The UN (United Nations Organization) is an international body created on October 24, 1945, after the Second World War.
The organ’s purpose is to maintain international peace and security , as well as to develop cooperation between peoples.
It seeks to solve social, humanitarian, cultural and economic problems, promoting respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights.
UN objectives
- Maintaining peace : to achieve this goal, the UN may collectively take measures that preserve the peace and that repress acts of aggression against its rupture. The UN will seek peaceful means with the help of justice and international law and, thus, reach a solution to situations that risk the maintenance of peace;
- Cooperation between nations : relations between nations will be friendly and based on the principle of equal rights, the self-determination of peoples and the strengthening of world peace;
- Contribute to the solution of problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature : the actions will be directed to the promotion of individual and collective rights, regardless of race, color, religion, language or sex;
- Harmonization center : built and structured to develop actions that guarantee the fulfillment of the objectives.
UN History
After World War II, on August 19, 1945, the balance left was devastating. More than 30 million people were injured and at least 50 million people were killed in countless destroyed cities.
Nations like France, England and Germany were devastated. Poland alone had lost six million inhabitants, and Japan, 1.5 million as a result of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
6 million Jews were murdered in Nazi concentration camps.
The world was politically divided between capitalists and socialists, led respectively by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was the beginning of the Cold War , a period of uncertainty and insecurity.
Yalta Conference
In February 1945, even before the end of the war was made official, the Yalta Conference was held on the shores of the Black Sea, in Crimea (Soviet Union).
Franklin Roosevelt (1858-1911), Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and Josef Stalin (1878-1953) began to discuss the creation of the UN.
This discussion was guided by different bases of the League of Nations , which ended up failing.
Gathered in San Francisco (in the United States), between April 25 and June 26, 1945, representatives from 50 countries drafted and signed the United Nations Charter .
The document officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.
As a result of that date, October 24 began to be celebrated annually as United Nations Day , which has been happening since 1948.
Main UN Organs
Headquartered in New York, the UN comprises 5 main bodies :
- Security advice;
- General meeting;
- Secretariat;
- Economic and Social Council;
- International Court of Justice.
They are bodies that work separately, but with wide intercommunication, coordinating the organization’s activities.
The Guardianship Council had the function of protecting peoples without their own government, being composed of members of the Security Council and others elected by the General Assembly.
It was deactivated in 1997, three years after the independence of the last colony, Palau, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994. The council only meets at the request of the General Assembly.
1. Security Council
The Security Council is considered the most important organ of the UN. It is up to the Council to maintain world peace. He can propose agreements or decide on armed actions.
It consists of five permanent members, with the right to veto:
- United States;
- Russia (before 1991 it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics);
- United Kingdom;
- France;
- China (initially Nationalist China, Taiwan, and from 1971, Mainland China, communist).
In addition, there are 10 nominated by the General Assembly for a period of two years.
Brazil, among other countries, claims to increase the number of permanent members of the Security Council and their participation among them.
2. UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly is composed of representatives from all member countries, each with a voting right.
Its function is to discuss issues related to peace, security, well-being and justice in the world.
It cannot make decisions, presenting only a recommendation vote and an advisory role.
3. UN General Secretariat
The UN General Secretariat is chaired by the Secretary-General, the main UN authority, who has the role of administering the institution.
He is elected for 5 years (with the right to re-election), by the Security Council and approved by the General Assembly.
In 2019, Portuguese diplomat Antônio Guterres takes up this role. His term ends in 2022.
4. Economic and Social Council
The objective of the Economic and Social Council is to promote the economic and social well-being of the populations.
It works through commissions, such as the Human Rights Commission, the Women’s Statute Commission, the Narcotics Commission, among others.
It also coordinates specialized agencies, such as:
- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization);
- UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund);
- the ILO (International Labor Organization) ;
- the IMF (International Monetary Fund) ;
- ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America);
- FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization);
- WHO (World Health Organization).
5. International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the main legal body of the UN. It is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands.
Unicef
Unicef was created on December 11, 1946 by decision of the UN General Assembly. At the beginning, Unicef programs provided emergency assistance to children who were victims of war in Europe, the Middle East and China.
With Europe rebuilt, Unicef’s work was directed towards assisting children who are victims of hunger in the world. Thus, in 1953, Unicef joined the UN as a permanent body.
The agency, whose headquarters are in New York, serves 191 countries, with the support of 36 national committees, eight regional offices and 126 in the countries where it operates.
UNESCO
Unesco, whose headquarters are in Paris, is considered the UN’s intellectual agency. It was created in 1945 to respond to post-war needs.
Among Unesco’s objectives are:
- act for the access of all children at school;
- protect heritage and cultural diversity;
- promote scientific cooperation between countries;
- protect freedom of expression.
IMF
The IMF was created in 1945, its headquarters are located in Washington, DC: and today it gathers 188 countries. Among the objectives of the fund are:
- promoting monetary cooperation at the international level;
- ensuring financial stability;
- ease of international trade;
- the promotion of actions that guarantee;
- economic growth;
- the reduction of poverty in the world