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

• The UN Security Council (UNSC) has primary responsibility for international peace and security.
• It has 15 members—5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. (United Nations)
• The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• The permanent members possess the veto power on substantive resolutions.

7. ECOSOC, ICJ and Secretariat

• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coordinates work on economic, social and development issues and has 54 members elected for three-year terms. (United Nations)
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located at The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the UN and has 15 judges. (United Nations)
• The Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General, carries out the day-to-day administrative work of the organisation.

8. Trusteeship Council

• The Trusteeship Council was created to supervise territories placed under the international trusteeship system and assist them towards self-government or independence.
• All original Trust Territories eventually achieved self-government or independence.
• The Council formally suspended its operations on 1 November 1994, following the independence of Palau. (United Nations)

9. Importance and Achievements

• The UN has contributed to peacekeeping, decolonisation, humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and promotion of international law.
• Through agencies and programmes, it works in areas such as health, refugees, children, food security, education and environment.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a common framework for global development up to 2030.

10. Challenges and Need for Reform

• The UN faces challenges such as geopolitical rivalry, armed conflicts, terrorism, climate change, humanitarian crises and unequal representation.
• The composition of the Security Council still reflects the power structure of 1945, leading to strong demands for reform.
• India supports a more representative and effective UN system and seeks permanent membership of an expanded Security Council.
• The UN remains indispensable because it provides the widest global forum where States can negotiate, cooperate and seek collective solutions to common problems.