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Line 1: − + − {{pp-semi-indef}}+ − {{pp-move-indef}}+ − {{good article}}+ − {{Use British (Oxford) English|date=February 2014}}+ − {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}+ − {{Infobox geopolitical organization+ − |conventional_long_name = United Nations+ − |native_name =+ − {{collapsible list+ − | titlestyle = background:transparent;line-height:normal;font-size:84%;+ − | title = Five other official names+ − | {{Infobox |subbox=yes |bodystyle=font-size:77%;font-weight:normal;+ − | rowclass1 = mergedrow| label1 = [[Arabic]]: | data1 = <div style="text-align: right;">{{lang|ar|الأمم المتحدة|rtl=yes}}</div>+ − | rowclass2 = mergedrow| label2 = [[Chinese language|Chinese]]: | data2 = {{lang|zh|联合国}}+ − | rowclass3 = mergedrow| label3 = [[French language|French]]: | data3 = {{lang|fr|Organisation des Nations unies|italic=unset}}+ − | rowclass4 = mergedrow| label4 = [[Russian language|Russian]]: | data4 = {{lang|ru|Организация Объединённых Наций}}+ − | rowclass5 = mergedrow| label5 = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: | data5 = {{lang|es|Organización de las Naciones Unidas|italic=unset}}+ − }}<!--NOTE: 'Organization' is only part of the official title in Russian.-->+ − }}+ − + − |image_flag = Flag of the United Nations.svg+ − + − − |image_map = United Nations Members (green–grey scheme).svg − − |map_caption = Map showing the [[member states of the United Nations]]{{efn|This map does not represent the view of its members or the UN concerning the legal status of any country,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/world00.pdf|title=The World Today|format=PDF|accessdate=18 June 2009|quote=The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country}}</ref> nor does it accurately reflect which areas' governments have UN representation. This map shows [[partially recognized states]] such as [[Kosovo]] or [[Taiwan]] as part of their claiming governments ([[Serbia]] and [[China]] respectively)}} − |org_type = [[Intergovernmental organization]] − |membership = [[Member states of the United Nations|193 member states]]<br />[[United Nations General Assembly observers|2 observer states]] − − |admin_center = [[New York City]] {{small|([[Extraterritoriality|International territory]])}} − |languages_type = [[Official languages of the United Nations|Official languages]] − |languages = {{hlist|[[Arabic language|Arabic]]|[[Standard Chinese|Chinese]]|[[English language|English]]|[[French language|French]]|[[Russian language|Russian]]|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]<ref>[https://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/official-languages/index.html Official Languages], www.un.org. Retrieved 22 May 2015.</ref>}} − − |leader_name1 = [[António Guterres]] − |leader_title2 = [[Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations|Deputy Secretary-General]] − |leader_name2 = [[Amina J. Mohammed]] − |leader_title3 = [[President of the United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly President]] − |leader_name3 = [[Miroslav Lajčák]] − |leader_title4 = [[United Nations Economic and Social Council#President|Economic and Social Council President]] − |leader_name4 = [[Marie Chatardová]] − |leader_title5 = [[President of the United Nations Security Council|Security Council President]] − |leader_name5 = [[Kairat Umarov]] − − − |established_event2 =Charter entered into force − |established_date2 = {{Start date and age|1945|10|24|df=yes|p=y}} − |official_website = {{URL|https://www.un.org/}}<br />{{URL|https://www.un.int}} − |FR_total_population_estimate=7,403,020,000|FR_total_population_estimate_year=2016 − }} − {{contains Arabic text}} − The '''United Nations''' ('''UN''') is an [[intergovernmental organization]] tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective [[League of Nations]], the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after [[World War II]] with the aim of preventing another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 [[Member states of the United Nations|member states]]; there are now {{UNnum}}. The [[headquarters of the United Nations|headquarters of the UN]] is in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], and is subject to [[extraterritoriality]]. Further main offices are situated in [[United Nations Office at Geneva|Geneva]], [[United Nations Office at Nairobi|Nairobi]], and [[United Nations Office at Vienna|Vienna]]. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful [[intergovernmental organization]] in the world.<ref>http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/international-organization/, www.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 27 April 2017</ref>+ − The [[United Nations Charter|UN Charter]] was drafted at [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|a conference]] between April–June 1945 in [[San Francisco]], and was signed on 26 June 1945 at the conclusion of the conference;<ref name="Charter" /><ref name="UNHistory" /> this charter took effect 24 October 1945, and the UN began operation. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the [[Cold War]] between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in major actions in [[Korean War|Korea]] and [[United Nations Operation in the Congo|the Congo]], as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947. The organization's membership grew significantly following widespread [[decolonization]] in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on [[peacekeeping]]. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.+ − + − + − − The organization won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UN's effectiveness have been mixed. Some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. − {{Main article|History of the United Nations}}+ − − ===Background===+ − In the century prior to the UN's creation, several international treaty organizations and conferences had been formed to regulate conflicts between nations, such as the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] and the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=5}} Following the catastrophic loss of life in the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] established the [[League of Nations]] to maintain harmony between countries.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=8}} This organization resolved some territorial disputes and created international structures for areas such as postal mail, aviation, and opium control, some of which would later be absorbed into the UN.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=10}} However, the League lacked representation for colonial peoples (then half the world's population) and significant participation from several major powers, including the US, USSR, Germany, and Japan; it failed to act against the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] in 1931, the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] in 1935, the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese invasion of China]] in 1937, and German expansions under [[Adolf Hitler]] that culminated in the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=13–24}} − ===1942 "Declaration of United Nations" by the Allies of World War II===+ − {{main article|Declaration by United Nations}} − The earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]] in 1939.{{sfn|Hoopes|Brinkley|2000|pp=1–55}} The text of the "Declaration by United Nations" was drafted by President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins, while meeting at the White House, 29 December 1941. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France. "[[Four Policemen]]" was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Soviet Union]], and [[China]], which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations.<ref name="sheriff">{{cite book|last=Urquhart|first=Brian|authorlink=Brian Urquhart|title=Looking for the Sheriff|publisher=New York Review of Books, July 16, 1998|accessdate=14 February 2007}}</ref> Roosevelt first coined the term ''United Nations'' to describe the [[Allies of World War II|Allied countries]].{{efn|Roosevelt suggested the name as an alternative to the name "Associated Powers." The British Prime Minister, [[Winston Churchill]], accepted it, noting that the phase was used by [[Lord Byron]] in the poem ''[[Childe Harold's Pilgrimage]]'' (Stanza 35).}} "On New Year's Day 1942, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, [[Maxim Litvinov]], of the USSR, and [[T. V. Soong]], of China, signed a short document which later came to be known as the United Nations Declaration and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1942-declaration-united-nations/index.html|title=1942: Declaration of The United Nations|publisher=United Nations|accessdate=1 July 2015}}</ref> The term ''United Nations'' was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the [[Atlantic Charter]] was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted.<ref>{{cite book| first=David| last=Roll| title=The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler| date=4 January 2013| pages=172–175| url=https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-Touch-Forging-Alliance-Defeat/dp/0199891958/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415918725&sr=1-1&keywords=%27%27The+Hopkins+Touch%3A+Harry+Hopkins+and+the+Forging+of+the+Alliance+to+Defeat+Hitler%27%27#reader_0199891958| accessdate=2014-11-13| subscription=yes}}</ref>{{sfn|Sherwood|1948|pp=447–453}} By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed.{{sfn|Osmańczyk|2004|p=2445}} − {{quote| − A JOINT DECLARATION BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, CANADA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, HONDURAS, INDIA, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, NORWAY, PANAMA, POLAND, SOUTH AFRICA, YUGOSLAVIA − + − Having subscribed to a common program of purposes and principles embodied in the Joint Declaration of the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Great Britain dated August 14, 1941, known as the Atlantic Charter,+ + − Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world,+ − DECLARE:+ − # Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such government is at war.+ − # Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies. − + − |source=[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/washc014.asp The Washington Conference 1941–1942]+ − }} − During the war, "the United Nations" became the official term for the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the [[Axis powers|Axis]].{{sfn|Schlesinger|2003}}+ − ===Founding===+ − [[File:United Nations Member States-1945.png|thumb|500px|The UN in 1945. In light blue, the founding members. In dark blue, protectorates and territories of the founding members.]] − The UN was formulated and negotiated among the delegations from [[Big Four (World War II)|the Allied Big Four]] (the [[Soviet Union]], the [[United Kingdom|UK]], the [[United States|US]], and [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]) at the [[Dumbarton Oaks Conference]] in 1944.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bohlen|first=C.E.|title=Witness to History, 1929–1969|year=1973|location=New York|page=159}}</ref><ref>{{cite video|year =1944| title =Video: Allies Study Post-War Security Etc. (1944)|url =https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39024| publisher =[[Universal Newsreel]]| accessdate =November 28, 2014}}</ref> After months of planning, the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|UN Conference on International Organization]] opened in [[San Francisco]], 25 April 1945, attended by 50 governments and a number of non-governmental organizations involved in drafting the [[United Nations Charter|UN Charter]].<ref name="Charter">{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/|title=Charter of the United Nations{{!}}United Nations|website=www.un.org|access-date=2016-12-29}}</ref><ref name="UNHistory">{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/index.html|title=History of the United Nations{{!}}United Nations|website=www.un.org|access-date=2016-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/San-Francisco-the-birthplace-of-the-United-6336655.php|title=San Francisco – the birthplace of the United Nations|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2016-12-29}}</ref> "The heads of the delegations of the sponsoring countries took turns as chairman of the plenary meetings: [[Anthony Eden]], of Britain, [[Edward Stettinius]], of the United States, [[T. V. Soong]], of China, and [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], of the Soviet Union. At the later meetings, [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax]] deputized for Mr. Eden, [[Wellington Koo]] for T. V. Soong, and Mr [[Andrei Gromyko|Gromyko]] for Mr. Molotov."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1945-san-francisco-conference/index.html|title=1945: The San Francisco Conference|publisher=United Nations|accessdate=1 July 2015}}</ref> The UN officially came into existence 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council—France, the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], the Soviet Union, the UK and the US—and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950 /> − + − + − + − Though the UN's primary mandate was [[peacekeeping]], the division between the US and USSR often paralysed the organization, generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=35}} (A notable exception was a Security Council resolution in 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the [[Korean War|North Korean invasion of South Korea]], passed in the absence of the USSR.)