The UN was founded after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars and replacing the ineffective League of Nations. [4] On April 25, 1945, 50 governments gathered in San Francisco for a conference and began drafting the Charter of the United Nations, which was adopted on June 25, 1945, and entered into force on October 24, 1945, when the UN began its work. According to the Charter, the objectives of the organization include the maintenance of international peace and security, the protection of human rights, the provision of humanitarian assistance, the promotion of sustainable development and respect for international law. [5] At the time of its creation, the UN had 51 member states; With South Sudan`s accession in 2011, 193 members are now represented, representing almost all of the world`s sovereign states. [6] The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, who are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The President is elected for a term of one year and is elected from among the small or medium-sized powers represented in ECOSOC. The Council holds an annual meeting in July, which takes place in New York or Geneva. Considered to be distinct from the expert bodies it coordinates, the Economic and Social Council includes obtaining information, advising member States and making recommendations. [117] [118] Because of its broad mandate to coordinate many agencies, ECOSOC has sometimes been criticized as being untargeted or untargeted.

[117] [119] With the spread of decolonization in the 1960s, members of the Organization saw an influx of new independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined the UN, including 16 from Africa. [45] On October 25, 1971, the Communist People`s Republic of China won the Chinese seat on the Security Council in the face of opposition from the United States, but with the support of many Third World countries, the mainland, instead of the Republic of China, which occupied Taiwan; The vote was widely seen as a sign of diminishing U.S. influence in the organization. [51] Third World nations organized themselves into the Group of 77 coalition under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN. [52] On 10. In November 1975, a bloc of the USSR and Third World nations adopted a resolution on the vigorous opposition of the United States and Israel, declaring Zionism racism; the resolution was repealed on 16 December 1991, shortly after the end of the cold war. [53] [54] When World War II ended in 1945, nations were in ruins and the world wanted peace.

Representatives of 50 countries gathered in San Francisco, California, from April 25 to June 26, 1945, for the United Nations Conference on International Organizations. Over the next two months, they drafted and signed the Charter of the United Nations, which created a new international organization, the United Nations, which it was hoped would prevent another world war like the one they had just experienced. US President Barack Obama states in his memoir A Promised Land (2020): “In the midst of the Cold War, the chances of reaching a consensus were slim, which is why the United Nations remained inactive when Soviet tanks entered Hungary or Us planes dropped napalm on the Vietnamese landscape. Even after the cold war, divisions within the Security Council continued to undermine the ability of the United Nations to address problems. Its member States had neither the means nor the collective will to rebuild failed states like Somalia or to prevent ethnic massacres in places like Sri Lanka. [206] [207] In 1948, the General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by a committee headed by American diplomat and activist Eleanor Roosevelt, to which French lawyer René Cassin belonged. The document proclaims the basic civil, political and economic rights common to all, although its effectiveness in achieving these goals has been controversial since its elaboration. [154] The Declaration serves as a “common standard of performance for all peoples and nations” rather than a legally binding document, but it has become the basis for two binding treaties, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. [155] In practice, the UN is not able to take meaningful action against human rights violations without a Security Council resolution, although it does important work in investigating and reporting on human rights violations.

[156] After World War I, an international group created the League of Nations to resolve disputes between countries. When World War II began, the initiative failed, but underscored the need for a new reformed organization that could promote world peace. In 1994, the former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Mohamed Sahnoun, published “Somalia: The Missed Opportunities”[219], a book in which he analyzes the reasons for the failure of the UN intervention in Somalia in 1992 and shows that between the beginning of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the Siad-Barre regime in January 1991, the United Nations has missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies; When the United Nations attempted to provide humanitarian assistance, it was completely overtaken by NGOs, whose competence and commitment contrasted sharply with the excessive prudence and bureaucratic inefficiencies of the United Nations. If radical reforms were not undertaken, Mohamed Sahnoun warned, the UN would continue to respond to such crises with clumsy improvisation. [220] In the century leading up to the founding of the United Nations, several international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross were established to provide protection and support to victims of armed conflict and conflict. [10] Representatives of 26 Allied nations met in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1942, to sign the United Nations Declaration, which essentially outlined the War Objectives of the Allied Powers. Roosevelt`s idea of the “four powers,” referring to the four main allied countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China, originated in the United Nations Declaration. [23] On New Year`s Day 1942, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, Maxim Litvinov of the USSR and T. V. Soong of China signed the “United Nations Declaration”[24] and the next day, representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures.

During the war, “the United Nations” became the official name of the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the declaration and declare war on the Axis powers. [25] As of March 1, 1945, another 21 states had signed the United Nations Declaration. [26] The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after World War II by 51 countries engaged in the maintenance of international peace and security, the development of friendly relations among nations, and the promotion of social progress, the improvement of living standards and human rights. After months of planning, the United Nations International Conference was opened in San Francisco on 25 April 1945, with the participation of 50 Governments and a number of non-governmental organizations. [31] [32] [33] The four sponsoring countries invited other countries to participate, and the heads of delegation of the four countries chaired the plenary sessions. [34] Winston Churchill urged Roosevelt to remake France a great power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The drafting of the Charter of the United Nations was completed within the next two months; it was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries.

The UN was officially established on October 24, 1945 with the ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China – and by the majority of the other 46 signatories. [35] The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the world. Although the United Nations and its system (specialized agencies, funds and programmes) are best known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways to impact our lives and make the world a better place. The organization addresses a wide range of fundamental issues, ranging from sustainable development, environmental and refugee protection, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, to the promotion of democracy, human rights, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance, economic and social development and international health, mine clearance, expansion of food production and much more to address its problems. Achieve goals and coordinate efforts to create a safer world. future generations. On June 26, 1945, 50 nations signed a Charter establishing the United Nations to promote international cooperation and human rights. For analysis, see the full-size image. The United Nations (UN) is a global diplomatic and political organization committed to international peace and stability. .