UNITED NATIONS — ORIGIN, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND GLOBAL ROLE

PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

         Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

UNITED NATIONS — ORIGIN, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND GLOBAL ROLE

1. Establishment of the United Nations

• The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation created after the Second World War to promote peace, security and international cooperation.
• The UN Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 at San Francisco and came into force on 24 October 1945, which is observed every year as United Nations Day. (UN Policy)
• The UN began with 51 founding members and today has 193 Member States. (United Nations)

2. Headquarters and Official Languages

• The principal headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City, United States.
• Important UN offices are also located in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.
• The UN has six official languages—Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
• India was among the original members of the United Nations.

3. Main Objectives

• The basic purposes of the UN are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and promote international cooperation.
• It also works for human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian relief, health, education and social progress.
• The Charter is based on principles such as the sovereign equality of States and peaceful settlement of disputes. (United Nations)

4. Six Principal Organs

• Article 7 of the UN Charter establishes six principal organs: the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat. (United Nations)
• These organs perform political, security, economic, social, judicial and administrative functions.
• The Trusteeship Council remains a principal organ legally, although it suspended regular operations in 1994. (United Nations)

5. General Assembly

• The General Assembly (UNGA) includes all 193 Member States, each having one vote.
• It is the UN’s main deliberative, policymaking and representative body.
• It discusses international issues, approves the UN budget and elects members to several other UN bodies. (United Nations)

6. Security Council