Janees Rafiq, Lovely Professional University
INTRODUCTION
The basic concepts and expectations that led to the establishment of the United Nations (UN) dates back to the beginning of statecraft and humankind’s first efforts to foster worldwide cooperation. The treaty of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 is regarded as first effort in fostering international cooperation. The creation of the UN is rested on the evolution of diplomacy, alliances, conferences, rules of warfare, means of peaceful settlement of conflicts and the development of international law. The major purpose of the creation of UN is the prevention of war and conflicts. This purpose was earlier given by ancient Greek Philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, who wrote on the conditions necessary for peace.1 The church in the middle Ages also enunciated a rule of “Just War” to limit violence and destruction by sanctioning wars fought for justifiable courses. The peacekeepers and internationalists, like Desiderius Erasmus, condemned war in its entirety as “immoral and wasteful”.
The requirement to institute mechanism for peaceful settlement of disputes and prevention of war encouraged the formation of various international organizations over time which include the Congress of Vienna and Concert of Europe in 1815. The Hague System worked towards the codification of international law and thereby formulated a set of procedures for pacific settlement of disputes, which included mediation, conciliation and inquiry in 2 conferences of 1899 and 1907. The third conference could not be held in 1915 due to the outbreak of the First World War (WWI).
