Hail, United Nations!
Established on October 24, in the year 1945, United Nations (UN) replaced the League of Nations after World War II. It took the role of peacekeeper of the world and assumed necessary powers to avoid conflicts resulting in a world war.
Currently, the UN has 193 countries as its members and its headquarter is in New York, USA.
The UN not only focuses on peace but also aims at promoting sustainable development, upholding international laws and protecting human rights.
United Nations Day
October 24 is marked as the United Nations Day to let people know about the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organisation.
United Nations Day is part of United Nations Week which runs from October 20 to 26.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 24 as the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which “shall be devoted to making known to the people of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for” its work.
In 1971, the assembly adopted a further resolution declaring that United Nations Day shall be an international observance and recommended that it should be observed as a public holiday by UN member states.
Things to know about the United Nations
In 1945, World War II was over but the nations were in ruins and the world wanted peace. Fifty-one countries gathered in San Francisco that year to sign a document. The document was a Charter which created an organisation, the United Nations.
Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as:
- Peace and security
- Climate change
- Sustainable development
- Human rights
- Disarmament
- Terrorism
- Humanitarian and health emergencies
- Gender equality
- Governance
- Food production, etc.
On its website, the UN takes credit of being the organisation that has become a mechanism for governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems together by enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiation.
Principle bodies of the UN
UN has six official languages, namely, English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Russian and the following principle bodies:
UN General Assembly: The UN General Assembly comprises the assembly of all the 193 members. The body adopts the budget and discusses issues and even elects the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and the judges of ICJ.
UN Secretariat: The UN Secretariat supports the UN and assists in administration. It helps in conducting events and preparing budgets, writing reports etc.
International Court of Justice (ICJ): The ICJ plays a major role in settling disputes between states and also issues its legal opinion. It comprises of 15 judges are who elected for a term of nine years.
UN Security Council: The UN Security Council plays a major role in maintaining peace and security. It consists of 15 members, out of which, five are permanent members are 10 are non-permanent members.
UN Economic and Social Council: The UN Economic and Social Council is responsible for economic and social matters in the states. The body looks after the global economic and social affairs, coordinating other specialised agencies that come under the UN.
UN Trusteeship Council: The UN Trusteeship Council administers to trust territories that come under the trusteeship of the UN. The body manages the colonial countries. Currently, the UN Trusteeship Council is inactive.
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