United Nations Organization - Objectives, Organs, Structure and Achievements

The United Nations Organization, an international organization was established in 1945. During the Second world war (in 1941) the American president F.D. Roosvelt and the British prime minister Winston Churchill met on a battle ship and concluded the Atlantic charter. This charter was discussed in various conferences.

It was finally discussed in the San Francisco conference of 1945. The UN charter was signed at San Francisco on 26^,h June 1945. As the result UNO came into existence on 24^h October 1945. At present UNO has 192 members with its head quarters at New York.

Main Objectives

To maintain international peace and security.

To develop friendly relations among nations.

To settle international disputes by peaceful means.

To be a centre for helping nations to achieve these goals.

Organs of the UNO

The UNO has six major organs. They are,

1 .The General Assembly.

2. The  Security Council.

3. The  Economic and Social Council.

4. The  Trusteeship Council.

5. The  International Court of Justice.

6. The  Secretariat.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the UNO's main organ and deliberative body. It has the right to discuss and make recommendations on all matters within the scope of the UN charter. It consists of representatives of all member countries.

Each member country can send five members with one vote. Generally it meets once in a year.

Mrs.Vijayalakshmi Pandit was elected as the President of the General Assembly in 1953.

The Security Council

The Council has five Permanent members - The USA, the UK, France, the Russian Federation and China and ten non-permanent members. The non- permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two years term. The Permanent members have the right to veto (Negative vote) for any Council decision. Its main responsibility is to maintain International Peace and Security.

The Economic and Social Council

It consists of 54 members for a period of 9 years, one third of its members are retiring every three years. It Co-ordinates the economic and social work of the United Nations and the specialized Agencies.

The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council looks after certain Territories placed under the Trusteeship of the UNO. Every member nation can send one qualified representative to the Council.

Structure of UNO

Specialized Agencies

The specialized agencies of the UNO are many. A few are mentioned below.

International Court of Justice

The Principal judicial body of the UNO is the International Court of Justice. It is located at the Hague in Netherlands. It consists of 15 Judges, elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. It tries the cases of the member countries which are brought before the court. It acts as an advisory body for the General Assembly, Security Council and other organs of the UNO

The Secretariat

The Administrative functions of the UNO are performed by the secretariat The UN Secretariat carries out the day to day works of the organization and implements the programmes and policies laid down by the organs of the UNO.

The Secretary General is the Chief Administrative Officer of the UNO. He is appointed by the General Assembly on the advice of the Security Council for a period of five years. The present Secretary General is Mr Ban ki Moon from South Korea.

The World Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The International Labour Organisation (ILO), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and The World Bank (IBRD), These Organisations develop the economic and social aspects of the member countries.

Official Languages

The Official languages of the UNO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. However its working languages are the English and the French.

Flag

The White UN Emblem-on a light blue background. Two bent Olive branches opening at the top and in between them is the World map.

Finance

LINO gets its financial aid mainly from USA and from other member nations.

Major Achievements of the United Nations

O UNO has rendered a great service in establishing peace and security by solving various problems- generally political disputes by Security Council, Legal disputes by International Court of Justice and others by special agencies.

O The UNO has solved many international disputes and preserves peace in the world through peaceful negotiations.

O It settled disputes between Israel and Palestine, Iran and Iraq and withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

O It has signed many Nuclear Test Ban treaties like NTBT in 1963 and CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) in 1996.

O In the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, all countries adopted 'Agenda 21" - a blueprint to promote sustainable development or the concept of economic growth while protecting natural resources.

O The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) have supported programmes and projects to improve the quality of life for women in over 100 countries.

O The UNO played a vital role in the Suez Canal crisis of 1956. It made France, Britain and Israel to withdraw troops from Egypt. The UNO also settled the Korean War and Vietnam War.

Overview of the United Nations 50^th Anniversary Celebration

In 1995 the United Nations celebrated its 50th Anniversary of service to the global community. An overall theme of the celebration, "We The People of the United Nations. United for a Better World," was endorsed by the General Assembly in October 1993. In November 1995 the UN flag was carried into outer space by the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, to salute United Nations work for the peaceful uses of outer space.