United Nations

Brief History

1.The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt2. The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.“3. In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter.  The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not repre-sented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.4. The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signa-tories.5. Today there are 193 countries in UN (South Sudan 14 July 2011)

THE UN FLAG

WHAT IS UN?• The United Nations is an international organization designed to

make the enforcement of international law, security, economic de-velopment, social progress, and human rights easier for countries around the world. The United Nations includes 193 member countries and its main headquarters are located in New York City.

• Official languages of UN - English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian• 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.

STRUCTURE OF THE UN

GENERAL ASSEMBLYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGtMU4cof70

• Forum for multilateral negotiation• the General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the

United Nations. Comprising all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.

• Functions• Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international

peace and security, including disarmament;• Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is

currently being discussed by the Security Council, make recommendations on it;• Discuss, with the same exception, and make recommendations on any questions within the scope of the

Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations;• Initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development

and codification of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields;

• Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among nations;

• Receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs;• Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States;• Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other United Nations councils

and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.• The General Assembly also approves the budget of the United Nations, and decides how much money each

member state must pay to run the organization

SECURITY COUNCILhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgfG8v-nU8s

The UN Charter established six main organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council. It gives primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security to the Security Coun-cil, which may meet whenever peace is threatened.Functions and Powersto maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to rec-ommend what action should be taken;to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;to take military action against an aggressor;to recommend the admission of new Members;to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

Secretariat of the UN•

The Secretariat — an international staff working in duty stations around the world — carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, re-newable term.

• The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to me-diating international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and prob-lems to preparing studies on human rights and sustainable development. Secretariat staff also inform the world's communications media about the work of the United Na-tions; organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and inter-pret speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official language

• As of 30 June 2011, the Secretariat had 43,747 staff members around the world

Trusteeship council• The United Nations Trusteeship Council , one of the principal organs of the United Nations, was estab-

lished to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territories—most of them former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II—have all now at-tained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring indepen-dent countries

• TRUST TERRITORIES• The Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration (French Cameroons): Achieved 

independence as the Republic of Cameroon in 1960.• The Trust Territory of the Cameroons under British administration (British Cameroons): Somewhat smaller

than the French Cameroons, this territory was administered in two parts (Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons). Following a plebiscite, Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria in May 1961 and Southern Cameroons joined the Republic of Cameroon in October 1961.

• The Trust Territory of New Guinea (Australia): The north-eastern section of this island had been a League of Nations mandate, the south-eastern section had been Australian before World War I; after World War II, the two were combined into a unified entity for administrative purposes, although the legal distinction between the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea was maintained. In 1975, the two entities were legally unified and granted independence as Papua New Guinea. The western half of the island, formerly Dutch and now part of Indonesia, was never part of either territory.

• The Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi (Belgium, effectively linked to the Belgian Congo): Separately gained independence in 1962 as Rwanda and Burundi.

• The Trust Territory of Tanganyika (United Kingdom): Granted independence in 1961. Federated with the former British (originally shortly German) protectorate Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania.

• The Trust Territory of Togoland under French administration (French Togoland): Became independent as Togo in 1960.

• The Trust Territory of Togoland under British administration (British Togoland): Much smaller than French To-goland, this territory was merged in 1956 with the British colony of the Gold Coast, which was granted in-dependence asGhana in 1957.

• The Trust Territory of Western Samoa (New Zealand): Granted independence in 1962, now known simply as Samoa.

THE SECURITY COUNCIL IN

1994 TERMINATED THE U

NITED NATIO

NS TRUSTEESHIP AGREEMENT FOR

THE LAST TERRITORY

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

• The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the main judicial organ of the UN.

• Its 15 judges are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, voting independently and concurrently.

• It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.• The Court decides disputes between countries, based on the voluntary par-

ticipation of the States concerned. If a State agrees to participate in a pro-ceeding, it is obligated to comply with the Court's decision. 

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCILhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRMiIY0jvTI

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN special-ized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. The Council also re-ceives reports from 11 UN funds and programmes. ECOSOC has 54 members; it holds a four-week session each year in July. Since 1998, it has also held a meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and so-cial issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.[2]  It is responsible for:It is responsible for:• Promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress;• Identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems;• Facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and• Encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.It has the power to make or initiate studies and reports on these issues. It also has the power to assist the preparations and organization of major international conferences in the economic and social and related fields and to facilitate a coordinated follow-up to these conferences. With its broad mandate, the Council's purview extends to over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system. The Council meets in alternating years at UN Headquarters or at the UN Office in Geneva

CRITICS IN ADDRESS TO UNhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TOiiVlT5Q

1. Philosophical and moral criticismsMoral relativismAllegations of globalismDebates surrounding population control and abortion

2. Administrative criticismsRole of elite nationsMembership in the UN Security Council Veto power (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaqzrbIwQeI)Democratic character of the UN

3. Effectiveness criticisms4. Diplomatic and political criticismsInability to prevent conflictsAttention given to the Arab-Israeli conflictUN admits Sri Lanka civil war failure

5. Criticisms of scandalsOil-for-Food Programme scandal Peacekeeping child sexual abuse scandal