The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 with the mission to promote peace, security, and cooperation among member states.
THE UN STRUCTURE
Composed by 193 member states, the UN’s headquarters are located in New York City. The UN operates through a system of specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and a secretariat led by the Secretary-General. Its actions cover a wide range of areas including humanitarian aid, environmental issues, human rights, international law, and development.
The UN represents most of the world's countries, with the exceptions of Palestine, Taiwan (considered a territory of China) and the Vatican (represented as an observer). (World Population Review, 2023)
The main bodies of the UN are the General Assembly, the Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat, all were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.
The United Nations is led by a Secretary-General, currently António Guterres, who quoted: “In the end, it comes down to values [...] We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the UN Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity.” (UN, 2023, p. UN).
The Secretary-General is Chief Administrative Officer of the UN and is also a symbol of the Organization's ideals and an advocate for all the world's peoples, especially the poor and vulnerable. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year, renewable term. António Guterres of Portugal took office on 1st of January 2017 and on the 18th of June 2021 he was re-appointed to a second term, pledging as his priority to continue helping the world chart a course out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Nelson Mandela Foundation, p. 2023)
The General Assembly and the UN's other major bodies entrust the Secretariat with carrying out the day-to-day operations. Tens of thousands of international UN staff employees work at duty stations all over the world under the direction of the Secretary-General, who is also the head of the Secretariat. The UN coordinates its work with these separate UN system entities, all of which cooperate with the Organization to help it achieve its goals.
THE UN SYSTEM
The United Nations is a part of the UN system, which also includes numerous programs, funds, and specialized organizations, each of which has its own mandate, management structure, and budget. (UN, 2023).
The programs and funds are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions. The Specialized Agencies are independent international organizations, all brought into relationship with the UN through negotiated agreements, funded by both voluntary and assessed contributions. Some of the Specialized Agencies existed before the First World War, while other were associated with the League of Nations or created almost simultaneously with the UN. Moreover, others were created by the UN to meet emerging needs.
An example is the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which leads international efforts to fight hunger and whose headquarters are in Rome, Italy. It is both a forum for negotiating agreements between developing and developed countries and a source of technical knowledge and information to aid development. (FAO, 2023)
The UN has played an important role in resolving international conflicts, such as in the Gulf War, the Kosovo War and the Syrian crisis. Additionally, the organization has worked to improve people's quality of life, increase access to education and healthcare, promote economic and sustainable development, and fight poverty.
ADMISSION TO THE UN As the world’s largest intergovernmental organization, States are admitted to membership by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The criteria for admission of new members to the UN are set out in Chapter II, Article 4 of the UN Charter. Membership in the United Nations is open to all peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the Charter and, in the judgement of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. (UN, 2023)
Since the creation of the United Nations 12 States have unsuccessfully applied for admission. Their applications were rejected by the Security Council because of a veto imposed by one of the States which are permanent members of the Council. A proposal was then made for the admission of all the candidates at the same time. The General Assembly referred the question to the Court. In the interpretation it gave of Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations, in its Advisory Opinion of 28 May 1948, the Court declared that the conditions laid down for the admission of States were exhaustive and that if these conditions were fulfilled by a State which was a candidate, the Security Council ought to make the recommendation which would enable the General Assembly to decide upon the admission. (International Court of Justice, 2023)
THE FLAG The United Nations' flag and its associated emblem, which is part of the flag's design, have come to represent the Organization in its operations. With a pair of olive tree branches and a map of the world, the emblem and the flag on which it rests are also aspirational symbols for people all over the world, for they speak to their hopes and dreams of peace and unity. The United Nations' logo and flag effectively help all parties involved recognize the Organization in troubled and conflict-ridden countries. The color "UN blue" was selected and later became a crucial component of the Organization's visual identity: red stands for war, while the color blue stands for peace. (Unicef, 2023) Oliver Lincoln Lundquist served as the team leader for the design.
However, the UN has also faced much criticism for its failure to address problems such as the constant violation of human rights in several countries and its lack of effectiveness in resolving conflicts such as the Syrian civil war.
CONCLUSIONS The UN has very broad tasks and responsibilities and, despite its limitations, remains a fundamental organization for international cooperation and the promotion of peace and security in the world.
But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.
Bibliography FAO. (2023). FAO. Tratto da FAO: https://www.fao.org/about/en/ International Court of Justice. (2023). International Court of Justice. Tratto da https://www.icj- cij.org/case/3 Nelson Mandela Foundation. (s.d.). Nelson Mandela Foundation. Tratto da Nelson Mandela Foundation: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/profile-united-nations- secretary-general-ant%C3%B3nio-guterres UN. (2023). UN. Tratto da UN: https://www.un.org/en/ga/about/ropga/ropga_adms.shtml#:~:text=Admission%20of%20 New%20Members%20to%20the%20United%20Nations,- Applications&text=Any%20State%20which%20desires%20to,obligations%20contained%20i n%20the%20Charter. UN. (2023). Un.org. un.org. (2023). UN. Tratto da https://www.un.org/en/about- us#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20is%20an%20international%20organization%20fo unded%20in%201945. Unicef. (2023). Unicef. Tratto da Unicef: https://www.unicef- irc.org/php/Thesaurus/Glossary_Display.php?GLOSS_ID=411&PoPuP=No World Population Review. (2023). World Population Review. Tratto da https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-not-in-the-un
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