<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950 />{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=58–59}} In 1947, the General Assembly approved [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|a resolution to partition Palestine]], approving the creation of the state of [[Israel]]. Two years later, [[Ralph Bunche]], a UN official, negotiated an armistice to the resulting conflict.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=51–54}} In 1956, the [[United Nations Emergency Force|first UN peacekeeping force]] was established to end the [[Suez Crisis]];<ref name=unmilestones1951to1960>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1951-1960/index.html|title=UN Milestones 1951-1960|website=www.un.org|access-date=2017-11-01}}</ref> however, the UN was unable to intervene against the USSR's simultaneous invasion of Hungary following [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|that country's revolution]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=114}}+ − In 1960, the UN deployed [[United Nations Operation in the Congo]] (UNOC), the largest military force of its early decades, to bring order to the breakaway [[State of Katanga]], restoring it to the control of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] by 1964.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=115–134}} While travelling to meet with rebel leader [[Moise Tshombe]] during the conflict, [[Dag Hammarskjöld]], often named as one of the UN's most effective Secretaries-General,<ref>See Meisler, p. 76; Kennedy, p. 60; Fasulo, pp. 17, 20</ref> [[1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash|died in a plane crash]]; months later he was posthumously awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=127–128, 134}} In 1964, Hammarskjöld's successor, [[U Thant]], deployed the [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus|UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus]], which would become one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=156–157}}+ − + − With the spread of [[decolonization]] in the 1960s, the organization's membership saw an influx of newly independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined the UN, 16 of them from Africa.<ref name=unmilestones1951to1960 /> On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, but with the support of many [[Third World]] nations, the mainland, communist [[China|People's Republic of China]] was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] that occupied Taiwan; the vote was widely seen as a sign of waning US influence in the organization.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=195–197}} Third World nations organized into the [[Group of 77]] coalition under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=208–210}} In 1975, a bloc comprising the USSR and Third World nations passed [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379|a resolution]], over strenuous US and Israeli opposition, declaring [[Zionism]] to be racism; the resolution was repealed in 1991, shortly after the end of the Cold War.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=204–226, 213, 220–221}}+ − + − With an increasing Third World presence and the failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the [[Six-Day War|Middle East]], [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Kashmir]], the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its ostensibly secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=167–168, 224–225}} By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget.+ − + − ===Post-Cold War===+ − [[File:Kofi Annan.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kofi Annan]], Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006]] − After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in ten years than it had in the previous four decades.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=286}} Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased more than tenfold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinapower.csis.org/china-un-mission/|title=Is China contributing to the United Nations' mission?|publisher=CSIS China Power}}</ref><ref>Fasulo, p. 43; Meisler, p. 334</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Z/pk_tables/expend.pdf|title=Peacekeeping Operations Expenditures: 1947–2005|last=Renner|first=Michael|website=[[Global Policy Forum]]}}</ref> The UN negotiated an end to the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], launched a successful [[United Nations Transition Assistance Group|peacekeeping mission in Namibia]], and oversaw democratic elections in post-[[Apartheid in South Africa|apartheid]] South Africa and post-[[Khmer Rouge]] Cambodia.<ref>Meisler, pp. 252–56</ref> In 1991, the UN authorized a [[Gulf War|US-led coalition]] that repulsed the Iraqi [[invasion of Kuwait]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=264–277}} [[Brian Urquhart]], Under-Secretary-General from 1971 to 1985, later described the hopes raised by these successes as a "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=334}} − − Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in the early 1990s the UN faced a number of simultaneous, serious crises within nations such as Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the former Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=66–67}} The [[United Nations Operation in Somalia II|UN mission in Somalia]] was widely viewed as a failure after the US withdrawal following casualties in the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]], and the [[United Nations Protection Force|UN mission to Bosnia]] faced "worldwide ridicule" for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing.<ref>For quotation "worldwide ridicule", see Meisler, p. 293; for description of UN missions in Somalia and Bosnia, see Meisler, pp. 312–29.</ref> In 1994, the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda|UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] failed to intervene in the [[Rwandan genocide]] amid indecision in the Security Council.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=104}} − − Beginning in the last decades of the Cold War, American and European critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=226–227}} In 1984, the US President, [[Ronald Reagan]], withdrew his nation's funding from [[UNESCO]] (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, founded 1946) over allegations of mismanagement, followed by Britain and Singapore.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=234–237}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Paul |date=6 August 1996 |title=Jean Gerard, 58, Reagan Envoy Who Led U.S. to Leave Unesco |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/world/jean-gerard-58-reagan-envoy-who-led-us-to-leave-unesco.html |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], Secretary-General from 1992 to 1996, initiated a reform of the Secretariat, reducing the size of the organization somewhat.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=285–286}}<ref name=NST /> His successor, [[Kofi Annan]] (1997–2006), initiated further management reforms in the face of threats from the United States to withhold its UN dues.<ref name=NST>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19980116&id=TvxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-BQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4023,6546189 |title=Are UN reforms just reshuffling of the deck? |date=16 January 1998 |work=New Straits Times |accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref> − − In the late 1990s and 2000s, international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms. The [[United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone|UN mission]] in the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]] of 1991–2002 was supplemented by British [[Royal Marines]], and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2014)|invasion of Afghanistan in 2001]] was overseen by [[NATO]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=110–111}}In 2003, the United States [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq]] despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the organization's effectiveness.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=111}} Under the eighth Secretary-General, [[Ban Ki-moon]], the UN has intervened with peacekeepers in crises including the [[War in Darfur]] in Sudan and the [[Kivu conflict]] in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/world/meast/syria-civil-war/ |title=Syria: Chemical weapons team faces many dangers, says UN chief Ban |author=Smith-Spark, Laura |date=8 October 2013 |publisher=CNN |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref> In 2013, [[Secretary-General's Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka|an internal review]] of UN actions in [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|the final battles]] of the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered "systemic failure".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html |title=UN failed during final days of Lankan ethnic war: Ban Ki-moon |agency=Press Trust of India |date=25 September 2013 |work=FirstPost |accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref> One hundred and one UN personnel died in the [[2010 Haiti earthquake]], the worst loss of life in the organization's history.<ref name=unmilestones2001to2010>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-2001-2010/index.html|title=UN Milestones 2001-2010|website=www.un.org|access-date=2017-11-01}}</ref> − − The [[Millennium Summit]] was held in 2000 to discuss the UN's role in the 21st century.<ref name="BBCagenda">{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=UN summit agenda; The largest gathering of world leaders in history meets in New York to discuss the role of the United Nations in the 21st century.|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/904903.stm |work= |publisher=[[BBC|BBC News]] |date=7 December 2000 |accessdate=22 November 2006 }}</ref> The three day meeting was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, and culminated in the adoption by all member states of the [[Millennium Development Goals]] (MDGs), a commitment to achieve international development in areas such as [[poverty reduction]], [[gender equality]], and [[public health]]. Progress towards these goals, which were to be met by 2015, was ultimately uneven. The [[2005 World Summit]] reaffirmed the UN's focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights, and global security.<ref>{{cite web|title=2005 World Summit Outcome |publisher=United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/2005%20World%20Summit%20Outcome.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=1 November 2017}}</ref> The [[Sustainable Development Goals]] were launched in 2015 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ |title=Sustainable Development Goals |website=Un.org |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> − − In addition to addressing global challenges, the UN has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with civil society and fostering a global constituency.<ref>{{cite web|title=Communicating to a global constituency: UN Day in Paris|url=http://unu.edu/news/announcements/un-day-in-paris.html|website=unu.edu|publisher=United Nations University|accessdate=24 November 2016}}</ref> In an effort to enhance transparency, in 2016 the organization held its first public debate between candidates for Secretary-General.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Falk|first1=Pamela|title=Can U.N. regain trust with an experiment in transparency?|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-secretary-general-candidate-debate-united-nations-trust/|website=www.cbsnews.com|publisher=CBS News|accessdate=24 November 2016}}</ref> On January 1, 2017, Portuguese diplomat [[António Guterres]], who previously served as [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UN High Commissioner for Refugees]], became the ninth Secretary-General. Guterres has highlighted several key goals for his administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining the organization to be more responsive and versatile to global needs.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guterres|first1=António|title=U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES: MY VISION FOR REVITALIZING THE UNITED NATIONS|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2017/01/20/davos-2017-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-opinion-540326.html|website=Newsweek.com|publisher=Newsweek|accessdate=13 January 2017}}</ref> − − ==Structure== − {{Main article|United Nations System}} − The UN system is based on five principal organs: the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]], the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]], the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC), the [[United Nations Secretariat|Secretariat]], and the [[International Court of Justice]].