinds of materials to developing countries, from the paper
needed to print school textbooks to the materials and medicines needed in
dispensaries, not forgething the pumps and pipes needed for the supply of
drinking water to villages.
UNICEF often works with WHO, for example on vaccination campaigns.
UNICEF, which has its headquarters in New York, recieved the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1965.

UNICEF’s badge

How UN projects are paid for

If a nation asks the United Nations for help, it must be ready to pay for
half of the cost of a project.
By doing this, each country contributes to the cost of its own development.

61
The United Nations in Vanuatu

Vanuatu became the 156th member of the United Nations in 1981.

However, the UN has been helping to carry out projects in this country
since 1958, through agencies such as WHO, FAO and ILO.

In 1984, ESCAP decided to open a new office in Port Vila that would look
after all its activities in the Pacific area. This office is called the ESCAP
Pacific Operations Centre (EPOC).
There are many examples of the work of the United Nations in Vanuatu.
With the help of UNESCO, the basic syllabus for secondary school Social
Science was first written in 1973 for 10 countries in the Pacific, including
Vanuatu. ILO has helped to set up trades unions and labour offices. UNDP
and UNIDO have been involved in the training of workers in the rattan and
bamboo and the leather industries. The FAO is carrying out research into
the improvement of root crop cultivation in Vanuatu, and it helped to set up
the Santo Boatbuilding Project for the Fisheries Department.

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 The work of WHO is particularly important in Vanuatu. It is helping the
Health Department to train nurses, to develop health eduction in primary
schools, to show people how to improve cleanliness and sanitation in the
village, to improve the health of mothers and children, and to carry out
programmes of immunization against diseases such as measles, polio,
tuberculosis and tetanus. Its biggest task is to help fight malaria.
With the help of WHO, malaria control teams work in rural areas. They
teach dressers and nurses to give the correct treatment for people who
come to them with malaria. They show local communities how to
recognize and get rid of mosquito-breeding sites. In areas where there is a
sudden increase in the number of people suffering from malaria, the team
will use spraying to kill the mosquitoes. A WHO team is also carrying out
research into the most suitable types of medicine for treating malaria in
Vanuatu.

The United Nations and the Future

In the 50 years since the United Nations was established, the world has
changed enormously. We have developed nuclear weapons that can destroy
life on earth. The number of independent countries has almost quadrupled.
The population of the world has doubled. Science and technology have
changed the way we feed and house ourselves, work, travel and
communicate.
These changes have brought many problems. Fighting and wars have not
stopped. Rich countries have got richer, but the standard of living in the
poorer countries has not improved very much.
All of these changes have affected the United Nations.

63
 More and more changes and problems will occur in the future. Let us hope
that the member countries of the United Nations, who have already shown
that they are willing to work together, can continue to do so. For it is only
by cooperation between nations that the peoples of the earth can continue
to survive and progress.

ACTIVITIES

1. For each of the following, say what the letters stand for, and what
the organization aims to do:
UN FAO
WHO ILO
UNESCO UNDP
2. On the opposite page there is a map of the world showing 7 cities
marked by a dot ( ). All these cities contain the headquarters of
one or more organs or special agencies of the UN.
For each city, state its name, and the organization that has its
headquarters there. Note that some cities are the headquarters for
several UN branches.

64
3. Give two actual examples of projects in Vanuatu that are assisted by
the United Nations, or by one of its special agencies.
4. What is the difference between ESCAP and EPOC? Why do you
think the EPOC office has been placed in Port Vila?

65
 5. Study the cartoon below, and answer questions a. and b.
a. What is the meaning of the two black “monsters” shown in the
cartoon?
b. What is the United Nations trying to do?

6. Although the United Nations has tried to keep peace for the last 50
years, several “small” wars have still broken out.
a. Give actual examples of such wars.
b. Give examples of UN military intervention.

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Appendix A: Revision Test - Working Together
1. What is the difference between cooperation and
competition? (Marks) (2)
2. On an outline map of the world, mark carefully and name:
a. the European Economic Community
b. the place where you would find the headquarters of the
following organizations:
i. the Security Council
ii. SPEC
iii. ESCAP
iv. WHO
c. the place where an important agreement was drawn up
between the members of EEC and the ACP countries. (6)
3. Draw and explain the symbols of the following organizations:
a. the United Nations
b. SPEC (4)
4. State six basic rules for running a cooperative. (6)
5. Briefly describe an actual aid project in Vanuatu that is assisted
by each of the following:
a. the EEC
b. the WHO (4)
6. State three ways in which the members of the European
Economic Community cooperate with each other. (3)
7. What are three basic aims of the United Nations? (3)
8. Complete the missing words(s) in each sentences:
a. Vanuatu’s main export to EEC countries is .....................
b. There are .................... members of the United Nations.
c. ........................... Day is celebrated on 10th December
each year.
d. In an ............................... cooperative, a group of people
work together to harvest and sell their produce.

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 e. When a factory labourer does only part of the work needed
to make something, we say that there has been a
..............................
f. A ....................................... is a group of people who
cooperate together to try and get better working conditions
for themselves. (6)
9. Draw a simple diagram to show the 6 main organs of the United
Nations. (6)

( 40 )

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Appendix B: Glossary
(Note: the meaning given below are for the words as they are used in
this booklet. You may also find other meanings in your
dictionary)
agency organization that takes action to get something done
aid something that helps
aid donor country or organization that gives help to another
country
bakery place where bread is made
charter written set of rules for an organization to follow
colony country or island governed by another nation
common market group of countries that co-operate with each other in
buying or selling goods
compensate give something to make up for a loss
competition trying hard to be better than someone else
consumer person who buys or uses goods
contribution money given to help pay for something
cooperate work together for a common purpose
cooperation working together in order to cary out a task
cooperative group of people who work together to carry out a job
or to buy and sell goods
credit way of buying something in which you take an article
from the shop and pay for it later on
currency money used in a country in all its different forms -
coins, paper, cheques, etc.
customs duty tax that must be paid on goods that are brought into a
country
disarmament reducing the number of weapons of war
dividend profit made by a cooperative society that can be
divided up amongst its members
division of labour way of manufacturing in which the different tasks
involved in making one product are shared out among
a number of workers; each worker does only one
task, rather than making the whole product himself

69
 economic
development improvement in your way of making a living;
earning more money
funds sums of money
grant sum of money that is given
human rights fair ways in which each person should be treated
illiteracy lacking the ability to read
immunization giving an injection of medicine that stops a person
from catching a disease
institution society or organization that is set up to run
something, or make it work
international between many countries
invent make up, using your own ideas
labour office office which finds jobs for people who are
unemployed
landlord person who rents a house or a piece of land to
another person
lending giving something to someone to use for a short time
loan sum of money that is given for a short time, and must
then be paid back
local within a small area
manager person who runs or directs a business
motorway wide road on which vehicles travel at a fast speed
organ part of something; it has an important job to do
organization body or group of people that carries out its tasks by
making careful plans and arrangements
preserve keep in good condition
recommendation suggestion about a suitable action to be taken
regional within a large area
regional
association group operating over a wide area; it consists of
several smaller groups
retail store shop which sells goods in small quantities

70
share amount of money given by a person to a company or
business to help it to run
shareholder person who has put some of his own money into a
business to help it to run
theme main idea or topic
trade union group of people employed in the same kind of job,
who try to get better working conditions for
themselves
trading exchanging goods; buying and selling
trading partner country which trades goods with another country,
either as imports or exports
voluntary of your own free will; not forced
wholesaler person who sells something in large quantities to
retail stores (ordinary shops)
work permit paper that allows you to take up employment in
another country

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