3. Belarus and World Community. Living in a Democratic Society. Political Profile of a Country. Leading International Organizations.

Belarus and World Community.

Living in a Democratic Society.

Democracy may be a word familiar to most. According to the dictionary definition, democracy “is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” (Webster’s New World Dictionary. Warner Books Paperback Edition. 1990). In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Democracy falls into two basic categories: direct and representative. In a direct democracy all citizens can participate in making public decisions. Modern society, with its size and complexity, offers few opportunities for direct democracy. Today, the most common form of democracy is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws and administers programs for the public good.

Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed the set of ideas and principles about freedom.

Most legal freedoms can be divided into three main groups: political freedom, social freedom, economic freedom.

Political freedom includes the right to vote, to choose between the candidates for public office, and to run for office oneself.

Social freedom comprises freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, academic freedom, due process of law.

Economic freedom enables people to make their own economic decisions. This freedom includes the right to own property, to use it, to make profit of it.

Political Profile of a Country.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says that the Republic of Belarus is a unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of law.

According to the Constitution the state power in the republic is exercised on the principle of divisions of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The parliament, the National Assembly, is a representative and legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. It consists of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives includes 110 deputies. The elections of deputies is carried out in accordance with the law on the basis of universal, direct electoral suffrage. The Council of the Republic is a chamber of territorial representation. Eight deputies are elected at the meetings of local Councils of deputies, and eight other are appointed by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

The right of legislative initiative belongs to the President, members of the House of Representatives, Council of the Republic, Government.

The executive power in the Republic of Belarus is exercised by the government – the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The government in its activity is accountable to the President and to the National Assembly. The head of the government, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the President with the consent of the House of Representatives.

The courts exercise judicial power in the Republic of Belarus. The judicial system is based on the principle of the territorial delineation. In administering justice judges are independent and subordinate to law alone. Supervision of constitutionality of the enforceable enactments of the state is exercised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.

Leading International Organizations.

The United Nations Organization

The United Nations Organization is central to global efforts to solve problems which challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system. Day in and day out the UN and its family of organizations work to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment, fight disease, foster development and reduce poverty. UN agencies define the standards for sale and efficient transport by air and sea, help improve telecommunications and enhance consumer protection, work to ensure respect for intellectual property rights and coordinate allocation of radio frequencies. The United Nations leads the international campaigns against drug trafficking and terrorism. Throughout the world, the UN and its agencies assist refugees and set up programs to clear landmines, help improve the quality of drinking water and expand food production, make loans to developing countries and help stabilize financial markets.

The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership now totals 191 countries. The headquarters of the UNO are located in New York. All the documents are worked out and submitted for discussion and resolution in 5 languages: English, Russian, Spanish, French and Chinese.

When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four main purposes:

• to maintain international peace and security,

• to develop friendly relations among nations,

• to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights,

• to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

UN Members are sovereign countries. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflict and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States – large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems – have a voice and vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them – the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat – are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located in the Hague, the Netherlands.

The General Assembly

All UN Member States are represented in the General Assembly – a kind of parliament of nations which meets to consider the world’s most pressing problems. Each Member State has one vote. Decisions on “important matters”, such as international peace and security, admitting new members, the UN budget and the budget of peacekeeping, are decided by two-thirds majority. Other matters are decided by simple majority. In recent years, a special effort has been made to reach decisions through consensus, rather than by taking a formal vote.

At its session, the Assembly usually considers more than 170 different topics, including globalization, nuclear disarmament, development, protection of the environment and consolidation of new democracies. The Assembly cannot force action by any state, but its recommendations are an important indication of world opinion and represent the moral authority of the community of nations.

The Assembly holds an annual regular session from September to December.

The Security Council

The UN Charter gives the Security Council primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. The Council may convene at any time, day or night, whenever peace is threatened. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to carry out the Council’s decisions.

There are 15 Council members. Five of these – China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members. The other ten are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

Decisions of the Council require nine yes votes. A decision cannot be taken if there is a no vote, or veto, by a permanent member.

When the Council considers a threat to international peace, it first explores ways to settle the dispute peacefully. It may send a peacekeeping mission to help the parties maintain the truce and to keep opposing forces apart. It can impose economic sanctions or order an arms embargo.

