Essay on The United Nations Organisation for Class 10, 11, 12. The United Nations came into being after the Second World War because the League of Nations, which was formed after the First World War, could not prevent war from occurring. There was felt a need for a world body which could play an effective role in diminishing the prospects of a war between nations. On 14 August, 1941, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter. It laid down the principles of world peace and cooperation among nations and the need to apprise nations not to extend their boundaries. It also emphasised to promote every people’s right to independence and self-determination. The term ‘United Nations’ was coined by President Roosevelt on 01 January, 1942 when the ‘Declaration of the United Nations’ was signed by the representatives of 26 countries.
Essay on The United Nations Organisation for Class 10, 11, 12
The United Nations came into being after the Second World War because the League of Nations, which was formed after the First World War, could not prevent war from occurring. There was felt a need for a world body which could play an effective role in diminishing the prospects of a war between nations.
On 14 August, 1941, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter. It laid down the principles of world peace and cooperation among nations and the need to apprise nations not to extend their boundaries. It also emphasised to promote every people’s right to independence and self-determination.
The term ‘United Nations’ was coined by President Roosevelt on 01 January, 1942 when the ‘Declaration of the United Nations’ was signed by the representatives of 26 countries. These countries pledged to continue to fight with the Axis power until they were finally defeated. A more concrete step in the formation of this organisation was taken two years later when President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Joseph Stalin of Russia met in Teheran. In February, 1945 the leaders of the three countries met again and established the voting procedure for the UN. The United Nations Charter was drawn up by the representatives of 50 countries in San Francisco from 25 April to 26 June 1945. The Charter was signed by the representatives of the 50 countries on 26 June, 1945. Poland signed it later and became one of the original members.
The United Nations formally came into existence on 24 October, 1945 and this day is celebrated as the Un Day every year. The new members are admitted into the organisation by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The present strength of the member-nations is 191. The latest members to join the organisation are Switzerland and East Timor which joined it in September 2002.
The officials languages of the UN are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The flag of the UN is the UN Emblem in white centred on a light blue ground. The principal organs of the UN are General Assembly, Secretariat, Security Council, Trusteeship Council, Economic and Social Council, and International Court of Justice. The UN headquarters are located in New York.
All the member-states send their representatives (up to five) in the General Assembly. Each nation has one vote. It meets at least once every year.
The Security Council consists of 15 members out of which 5 are permanent. The permanent members are: are US, Russia, England, China and France. The non-permanent members are elected for a 2-year term by a two-third majority of the General Assembly. The permanent members enjoy the power of veto against any move. The retiring members are not eligible for immediate re-election.
The Economic and Social Council works on economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems, and it reports to the General Assembly as to its performance. It is made up of 54 member-nation as elected by the General Assembly. A country whose problems are being discussed can participate in the deliberations without having a right to vote. It has established five Regional Economic Commissions which look after various regions of the world.
The Trusteeship Council was concerned with the administration of the trust territories. Since all of 11 trust territories have attained independence, a review as to the task of this council is under consideration.
The International Court of Justice looks into international legal problems. All members of the UN come under the rules of this court though they are not required to bring their cases to it. The Court has 15 judges who are selected irrespective of their nationality; however, no two judges are selected from the same country. All the disputes and questions in the court are decided by a majority vote. The President and the Vice-President serve for a period of three years and are eligible for re-selection. The court is permanently in session at The Hague.
The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who at present is Ban ki Moon. He is appointed on the recommendation of the Security Council and is responsible to put into force the UN Charter. He may bring any matter before the Security Council which he thinks can endanger international peace. He presides or deputes his other officials to preside over the meetings of the UN. He submits an annual report to the General Assembly on the performance of the Un as a whole.
Some voices have been raised in the media that the UN is not able to function properly and is not able to meet the objective for which it was set up. It is also alleged that wars continue to be waged and threat to international community continues to surface. It seems true to some extent when it has to function under the threat of the so-called hegemony of the US. But its importance cannot be overlooked by the very fact that it has succeeded to keep the Third World War at bay for this long. Ways must be found out to strengthen this world body for its efficient and effective functioning. It should not be allowed to become a platform for a few countries for their own selfish interests instead of the interests of the world. Moreover, the world has undergone a great change since the UN was set up, so there is a need to expand the Security Council because many more economically and militarily strong nations have come into being.
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