{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=3–4}} A sixth principal organ, the [[United Nations Trusteeship Council|Trusteeship Council]], suspended operations in 1994, upon the independence of [[Palau]], the last remaining UN trustee territory.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=8}} − − Four of the five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://visit.un.org/ |title=United Nations Visitors Centre |publisher=United Nations |year=2017 |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> The International Court of Justice is located in [[The Hague]], while other major agencies are based in the [[United Nations Office at Geneva|UN offices at Geneva]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unog.ch/ |title=United Nations Office at Geneva |publisher=United Nations Office at Geneva |accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> [[United Nations Office at Vienna|Vienna]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unvienna.org/unov/ |title=Welcome to the United Nations Office at Vienna! |publisher=United Nations Office at Vienna |date= |accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> and [[United Nations Office at Nairobi|Nairobi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unon.org/ |title=Welcome to the United Nations Office at Nairobi |publisher=United Nations Office at Nairobi |accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> Other UN institutions are located throughout the world. The six [[official language]]s of the UN, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.<ref name=langs>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/about/ropga/lang.shtml |title=General Assembly of the United Nations – Rules of Procedure |publisher=UN Department for General Assembly |accessdate=15 December 2010}}</ref> On the basis of the [[Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations]], the UN and its agencies are [[diplomatic immunity|immune]] from the laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the UN's impartiality with regard to the host and member countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://diplomaticlaw.com/blog/2009/03/23/jerusalem-court-no-immunity-for-un-employee-for-private-acts/ |archive-url=https://archive.is/20120628214535/http://diplomaticlaw.com/blog/2009/03/23/jerusalem-court-no-immunity-for-un-employee-for-private-acts/ |dead-url=yes |archive-date=28 June 2012 |title=Jerusalem Court: No Immunity for UN Employee for Private Acts—Diplomatic/Consular Law and Sovereign Immunity in Israel |publisher=Diplomaticlaw.com |date=23 March 2009 |accessdate=27 April 2010 }}</ref> − − Below the six organs sit, in the words of the author Linda Fasulo, "an amazing collection of entities and organizations, some of which are actually older than the UN itself and operate with almost complete independence from it".{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=4}} These include specialized agencies, research and training institutions, programmes and funds, and other UN entities.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=4–7}} − − The UN obey the ''Noblemaire principle'', which is binding on any organization that belongs to the UN system. This principle calls for salaries that will draw and keep citizens of countries where salaries are highest, and also calls for equal pay for work of equal value independent of the employee's nationality.<ref name="un-salaries">[https://www.un.org/depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm Salaries], United Nations website</ref><ref>[http://www.ilo.org/dyn/triblex/triblexmain.showList?p_lang=en&p_keyword_id=200 ILO: ''Noblemaire principle''], Judgement 986, consideration 7, and Judgment 831, Consideration 1.</ref> Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that is administered by the UN organizations.<ref name="un-salaries"/><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/world/for-americans-working-at-the-un-a-wonderland-of-taxes.html Americans Working at the U.N], World, New York Times, 28 September 2009</ref> − − {{United Nations Organs}} − − − {{Main article|United Nations General Assembly}} − [[File:RIAN archive 828797 Mikhail Gorbachev addressing UN General Assembly session.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mikhail Gorbachev]], Soviet general secretary, addresses the UN General Assembly in December 1988.]] − − − When the General Assembly votes on important questions, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. Examples of important questions include recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; and budgetary matters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/about/ropga/plenary.shtml |title=General Assembly of the United Nations: Rules of Procedure: XII – Plenary Meetings |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=4 December 2013| quote="Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall include: recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security, the election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the election of the members of the Economic and Social Council, the election of members of the Trusteeship Council in accordance with paragraph 1 c of Article 86 of the Charter, the admission of new Members to the United Nations, the suspension of the rights and privileges of membership, the expulsion of Members, questions relating to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary questions."}}</ref> All other questions are decided by a majority vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=131–133}} − − Draft resolutions can be forwarded to the General Assembly by eight committees:{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=70–73}} − *General Committee – a supervisory committee consisting of the assembly's president, vice-president, and committee heads − *Credentials Committee – responsible for determining the credentials of each member nation's UN representatives − *[[General Assembly First Committee|First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)]] − *[[Economic and Financial Committee|Second Committee (Economic and Financial)]] − *Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) − *[[United Nations Fourth Committee|Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)]] − *Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) − *[[United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal)|Sixth Committee (Legal)]] − − ===Security Council=== − {{Main article|United Nations Security Council}} − − − − The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states, consisting of five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with end of term date)—Bolivia (term ends 2018), Egypt (2017), Ethiopia (2018), Italy (2018), Japan (2017), [[Kazakhstan]] (2018), Senegal (2017), Sweden (2018), Ukraine (2017), Uruguay (2017).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/members/ |title=Members of the United Nations Security Council |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=29 April 2017}}</ref> The five permanent members hold [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto power]] over UN resolutions, allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with five member states per year voted in by the General Assembly on a [[United Nations Regional Groups|regional basis]].{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=40–41}} The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/presidency/ |title=Security Council Presidency in 2017 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> − − ===Secretariat=== − {{Main article|United Nations Secretariat|Secretary-General of the United Nations}} − The UN Secretariat is headed by the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]], assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=21}} It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=285}} − − [[File:António Guterres November 2016.jpg|thumb|upright|The current [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]], [[António Guterres]]]] − The Secretary-General acts as the ''de facto'' spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's "chief administrative officer".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xv/index.html |title=United Nations Charter: Chapter XV |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> Article 99 of the charter states that the Secretary-General can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that Secretaries-General since [[Trygve Lie]] have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=31–32}} The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to [[global issue]]s.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=59–62}} − − The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years it has become accepted that the post shall be held for one or two terms of five years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sg/appointment.shtml |title=Appointment Process |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> The current Secretary-General is [[António Guterres]], who replaced [[Ban Ki-moon]] in 2017. − − {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:left;" − |+ style="padding-top:1em;" |Secretaries-General of the United Nations<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sg/formersgs.shtml |title=Former Secretaries-General |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> − ! No. !! Name !! Country of origin !! Took office !! Left office !! Note − |- − | 1 || '''[[Trygve Lie]]''' || {{flag|Norway}} || 2 February 1946 || 10 November 1952 || Resigned − |- − | 2 || '''[[Dag Hammarskjöld]]''' || {{flag|Sweden}} || 10 April 1953 || 18 September 1961 || Died in office − |- − | 3 || '''[[U Thant]]''' || {{flag|Burma|1948}} || 30 November 1961 || 31 December 1971 || − |- − | 4 || '''[[Kurt Waldheim]]''' || {{flag|Austria}} || 1 January 1972 || 31 December 1981 || − |- − | 5 || '''[[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]]''' || {{flag|Peru}} || 1 January 1982 || 31 December 1991 || − |- − | 6 || '''[[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]]''' || {{flag|Egypt}} || 1 January 1992 || 31 December 1996 || − |- − | 7 || '''[[Kofi Annan]]''' || {{flag|Ghana}} || 1 January 1997 || 31 December 2006 || − |- − | 8 || '''[[Ban Ki-moon]]''' || {{flag|South Korea}} || 1 January 2007 || 31 December 2016 || − |- − | 9 || '''[[António Guterres]]''' || {{flag|Portugal}} || 1 January 2017|| – || − |} − + − {{Main article|International Court of Justice}}+ − [[File:Grand Hall de Justice de Palais de La Paix à La Haye Pays-Bas.jpg|thumb|left|The court had ruled that [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence]] from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law]] − The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, in the Netherlands, is the primary judicial organ of the UN. Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the [[Permanent Court of International Justice]]. The ICJ is composed of 15 judges who serve 9-year terms and are appointed by the General Assembly; every sitting judge must be from a different nation.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=183}}{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=100–101}} − It is based in the [[Peace Palace]] in The Hague, sharing the building with the [[Hague Academy of International Law]], a private centre for the study of international law. The ICJ's primary purpose is to adjudicate disputes among states. The court has heard cases related to war crimes, illegal state interference, ethnic cleansing, and other issues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icj-cij.org/en |title=The Court |publisher=International Court of Justice |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> The ICJ can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=183}}+ − ===Economic and Social Council===+ − {{Main article|United Nations Economic and Social Council}} − The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co-operation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, which are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. The council has one annual meeting in July, held in either New York or Geneva. Viewed as separate from the specialized bodies it co-ordinates, ECOSOC's functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=103–104}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/index.shtml |title=About ECOSOC |publisher=ECOSOC |accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref> Owing to its broad mandate of co-ordinating many agencies, ECOSOC has at times been criticized as unfocused or irrelevant.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=103–104}}{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=153–155}} − ECOSOC's subsidiary bodies include the [[United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues]], which advises UN agencies on issues relating to [[indigenous peoples]]; the [[United Nations Forum on Forests]], which co-ordinates and promotes sustainable forest management; the [[United Nations Statistical Commission]], which co-ordinates information-gathering efforts between agencies; and the [[Commission on Sustainable Development]], which co-ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working towards [[sustainable development]]. ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations;{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=103–104}} by 2004, more than 2,200 organizations had received this status.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=156}}+ + − ===Specialized agencies===+ − {{Main article|List of specialized agencies of the United Nations}} − − {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:left;"+ − |+ style="padding-top:1em;" |'''Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations''' − ! No. !!Acronym !! Agency !! Headquarters !! Head !! Established in − |- − | 1 || FAO || '''[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Rome]], [[Italy]]|| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[José Graziano da Silva]] || 1945 − |- − | 2 || IAEA || '''[[International Atomic Energy Agency]]'''||{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Vienna]], [[Austria]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yukiya Amano]] || 1957 − |- − | 3 || ICAO || '''[[International Civil Aviation Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Montreal, Quebec]], [[Canada]] || {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Fang Liu]] || 1947 − |- − | 4 || IFAD || '''[[International Fund for Agricultural Development]]'''|| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Rome]], [[Italy]] || {{flagicon|NGA}} Kanayo F. Nwanze|| 1977 − |- − | 5 || ILO || '''[[International Labour Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] || {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Guy Ryder]] || 1946 (1919) − |- − | 6 || IMO || '''[[International Maritime Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|GBR}} [[London]], [[United Kingdom]] || {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Kitack Lim]]|| 1948 − |- − | 7 || IMF || '''[[International Monetary Fund]]'''|| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]] || {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Christine Lagarde]]|| 1945 (1944) − |- − | 8 || ITU || '''[[International Telecommunication Union]]'''||{{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] || {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Houlin Zhao]] || 1947 (1865) − |- − | 9 || UNESCO || '''[[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Paris]], [[France]] || {{flagicon|BUL}} [[Irina Bokova]] || 1946 − |- − | 10 || UNIDO || '''[[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|AUT}} [[Vienna]], [[Austria]] || {{flagicon|PRC}} [[Li Yong (politician)|Li Yong]] || 1967 − |- − | 11 || UNWTO ||'''[[World Tourism Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Madrid]], [[Spain]] || {{flagicon|JOR}} [[Taleb Rifai]] || 1974 − |- − | 12 || UPU || '''[[Universal Postal Union]]'''||{{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]] || {{flagicon|KEN}} Bishar Abdirahman Hussein || 1947 (1874) − |- − | 13 || WBG || '''[[World Bank Group]]'''||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Jim Yong Kim|Jim Y. Kim]]|| 1945 (1944) − |- − | 14 || WFP || '''[[World Food Programme]]'''||{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Rome]], [[Italy]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Ertharin Cousin]] || 1963 − |- − | 15 || WHO || '''[[World Health Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] ||{{flagicon|ETH}} [[Tedros Adhanom]]|| 1948 − |- − | 16 || WIPO || '''[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]'''||{{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Francis Gurry]] || 1974 − |- − | 17 || WMO || '''[[World Meteorological Organization]]'''|| {{flagicon|SUI|size=23px}} [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] || {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Petteri Taalas]] {{small|(Secretary-General)}}<br />{{flagicon|FRA}} Michel Jarraud {{small|(President)}}|| 1950 (1873) − |} − ==Membership==+ − {{Main article|Member states of the United Nations}} − [[File:UN Member Countries World.svg|thumb|500px|Map of the current UN member states by their [[Enlargement of the United Nations|dates of admission]].<ref name="growth">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/member-states/growth-united-nations-membership-1945-present/index.html |title=Growth in United Nations membership, 1945–present |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> {{legend|#5B92E5|1945 (original members)}} {{legend|#008080|1946–1959}} {{legend|#00A24F|1960–1989}} {{legend|#346733|1990–present}} {{legend|#FDE910|non-member observer states}}]] − With the addition of [[South Sudan]] 14 July 2011,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39034&Cr=South+Sudan&Cr1= |title=UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State |publisher=United Nations |date=28 June 2006 |accessdate=4 November 2011}}</ref> there are {{UNnum}} UN member states, including all [[List of states with limited recognition|undisputed]] [[List of sovereign states|independent states]] apart from [[Vatican City]].<ref name="members">{{cite web+ − |url=http://www.un.org/en/member-states/ − |title=United Nations Member States − |publisher=United Nations − |accessdate=2 November 2017 − }}</ref>{{efn|For details on Vatican City's status, see [[Holy See and the United Nations]].}} − The UN Charter outlines the rules for membership: − <!--template syntax: {{Quote|Phrase|Somebody|''Source''}}--> − {{Quote| − # Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. − # The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Chapter II, Article 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-ii/index.html |title=Charter of the United Nations: Chapter II |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref>}} − + − + − {{main article|Group of 77}}+ − + − + + − ===Peacekeeping and security===+ − {{Main article|United Nations peacekeeping|List of United Nations peacekeeping missions}} − [[File:Bolivian Army 2nd Lt. Mauricio Vidangos stands guard at the entry control point of an Observation Point.jpg|thumb|left|Bolivian "[[United Nations peacekeeping|Blue Helmet]]" at an exercise in Chile, 21 October 2002]] − The UN, after approval by the Security Council, sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states. These soldiers are sometimes nicknamed "Blue Helmets" for their distinctive gear.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=52}}{{sfn|Coulon|1998|p=ix}} The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1988/| author=Nobel Prize| title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1988| accessdate=3 April 2011}}</ref> − In September 2013, the UN had peacekeeping soldiers deployed on 15 missions. The largest was the [[United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (MONUSCO), which included 20,688 uniformed personnel. The smallest, [[United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan]] (UNMOGIP), included 42 uniformed personnel responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in [[Jammu and Kashmir]]. UN peacekeepers with the [[United Nations Truce Supervision Organization]] (UNTSO) have been stationed in the Middle East since 1948, the longest-running active peacekeeping mission.<ref name=UNPO/>+ − A study by the RAND Corporation in 2005 found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts. It compared efforts at nation-building by the UN to those of the United States, and found that seven out of eight UN cases are at peace, as compared with four out of eight US cases at peace.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG304.sum.pdf| publisher=RAND Corporation| title=The UN's Role in Nation Building: From the Congo to Iraq| format=PDF| accessdate=30 December 2008}}</ref> Also in 2005, the [[Human Security Report 2005|Human Security Report]] documented a decline in the number of wars, genocides, and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, that international activism—mostly spearheaded by the UN—has been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict in that period.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.humansecurityreport.info/| publisher=Human Security Centre| title=The Human Security Report 2005| accessdate=8 February 2007| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://swap.stanford.edu/20090728163300/http%3A//www.humansecurityreport.info/| archivedate=28 July 2009| df=dmy-all}}</ref> Situations in which the UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also intervened include the Korean War (1950–53) and the authorization of intervention in Iraq after the Gulf War (1990–91).{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=56}}+ − {{anchor|inaction on genocide and human rights}}+ − [[File:GreenLine BufferZone Large.JPG|thumb|210px|[[UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus]] was established in 1974 following the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]].]] − The UN has also drawn criticism for perceived failures. In many cases, member states have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions. Disagreements in the Security Council about military action and intervention are seen as having failed to prevent the [[1971 Bangladesh Genocide|Bangladesh genocide in 1971]],{{sfn|Ball|2011|p=46}} the [[Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia|Cambodian genocide]] in the 1970s,{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=187}} and the Rwandan genocide in 1994.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=102–105}} Similarly, UN inaction is blamed for failing to either prevent the [[Srebrenica massacre]] in 1995 or complete the peacekeeping operations in 1992–93 during the [[Somali Civil War]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=294–311}} UN peacekeepers have also been accused of child rape, soliciting prostitutes, and sexual abuse during various peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3145-2004Dec15.html |title=U.N. Sexual Abuse Alleged in Congo| work=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Colum |last=Lynch |date=16 December 2004 |accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> Haiti,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6195830.stm| title=UN troops face child abuse claims| work=[[BBC News]]| date=30 November 2006| accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> Liberia,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/world/africa/08iht-abuse.html |title=Aid workers in Liberia accused of sex abuse |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=8 May 2006 |accessdate=22 November 2013}}</ref> Sudan and what is now South Sudan,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1538476/UN-staff-accused-of-raping-children-in-Sudan.html| title= UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan| work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| date=4 January 2007| first=Kate| last=Holt| accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> Burundi, and Ivory Coast.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm|title= Peacekeepers 'abusing children' |work=BBC News |date=28 May 2007|accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> Scientists cited UN peacekeepers from Nepal as the likely source of the [[2010–13 Haiti cholera outbreak]], which killed more than 8,000 Haitians following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/americas/haiti-un-cholera-lawsuit/ |title=U.N. sued for 'bringing cholera to Haiti,' causing outbreak that killed thousands |last1=Watson |first1=Ivan |first2=Joe |last2=Vaccarello |date=10 October 2013 |publisher=[[CNN]] |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref> − In addition to peacekeeping, the UN is also active in encouraging [[disarmament]]. Regulation of armaments was included in the writing of the UN Charter in 1945 and was envisioned as a way of limiting the use of human and economic resources for their creation.<ref name="Chapter|V">{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-v/index.html|title=United Nations Charter: Chapter V |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> The advent of [[nuclear weapon]]s came only weeks after the signing of the charter, resulting in the first [[United Nations General Assembly resolution|resolution]] of the first General Assembly meeting calling for specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/1/ares1.htm |title=Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly During its First Session |accessdate=24 March 2008 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> The UN has been involved with arms-limitation treaties, such as the [[Outer Space Treaty]] (1967), the [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]] (1968), the [[Seabed Arms Control Treaty]] (1971), the [[Biological Weapons Convention]] (1972), the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] (1992), and the [[Ottawa Treaty]] (1997), which prohibits landmines.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=188–189}} Three UN bodies oversee arms proliferation issues: the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], the [[Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], and the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission]].{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=189–190}}+ + − ===Human rights===+ − One of the UN's primary purposes is "promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion", and member states pledge to undertake "joint and separate action" to protect these rights.<ref name=CharterIX>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-ix/index.html |title=United Nations Charter: Chapter IX |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=Charter1>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-i/index.html |title=United Nations Charter: Chapter I |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> − + − In 1948, the General Assembly adopted a [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], drafted by a committee headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt's widow, [[Eleanor Roosevelt|Eleanor]], and including the French lawyer [[René Cassin]]. The document proclaims basic civil, political, and economic rights common to all human beings, though its effectiveness towards achieving these ends has been disputed since its drafting.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=178–182}} The Declaration serves as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations" rather than a legally binding document, but it has become the basis of two binding treaties, the 1966 [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] and [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]].{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=377}} In practice, the UN is unable to take significant action against human rights abuses without a Security Council resolution, though it does substantial work in investigating and reporting abuses.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=185, 188}}+ − In 1979, the General Assembly adopted the [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women]], followed by the [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]] in 1989.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=70, 73}} With the end of the Cold War, the push for human rights action took on new impetus.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=192}} The [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] was formed in 1993 to oversee human rights issues for the UN, following the recommendation of that year's [[World Conference on Human Rights]]. Jacques Fomerand, a scholar of the UN, describes this organization's mandate as "broad and vague", with only "meagre" resources to carry it out.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=347}} In 2006, it was replaced by a [[United Nations Human Rights Council|Human Rights Council]] consisting of 47 nations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4810538.stm |title=UN creates new human rights body |date=15 March 2006 |work=BBC News |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref> Also in 2006, the General Assembly passed a [[Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/FAQsindigenousdeclaration.pdf |title=Frequently Asked Questions: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples |publisher= United Nations |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref> and in 2011 it passed its first resolution recognizing the rights of [[LGBT]] people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/un-gay-rights-protection-resolution-passes-_n_879032.html |date=17 June 2011 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |first=Frank |last=Jordans |title=U.N. Gay Rights Protection Resolution Passes, Hailed As 'Historic Moment' |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref>+ + − Other UN bodies responsible for [[women's rights]] issues include [[United Nations Commission on the Status of Women]], a commission of ECOSOC founded in 1946; the [[United Nations Development Fund for Women]], created in 1976; and the [[United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women]], founded in 1979.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=57, 194, 341}} The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, one of three bodies with a mandate to oversee issues related to indigenous peoples, held its first session in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://undesadspd.org/IndigenousPeoples/AboutUsMembers.aspx |title=United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref>+ − + − {| style="background:#f3f9ff; padding-left:7px; padding-bottom:7px; float:right; border:1px dashed #aaa; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em;"+ − |-+ − | colspan=2| − '''Millennium Development Goals<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml |title=We Can End Poverty |date= |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref>''' − |- − | style="vertical-align:top; font-size:100%;"| − # Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger − # Achieve universal primary education − # Promote gender equality and empower women − # Reduce child mortality − # Improve maternal health − # Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases − # Ensure environmental sustainability − # Develop a global partnership for development − |} − Another primary purpose of the UN is "to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character".<ref name=Charter1/> Numerous bodies have been created to work towards this goal, primarily under the authority of the General Assembly and ECOSOC.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=143–144}} In 2000, the 192 UN member states agreed to achieve eight [[Millennium Development Goals]] by 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ |title=The UN Millennium Development Goals |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=4 May 2007}}</ref> − The [[United Nations Development Programme|UN Development Programme]] (UNDP), an organization for grant-based technical assistance founded in 1945, is one of the leading bodies in the field of [[international development]]. The organization also publishes the UN [[Human Development Index]], a comparative measure [[List of countries by Human Development Index|ranking countries]] by poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, and other factors.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=169–170, 172}}{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=341–342}} The [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO), also founded in 1945, promotes agricultural development and food security.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=126}} [[UNICEF]] (the United Nations Children's Fund) was created in 1946 to aid European children after the Second World War and expanded its mission to provide aid around the world and to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html |title=About UNICEF: Who we are: Our History |publisher=UNICEF |accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_introduction.html |title=About UNICEF: Who We Are |publisher=UNICEF |accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref>+ + + − [[File:Directors of Global Smallpox Eradication Program.jpg|thumb|210px|Three former directors of the [[Smallpox#Eradication|Global Smallpox Eradication Programme]] read the news that smallpox had been globally eradicated, 1980]]+ − The [[World Bank Group]] and [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) are independent, specialized agencies and observers within the UN framework, according to a 1947 agreement. They were initially formed separately from the UN through the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods Agreement]] in 1944.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:20040610~menuPK:41691~pagePK:43912~piPK:44037,00.html| title= About Us–United Nations| accessdate=2 August 2007| date=30 June 2003| publisher=The World Bank}}</ref> The World Bank provides loans for international development, while the IMF promotes international economic co-operation and gives emergency loans to indebted countries.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=175, 191–192}}+ + − [[File:Iman Mutlaq visits Zaatari Refugee Camp.jpg|thumb|left|210px|In [[Jordan]], UNHCR remains responsible for the [[Syrian refugees]] and the [[Zaatari refugee camp]]]]+ − The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), which focuses on international health issues and disease eradication, is another of the UN's largest agencies. In 1980, the agency announced that the eradication of [[smallpox]] had been completed. In subsequent decades, WHO largely eradicated [[polio]], [[river blindness]], and [[leprosy]].{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=176–177}} The [[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS]] (UNAIDS), begun in 1996, co-ordinates the organization's response to the AIDS epidemic.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=199–200}} The [[UN Population Fund]], which also dedicates part of its resources to combating HIV, is the world's largest source of funding for [[reproductive health]] and [[family planning]] services.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=368}}+ + − Along with the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement]], the UN often takes a leading role in co-ordinating emergency relief.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=183}} The [[World Food Programme]] (WFP), created in 1961, provides food aid in response to famine, natural disasters, and armed conflict. The organization reports that it feeds an average of 90 million people in 80 nations each year.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=183}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wfp.org/our-work |title=Our Work |publisher=World Food Programme |accessdate=22 November 2013}}</ref> The [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR), established in 1950, works to protect the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c2.html |title=About Us |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |accessdate=22 November 2013}}</ref> UNHCR and WFP programmes are funded by voluntary contributions from governments, corporations, and individuals, though the UNHCR's administrative costs are paid for by the UN's primary budget.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=348, 398}}+ + + − + − Since the UN's creation, over 80 colonies have attained independence. The General Assembly adopted the [[Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples]] in 1960 with no votes against but abstentions from all major colonial powers. The UN works towards decolonization through groups including the [[Special Committee on Decolonization|UN Committee on Decolonization]], created in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/decolonization/index.shtml |title=The United Nations and Decolonization |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> The committee lists seventeen remaining "Non-Self-Governing Territories", the largest and most populous of which is [[Western Sahara]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/decolonization/nonselfgovterritories.shtml |title=Non-Self-Governing Territories |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=7 February 2014}}</ref>+ + − Beginning with the formation of the [[UN Environmental Programme]] (UNEP) in 1972, the UN has made environmental issues a prominent part of its agenda. A lack of success in the first two decades of UN work in this area led to the 1992 [[Earth Summit]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which sought to give new impetus to these efforts.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=160–162}} In 1988, the UNEP and the [[World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO), another UN organization, established the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]], which assesses and reports on research on [[global warming]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml#.Uo4YtsSsgus |title=Organizations |publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> The UN-sponsored [[Kyoto Protocol]], signed in 1997, set legally binding emissions reduction targets for ratifying states.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=179}}+ + + − The UN also declares and co-ordinates [[international observance]]s, periods of time to observe issues of international interest or concern. Examples include [[World Tuberculosis Day]], [[Earth Day]], and the [[International Year of Deserts and Desertification]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/events/observances/index.shtml |title=United Nations Observances |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=17 November 2013}}</ref>+ + + − + − {{Bar chart+ − | title = Top 25 contributors to the United Nations budget for 2016<ref name=unbudget>{{cite web+ − |url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=ST/ADM/SER.B/932 − |title=Assessment of Member States' advances to the Working Capital Fund for the biennium 2016-2017 and contributions to the United Nations regular budget for 2016 − |publisher=[[United Nations Secretariat|UN Secretariat]] − |format=PDF − |date=28 December 2015 − |accessdate=28 December 2015 − |deadurl=yes − |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404082311/http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=ST%2FADM%2FSER.B%2F932 − |archivedate=4 April 2016 − |df= − }}</ref> − | label_type = [[Member states of the United Nations|Member state]] − | data_type = Contribution<br /><small>(% of UN budget)</small> | bar_width = 9.75 | float = right | data_max = 22.000 − | label1 = '''{{flag|United States}}''' − | data1 = 22.000 − | label2 = '''{{flag|Japan}}''' − | data2 = 9.680 − | label3 = '''{{flag|China}}''' − | data3 = 7.921 − | label4 = '''{{flag|Germany}}''' − | data4 = 6.389 − | label5 = '''{{flag|France}}''' − | data5 = 4.859 − | label6 = '''{{flag|United Kingdom}}''' − | data6 = 4.463 − | label7 = '''{{flag|Brazil}}''' − | data7 = 3.823 − | label8 = '''{{flag|Italy}}''' − | data8 = 3.748 − | label9 = '''{{flag|Russia}}''' − | data9 = 3.088 − | label10 = '''{{flag|Canada}}''' − | data10 = 2.921 − | label11 = '''{{flag|Spain}}''' − | data11 = 2.443 − | label12 = '''{{flag|Australia}}''' − | data12 = 2.337 − | label13 = '''{{flag|South Korea}}''' − | data13 = 2.039 − | label14 = '''{{flag|Netherlands}}''' − | data14 = 1.482 − | label15 = '''{{flag|Mexico}}''' − | data15 = 1.435 − | label16 = '''{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}''' − | data16 = 1.146 − | label17 = '''{{flag|Switzerland}}''' − | data17 = 1.140 − | label18 = '''{{flag|Turkey}}''' − | data18 = 1.018 − | label19 = '''{{flag|Sweden}}''' − | data19 = 0.956 − | label20 = '''{{flag|Argentina}}''' − | data20 = 0.892 − | label21 = '''{{flag|Belgium}}''' − | data21 = 0.885 − | label22 = '''{{flag|Norway}}''' − | data22 = 0.849 − | label23 = '''{{flag|Poland}}''' − | data23 = 0.841 − | label24 = '''{{flag|India}}''' − | data24 = 0.737 − | label25 = '''Other member states''' − | data25 = 12.908 − }} − The UN is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by its [[gross national income]] (GNI), with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income.<ref name="fifth-2006">{{cite web |title=Fifth Committee Approves Assessment Scale for Regular, Peacekeeping Budgets, Texts on Common System, Pension Fund, as it Concludes Session (Press Release) |publisher=United Nations |date=22 December 2006|accessdate=8 November 2013 |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/gaab3787.doc.htm}}</ref> The two-year budget for 2012–13 was $5.512 billion in total.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/hq/dm/pdfs/oppba/Regular%20Budget.pdf |format=PDF |title=Regular Budget 2012–2013 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=9 November 2013}}</ref> − The Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be unduly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a "ceiling" rate, setting the maximum amount that any member can be assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the Assembly revised the scale of assessments in response to pressure from the United States. As part of that revision, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25% to 22%.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=117}} For the [[Least developed country|least developed countries]] (LDCs), a ceiling rate of 0.01% is applied.<ref name="fifth-2006"/> In addition to the ceiling rates, the minimum amount assessed to any member nation (or "floor" rate) is set at 0.001% of the UN budget ($55,120 for the two year budget 2013–2014).{{sfn|Weiss|Daws|2009|p=682}}+ + + − A large share of the UN's expenditure addresses its core mission of peace and security, and this budget is assessed separately from the main organizational budget.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|p=115}} The peacekeeping budget for the 2015–16 fiscal year was $8.27 billion, supporting 82,318 troops deployed in 15 missions around the world.<ref name=UNPO>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/factsheet.shtml |title=United Nations Peacekeeping Operations |accessdate=24 March 2016 |date= 29 February 2016 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular funding scale that includes a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members, who must approve all peacekeeping operations. This surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. In 2017, the top 8 providers of assessed financial contributions to [[Peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping]] operations were the [[United States]] (28.47%), [[China]] (10.25%), [[Japan]] (9.68%), [[Germany]] (6.39%), [[France]] (6.28%), [[United Kingdom]] (5.77%), [[Russian Federation]] (3.99%) and [[Italy]] (3.75%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/financing.shtml|title=Financing peacekeeping. United Nations Peacekeeping|website=www.un.org}}</ref>+ + + − Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget, such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme, are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments, corporations, and private individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wfp.org/get-involved/donate/where-your-money-goes |title=Where Your Money Goes |publisher=World Food Programme |accessdate=9 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/appeals/funding_trends.html |title=Overall funding trends |date=21 January 2013 |publisher=UNICEF |accessdate=9 November 2013}}</ref>+ + + − + − {{Main article|Reform of the United Nations|Reform of the United Nations Security Council}}+ − {{See also|Criticism of the United Nations}}+ − [[File:Friedensnobelpreis 2001 Vereinte Nationen.jpg|thumb|left|[[2001 Nobel Peace Prize]] to the UN – diploma in the lobby of the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|UN Headquarters]] in [[New York City]]]] − A number of agencies and individuals associated with the UN have won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in recognition of their work. Two Secretaries-General, Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan, were each awarded the prize (in 1961 and 2001, respectively), as were Ralph Bunche (1950), a UN negotiator, René Cassin (1968), a contributor to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the US Secretary of State [[Cordell Hull]] (1945), the latter for his role in the organization's founding. [[Lester B. Pearson]], the Canadian [[Secretary of State for External Affairs]], was awarded the prize in 1957 for his role in organizing the UN's first peacekeeping force to resolve the Suez Crisis. UNICEF won the prize in 1965, the [[International Labour Organization]] in 1969, the UN Peace-Keeping Forces in 1988, the International Atomic Energy Agency (which reports to the UN) in 2005, and the UN-supported [[Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] in 2013. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded in 1954 and 1981, becoming one of only two recipients to win the prize twice. The UN as a whole was awarded the prize in 2001, sharing it with Annan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/index.html |title=All Nobel Peace Prizes |publisher=Nobel Prize |accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref> − [[File:UN70.JPG|thumb|right|To mark the UN's 70th anniversary – Budapest, 2015]]+ − Since its founding, there have been many calls for [[reform of the United Nations|reform of the UN]] but little consensus on how to do so. Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, while others want its role reduced to humanitarian work. There have also been numerous calls for the [[Reform of the United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council's membership to be increased]], for different ways of electing the UN's Secretary-General, and for a [[United Nations Parliamentary Assembly|UN Parliamentary Assembly]]. Jacques Fomerand states the most enduring divide in views of the UN is "the North–South split" between [[North–South divide|richer Northern nations and developing Southern nations]]. Southern nations tend to favour a more empowered UN with a stronger General Assembly, allowing them a greater voice in world affairs, while Northern nations prefer an economically [[laissez-faire]] UN that focuses on transnational threats such as terrorism.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|p=civ}}+ − After [[World War II]], the [[French Committee of National Liberation]] was late to be recognized by the US as the government of France, and so the country was initially excluded from the conferences that created the new organization. The future French president [[Charles de Gaulle]] criticized the UN, famously calling it a ''machin'' ("contraption"), and was not convinced that a [[global security]] alliance would help maintain world peace, preferring direct defence treaties between countries.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gerbet |first=Pierre |year=1995 |title=Naissance des Nations Unies |journal=Espoir |issue=102 |language=French |url=http://www.charles-de-gaulle.org/pages/l-homme/dossiers-thematiques/1944-1946-la-liberation/restaurer-le-rang-de-la-france/analyses/naissance-des-nations-unies.php |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710122708/http://www.charles-de-gaulle.org/pages/l-homme/dossiers-thematiques/1944-1946-la-liberation/restaurer-le-rang-de-la-france/analyses/naissance-des-nations-unies.php |archivedate=10 July 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Throughout the Cold War, both the US and USSR repeatedly accused the UN of favouring the other. In 1953, the USSR effectively forced the resignation of Trygve Lie, the Secretary-General, through its refusal to deal with him, while in the 1950s and 1960s, a popular US bumper sticker read, "You can't spell communism without U.N."{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=72–73, 82}} In a sometimes-misquoted statement, President [[George W. Bush]] stated in February 2003 (referring to UN uncertainty towards Iraqi provocations under the Saddam Hussein regime) that "free nations will not allow the UN to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-02-14/news/0302140349_1_security-council-resolution-united-nations-weapons-inspectors |title=Bush implores U.N. to show 'backbone' |last=Greene |first=David L. |publisher=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=14 February 2003 |accessdate=12 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/?id=pm-9_uxFw5UC&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=Bush+UN+ineffective,+irrelevant+debating+society#v=onepage&q=Bush%20UN%20ineffective%2C%20irrelevant%20debating%20society&f=false |title=Problem of Ethicity: Role of United Nations in Kosovo Crisis |first1=Jasvir |last1=Singh |publisher=Unistar Books |year=2008 |accessdate=12 January 2014 |page=150|isbn=9788171427017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/?id=rqiHRA8RAMkC&pg=PT489&lpg=PT489&dq=Bush+UN+ineffective,+irrelevant+debating+society#v=onepage&q=Bush%20UN%20ineffective%2C%20irrelevant%20debating%20society&f=false |title=Human Rights at the UN: The Political History of Universal Justice |first1=Roger |last1=Normand |first2=Sarah |last2=Zaidi |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |page=455 |date=13 February 2003 |accessdate=12 January 2014|isbn=0253000114}}</ref> In contrast, the French President, [[François Hollande]], stated in 2012 that "France trusts the United Nations. She knows that no state, no matter how powerful, can solve urgent problems, fight for development and bring an end to all crises... France wants the UN to be the centre of global governance."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.franceonu.org/france-at-the-united-nations/the-united-nations/france-s-role-at-the-un/article/france-s-role-at-the-un#7 |title=France's role at the UN |publisher=Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations |accessdate=25 November 2013}}</ref> Critics such as [[Dore Gold]], an Israeli diplomat, [[Robert S. Wistrich]], a British scholar, [[Alan Dershowitz]], an American legal scholar, [[Mark Dreyfus]], an Australian politician, and the [[Anti-Defamation League]] consider UN attention to Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be excessive.<ref>+ − *For Gold, see Gold, p. 20+ − *For Wistrich, see Wistrich, p. 487+ − *For Dershowitz, see [[Alan Dershowitz|Dershowitz, Alan]]. ''[[The Case for Peace]]: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved''. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.+ − *For Dreyfus, see [http://jta.org/news/article/2009/07/08/1006396/dont-be-lynch-mob-lawyers-urge-un#When:14:22:00Z "Don't be lynch mob, lawyers urge U.N.."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910130332/http://jta.org/news/article/2009/07/08/1006396/dont-be-lynch-mob-lawyers-urge-un#When:14:22:00Z |date=10 September 2012 }} ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency|JTA]]''. 8 July 2009.+ − + + + + − Since 1971, the [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan) has been excluded from the UN and since then has always been rejected in new applications. Citizens of this country are also not allowed to enter the buildings of the United Nations with the passport of Taiwan. In this way, critics agree that the UN is failing its own development goals and guidelines. This criticism also brought pressure from the [[People's Republic of China]], which regards the territories administered by Taiwan as their own territory.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-united-nations-needs-treat-taiwan-fairly-22256 |title=The United Nations Needs to Treat Taiwan Fairly |last=Lee |first=David Tawei |website=The National Interest |language=en |access-date=2017-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/07/14/un-tours-open-to-terror-and-thug-states-but-not-taiwan.html |title=UN tours open to terror and thug states - but not Taiwan |last=Moody |first=John |date=2017-07-14 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |access-date=2017-09-14}}</ref>+ + − Critics have also accused the UN of bureaucratic inefficiency, waste, and corruption. In 1976, the General Assembly established the [[Joint Inspection Unit]] to seek out inefficiencies within the UN system. During the 1990s, the US withheld dues citing inefficiency and only started repayment on the condition that a major reforms initiative was introduced. In 1994, the [[United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services|Office of Internal Oversight Services]] (OIOS) was established by the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reddy |first=Shravanti |date=29 October 2002 |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/ngo-un/rest-un/2002/1029watchdog.htm |title=Watchdog Organization Struggles to Decrease UN Bureaucracy |publisher=Global Policy Forum |accessdate=21 September 2006}}</ref> In 1994, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN to [[Somalia]] [[Mohamed Sahnoun]] published "Somalia: The Missed Opportunities",<ref>USIP Press Books, October 1994, {{ISBN|978-1-878379-35-1}}</ref> a book in which he analyses the reasons for the failure of the 1992 UN intervention in [[Somalia]], showing that, between the start of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the [[Siad Barre]] regime in January 1991, the UN missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies; when the UN tried to provide humanitarian assistance, they were totally outperformed by [[NGO]]s, whose competence and dedication sharply contrasted with the UN's excessive caution and bureaucratic inefficiencies. If radical reform was not undertaken, warned Mohamed Sahnoun, then the UN would continue to respond to such crisis with inept improvisation.<ref>Book Review by Gail M. Gerhart in ''Foreign Affairs'', March/April 1995 [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/50763/gail-m-gerhart/somalia-the-missed-opportunities]</ref> In 2004, the UN faced accusations that its recently ended [[Oil-for-Food Programme]]—in which Iraq had been allowed to trade oil for basic needs to relieve the pressure of sanctions—had suffered from widespread corruption, including billions of dollars of [[Kickback (bribery)|kickback]]s. An independent inquiry created by the UN found that many of its officials had been involved, as well as raising "significant" questions about the role of [[Kojo Annan]], the son of Kofi Annan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4232629.stm |title=Q&A: Oil-for-food scandal |date=7 September 2005 |work=BBC News |accessdate=27 November 2013}}</ref>+ + + + + − In evaluating the UN as a whole, Jacques Fomerand writes that the "accomplishments of the United Nations in the last 60 years are impressive in their own terms. Progress in human development during the 20th century has been dramatic and the UN and its agencies have certainly helped the world become a more hospitable and livable place for millions."{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=cviii}} Evaluating the first 50 years of the UN's history, the author Stanley Meisler writes that ''"the United Nations never fulfilled the hopes of its founders, but it accomplished a great deal nevertheless"'', citing its role in decolonization and its many successful peacekeeping efforts.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=339}} The British historian [[Paul Kennedy]] states that while the organization has suffered some major setbacks, "when all its aspects are considered, the UN has brought great benefits to our generation and ... will bring benefits to our children's and grandchildren's generations as well."{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=290}}+ + − {{Portal|United Nations|International relations}}+ − * [[International relations]]+ − * [[List of current Permanent Representatives to the United Nations]] − * [[Model United Nations]] − * [[United Nations in popular culture]] − * [[United Nations television film series]] − * [[World Summit on the Information Society]] − * [[List of country groupings]] − * [[List of multilateral free-trade agreements]] − − − ==Notes== − {{notelist}} − − ==References== − − ===Citations=== − {{Reflist|30em}} − − ===Bibliography=== − {{refbegin|35em}} − * {{cite book − |last=Ball − |first=Howard − − |title=Genocide: A Reference Handbook − |series=Contemporary World Issues − |location=Santa Barbara, California − |publisher=ABC-CLIO − |isbn=978-1-59884-488-7 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Coulon − |first1=Jocelyn − |author-link1=Jocelyn Coulon − |year=1998 − |title=Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping, and the New World Order − |publisher=University of Toronto Press − |isbn=978-0-8020-0899-2 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Fasulo − |first1=Linda − |year=2004 − |title=An Insider's Guide to the UN − |location=New Haven, Connecticut − |publisher=Yale University Press − |isbn=978-0-300-10155-3 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Fomerand − |first1=Jacques − |year=2009 − |title=The A to Z of the United Nations − |location=Lanham, Maryland − |publisher=Scarecrow Press − |isbn=978-0-8108-5547-2 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last=Gold − |first=Dore − |author-link=Dore Gold − |year=2004 − |title=Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos − |location=New York − |publisher=Crown Forum − |isbn=978-1-4000-5475-6 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last=Grant − |first=Thomas D. − |year=2009 − |title=Admission to the United Nations: Charter Article 4 and the Rise of Universal Organization − |series=Legal Aspects of International Organization − |volume=50 − |location=Leiden, Netherlands − |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers − |isbn=978-900417363-7 − |issn=0924-4883 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Hoopes − |first1=Townsend − |author-link1=Townsend Hoopes − |last2=Brinkley − |first2=Douglas − |author-link2=Douglas Brinkley − |year=2000 − |origyear=1997 − |title=FDR and the Creation of the U.N. − |location=New Haven, Connecticut − |publisher=Yale University Press − |isbn=978-0-300-08553-2 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last=Kennedy − |first=Paul − |author-link=Paul Kennedy − |year=2007 − |origyear=2006 − |title=[[The Parliament of Man|The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations]] − |location=New York − |publisher=Random House − |isbn=978-0-375-70341-6 − |ref=harv − }} − − |last1=Manchester − |first1=William − |author-link1=William Manchester − |last2=Reid − |first2=Paul − |author-link2=Paul Reid (writer) − |year=2012 − |title=[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill]] − |volume=Volume 3: Defender of the Realm, 1940–1965 − |location=New York − |publisher=Little Brown and Company − |isbn=978-0-316-54770-3 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Meisler − |first1=Stanley − |year=1995 − |title=United Nations: The First Fifty Years − |location=New York − |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press − |isbn=978-0-87113-616-9 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Mires − |first1=Charlene − |year=2013 − |title=Capital of the World: The Race to Host the United Nations − |publisher=New York University Press − |isbn=978-0-8147-0794-4 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite encyclopedia − |last=Osmańczyk − |first=Edmund Jan − |author-link=Edmund Osmańczyk − |editor-last=Mango − |editor-first=Anthony − |year=2004 − |title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements − |volume=4 − |publisher=Taylor & Francis − |isbn=978-0-415-93924-9 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last1=Schlesinger − |first1=Stephen C. − |author-link1=Stephen Schlesinger − |year=2003 − |title=Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations: A Story of Super Powers, Secret Agents, Wartime Allies and Enemies, and Their Quest for a Peaceful World − |location=Boulder, Colorado − |publisher=Westview Press − |isbn=978-0-8133-3324-3 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last=Sherwood − |first=Robert E. − |author-link=Robert E. Sherwood − |year=1948 − |title=Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History − |location=New York − |publisher=Harper and Brothers − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |year=2009 − |origyear=2007 − |editor1-last=Weiss − |editor1-first=Thomas G. − |editor2-last=Daws − |editor2-first=Sam − |title=The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations − |publisher=Oxford University Press − |isbn=978-0-19-956010-3 − |ref=harv − }} − * {{cite book − |last=Wistrich − |first=Robert S. − |author-link=Robert S. Wistrich − |year=2010 − |title=A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad − |location=New York − |publisher=Random House − |isbn=978-1-4000-6097-9 − |ref=harv − }} − {{refend}} − − ==Further reading== − {{refbegin|35em}} − * {{cite book − |year=2008 − |editor-last1=Lowe − |editor-first1=Vaughan − |editor-link1=Vaughan Lowe − |editor-last2=Roberts − |editor-first2=Adam − |editor-link2=Adam Roberts (scholar) − |editor-last3=Welsh − |editor-first3=Jennifer − |editor-link3=Jennifer Welsh − |editor-last4=Zaum − |editor-first4=Dominik − |title=The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought and Practice since 1945 − |publisher=Oxford University Press − |isbn=978-0-19-953343-5 − }} − * {{cite book − |year=1994 − |editor1-last=Roberts − |editor1-first=Adam − |editor1-link=Adam Roberts (scholar) − |editor2-last=Kingsbury − |editor2-first=Benedict − |title= United Nations, Divided World: The UN's Roles in International Relations − |edition=2nd − |publisher=Oxford University Press − |isbn=978-0-19-827926-6 − }} − {{refend}} − {{Sister project links|wikiquote |wikt=United Nations |commons=Category:United Nations |b= |n= |q=United Nations |s= |v= |voy=United Nations |species=no |d=no |display=United Nations}}+ + + + − '''Official websites'''+ − * {{official website}} of The United Nations+ − + − + − + − '''Other'''+ − * [http://www.undemocracy.com/ Searchable archive] of UN discussions and votes+ − * [http://www.una.org.uk/ United Nations Association of the UK] – independent policy authority on the UN − − * [http://www.unwatch.org/ UN Watch] – NGO monitoring UN activities − * {{Internet Archive author |sname=United Nations}} − * {{Librivox author |id=4193}} − {{United Nations|state=expanded}}+ − {{United Nations' relations with its Member States|state=autocollapse}}+ − {{LN and UN Secretaries-General}} − {{Navboxes|list= − {{International organizations|state=autocollapse}} − {{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 2001–2025}} − {{2001 Nobel Prize winners}} − {{UN International Years}} − {{Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)}} − }} − {{Authority control}} − + − + − + − + − + − +
Reverted edits by Fu (talk) to last revision by 1990'sguy
{{about||a list of United Nations member states|Member states of the United Nations|other uses|United Nations (disambiguation)|and|UN (disambiguation)}}
{| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;"
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: large;" | '''United Nations
<small>الأمم المتحدة<br> 联合国<br> Organisation des Nations unies<br> Организация Объединённых Наций<br> Organización de las Naciones Unidas</small>'''
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Image:United Nations flag.png|center|200px]]<br>
|-
! Headquarters
| International Territory, within New York City, New York.<ref>There are some caveats; It is administered by the United Nations, and Subject only to International Law, but is still part of the United States.</ref>
|-
! Official Languages
| [[Arabic]] [[Chinese]] [[English]] [[French]] [[Russian]] [[Spanish]]
|-
! Membership
| 193 Member countries, as of Nov. 2017
|-
! Leaders
|
*Secretary General = António Guterres
*General Assembly President = Miroslav Lajčák
|linking_name = the United Nations
*Security Council President = Elbio Rosselli
|-
|symbol_type = [[Emblem of the United Nations|Emblem]]
| colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;" |
|image_symbol = Emblem of the United Nations.svg
|map_width = 250px
|admin_center_type = [[Headquarters of the United Nations|Headquarters]]
|leader_title1 = [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary‑General]]
|established_event1 =[[United Nations Charter|UN Charter]] signed
|established_date1 = {{Start date and age|1945|06|26|df=yes|p=y}}
United Nations Charter signed 26 June 1945
Entry into force of Charter 24 October 1945
|}
The UN has six principal organs: the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] (the main deliberative assembly); the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC; for promoting international economic and social co-operation and development); the [[United Nations Secretariat|Secretariat]] (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN); the [[International Court of Justice]] (the primary judicial organ); and the [[United Nations Trusteeship Council|UN Trusteeship Council]] (inactive since 1994). [[United Nations System|UN System]] agencies include the [[World Bank Group]], the [[World Health Organization]], the [[World Food Programme]], [[UNESCO]], and [[UNICEF]]. The UN's most prominent officer is the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]], an office held by Portuguese [[António Guterres]] since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UN's work.