The Council also makes recommendations to the General Assembly on the appointment of a new Secretary General and on the admission of new Members to the UN.

The Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council coordinates the economic and social work of the United Nations and the UN family. As the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues and for formulating policy recommendations, the Council plays a key role in fostering international cooperation for development. It also consults with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), thereby maintaining a vital link between the United Nations and civil society.

Five regional commissions promote economic development and strengthen economic relations in their respective regions.

The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories administered by 7 Member States and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government or independence. By 1994 its work had completed, the Trusteeship Council now consists only of five permanent members of the Security Council. It has amended its rules of procedure to allow it to meet as and when occasion requires.

The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the main judicial organ of the UN. Consisting of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Court settles disputes between countries. Participation by States in a proceeding is voluntary. The Court also provides advisory opinions to the General Assembly and the Security Council upon request.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat carries out the administrative work of the United Nations as directed by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the other organs. At its head is the Secretary General, who provides overall administrative guidance.

The Secretariat consists of departments and offices with a total stuff of about 8,900 under the regular budget, drawn from some 160 countries.

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank group and twelve other independent organizations known as “specialized agencies” are linked to the UN through cooperative agreements. These agencies, among them the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization, are autonomous bodies created by intergovernmental agreement. They have wide-ranging international responsibilities in the economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related fields. Some of them, like the International Labor Organization and the Universal Postal Union, are older than the UN itself.

In addition, a number of UN offices, programs and funds – such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – work to improve the economic and social conditions of people around the world. These bodies report to the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council.

All the organizations have their own governing bodies, budgets and secretariats. Together with the United Nations, they are known as the UN family, or the UN system. They provide an increasingly coordinated yet diverse program of action.

The European Union

The EU means many things to many people. For some it has been at the core of efforts to help maintain peace over the past 50 years in a continent which in the past has been riven by rivalry and suspicion. Others, however, talk of its political impotency.

For many the EU is primarily about the single market and the opportunities and benefits this presents to business, students, pensioners and holidaymakers.

The European Union – previously known as the European Economic Community (EEC) – is an institutional framework for the construction of a united Europe. It was created after World War II to unite the nations of Europe economically so another war among them would be unthinkable. Twenty five countries are members of the European Union, and more than 400 million people share the common institutions and policies that have brought an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity in Western Europe.

The European Union’s mission is to organize relations between the Member States and between their peoples in a coherent manner and on the basis of solidarity. The main objectives are:

to promote economic and social progress (the single market was established in 1993; the single currency was launched in 1999);

to assert the identity of the European Union on the international scene (through European humanitarian aid to non-EU countries, common foreign and security policy, action in international crises; common positions within international organizations);

to introduce European citizenship (which does not replace national citizenship but complements it and confers a number of civil and politic rights on European citizens);

to develop an area of freedom, security and justice (linked to the operation of the internal market and more particularly the freedom of movement of persons);

to maintain and build an established EU law (all the legislation adopted by the European institutions, together with the founding treaties).

The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a nation is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state have the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, a functioning market economy, and that the state accepts the obligations and intent of the EU. These membership criteria were laid down at the June 1993 European Council in Copenhagen, Denmark, from which they take their name.

The Copenhagen criteria are divided into three groups – geographic, political and economic.

• Geographic Criteria

The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht (Article 49) stated that any European country that respects the principles of the EU may apply to join.

• Political Criteria

  • Democracy

Functional democratic governance requires that all citizens of the country should be able to participate, on an equal basis, in the political decision making at every single governing level. This also require free elections, the right to establish political parties without ant hindrance from the state, fair and equal access to a free press, free trade union organizations, etc.

• Rule of Law

The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure.

• Human Rights

Human rights are those rights which every person holds because of his quality as a human being. It means that the right cannot be bestowed, granted, limited, bartered away, or sold away. The United Nations declaration of Human Rights is considered the most authoritative formulation of human rights.

• Respect for and Protection of Minorities

Members of national minorities should be able to maintain their distinctive culture and practices, including their language without suffering ant discrimination. It was agreed to define a national minority as a distinctive group, that forms the historic population or a significant historic and current minority in a well-defined area, and that maintains stable and friendly relations with the state in which it lives.

• Economic Criteria

The economic criteria, broadly speaking, require that the candidate countries have a functioning market economy and that their companies have the capability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.