The United Nations was established as a result of the pain and destruction left by the Second World War to maintain world peace, replacing the League of Nations that was established in 1919 after the First World War, based on the Treaty of Versailles, to strengthen international cooperation and achieve security and peace.
??????The League had 58 members during the period from Sept. 28, 1934-Feb. 23, 1935. The main goals of the League was to prevent the outbreak of armed conflicts by strengthening international cooperation and ensuring common security between countries, limiting the spread of weapons, and settling international disputes through peaceful means such as negotiations and international arbitration, as indicated in its charter.
??????The League lacked the special armed force necessary to achieve its goals, relying instead on major international powers to impose their decisions and economic sanctions on countries violating a decision. However, it did not resort to this very often for various reasons, as the majority of the members of the League were superpowers with interests that conflict with the decisions approved by the Leage, and they refused to ratify to submit to these decision. Thus, the League was unable to solve international problems and impose its authority on all countries without exception. The outbreak of World War II was a conclusive proof of the failure of the League in its main mission, namely, preventing the outbreak of destructive wars. As soon as the war ended, the League dissolved and was succeeded by a new body, the United Nations, which inherited a number of League organizations and agencies.
??????It took two months to draft the UN Charter and it was signed by delegations of 50 countries on June 26, 1945 at the San Francisco Conference. US President Harry Truman addressed the delegations, stressing that they should ” keep the world at peace,and free from the fear of war.” ??????Four months after the end of the San Francisco Conference, the United Nations officially began its work in October 1945. It continued to attract more members until it reached the current number of 193 countries, which is almost all countries of the world. Trygve Halvdan Lie was the first Secretary-General of the United Nations.
??????The international organization was established with the clear aim of putting an end to international wars and conflicts. The preamble to the Charter of the organization stated, “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, and to 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.” ??????World War II was a bloody and costly conflict that claimed an estimated 70-85 million lives, caused economic losses estimated at $4 trillion, and catastrophically devastated much of Europe.
??????After its establishment, the international organization became the only place where all countries of the world meet and discuss common problems to find solutions that benefit all humanity. The United Nations is a platform for cooperation and coordination between countries, and although it is not a global government and does not set laws, it provides support and assistance in resolving international disputes and takes decisions that give “legitimacy” to some international interventions.
??????The United Nations allows all Member States, regardless of their size or wealth, to express their views through the deliberations, discussions and consultations conducted by the organization. The main role of the organization is to maintain world peace within the framework of four main objectives: maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations between nations, achieving cooperation in solving international problems, and promoting respect for human rights. Since 1945, the United Nations has grown steadily, and today it consists of six major organs in addition to many specialized agencies and organizations, working diligently to promote international cooperation and achieve peace and stability in the world.
??????Five of the United Nations organs are located at its headquarters in New York City, namely the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the General Secretariat. While the headquarters of the sixth organ, the International Court of Justice, is located in The Hague, Netherlands.
Organization (UNESCO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Organization for Migration (IMO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations. Through regular meetings, the General Assembly provides a platform for Member States to express their views and build consensus on difficult issues. Decisions on important matters, such as those relating to peace and security, the admission of new members, and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority vote, while other decisions are taken by a simple majority. The main initiatives of the United Nations include a range of efforts to maintain peace and enhance global security, including preventing conflict by exploring options to ensure peace, providing emergency food and medical aid, in addition to providing humanitarian support to millions of people around the world. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly cannot make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation in maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament and the peaceful settlement of any situation that might disturb the friendly relations between nations. However, the General Assembly may take action if the Security Council is unable to act due to a veto by a permanent member. The Assembly can consider the matter and make recommendations to members to take collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security in the event of a threat or breach of the peace or any act of aggression. As for the Security Council, it is the second most important organ of the United Nations, as it is tasked with maintaining international peace and security. It consists of 15 members, five of whom are permanent with the right to veto and ten are non-permanent. Each member state has one vote, and under the Charter, all member states must comply with the decisions of the Council. The Council takes an active role in determining the existence of any threat to peace or an act of aggression, and, when necessary, calls on the conflicting countries to resolve the dispute and settle it by peaceful means. In some cases, the Security Council can under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations take steps to impose measures to maintain or restore international peace and security, and