Working for a better world  

The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation which is conformed by 193 independent countries. Every participating nation agree to follow the Charter of the United Nations, a constituent treaty that defines the articles that the nations must respect. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War Two, with the intention to create an alliance between countries that would avoid another dreadful conflict. Since then, it has worked not only to maintain peace but also to improve people’s lives all around the world by mediating in territorial or political problems, promoting human rights and providing humanitarian assistance, among many others. There is no doubt that since its foundation, the United Nations have been a contribution to the improvement of the international relations. 
 

 

After the end of World War II, with the horrors of the holocaust and the atomic bomb still very present, a group of nations decided to pick up the idea of the League of Nations, founded in 1920, after World War I. These were 51 nations, which included all of the former allies of World War II, that decided to create an international organisation to keep peace and stable relationships between the nations of the world, in order to avoid another armed conflict such as the war that have just ended. On the 26th of October 1945, after years of preparation, the UN was officially founded in the Conference on International Organisation occurred in San Francisco, USA. In this occasion, 50 of the 51 members signed the Charter of the United Nations, where they committed to participate in this new instance. The only country that couldn’t assist then was Poland, due to internal instability. However, two months later, they were able to sign the charter, and with that, the UN was finally completely operative. Nowadays, the UN has 193 members, which means almost all of the independent nations of the world are part of the organisation. Since its foundation and to our days the UN has worked in many aspects to improve not only the political relations between its member nations but also to reach an egalitarian development, supporting women’s, children, and minorities rights. In the previous years, it has also started to raise the awareness about ecological issues and sustainable development.     

In the founding charter, the UN established six main organs: The General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of justice and the Secretariat.   

• The General Assembly: this is the main organ of the United Nations. In this assembly decisions about important international matters are made. To do so, representatives of every member state has a voice and the right to one vote. Usually, the  topics discussed in the assembly are peace and security related, etc. It is preceded by a president chosen by the assembly. The current president is the korean diplomatic, Ban Ki-Moon.

• Economic and Social Council: It coordinates the economic and social labour of the other organisms of the UN. Also, it works as the central forum to discuss economic and social matters.To improve its funcioning, it has been divided in organisations acording to zones, being the CEPAL the one assigned for Latin America.   

• Security Council: This is the council responsible of maintaining international peace and security. According to the Chart, all of the members have to comply with the decisions of the Council. After a period of relative inactivity caused by the Cold War, it has started to send peacekeeping missions all over the globe.   

• The Secretariat:  The Secretariat’s functions are varied: from managing the maintenance operations, mediating in international controversies,to evaluating the inclination and the possible problems in economical, social and human rights matters. It is divided into many offices and departments which revise differents issues. 

• International Court of Justice: Its headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands, in the Peace Palace, and it’s the main judicial organ. The Court decides disputes between states that recognise its jurisdiction. 

• Trusteeship Council: It was meant to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under the administration of the League of Nations, which dissolved  in 1946. It ensured that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence. Its work completed, the Council has amended its rules of procedure to meet as and where occasion may require.

 

As you know, we live in a violent and troubled world and the UN looks out for keeping the peace and the international security, because no country can stop conflicts by itself. Also, this organisation is responsible for issues which affect humanity such as the environment, poverty eradication, HIV/AIDS, terrorism, drugs, etc. The UN helps to build and strengthen economy and help us to stabilize financial markets. It also provides assistance to refugees and humanitarian aid in emergencies like natural disasters. Together with WHO (World Health Organization) support the immunization processes and the eradication of diseases, especially in the poorest countries of the world. In addition, the UN fight against infectious diseases and help to prevent them. We can not forget the importance of The United Nations in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was created in order to live on equal status, without distinction of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, origin, property, or other conditions. It is true that every country wants to protect its interests and necessities, causing conflicts and discussions with the surrounding countries . However,  this organism helps these countries to work together, to cross adversities, to defend its rights, to respect each other with the purpose to build a better world.

By Dayna Albiña

Carolina Foz

Antonia Soto

Group 2