Prime Time 7/8, Language in Use, Arbeitsheft

Criticism of the role of the UN in international conflicts Read through the text and find synonyms for the expressions below. 4 The charter of the creation of the United Nations was signed on 24 October 1945 to prevent further wars and to secure long-lasting peace around the world. The UN Day, on which this anniversary is celebrated, brings to mind how the UN began and the original vision of Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Winston Churchill. The original intent was to create an international organisation that could promote and maintain peace throughout the world. The conception came to fruition after the most disastrous global war in history, and being the second global war of the twentieth century, most of humanity welcomed the ideal of such an organisation in light of the failure of the previous League of Nations. The concept of the United Nations was born from the ashes of WorldWar II. FDR and Churchill believed the body was an absolute necessity if the world was to endure. The term “United Nations” is first credited to FDR in referring to the allies who had joined together to defeat Nazi Germany and its partners. The core of the United Nations was actually the five major players: Great Britain, France, Nationalist China, the Soviet Union and the United States. According to the charter of the UN, these nations became the five permanent members of the Security Council, the organ at the heart of the UN’s effort to maintain stability and security in the world. The concept was sound, but like the League of Nations before it, the UN was founded with inherent, fundamental flaws. The UN intended to pick up where the League of Nations failed with world peace and the intent to create a more secure world. Yet without credibility or sufficient strength, a “world policeman” was bound to fail again. (Dennis Jamison, The Washington Times , 25 October 2012; adapted and abridged) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 1. to avert: to prevent 2. to draw attention to: 3. the original plan: 4. most of mankind: 5. ruins: 6. organisation: 7. allies: 8. solid: 9. to continue: 10. had to fail: 77 15 One world Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv