United Nations

Introduction

International organizations have an important role in international relations, influencing

considerably the evolution of contemporary world. From the beginning of the XVII century
appeared the theory that sustain that an international organization can bring peace in the
international scene and mentain good relations among states.

In the XX century it was created The Nations League and then the United Nations. The
United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in
international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and
achievement of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of
Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple
subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

In the Charter of the United Nations we find that” WE THE PEOPLES OF THE
UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of
war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, andto reaffirm faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of
men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice
and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be
maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, AND
FOR THESE ENDSto practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as
goodneighbors, andto unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall
not be used, save in the common interest, andto employ international machinery for the
promotion of the economic and socialadvancement of all peoples,HAVE RESOLVED TO
COMBINE OUR EFFORTSTO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.Accordingly, our respective
Governments, through representatives assembled inthe city of San Francisco, who have exhibited
their full powers found to be in goodand due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the
United Nations and do thereby establish an international organization to be known as the United
Nations “(The Charter of United Nations, San Francisco, 1945).

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 Member states and organs

Member Date of Admission

   
Afghanistan 19 November 1946
Albania 14 December 1955
Algeria 8 October 1962
Andorra 28 July 1993
Angola 1 December 1976
Antigua and Barbuda 11 November 1981
Argentina 24 October 1945
Armenia 2 March 1992
Australia 1 November 1945
Austria 14 December 1955
Azerbaijan 2 March 1992
Bahamas 18 September 1973
Bahrain 21 September 1971
Bangladesh 17 September 1974
Barbados 9 December 1966
Belarur 24 October 1945
Belgium 27 December 1945
Belize 25 September 1981
Benin 20 September 1960
Bhutan 21 September 1971
Bolivia 14 November 1945
Bosnia and Herzegovina 22 May 1992
Botswana 17 October 1966
Brazil 24 October 1945
Brunei Darussalam 21 September 1984
Bulgaria 14 December 1955
Burkina Faso 20 September 1960
Burundi 18 September 1962

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 Member Date of Admission
Cambodia 14 December 1955
Cameroon 20 September 1960
Canada 9 November 1945
Cape Verde 16 September 1975
Central African Republic 20 September 1960
Chad 20 September 1960
Chile 24 October 1945
China 24 October 1945
Colombia 5 November 1945
Comoros 12 November 1975
Congo (Republic of the) 20 September 1960
Costa Rica 2 November 1945
Côte d’Ivoire 20 September 1960
Croatia 22 May 1992
Cuba 24 October 1945
Cyprus 20 September 1960
Czech Republic 19 January 1993
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 17 September 1991
Democratic Republic of the Congo 20 September 1960
Denmark 24 October 1945
Djibouti 20 September 1977
Dominica 18 December 1978
Dominican Republic 24 October 1945
Ecuador 21 December 1945
Egypt 24 October 1945
El Salvador 24 October 1945
Equatorial Guinea 12 November 1968
Eritrea 28 May 1993
Estonia 17 September 1991
Ethiopia 13 November 1945
Fiji 13 October 1970

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 Member Date of Admission
Finland 14 December 1955
France 24 October 1945
Gabon 20 September 1960
Gambia 21 September 1965
Georgia 31 July 1992
Germany 18 September 1973
Ghana 8 March 1957
Greece 25 October 1945
Grenada 17 September 1974
Guatemala 21 November 1945
Guinea 12 December 1958
Guinea-Bissau 17 September 1974
Guyana 20 September 1966
Haiti 24 October 1945
Honduras 17 December 1945
Hungary 14 December 1955
Iceland 19 November 1946
India 30 October 1945
Indonesia 28 September 1950
Iran 24 October 1945
Iraq 21 December 1945
Ireland 14 December 1955
Israel 11 May 1949
Italy 14 December 1955
Jamaica 18 September 1962
Japan 18 December 1956
Jordan 14 December 1955
Kazakhstan 2 March 1992
Kenya 16 December 1963
Kiribati 14 September 1999
Kuwait 14 May 1963

