The League of Nations

UNIT 1: THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION

Ex. 1. Study the words and specify their meanings using dictionaries.

solution of international disputes

settlement of a conflict

armistice negotiations

in the frame of

covenant

to withdraw from smth.

to submit smth. to smth/smb.

to be likely to do smth.

armed conflict

unanimous report

to be bound to do smth.

disputant

to comply/complying

economic blockade

offending nation

to bring relief to smth.

refugee

to arbitrate

in defiance of smth/smb.

to absorb smth.

Ex. 2. Study the text. Identify the expressions from Ex. 1. and translate these sentences.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The United Nations (UN) is an association of independent national states. It was formed after World War II to keep the peace. Its supreme goal is to prevent conflicts and maintain peace on global scale.

The United Nations was not the first attempt to create a global structure with the aim to promote peaceful solution of international disputes. The first international organization set up to maintain world peace was the League of Nations. It was founded in 1920 as part of the settlement that ended World War I.

The idea of creation the League of Nations was suggested by Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, on January 8, 1918, as a basis for armistice negotiations. In the frame of the peace negotiations a commission headed by Wilson was created. The commission continued the work on the creation of the League of Nations. The commission worked out a working plan, called The Covenant of the League of Nations. This Covenant was included in the Treaty of Versailles as the Section I of the Treaty. Officially, the League came into existence with the ratification of this treaty on January 10, 1920. The first Assembly met in Geneva, in November, 1920. Representatives of 41 nations participated in the Assembly. Later on 20 more nations joined the League, but some countries withdrew.

The 26 articles of the Covenant of the League of Nations set the organization structure, defined its powers and purposes. Its primary aims were to promote arbitration aimed at settling international disputes; to work for the reduction of armaments in the nations; to study and remove the causes of war; and to promote human rights. The organization consisted of the Secretariat, headed by a secretary-general; the Council comprising 14 members, five permanent and nine nonpermanent; and the Assembly. The Council set up the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague, The Netherlands.

All the member nations agreed to submit to the League's procedure any international dispute that was likely to lead to armed conflict. If the Council made a unanimous report, the League members were bound not to declare war on the disputant complying with the Council's report. The members agreed to use "sanctions" (economic blockades) against any member nation that went to war instead of submitting its dispute to the League. The Council had no international army to carry out its decisions, but it could recommend the use of force against an offending nation.

Though the work of the League of Nations was neither long nor successful, it set the principles of the contemporary UNO and accumulated certain experience in the field of war prevention. The League helped stabilize finances and bring relief to the war victims. It worked rather successfully against slavery and narcotics trade, helped improve working conditions, established institutions for the study of disease, and helped political and religious refugees. It successfully arbitrated a number of international disputes until its later years, when it suffered a series of defeats. In defiance of the League, Japan invaded Manchuria and China; Germany absorbed Austria and Czechoslovakia; and Italy took Ethiopia and Albania.

Ex. 3. Make up an outline of the text The League of Nations.

Ex. 4. Retell the text The League of Nations using the outline.

Ex. 5. Study the expressions. Refer to a dictionary if necessary.

to cease to exist

prevention of wars

to commence

to set forth

abandonment of the use of force

pledge

the Axis

to agree on smth.

voting procedure

to modify

to come into existence

on recommendation

to expel

to violate

to contribute

scale of contributions

Ex. 6. Study the text:

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