Introduction
The United Nations Organization (henceforth UN) came into existence through the Charter of the United Nations 1945 (henceforth UN Charter). The UN Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the UN Conference on International Organization. It came into force on October 24, 1945. It currently has 193 Member States. Its primary purpose is “to maintain international peace and security.” It has six official languages- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
History
1865 to 1874- The first international organizations were established to co-operate on specific matters. For example, in 1865, the International Telecommunication Union was established followed by the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874.
1899 to 1902- The International Peace Conference was Held in 1899 in The Hague. Its purpose was to elaborate instruments for resolving disputes peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. It also established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began working in 1902.
1919- The League of Nations which was the forerunner of UN was established under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Its main objective was “to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The League of Nations ceased its operations after failing to prevent World War II.
1942- Since League of Nations failed its purpose, the UN came into existence as result of necessity to prevent future international wars and conflicts in a better way.On January 1, 1942, the name ‘United Nations’ was first coined by the then United States’ President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was first used during World War II in the Declaration by United Nations 1942, wherein representatives of 26 nations pledged to continue fighting against the Axis Powers.
1945- The UN Charter was drawn up at the UN Conference on International Organization on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. It was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945 by 50+1 original Member States
(Poland signed later and became a part of the original Member States). The UN officially came into existence on October 24, 1945 after having been ratified by a majority of signatories including France, Russia (Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, China and the United States of America.
Purposes and Principles
The purposes of the UN have been given under Article 1 of the UN Charter. They are
1. To maintain international peace and security; and
2. To develop friendly relations amongst States and to strengthen universal peace; and 3. To achieve international co-operation in matters of social, economic, cultural, or humanitarian international issues; and
4. To promote and encourage human rights and fundamental freedoms; and 5. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.i
The principles on which the UN works have been given under Article 2 of the UN Charter. They are as follows
1. UN considers the sovereign equality of all its Members.
2. All members shall fulfill their obligations in good faith that have been entrusted upon them in accordance with the Charter.
3. All Members shall settle their international disputes in a peaceful manner. 4. All Members shall refrain from the threat or the use of force against any State. 5. All Members shall assist UN in any actions which are taken in accordance with the UN Charter.
6. The UN will ensure that states who are not Members of the UN act in accordance with these principles as far as possible to maintain international peace and security. 7. The UN does not have the authority to intervene in matters of domestic jurisdiction of any State.ii
Principal Organs
The UN has 6 principal organs as laid down in Article 7 of the UN Charter. They are General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.Article 7 also stipulates for subsidiary organs, which are those organs that are established in future in accordance with the UN Charter.
These organs are necessary for the proper functioning of the UN and for achieving the purposes laid down in the UN Charter.
1. General Assembly (UNGA)- It is the primary policymaking, representative and deliberative organ of the UN. Provisions pertaining to UNGA are given under Chapter IV of the UN Charter consisting of Articles 9 to 22. It is the only UN body with universal representation, as all 193 Member States are represented at UNGA.iiiIt meets each year in September at the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session and general debate. Significant questions pertaining to peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters require a special two-thirds majority, whereas resolutions on other questions require a simple majority. A GA President is elected each year by the UNGA with a tenure of one year.
2. Security Council (UNSC)- The UNSC has themain responsibility to maintain international peace and security. It has a total of 15 members with 10 non- permanent and 5 permanent members. Each Member State has a single vote. The 5 permanent members include China, United States of America, United Kingdom, France and Russia. The permanent members have veto-power. The UNSC calls upon the State parties to settle disputes in a peaceful manner. It also recommends terms of settlement amongst the parties. The Presidency of the UNSC rotates and changes every month.
3. Economic and Social Council- It is the principal body for co-ordination, policy dialogue, policy review and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, and also implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It has 54 Members, who are elected by the UNGA for overlapping three-year terms. It is UN’s primary platform for debate, reflection and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
4. Trusteeship Council- It was established under Chapter XIII by the UN Charter in 1945. Its main purpose is to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that sufficient steps were taken to enable the Territories for self-government and independence. It fulfilled its purpose by 1994 as all the Territories had attained independence or self-governance. It suspended its operation on November 1, 1994. It now meets occasionally as required.
5. International Court of Justice- It is the principal judicial organ of the UN. Its main function is to settle legal disputes between States, by applying international law and to give advisory opinion on legal issues that have been referred to it by the authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.
6. Secretariat-It comprises of the Secretary-General (Chief Administrator officer of the UN) and tens of thousands of international UN staff members. They carry out the routine work of the UN as authorized by the UNGA or the other UN principal organs. The Secretary-General, is appointed by the UNGA for a five-year renewable term on the recommendation of the UNSC.
Funds, Programs and Specialized Agencies
The UN system has several funds and programs affiliated to it which are financed through voluntary contributions. The following funds and programs are authorized by the UN
1. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
2. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
3. United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat)
4. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
5. World Food Program (WFP)
UN Specialized Agencies are independent organizations working with UN through negotiated agreements by virtue of Article 57 read with Article 63 of the UN Charter. Some of these organizations even existed before World War I. Some were created by the UN to meet the emerging needs. They are as follows
1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)- It leads the international efforts in fighting hunger.
2. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)- It develops standards for global air transport and sharing the world skies to socio- economic benefit.
3. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)- It focuses exclusively on rural poverty reduction; eliminate hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.
4. International Labor Organization (ILO)- It promotes labor rights by formulating international standards on labor laws.
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF)- It promotes economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries.
6. International Maritime Organization (IMO)- It has created a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency.
7. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)- It helps in protecting and supporting the right of people to communicate with each other.
8. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)- It focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world.
9. United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO)- It promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.
10. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)- It promotes responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
11. Universal Postal Union (UPU)- It is the main forum for co-operation between various postal sector players.
12. World Health Organization (WHO)- Its objective is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. It is the directing and coordinating authority on international health as authorized by UN.
13. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)- It protects intellectual property with the help of 23 international treaties throughout the world.
14. World Meteorological Organization(WMO)- It facilitates free international exchange of meteorological data and information.
15. World Bank- It works on poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, and communications, among other things.
Other entities associated with UN include- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, UN Women, etc.
Conclusion
The Organization is currently working relatively in an effective manner to achieve its objective of international peace and security. However, sometimes its working becomes ineffective in certain circumstances due to the veto power of the permanent members of the
UNSC. It has many challenges to tackle including the refugee crisis, Yemen humanitarian crisis, climate change and the socio-economic challenges posed due to the advent of Covid 19.
* All information has been taken from the United Nations official website.*
-Vanya Agarwal,
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
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