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 Member Date of Admission
Kyrgyzstan 2 March 1992
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 14 December 1955
Latvia 17 September 1991
Lebanon 24 October 1945
Lesotho 17 October 1966
Liberia 2 November 1945
Libya 14 December 1955
Liechtenstein 18 September 1990
Lithuania 17 September 1991
Luxembourg 24 October 1945
Madagascar 20 September 1960
Malawi 1 December 1964
Malaysia 17 September 1957
Maldives 21 September 1965
Mali 28 September 1960
Malta 1 December 1964
Marshall Islands 17 September 1991
Mauritania 27 October 1961
Mauritius 24 April 1968
Mexico 7 November 1945
Micronesia (Federated States of) 17 September 1991
Monaco 28 May 1993
Mongolia 27 October 1961
Montenegro 28 June 2006
Morocco 12 November 1956
Mozambique 16 September 1975
Myanmar 19 April 1948
Namibia 23 April 1990
Nauru 14 September 1999
Nepal 14 December 1955
Netherlands 10 December 1945

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 Member Date of Admission
New Zealand 24 October 1945
Nicaragua 24 October 1945
Niger 20 September 1960
Nigeria 7 October 1960
Norway 27 November 1945
Oman 7 October 1971
Pakistan 30 September 1947
Palau 15 December 1994
Panama 13 November 1945
Papua New Guinea 10 October 1975
Paraguay 24 October 1945
Peru 31 October 1945
Philippines 24 October 1945
Poland 24 October 1945
Portugal 14 December 1955
Qatar 21 September 1971
Republic of Korea 17 September 1991
Republic of Moldova 2 March 1992
Romania 14 December 1955
Russian Federation 24 October 1945
Rwanda 18 September 1962
Saint Kitts and Nevis 23 September 1983
Saint Lucia 18 September 1979
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 16 September 1980
Samoa 15 December 1976
San Marino 2 March 1992
Sao Tome and Principe 16 September 1975
Saudi Arabia 24 October 1945
Senegal 28 September 1960
Serbia 1 November 2000
Seychelles 21 September 1976

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 Member Date of Admission
Sierra Leone 27 September 1961
Singapore 21 September 1965
Slovakia 19 January 1993
Slovenia 22 May 1992
Solomon Islands 19 September 1978
Somalia 20 September 1960
South Africa 7 November 1945
Spain 14 December 1955
Sri Lanka 14 December 1955
Sudan 12 November 1956
Suriname 4 December 1975
Swaziland 24 September 1968
Switzerland 10 September 2002
Sweden 19 November 1946
Syria 24 October 1945
Tajikistan 2 March 1992
Thailand 16 December 1946
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 8 April 1993
Timor Leste 27 September 2002
Togo 20 September 1960
Tonga 14 September 1999
Trinidad and Tobago 18 September 1962
Tunisia 12 November 1956
Turkey 24 October 1945
Turkmenistan 2 March 1992
Tuvalu 5 September 2000
Uganda 25 October 1962
Ukraine 24 October 1945
United Arab Emirates 9 December 1971
United Kingdom 24 October 1945
United of Republic of Tanzania 14 December 1961

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 Member Date of Admission
United States 24 October 1945
Uruguay 18 December 1945
Uzbekistan 2 March 1992
Vanuatu 15 September 1981
Venezuela 15 November 1945
Viet Nam 20 September 1977
Yemen 30 September 1947
Zambia 1 December 1964
Zimbabwe 25 August 1980

There are 193 member states, including every internationally recognised sovereign state
in the world but Vatican City. From its offices around the world, the UN and its specialized
agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the
year. The organization has six principal organs: the General Assembly (the main deliberative
assembly); the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the
Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social
cooperation and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities
needed by the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and the
United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Other prominent UN System
agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP)
and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most prominent position is Secretary-
General which has been held by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea since 2007. ("General Assembly
of the United Nations – Rules of Procedure". UN Department for General Assembly. Retrieved
15 December 2010.)

The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City,
with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from
assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official languages:
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish (David, Wilton. "United Nations".
Etymologies & Word Origins: Letter U. Word Origins.org.)

