The United Nations is an institution consisting of representatives of many states, founded on 10.24.1945. The UN was the second multi-purpose international organization created in the 20th century, which became world-wide in terms of volume and membership.
The main goal of the UN is to create world security and prevent armed conflicts between states. Additional values advocated by the UN include justice, law and economic and social well-being.
To facilitate the dissemination of these ideas, the UN has become the main source of international law since its inception in 1945. The characteristics of the UN Charter, including the preamble, set out the main objectives of the institution.
The League of nations
The League of Nations was a prior United Nations entity . This institution was formed in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles.
The goal of the League of Nations was to promote cooperation between countries and maintain peace in the world. Unfortunately, the League of Nations could not escape the Second World War and, therefore, was disbanded.
UN creation
In the hall of the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, plenipotentiaries from 50 states sign the UN Charter, establishing a world body as a means of saving "subsequent generations from the scourge of war." The Charter was ratified on October 24, and the first UN Assembly met in London on 10.01.1946.
Despite the failure of the League of Nations to resolve the conflicts that led to the Second World War, the Allies back in 1941 proposed the creation of a new international body to maintain order in the post-war world.
In the same year, Roosevelt came up with the "United Nations" to unite the allied countries against the tyranny of Germany, Italy and Japan. In October 1943, the main allied powers — Great Britain, the USA, and the USSR — met in Moscow and published the Moscow Declaration, in which they officially declared the need to replace the League of Nations international organization.
UN Charter: Basic
The Charter of 1945 is a fundamental treaty in an intergovernmental organization. The UN Charter has formulated a commitment to respecting human rights and outlined a broad set of principles for achieving a “higher standard of living.”
04/25/1945 in the city of San Francisco, the UN Conference was held with the participation of 50 countries. Three months later, during which Germany surrendered, the final Charter was unanimously adopted by the delegates, and on June 26 it was signed.
The document included the preamble of the UN Charter and 19 chapters, divided into 111 articles. The Charter called on the United Nations to create and maintain world security, strengthen international law and promote human rights.
The preamble was composed of two parts. The first contains a general call for maintaining global security and respect for human rights. The second part of the preamble is a treaty-style declaration according to which the governments of the peoples of the United Nations agreed with the Charter. It is the first international human rights instrument.
UN structure
The main UN bodies, as indicated in the Charter, are:
- Secretariat;
- General Assembly;
- Security Council (UN Security Council);
- Economic Council;
- Social council;
- International Court of Justice ;
- Trusteeship Council.
10.24.1945, the UN Charter came into force after its ratification by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and most of the other signatories.
The first United Nations public assembly with 51 countries opened in London on 01/10/1946. And on October 24, 1949, exactly four years later, when the UN charter came into force (the principles of international law were strictly observed by all participants at that time), the cornerstone was laid for the current UN headquarters in New York.
Since 1945, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded more than ten times to the United Nations and its structures or individual officials.
History and Development
The name of the United Nations was originally used to refer to countries associated with the confrontation between Germany, Italy and Japan. But already on 01.01.1942, 26 states signed the UN Declaration, which sets out the military goals of the allied powers, as well as articles of the UN charter.
The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union took the lead in developing a new organization and defining its structure and decision-making functions.
Initially, the Big Three and their respective leaders (Roosevelt, Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin) were embarrassed by disagreements on issues that portended the Cold War. The Soviet Union demanded individual membership and voting rights for its constitutional republics, and the United Kingdom wanted assurances that its colonies would not be placed under UN control.
Disagreement was also expressed with the voting system to be adopted by the Security Council. This is a question that has become famous as the "veto problem."
Organization and Administration
Principles and membership. The goals, principles and organization of the UN are set out in the Charter. The basic principles underlying the organization's goals and functions are listed in Article 2 and include the following:
- The UN is based on the sovereign equality of its members.
- Disputes must be resolved by peaceful means.
- Members must abandon military aggression against other states.
- Each member must help the organization in any coercive action that it takes in accordance with the Charter.
- States that are not members of this organization are required to act in accordance with the same provisions, because this is necessary for the arrangement of security and peace on the planet.
Article 2 also establishes a long standing basic rule that an organization should not interfere in matters considered in the internal jurisdiction of a state.
New UN Members
Although this was a major constraint on UN action, the line between international and domestic jurisdiction became blurred over time. New members are introduced to the United Nations on the proposal of the Security Council and two-thirds of the votes of the General Assembly.
Often, however, the adoption of new members gives rise to controversy. Given the separation caused by the Cold War between East and West, the requirement for 5 members of the Security Council (sometimes known as the P-5) is China, France, the Soviet Union (whose place and membership has been occupied by Russia since 1991), the UK and the USA agreed to accept new members, which from time to time was a serious disagreement.
By 1950, only 9 of the 31 declared new states were accepted into the organization. In 1955, the 10th Assembly proposed a package deal, which, after amending the Security Council, led to the adoption of 16 new states (4 East European communist states and 12 non-communist countries).
The most controversial membership application was from the Communist People's Republic of China, which was admitted to the General Assembly but constantly blocked by the United States at every session from 1950 to 1971.
Finally, in 1971, in an effort to improve its relations with mainland China, the United States refrained from blocking and voted in favor of recognizing the People's Republic. For the vote, 76 votes were cast, against - 35 and 17 abstentions. As a result, the membership of the Republic of China and a permanent seat on the Security Council were transferred to the People's Republic.
Reception of divided states
The controversy also arose over the issue of “divided” states, including the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the GDR (East Germany), North and South Korea, and North and South Vietnam.
Two German states were admitted to membership in 1973, these two seats were reduced to one after the reunification of the country in October 1990. Vietnam was adopted in 1977 after the unification of the country in 1975.
Two Koreas were admitted separately in 1991. Throughout the world, with decolonization from 1955 to 1960, 40 new members were admitted and by the end of the 1970s there were already about 150 countries in the UN.
Another significant increase occurred after 1989-90, when many former Soviet republics seceded from the Soviet Union. By the beginning of the 21st century, the UN included about 190 member states.