these measures vary from imposing economic sanctions to taking international military measures. All of its members take turns presiding over the Council on a monthly basis. One of the important organs of the United Nations is the Economic and Social Council, which is the main body for coordinating economic and social actions and related activities of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and relevant institutions. The Council is responsible for about seventy percent of the human and financial resources of the entire United Nations system, including 14 specialized agencies, nine technical commissions, as well as five regional commissions. The General Assembly elects 54 members of the Council for staggered terms of three years each. The General Assembly is the central platform for consideration and discussion of sustainable development. The Trusteeship Council is one of the main organs of the international organization. It was established in 1945 under Chapter III of the Charter of the United Nations to provide international supervision over 11 trust territories administered by seven member states and ensure that appropriate steps are taken to prepare these territories for self-government or independence. By 1994, all the territories involved managed to achieve autonomy or independence. On Nov. 1, 1994, the Council decided to suspend its work. Based on a decision taken on May 25 of the same year, the Council decided to abandon the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as needed – according to its decision or the request of the majority of its members, the General Assembly or the Council Security. There is also the International Court of Justice. It is the main judicial organ of the United Nations, based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the only organ among the six main organs of the United Nations that is not located in New York. The Court plays an important role in settling legal disputes submitted to it by States, in accordance with international law. In addition, the Court provides advisory opinions on legal issues referred to it by United Nations bodies and specialized agencies authorized to do so.
The United Nations organs include the Secretariat, and it consists of the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international United Nations staff who carry out the daily work to achieve the goals of the United Nations. United Nations staff are recruited internationally and locally and work in headquarters and peacekeeping missions around the world. The Secretary-General is the chief administrative officer of the Organization, and is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a renewable five-year term. The Secretary-General is a symbol of the Organization’s ideals and defends the rights of all peoples of the world, especially the poor and vulnerable. Antonio Guterres, a Portuguese citizen, is the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations. He took office on January 1, 2017, and on June 18, 2021, he was re-appointed for a second term. He pledged to continue to help the world chart a course out of the COVID-19 pandemic as one of his priorities. The Charter of the United Nations states that “Membership in the United Nations is open to all peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.” Every year, during September, the member states of the United Nations gather in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual session of the General Assembly and the general debate, which is attended by many leaders. The General Assembly annually elects a President for its session, who holds that position for a period of one year. The United Nations has two types of funding sources. The first source is compulsory contributions, which are collected by the member states of the organization as a condition for membership. The financial amount that must be paid by each member varies according to the total national income and population. The second source is the voluntary contributions made by member states as assistance from them to the United Nations, and many United Nations organizations depend mainly on these contributions, such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Food Programme (WFP). The UN uses six official languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian to ensure effective and transparent communication between all member states and participants in the various activities and sessions of the organization. Since its founding more than seven decades ago, the United Nations has been facing new additional challenges such as climate change, global warming, refugees, migration, AIDS and other epidemics. The United Nations has also set the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 to achieve the best sustainable future for all people on the planet. The United Nations has made many humanitarian and environmental pledges since its inception, such as providing food for 90 million people in more than 75 countries, assisting more than 34 million refugees, working with 140 countries to reduce the effects of climate change, and assisting around 50 countries in holding elections, as well as providing vaccinations for 58 percent of the world’s children, assisting nearly 30 million women annually through maternal health efforts, and protecting human rights with 80 treaties and declarations. The strong and effective partnership between the United Nations Secretariat, the Security Council and the countries contributing peacekeepers enabled the successful completion of 55 peacekeeping operations in the world. More than two million peacekeepers have worked in 71 missions since 1948, providing assistance to countries to overcome the difficulties they faces in their path towards emerging from war and conflict. There are 12 United Nations peacekeeping missions, employing about ninety thousand people from one hundred and twenty-five countries, to support security, stability and the rule of law. The United Nations peacekeeping forces began in 1948, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of United Nations military observers in the Middle East. The United Nations is criticized from time to time for its policies, bureaucracy, and spending, but the majority of experts and international observers agree that the United Nations continues to play a crucial role in securing peace, stability, and prosperity around the world, providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, protecting human rights, and upholding international law.
Source: Qatar News Agency