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 The United Nations' system is based on five principal organs (formerly six – the
Trusteeship Council suspended operations in 1994, upon the independence of Palau, the last
remaining UN trustee territory); the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice.

Four of the five principal organs are located at the main United Nations Headquarters
located on international territory in New York City. The International Court of Justice is located
in The Hague, while other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva, Vienna, and
Nairobi. Other UN institutions are located throughout the world.

The six official languages of the United Nations, used in intergovernmental meetings and
documents, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. [2] The Secretariat uses
two working languages, English and French. Four of the official languages are the national
languages of the permanent members of the Security Council (the United Kingdom and the
United States share English as a de facto official language); Spanish and Arabic are the
languages of the two largest blocs of official languages outside of the permanent members
(Spanish being official in 20 countries, Arabic in 26). Five of the official languages were chosen
when the UN was founded; Arabic was added later in 1973. The United Nations Editorial
Manual states that the standard for English language documents is British usage and Oxford
spelling, the Chinese writing standard is Simplified Chinese. This replaced Traditional Chinese
in 1971 when the UN representation of China was changed from the Republic of China to the
People's Republic of China (see China and the United Nations for details).("The United Nations
in the Heart of Europe". Unog.ch. Retrieved 2011-11-04.)

Purposes and principles

The Purposes of the United Nations are: To maintain international peace and security, and to that
end:
1. to take effective collectivemeasures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and
for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace,and to bring about by
peaceful means, and in conformitywith the principles of justice and international law, adjustment
or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights

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and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal
peace;
3. To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic,social,
cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights
and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;
4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in
accordance with the following Principles.(The Charter of United Nations, San Francisco, 1945)
The Organization is based on the principleof the sovereign equality of all its Members.
All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from
membership, shall fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the
presentCharter. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. All Members shall
refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the United States.
All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in
accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against
which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations
actin accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of
international peace and security.
Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene
in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the
Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall
not prejudice the application of enforcement measures
under Chapter VII.

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Partnership

The United Nations Office for Partnerships serves as a gateway for partnership
opportunities with the United Nations family. It promotes new collaborations and alliances in
furtherance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and provides support to new
initiatives of the Secretary-General. UNOP provides Partnership Advisory Services and Outreach
to a variety of entities, as well as managing the United Nations Fund for International
Partnerships (UNFIP), established by the Secretary-General in March 1998 to serve as the
interface in the partnership between the UN system and the UN Foundation, and the United
Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), established by the Secretary-General in July 2005 to
support democratization throughout the world. The Office, headed by Mr. Roland Rich, Officer-
in-Charge, reports to the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. The Deputy Secretary-General, Dr.
Asha-Rose Migiro, oversees the day-to-day operations of UNOP.(
http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml).

The world is changing, and with it the demands on the United Nations. The UN provides a
unique platform for international action. It offers unparalleled legitimacy for global engagement,
owing to its universal membership; its inclusive decision-making processes; its unequalled reach;
and its ability to provide critical services that are essential to international peace, security,
stability and prosperity. The United Nations is engaged in a continuous process of change and
reform to strengthen its ability to meet new demands and deliver its vital services in the most
effective and efficient ways. This means:

 Constant emphasis on transparency, accountability, integrity, efficiency and flexibility.

 Creating an environment in which improvement is expected and innovation is welcomed.

These efforts are aimed at delivering results to those most in need, doing more with what we
have and strengthening accountability. Countries and citizens around the world provide
resources to and count on the United Nations to work on their behalf for a better and more secure
world. In order to maximize impact and make the most of UN resources, we are improving the
efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, rationalizing our structures, building a global and

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dynamic work force, and encouraging innovation in every area. Accountability takes many
forms, from the Organization’s duty to carry out the decisions of Member States, to good
governance by Member States, to the responsibility of all staff to adhere to the highest standards
of conduct in support of the UN and its goals.

Department of
Peacekeeping Operations

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) is dedicated to assisting the Member

States and the Secretary-General in their efforts to maintain international peace and security.

