The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded after the Second World War. She works in the areas of international law, global security, fulfillment of human rights and development of the global economy.
The United Nations and the League of Nations
The existence of the United Nations is largely the same as that of the League of Nations. The latter was founded on January 25, 1919 on the basis of the Treaty of Versailles and was headquartered in Geneva. Both the United Nations and the League of Nations were founded at the behest of an American president. President Wilson created the League of Nations, which strived for global peace between all countries. It had about 58 members (affiliated countries). But to no avail. The League of Nations took on too much and therefore could not achieve their objectives. Moreover, major world powers were not involved, namely the United States (which itself came up with the idea), Germany and the Soviet Union. The League of Nations was dissolved on April 20, 1946, one day after their last meeting.
The United Nations wanted to succeed where the League of Nations had failed. Founded by American President Roosevelt after the Second World War, the United Nations also strives for global peace. Originally it had 51 member states, but since July 14, 2011 it already has 193 member states. The last country to enter was South Sudan.
Origin of the United Nations
Where the League of Nations failed, Roosevelt was determined to succeed. In 1943, the American government started publishing posters showing the flags of the most important Allies during the war, namely Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. At that time, the United Nations was still seen as a military alliance. In 1945 something like the UN Charter was created. To become a member of the organization, this charter had to be signed. Immediately, 51 countries signed the charter on a voluntary basis. The two missions that the United Nations included in the charter were:
To protect coming generations from the scourge of war, to encourage social progress and to provide better living conditions for all.
These two tasks are linked, because poverty is often the origin of conflicts. If you can eliminate poverty, the chance of war decreases drastically. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. This refers to a historical event that is still etched in memory today, namely the Holocaust.
Achieving objectives
When a conflict occurs anywhere in the world, the United Nations takes action. All Member States are called upon to take measures to maintain peace or even to restore peace. The United Nations’ most important asset is the blue helmets. A personal army drawn up from soldiers from every country that is a member of the United Nations.
Structure of the UN
The United Nations General Assembly has 192 members, one for each country. Each country/member gets one vote regardless of the size of the country, the number of inhabitants, their importance in the world… The decisions they make in the meeting are non-binding. The decisions taken during the General Meeting serve only as recommendations. The meeting also appoints the Secretary General every five years and the non-permanent members of the Security Council every two years.
The Security Council is the most important body within the United Nations. It has about fifteen members, including five permanent members (the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia and China) and ten non-permanent members. Within this body, each country/member also gets one vote, but the permanent members enjoy the right of veto. The Security Council is seated in New York and makes decisions that are binding based on the recommendations of the General Assembly.
The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General, the most important person within the United Nations. He governs and sits on the Security Council, albeit without a vote. His authority is great, because this person comes from a neutral country or has demonstrated good diplomacy in the past. Today, 2011, Ban Ki-Moon from South Korea is Secretary General. He was chosen because of his good negotiations with enemy North Korea.
The International Court of Justice is tasked with convicting war criminals and mediating disputes between member states. It has its seat in The Hague and consists of about fifteen judges who are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. An example of the use of the International Court of Justice is the Rwanda Tribunal.