UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION

Origin of U.N.O.

When the world war II was going on the Allied powers had felt the necessity for forming a United Nations Organisation. The talks were held at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.from August 21 to October7, 1944, which was finally put to concrete shape by the delegates of 50 Allied Nations assembled at San Francisco from April 26 to June 26, 1945. At this place the representatives of 50 nations signed the United Nations Charter and the United Nations officially came into existence on October 26, 1945, after the Charter has been ratified by a number of countries. This meant the end of the League of Nations.

Non-members : The nations that are non-members of the UNO are (a) Switzerland (b) Taiwan. Switzerland and Vatican are permanent observers.

Official languages : They are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Flag of the UN : On the flag is the UN emblem in white superimposed on a light blue ground. The emblem consists of the global map projected from the North Pole and embraced in twin olive branches. (Symbol of Peace).

Objectives: The U.N as an organisation of nations who have voluntarily joined together to work for world peace, the objectives and purposes of the U.N.

1. To maintain peace and security in the
2. To develop friendly relations among
3. To work together to remove poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world and to encourage respect for each others rights and
4. To be a centre for helping the nations to achieve these goals

Charter of the U.N.

The Charter of the U.N contains aims and purposes of organisation. It gives direction to achieve these aims within the rules and regulations, set by U.N. U.N. General Assembly proclaimed the historic declaration of Universal Human Rights on December 10, 1948.

Admission into U.N.O.

1. A country must get the support of the two-third members of the General
2. Country must be peace-loving
3. Country must accept the rules and regulations, aims and objectives of the N.O.
4. It is necessary for a new member to get the recommendation of Security

Power of veto

If any one of the five permanent members casts a negative vote on the resolution, it falls. This is known as ‘Veto’. Every member has got one vote. To pass a resolution, all the five Big Powers Plus two others must cast their votes in favour of the resolution.

Principal Organs of the U.N

Headquarters: U.N Plaza, New York City, U.S.A.

General Assembly, Secretariat, Security Council, Trusteeship council, Economic and Social Council and International Court of Justice.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the largest of all the organs of the United Nations. The Assembly consists of the representatives of all the member States. Each State has one vote. The General Assembly meets at least once in a year. Special sessions may be convened by the secretary-General, on a request by the Security Council. The General Assembly determines the contribution payable by each member. It receives and consider the reports of the special committees including the Security Council. It passess the annual budget of the U.N. The General Assembly elects the non- permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council and elected members of the Trusteeship Council.

The Secretariat

It is composed of the Secretary-General who is the Chief Administrative Officer of the organization and an International Staff appointed by him under regulations established by the General Assembly. The Secretary- General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

Secretary - General of the U.N.O

1. Trgve Lie (of Norway) the First Secretary General of the UNO (1946-52)
2. Dag Hammarkjoeld (of Sweden) (1953-61)
3. U.Thant (Myanmar) (1962-71)
4. Kurt Waldeim (of Austria) (1972-81)
5. Javier Perez de Cuellar, (Peru) (1982-91)
6. Boutros Boutros Ghali, (Egypt) (1992-96)
7. Kofi Annan (of Ghana) appointed on Jan 1, 1997-2001
8. Kofi Annan (of Ghana) appointed on Jan 1, 2002-2006
9. Ban Ki-moon (of South Korea) (2007-2016)
10. António Guterres (of Portugal) (2017 - present)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

It was adopted by the U.N. Assembly on December 10, 1948. It is a statement of normal standards to be followed by all nations.

It guarantees international peace and prosperity. It stresses the fact that everyone has the rights to life, liberty and security, equality before law, freedom of movement etc. Irrespective of race, religion, sex or language.

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Security Council

The member states of the United Nations have delegated the Primary reponsibilities for maintaining world peace, Security to the Security Council. It consists of 15 members, each of which has one vote. There are 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members elected fo a 2 year term by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. The permanent members have the power to veto any move. Retiring members are not eligible for immediate re-election.

Permanent Members: China, France, Russia, U.K., and USA.

Non-permanent Members : Bangladesh, Mali, Tunisia, Jamaica and Ukraine (until Dec. 31, 2001), Malaysia, Namibia, Canada, Netherlands and Argentina (until Dec. 31, 2000)

Non-permanent Members: Cape Verde, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, Venezuela (until Dec.31,1993) Brazil, Djiboute, New Zealand, Pakistan and Spain (until Dec.31, 1994). 

The Presidency of the Security Council is held for one month in rotation by the member states in the English alphabetical order of their names. The expansion of the Security Council to include ‘new powers’ such as India, Germany and Japan as permanent members has been suggested. India has formally stakes its claim to a permanent seat on the council as and when it is expanded.

Trusteeship Council

The Charter Provides for an international trusteeship system to safeguard the interests of the inhabitants of territories which are not yet fully self- governing and which may be placed there under by individual trusteeship agreements. These are called trust territories. All of the original 11 trust territories except one, the republic of Belau (palau) administrated by the USA, have become independent or joined independent countries.

Members : China, France, Russia, UK, USA.

Economic and Social Council

Economic and Social Council is responsible under the General Assembly for carrying out the functions to achieve cooperation of the United Nations with regard to international economic, social cultural, educational and health to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedom without distinction of race or sex, language or religions. It consists of 54 member states elected by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.

The Council has the following regional Economic Commissions:

1. ECE (Economic Commission of Europe) with its H.Q. at Geneva.
2. ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia) with its Q. at Bangkok.
3. ECIA (Economic Commission for Latin America) with its H.Q. at Santiago (Chile).
4. ECA (Economic Commission for Africa) with its H.Q. at Addis Ababa.
5. ECWA (Economic Commission for Western Asia) with its Q. at Baghdad.