UN Photo

Uniformed and civilian personnel work together for DPKO.

DPKO provides political and executive direction to UN Peacekeeping operations around the
world and maintains contact with the Security Council, troop and financial contributors, and
parties to the conflict in the implementation of Security Council mandates. The Department
works to integrate the efforts of UN, governmental and non-governmental entities in the context
of peacekeeping operations. DPKO also provides guidance and support on military, police, mine
action and other relevant issues to other UN political and peacebuilding missions.

DPKO traces its roots to 1948 with the creation of the first UN peacekeeping operations: UN
Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and UN Military Observer Group in India and

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Pakistan (UNMOGIP). Up to the late 1980s, peacekeeping operations were operated through the
UN Office of Special Political Affairs. The official DPKO was formally created in 1992 when
Boutros Boutros-Ghali took office as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Four main offices of DPKO

Office of Operations

The main role of the Office of Operations is to provide political and strategic policy and
operational guidance and support to the missions. More on our peacekeeping operations »

Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions

Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) was established in 2007 to
strengthen the links and coordinate the Department’s activities in the areas of police, justice and
corrections, mine action, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants
and security sector reform. More on rule of law, police, mine action, and disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration.

Office of Military Affairs

Office of Military Affairs (OMA) works to deploy the most appropriate military capability in
support of United Nations objectives; and to enhance performance and improve the efficiency
and the effectiveness of military components in United Nations Peacekeeping missions. More on
military.

Policy Evaluation and Training Division

Policy Evaluation and Training (PET) Division provides an integrated capacity to

develop and disseminate policy and doctrine; to develop, coordinate and deliver standardized
training; to evaluate mission progress towards mandate implementation; and to develop policies
and operational frameworks for strategic cooperation with various UN and external partners.

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Head of Department

The Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is Mr. Hervé

Ladsous. (www.un.org)

Military
United Nations military personnel are the Blue Helmets on the ground. They are
contributed by national armies from across the globe.

Every day, UN military personnel are on patrol, providing vital security and stability in our
missions around the world.

UN Photo/K Jordan

A member of the Brazilian battalion in MINUSTAH carries an infant to safety, as he

assists a local resident of Cité-Soleil — one of the many areas ravaged by the heavy rains of
tropical storm 'Noel' in Haiti.

We work alongside UN Police and civilian colleagues to protect personnel and property;
maintain close cooperation with other military entities in the mission area; and work to promote
stability and security.

We work with the local community and the local military personnel to bring about greater
mutual understanding and work together towards a lasting peace. Protection of civilians is very
often at the heart of our mandate and it is the Blue Helmets that are key to providing this
security.

Global contribution for global peace

All military personnel working under the Blue Helmet are first and foremost members of their
own national armies and are then seconded to work with the UN.

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They have more than 95,000 UN uniformed personnel (Military and Police coming from over
110 countries. They come from nations large and small, rich and poor. They bring different
cultures and experience to the job, but they are united in their determination to foster peace.

Diversity of contributions map

Hover over the pins on the map to find out about some of our troop and police contributing
countries. Discover the diverse nature and range of skills of our Blue Helmets.

What UN military personnel do

The UN has been deploying military personnel for service in peace operations since 1948 when
the Security Council authorized the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East to
monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

UN military personnel can be called upon to:

 Monitor a disputed border

 Monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas
 Provide security across a conflict zone
 Protect civilians
 Assist in-country military personnel with training and support
 Assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed

Getting involved

The United Nations Office of Military Affairs seeks highly qualified military officers
from UN Member States for service in our peace missions around the world, either as individual
Staff Officers, as Military Observers, or as part of a formed unit from an individual Troop-
Contributing Country.  

All military personnel working under the Blue Helmet are first and foremost members of
their own national armies and are then seconded to work with the UN for periods normally of up
to one year in the field, or two years in the UN headquarters. Any queries about working for the
UN in a military capacity should be addressed within an applicants own country first. 

