United Nations

The name ‘United Nations’ was adopted on the suggestion of the then US President F.D. Rooswelt.

To prepare the format of the UN, a meeting of representatives of prominent countries held from 21st August to 7th October, 1944 at Dumbarton Ox building in Washington. 1945.

The UNO was formed on the 24th October

The Charter of the UN was signed on the 26th June, 1945 by representatives of 50 nations, though the number of founder member countries was 51 who attended the San Fransisco Conference. Later on Poland signed the Charter and become the 51st founder member.

At present 193 countries are members of the UN. South Sudan is the latest (193rd) member.

The UN Charter came into force on October 24, 1945, when the Governments of China, France, the U.K., the Soviet Union and the U.S.A. and a majority of other counties had ratified it.

The Preamble to the Charter was the work of Field Marshal Smuts.

The Head Quarter of the UN is situated in New York (USA).

John D Rockfeller had donated 17 acres of land in Manhutton island, on which a 39 storeyed secretariate building of the UN has been constructed.

The main office of the UN was built in 1952, where the first meeting of the General Assembly was held in 1952.

The UN Charter is the Constitution of the UN. It contains the aim and objectives of the UN and the rules and regulations for achieving these aims and purposes.

Flag of the UN: White UN emblem (two bent olive branches open at the top, and in between them is world map) on a light blue background.

Languages of the UN: The official languages of the UN are: (a) English (b) French (c) Chinese (d) Russian (e) Arabic and (f) Spanish. But the working Languages are English and French only.

The proverb ‘Policeman of the world’ is used for the Security Council.

Only the permanent members have the right to ‘veto’.

The five permanent members are-USA, Russia, UK, France and China.

The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend and address. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority. The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office.

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security. The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates, and changes, every month.

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies. dot

It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. It is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence.

The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required-by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization’s other principal organs.

The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term. UN staff members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs Indian Jurists in of the United Nations not located in New York (United States of America). The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.