The United Nations: A History and Overview
The United Nations
Introduction
The United Nations is an organization of sovereign states. The states voluntarily join the United Nations to work together for world peace, promoting friendship among all nations and supporting economic and social progress. The Organization was officially born on October 24, 1945.
At the time of its creation, 51 countries were admitted as members. Now, with the inclusion of Switzerland and East Timor in 2002 and Montenegro in June 2006, 192 countries are UN members. The name “United Nations,” coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used on January 1, 1942, when representatives of 26 nations adopted the “Declaration of the United Nations” during World War II. Under this declaration, their respective governments pledged to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.
Development: History of the United Nations Charter
The United Nations Charter is the constituting instrument of the Organization. It determines the rights and obligations of Member States and establishes the authorities and procedures of the United Nations. It entered into force on October 24, 1945, after four years of preparation.
June 12, 1941: The Declaration of St. James Palace
The Declaration of St. James Palace, signed in London on June 12, 1941, was the first document in a series that led to the founding of the United Nations.
August 14, 1941: The Atlantic Charter
The United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested, then signed a document that met a set of principles for maintaining peace and international security.
January 1, 1942: The United Nations Declaration
Representatives of 26 States who fought against the Axis powers expressed their support for the Atlantic Charter by signing the “Declaration by United Nations” in Washington.
1943: The Moscow and Teheran Declarations
In a declaration signed in Moscow on October 30, 1943, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China called for the creation of an international organization responsible for maintaining peace and security. This objective was reaffirmed by the leaders of the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom in Tehran on December 1, 1943.
1944-1945: Conference of Dumbarton Oaks and Yalta
At a meeting in the fall of 1944, representatives of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China reached an agreement on the objectives, structure, and functioning of a global organization. In early 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin reaffirmed their commitment to peace.
1945: The San Francisco Conference
The San Francisco conference was the culmination of global advocacy in support of an international organization working for peace. It concluded with the signing of the Charter of the United Nations on June 26, 1945.
Relationship with Chile
Chile has played an active role in this global forum since 1945 when it signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California (USA), along with 50 other founding countries.
The country has participated since 1948 in the United Nations peacekeeping operations that take place in areas devastated by violence. Currently, Chilean military and police officers contribute to this task in the Middle East, Timor-Leste, Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Haiti.
Between January 2003 and December 2004, Chile was one of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Organizations
General Assembly (based in New York)
The General Assembly comprises all 192 UN Member States and conducts regular sessions each year starting in September. Within the General Assembly, there are six main committees whose task is to consider the agenda items passed to them by the plenary of the Assembly. It also has two committees dealing with the organization and management of the Assembly’s affairs. It also holds special sessions and emergency special sessions. The Assembly has convened 27 special sessions – the last from May 8 to 10, 2002, for children – and ten emergency special sessions.
Security Council (based in New York)
It is the body responsible for maintaining peace and security. It consists of 15 members, of which five are permanent (China, United States, Russia, France, and the UK) and 10 are elected for two years. It consists of standing committees responsible for technical issues and the admission of new members, Ad Hoc Committees, set out as required, the Security Council Committee for Council meetings away from Headquarters, and the Sanctions Committees to monitor sanctions and measures imposed by the Security Council to prevent any state from threatening international peace and security.
Economic and Social Council (based in New York)
Also known as ECOSOC, it coordinates the economic and social work of the United Nations and the specialized institutions and agencies that make up the United Nations system. It consists of 54 members with a three-year term. It usually holds a substantive session of five weeks, with a special high-level segment. It has a subsidiary mechanism that consists of nine functional commissions to examine issues in specific areas; five regional commissions promote regional economic development; five standing committees, standing expert bodies dealing with different topics, and boards and executive committees of various United Nations bodies.
Trusteeship Council (based in New York)
It was established to supervise the administration of the territories in trust or under the trusteeship system to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of those territories to reach self-government or independence. It comprises the five permanent members of the Security Council and has not worked since 1994 when the last of the trust territories became independent. However, they meet as necessary.
International Court of Justice (in The Hague, Netherlands)
Responsible for resolving legal disputes between States parties and issues advisory opinions to the United Nations and its agencies. It consists of fifteen judges for nine years with the possibility of reelection. It generally holds plenary sessions but can also be smaller units or “rooms” at the request of the parties.
Key Figures in UN History
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Hyde Park (New York), January 30, 1882 – Warm Springs (Georgia), April 12, 1945) was the thirty-second President of the United States and has been the only one to win four presidential elections. The 1929 economic crisis and his commitment to a new policy, known as the New Deal, earned him the trust of Americans in the 1932 elections by defeating the Republican candidate Herbert C. Hoover and becoming the president of the United States of America for the Democratic Party.
In this line and according to his desire to achieve a peaceful understanding between countries, he promoted the creation of a United Nations Organization (UNO).
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (Olympus, Tennessee, USA, 1871 – Washington DC, 1955) was a U.S. lawyer and politician who was Secretary of State between 1933 and 1944 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for his involvement in creating the UN. Hull is considered the intellectual architect of the multilateral trading system that now sponsors the WTO. After Pearl Harbor, Hull argued at the conference of foreign ministers in Moscow in 1943 for creating a global organization that would ensure peace and security.
Halvdan Trygve Lie
Halvdan Trygve Lie was born on July 16, 1896, in Oslo, Norway.
Halvdan Trygve Lie led the Norwegian delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in April 1945 in San Francisco and was Chairman of Commission III for drafting the terms of the Security Council included in the Charter. He was also Chairman of the Norwegian Delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations in January 1946 in London. On February 1, 1946, Trygve Lie Halvdan was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations. He took formal possession of his office at the 22nd meeting of the General Assembly on February 2, 1946. At the Assembly of November 1, 1950…