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By the end of 2010, 2.4% of UN military personnel were female. A top priority for UN military
personnel is to increase the number of female military personnel in peacekeeping operations.

What kind of Blue Helmets are needed?

The most common sort of UN peacekeeper is the infantry soldier. However, increasingly
we need specialized personnel who we refer to as ‘enablers’. These skilled soldiers include
engineers, who for example were able to help with the post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti, or
the building of new roads in South Sudan. We also need helicopters and their crews, as they
enable us to extend our area of influence and be much more visible. Other specialist enablers
include transport companies, communicators and medical personnel.

Modern peacekeeping operations are often very complex, and place high demands on the
personnel we deploy. High levels of training are required before deployment, and the UN works
closely with Troop-Contributing Countries to provide the best help and advice possible. Troops
must know what to do if they find themselves in an ambush, for example, and must be capable of
responding appropriately, even robustly, if necessary.

Why does the UN not have a standing reserve?

It takes considerable time to deploy troops and we are often asked why we do not have a
standing reserve.

The UN can only deploy military personnel when there is a UN Security Council
resolution authorizing them to do so. The Security Council will say how many military personnel
are required, and then UN Headquarters will liaise with the Member States to identify personnel
and deploy them. This can take time – perhaps more than six months from the date of the
resolution.

As former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, the UN is “the only fire brigade in the
world that has to wait for the fire to break out before it can acquire a fire engine.” A standing
reserve sounds logical, but it would be immensely costly to have a force of several thousand
people on permanent standby. It would require training, accommodating, feeding, etc. and then

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might not even be used. Although it takes time, it is much more practical to generate the military
personnel once the go-ahead has been given. This also ensures we recruit personnel with the
appropriate background, training and language skills. (www.un.org).

Peacekeeping and security

Current UN peacekeeping missions

The UN, after approval by the Security Council, sends peacekeepers to regions where
armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to
discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own
military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the UN. The forces,
also called the "Blue Helmets", who enforce UN accords, are awarded United Nations Medals,
which are considered international decorations instead of military decorations. The peacekeeping
force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.( "United Nations Visitors Centre". United
Nations. 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.)

The founders of the UN had envisaged that the organization would act to prevent
conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible, however the outbreak of the Cold
War made peacekeeping agreements extremely difficult because of the division of the world into
hostile camps. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to
become the agency for achieving world peace, as several dozen ongoing conflicts continue to
rage around the globe.

A 2005 RAND Corp study found the UN to be successful in two out of three
peacekeeping efforts. It compared UN nation-building efforts to those of the United States, and
found that seven out of eight UN cases are at peace, as compared with four out of eight US cases
at peace.( RAND Corporation. "The UN's Role in Nation Building: From the Congo to Iraq" . 30
December 2008.)Also in 2005, the Human Security Report documented a decline in the number of
wars, genocides and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence,
albeit circumstantial, that international activism—mostly spearheaded by the UN—has been the
main cause of the decline in armed conflict since the end of the Cold War. Situations where the
UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also occasionally intervened include the Korean

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War (1950–1953), and the authorization of intervention in Iraq after the Persian Gulf War in
1990.

The UN has also drawn criticism for perceived failures. In many cases, member states
have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions, an issue that stems
from the UN's intergovernmental nature—seen by some as simply an association of 193 member
states who must reach consensus, not an independent organization. Disagreements in the Security
Council about military action and intervention are seen as having failed to prevent the 1994
Rwandan Genocide, failed to provide humanitarian aid and intervene in the Second Congo War,
failed to intervene in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and protect a refugee haven by authorizing
peacekeepers to use force, failure to deliver food to starving people in Somalia, failure to
implement provisions of Security Council resolutions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
and continuing failure to prevent genocide or provide assistance in Darfur. UN peacekeepers
have also been accused of child rape, sexual abuse or soliciting prostitutes during various
peacekeeping missions, starting in 2003, in the Congo, Haiti Liberia Sudan and what is now
South Sudan, Burundi and Côte d'Ivoire. In 2004, former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dore
Gold criticized what it called the organization's moral relativism in the face of (and occasional
support of) genocide and terrorism that occurred between the moral clarity of its founding period
and the present day. Gold specifically mentions Yasser Arafat's 1988 invitation to address the
General Assembly as a low point in the UN's history. ( "Human Development Reports (HDR) –
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)". Hdr.undp.org. 1 May 2011.)

