The United Nations

Photo of the Security Council meeting room at the United Nations headquarters in New York; photo source

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At the United Nations (UN) conference in San Francisco in April 1945, representatives from fifty-one countries came together and drew up the UN Charter. The Charter was signed by fifty nations on 26 June 1945 and became the foundational document of the UN. After countries, including the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, China and France, ratified the Charter, the UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945. Since this milestone date the UN has been recognized as a global peace keeper and a problem solver in international crises. Since 1945, UN organizations have also had many internationally successful achievements in global issues that have ranged from poverty to women's rights.

The United Nations (Much of what follows comes from here.), created in the aftermath of World War II on the insistence of President Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), was intended to prevent war as the League of Nations, created after World War I on the insistence of President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), had not been able to do. The UN has played an increasingly prominent role in world affairs since its creation.

One of the major visible tasks of the UN has been peace-keeping operations. Ever since the UN's dramatic intervention in the war in Korea in 1950, the UN has taken upon itself the task of intervention whenever possible to avoid a major conflict. That has been done successfully some times, and not so successfully other times. Some, like Korea, kind of worked; others like Sierra Leone did work; and others like Rwanda or Somalia or Srebrenica were terrible failures.

In addition to its peacekeeping efforts, usually carried out under the supervision of the Security Council, the U.N. is involved in other important work. For example, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was founded as one of the prominent organs of the UN and became responsible for international issues that have included the promotion of cooperation for economic development, solutions to global economic and social problems and the recognition of human rights. Under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly, the ECOSOC works with the many specialized agencies in the UN system to coordinate economic and social work worldwide.

As we've seen elsewhere, one of the major early accomplishments of the UN was the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Since the Declaration has been put in place, the UN Human Rights Commission has directed global attention to the abuse of human rights, torture, missing persons and arbitrary detention, and the protection of human rights has been recognized as one of the most important reasons for the existence of the UN. The UN has used the provision of the Declaration in cases of human rights abuses that occurred in countries such as India, China, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. The UN has also utilized the Declaration to impose sanctions on leaders such as the Taliban in Afghanistan for violations of human rights that included inhumane punishment, discrimination against women and the harboring of known terrorists. Since its adoption in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has become an important part of international law and has continued to earn respect from many different countries. (I also have some comments on human rights for my History of the World since 1945 course.)

Another success of the UN was the creation of a development program (UNDP) that has been successful in the reduction of poverty in regions such as Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. The UNDP also plays a strong role in crisis prevention, which has provided urgent response to countries in times of emergency. UNDP has also contributed to the fight against AIDS by being a cosponsor of UNAIDS with seven other UN system organizations. Together with these organizations, UNDP has worked to moderate the effects of AIDS on developing countries and to assist in the reduction of poverty. Other projects executed by the UNDP have included agriculture, education and the environment.

The UN has been a leader in the promotion of women's rights through the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). UNIFEM has provided global support of women's empowerment through implementation of programs that have enriched the lives of women in many different countries. Some of the strategies for UNIFEM have focused on the participation of women in leadership roles, eradication of violence towards women and the reinforcement of women's economic capacity. Through the support of UNIFEM the number of women in government has significantly increased in countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Germany and South Africa.

To coordinate international health work with governments around the world, the UN established the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1945. The organization consists of 191 member states that make up the World Health Assembly that has the responsibility of determining the policies for the organization. The WHO has worked with countries in Africa to prevent and treat diseases such as malaria, AIDS and TB. Since 1945, WHO has gone on to set the standards for health worldwide.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been responsible for providing assistance to poverty stricken children in developing countries. UNICEF has supported education and established programs to secure the well-being of these children from birth. UNICEF also supported children by providing essential supplies such as vaccines, vital drugs and immunization equipment. Programs for UNICEF focus on issues that include child protection, education, nutrition, health and early childhood development. One of the focuses of UNICEF has been on girls' education in countries where girls have traditionally received a lesser quality of education compared to boys.

The UN Economic and Social Council has 54 members with representatives from regions that include Eastern Europe, Africa, Western Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. These members hold one session each year in either New York or Geneva to discuss the economic and social issues that face the world.

While there have been a lot of difficulties faced by the UN, it has persevered in its work.

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Timeline

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Suggested references