International Court of Justice

It was Created by an International Treaty, the Statue of the Court, which forms an integral part of the United Nations Charter. There are 15 Judges. President is Gulbert Guillaume (France). The Court has its seat at The Hague. The expenses of the Court are borne by the U.N. The Purpose of the Inter-national Court of Justice is to adjust and settle international disputes in confirmity with justice and international law. There is no appeal against the decision of the Couurt. The Judges of the Court are elected for nine years and may be re-elected.

Languages : French, English.

International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

It was established as a specialised agency of the UN by the UN Maritime Conference at Geneva in 1948.
Headquarter: London.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

It was established in 1919 as an autonomous part of the League of Nations. It is an intergovermental agency with a tripartite structure, in which representatives of governments, employers and workers participate. In 1969 it won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Headquarter: Geneva.

Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

The UN Conference on Food and Agriculture held in May 1943, at Hot springs, Virginia, set up an Interim Commission in Washington in July 1943 to plan the Food and Agricultural Organisation, which came into being on 16th October 1945. FAO sponsers the World Food Programme.
Headquarter: Rome.

United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

A Conference for the establishment of an Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nations was convened by the Goverment of France, and met in London, 1 to 16 Nov. 1945. UNESCO came into being on 4th November 1946.

The main purpose of UNESCO is to promote peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order that people may have respect for justice, for the rule of law, for human rights and fundamental freedoms irrespective of race, sex, language and religion.
Headquarter: Paris.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

It was founded in 1946 by the General Assembly. It was established to deliver post-war relief to children and it aims at improving the quality of life for children and mother in developing countries. UNICEF is not financed by the U.N. budget but by voluntary contributions from governments and individuals.
Headquarter: USA.

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

It was formed in the International Civil Aviation Conference held in Chicago from 1 Nov. to 7 Dec. 1994. Its aims and objectives are to develop international air navigation and foster the planning and development of international transport.
Headquarter: Lebanon.

International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

It was established at Bretton Woods Conference in July 1994. Its object is to assist the member nations in the economic reconstruction and development of the territories. The bank advances loans to the member nations for development purposes and encourages private foreign investment and also arranges loans to its own security. It guarantees loans by Private Investors.
Headquarter: Washington.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

It was established on 27th December 1945 and it operates from 1st March 1947. It works for the promotion of International Trade. It helps those countries with foreign exchange whose balance of trade is in unfavourable position. Headquarter: Washington.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

WHO came into existence on April 7, 1948. It aims to assist the Governments to raise the standard of public health and impart information of health research. It also promotes in improvement of nutrition, housing, sanitation and recreation. Headquarter: Geneva.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

It was formally established on 1st July 1875. It has been established to alleviate uncertainty. Confusion and excessive cost of international postal communications by writing its member countries in a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of mail. The postal convention has been extended and improved by the various Postal Congress.
Headquarter: Switzerland.

International Telecommunications Union (I.T.U.)

The International Telegraph Union founded in Paris in 1865 and the International Radio Telegraph Union, founded in Berlin in 1906 by the Madrid Convention of 1932 to form the ITU. Its main purpose is to bring the improvement and rational use of telecommunications and increase the efficiency of the telecommunication services by maintaining and extending international co- operation.
Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)

It was established in July 1956. It is affiliated to World Bank. The basic object of the Corporation is to supplement the activities of the World Bank. It will seek to bring together investment opportunities, domestic and foreign private capital and experienced management. The membership of the Corporation will be open to those countries which are members of the World Bank.
Headquarter: Washington.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

It was set up under the U.N. to make recommendations for the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. All the nations are to pay a part of fissionable material and also Uranium at the disposal of the Agency. The Agency was established at meeting of 82 nations held in New York in September, 1956.
Headquarter: Vienna.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT):

It was negotiated in 1947 and came into force on January 1, 1948. It is the only treaty setting rules for world trade. Its functions are to ease trade barriers and establish rules of fair trade. In recent years, GATT made special efforts to develop international trade and has also given particular emphasis on increasing the export trade of developing countries. GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on January 1, 1995.
Headquarter: Geneva.

World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

Conference of Directors of the International Meteorological Organisation meeting in Washington in 1947, adopted a convention creating the W.M.O. It aims at improving weather observations and to adopt common measures for weather reporting in order to prevent-disaster caused by natural calamities like cyclones, typhoons etc. 
Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

The convention establishing WIPO was signed at Stockholm in 1967 by 51 countries and came into force in April 1970. In Dec. 1974 WIPO became a specialized agency of the U.N.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

The establishment of IFAD was one of the major actions proposed by 1974 World Food Conference. The conference was organized by the United Nations in response to the food crises of the early 1970s, when global food shortages were causing widespread famine and malnutrition, primarily in the Sahelian countries of Africa. World leaders realized that food insecurity and famine were not so much failures in food production but structural problems relating to poverty. This was compounded by the fact that the majority of the developing world's poor people lived in rural areas. The current, and sixth, President of IFAD is Gilbert F. Houngbo, who was elected for a first four-year term in 2017.

The agreement for IFAD came into force on 30 Nov. 1977 following attainment of initial pledges of $ 1,000 and the agency began its operations.
Headquarter: Rome, Italy.

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)

It provides developing and underdeveloped countries with advice on all aspects of industrial policy converted into a specialized agency by U.N. in 1985.
Headquarter: Vienna.