In addition to peacekeeping, the UN is also active in encouraging disarmament.

Regulation of armaments was included in the writing of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and
was envisioned as a way of limiting the use of human and economic resources for the creation of
them. However, the advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the charter
and immediately halted concepts of arms limitation and disarmament, resulting in the first
resolution of the first ever General Assembly meeting calling for specific proposals for "the
elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons
adaptable to mass destruction". The principal forums for disarmament issues are the General
Assembly First Committee, the UN Disarmament Commission, and the Conference on
Disarmament, and considerations have been made of the merits of a ban on testing nuclear

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weapons, outer space arms control, the banning of chemical weapons and land mines, nuclear
and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, the reduction of military budgets,
and measures to strengthen international security.( "General Assembly of the United Nations – Rules
of Procedure". UN Department for General Assembly. 15 December 2010.)

The UN is one of the official supporters of the World Security Forum, a major international
conference on the effects of global catastrophes and disasters, which took place in the United
Arab Emirates in October 2008.

Human rights and humanitarian assistance

Eleanor Roosevelt with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949

The pursuit of human rights was a central reason for creating the UN. World War II
atrocities and genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work to prevent
any similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was creating a legal framework for
considering and acting on complaints about human rights violations. The UN Charter obliges all
member nations to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and to take
"joint and separate action" to that end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though not
legally binding, was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 as a common standard of
achievement for all. The Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues.

The UN and its agencies are central in upholding and implementing the principles
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A case in point is support by the UN
for countries in transition to democracy. Technical assistance in providing free and fair elections,

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improving judicial structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials, and
transforming armed movements into political parties have contributed significantly to
democratization worldwide. The UN has helped run elections in countries with little or no
democratic history, including recently in Afghanistan and East Timor. The UN is also a forum to
support the right of women to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of their
countries. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through
its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly, Security Council
resolutions, or International Court of Justice rulings.

The purpose of the United Nations Human Rights Council, established in 2006, is to
address human rights violations. The Council is the successor to the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights, which was often criticized for the high-profile positions it gave to member
states that did not guarantee the human rights of their own citizens. The council has 47 members
distributed by region, which each serve three-year terms, and may not serve three consecutive
terms. A candidate to the body must be approved by a majority of the General Assembly.
(www.un.org) In addition, the council has strict rules for membership, including a universal
human rights review. While some members with questionable human rights records have been
elected, it is fewer than before with the increased focus on each member state's human rights
record.

Conclusions

Since its creation UN is a source of peace and development for many countries. It has an
important role in peace-making, peace keeping, peace enforcement. NeverthelessSince its founding,
there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations, although little consensus on how to do so.
Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, while others want its role
reduced to humanitarian work. There have also been numerous calls for the UN Security Council's
membership to be increased, for different ways of electing the UN's Secretary-General, and for a United
Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

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 The UN has also been accused of bureaucratic inefficiency and waste. During the 1990s,
the United States withheld dues citing inefficiency, and only started repayment on the condition
that a major reforms initiative was introduced. In 1994, the Office of Internal Oversight Services
(OIOS) was established by the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second
World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security,
developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living
standards and human rights.

The UN has 4 main purposes

 To keep peace throughout the world;

 To develop friendly relations among nations;
 To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger,
disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;
 To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter,
the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193
Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.

The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although best known
for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many
other ways the United Nations and its System (specialized agencies, funds and programmes)
affect our lives and make the world a better place. The Organization works on a broad range of
fundamental issues, from sustainable development, environment and refugees protection, disaster
relief, counter terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting democracy, human
rights, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance, economic and social
development and international health, clearing landmines, expanding food production, and more,
in order to achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future
generations.

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