The '''United Nations''' is a [[globalism|globalist]] organization of countries all over the world, originally created to facilitate cooperation in [[international law]], international security, economic development, and [[human rights]]. It was founded in 1945 at the signing of the United Nations Charter by 51 countries, replacing the League of Nations, founded in 1919. The UN currently has 193 members, including almost all the countries in the world. Non-members include [[Taiwan]] and [[Vatican City]]. Switzerland joined in 2002, being the last country to join the UN until now.<ref>[http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/GA10041.doc.htm]</ref> The United Nations typically supports [[liberal]], [[Environmentalism|environmentalist]], [[socialist]] and [[communist]] ideals.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kincaid|first=Cliff|url=http://www.aim.org/aim-report/the-plan-for-socialist-world-government|title=The Plan For Socialist World Government|accessdate=2010-02-06|publisher=Accuracy in Media}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations|title=United Nations|accessdate=2010-02-06|work=Wikipedia|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middletownca.com/LIBERAL-EQUALS-SOCIALIST.htm|title=Liberal equals socialist equals communitarian equals fabian society equals Agenda 21|accessdate=2010-02-06|publisher=middletownca.com}}</ref>
==History==
==History==
The term "United Nations" was widely used during [[World War II]] to denote the allied powers making war against Germany and Japan, but the actual UN was created in 1945. It was designed by the U.S. State Department. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] envisaged "four policemen", Britain, United States, Soviet Union, and [[Republic of China]] to be the major forces on what later became the UN Security Council to enforce the peace worldwide. This was deemed a modern approach to replace the old [[spheres of influence]] as they were called during the age of Imperialism.
[[File:United Nations organization sketch by Franklin Roosevelt with the Four Policemen in 1943.jpg|thumb|right|1943 sketch by Franklin Roosevelt of the UN original three branches: The [[Four Policemen]], an executive branch, and an international assembly of forty UN member states.]]
US Secretary of State Cordell Hull said at the time while selling the idea to Congress, "there will no longer be need for spheres of influence, for alliances, for balance of power, or any other of the separate alliances through which in the unhappy past the nations strove to safeguard their security or promote their interest."
American enthusiasm for the UN soured after the [[Soviet Union]] vetoed most resolutions of the Security Council. However, the Soviets boycotted the UN in 1950, allowing the UN to officially sponsor the [[Korean War]]. In practice, the U.S. made all the decisions for the UN regarding that war. When the Soviets returned in 1951, they caused UN decisionmaking to stalemate, and the UN played a minor role in the [[Cold War]].
The Governments signatory hereto,
The western military alliance of [[NATO]] began in 1949 and played a much greater role in US foreign policy commitments and decisions during the [[Cold War]] than the UN ever did. The one exception was the [[Korean War]], which was fought under UN auspices since the Soviet Union was boycotting the UN in 1950.
==Record of the Secretary-Generals==
When the first UN secretary-general, Trygve Lie of Norway, a Stalinist sympathizer, was the Minister of Justice in Norway, he told Lenin’s former right-hand man Leon Trotsky not to criticize Stalin or else he would be imprisoned and or kicked out of Norway; Lie eventually put him in prison, but later according to Stalin’s wishes exiled him to Mexico where one of Stalin’s hit men assassinated him by hitting his head with a pickax in 1940.<ref>http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/trygvie-lie.asp#.WVBpUoWcE2w</ref> As secretary-general, he failed to maintain peace in the 1947 Kashmir conflict, the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Korean War from 1950-1953.
The second secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden, former head of the Bank of Sweden, the oldest central bank in the world, even older than the Bank of England, refused to condemn Red China under Mao Tse-tung for invading Tibet and the USSR for crushing a revolt in Hungary, and in 1961, when the Katanga province of Zaire tried to get its independence from the pro-Marxist government, he used UN troops to crush the independence movement.<ref>https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/23064-socialist-in-chief-a-history-of-the-un-secretaries-general</ref>
The third secretary-general, U Thant of Burma, was a Marxist whose mentor was Burmese prime minister U Nu, who said in a 1948 speech, “If we now look back in history, we find that Stalin followed the right path”;<ref>http://www.peacekey.com/1-1-a/UN_Web/1_UN_Book/The_Fearful_Master_10.htm</ref> together, they abolished private property in Burma and U Thant choose a former KGB officer to be his personal assistant. U Thant was known for admiring Vladimir Lenin.”<ref>https://www.ourrepubliconline.com/Author/138</ref> So it should not be surprising that U Thant was very well liked by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, whom he did not condemn for crushing Czechoslovakia, and did nothing to help John F. Kennedy handle the Cuban Missile Crisis. He failed to maintain peace in 1967 after the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War between Israel and its neighbors.
The fourth secretary-general, Kurt Waldheim, the future president of Austria, was a former Nazi infantry lieutenant who fought to help Adolf Hitler take over all of Europe, and he did not care who ruled the world, whether it be Nazi Germany or the UN, it did not matter to him so long as there was a one-world government. He believed that mass murder was merely a means to a better socialist end. So it should not be surprising that he sat down and did nothing to prevent from 1975-79 Cambodia’s Pol Pot from conducting his mass murders; Waldheim actually sent the UNICEF to send supplies to Hanoi, Vietnam, which in turn was sent to Pol Pot so he can conduct the “killing fields”.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/shawcross-mercy.html</ref><ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1979/11/18/the-politics-of-famine-in-cambodia/81f0849e-9d1a-493c-b92a-aa00a9d3b1db/?utm_term=.239d3e95fc5d</ref>
The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism.
The fifth secretary-general, Javier Perez de Queller of Peru, who insisted on protecting the murderous regime of Pol Pot,<ref>http://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/01/28/UN-Secretary-General-Javier-Perez-de-Cuellar-took-his/4605475736400/</ref> did nothing to make peace during the Iraq-Iran War. After leaving his job, when he ran for president of Peru in the spring of 1995, he was surrounded by well-known communists who were running his campaign, even though his country was facing a Maoist insurgency.
The sixth secretary-general, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, the former vice-president of Socialist International and former member of the Arab Socialist Union, along with Undersecretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations Kofi Annan, aided the Rwandan genocide. Kofi Annan would not allow Canadian general Romeo Dallaire to get his troops to seize Hutu weapons and thwart an extermination plan. Annan at one time ordered UN troops to withdraw from a school that held Tutsi refugees causing them to get murdered by the Hutu mobs. In his June 1992 report An Agenda for Peace, he wrote, “The time of absolute and exclusive sovereignty . . . has passed.”<ref>http://www.aim.org/wls/sovereignty-is-obsolete/</ref>
After Kofi Annan of Ghana became the seventh secretary-general, he did nothing to prevent the 2000’s genocide in Sudan and sent UN troops to make peace in the Zaire, but instead, they were raping women as young as 11. During the ceremonies surrounding his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, Annan said, “The sovereignty of nations must no longer be used as a shield for gross violations of human rights.”<ref>http://www.aim.org/wls/weakening-sovereignty-2/</ref> In his opening address to the fifty-third annual DPI/NGO (Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization) Conference in 2006, Annan also said, “It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.”<ref>http://www.aim.org/wls/world-government/</ref>
The eighth secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea, like Kofi Annan, is a global warming alarmist and has criticized Dutch politician Geert Wilders for condemning Islam. He is also a sponsor of UN Agenda 21, a green socialist agenda for the 21st century meant to abolish private property.
The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented,{{efn|Poland had not been represented among the fifty nations at the San Francisco conference due to the reluctance of the Western superpowers to recognize its post-war communist government. However, the Charter was later amended to list Poland as a founding member, and Poland ratified the Charter on 16 October 1945.{{sfn|Grant|2009|pp=25–26}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/foreign_policy/international_organisations/united_nations/poland_and_the_un/ |title=Poland and the United Nations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland |accessdate=29 November 2013}}</ref>}} and the Security Council took place in [[London]] beginning 10 January 1946.<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html|title=UN Milestones 1941-1950|website=www.un.org|access-date=2017-11-01}}</ref> The General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in [[Geneva]], [[Vienna]], and [[Nairobi]]—is designated as [[international territory]].{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=149–151}} The Norwegian Foreign Minister, [[Trygve Lie]], was elected as the first UN Secretary-General.<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950 />
The ninth and current secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal and former president of Socialist International as well as former secretary-general of the Portuguese Socialist Party, supported bringing in “refugees” from the Syrian Civil War into Europe, even though the supermajority of them were soldiers of ISIS, as even the UN reported that 75% of them were young males.
===Cold War era===
==Organization==
[[File:Dag-hammarskjold 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dag Hammarskjöld]] was a particularly active Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961.]]
[[Image:Int Atomic Ag.jpg|thumb|Flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency]]
The main deliberative organ is the '''General Assembly''' which usually meets annually in September with representation by all member states. The General Assembly votes on the annual budget of the United Nations, elects members to other UN organs and committees and makes non-binding recommendations to member states through resolutions.
The '''[[Security Council]]''' handles matters relating to international peace and stability. It consists of five permanent members (USA, UK, France, Russia and PR China), and ten temporary members, which are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The Security Council decides by vote. On substantive issues, nine members must support the proposal, including all five permanent members, giving each permanent member an effective veto power. The chair of the Security Council rotates each month among its members, in alphabetic order.
===International Court of Justice===
The '''International Court of Justice''', based in [[The Hague]], was founded to settle conflicts and disputes over questions arising from the [[international law|interpretation of treaties]] among member states. It only may entertain <ref>International Court of Justice, [http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1&p2=6 How the Court works], retrieved 26 April 2007.</ref> cases where all parties to the case in question have agreed to recognize the jurisdiction of the Court. The Court also advices other organs and agencies of the United Nations on questions of the interpretation of treaties.
===Other Sections===
The '''United Nations Economic and Social Council''' is a deliberative and advisory organ dedicated to promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. It cooperates with the [[International Monetary Fund]], the World Bank Group and similar international agencies.
[[File:Conchita Wurst Ban Ki Moon.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Gen. Sec. Ban Ki-Moon with singer Conchita Wurst.]]
The '''United Nations Secretariat''' is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the UN system. The head of the Secretariat is the [[Secretary-General]], who is nominated by the Security Council and appointed by the [[General Assembly]] for renewable five-year terms. The current Secretary-General is [[Ban Ki-moon]], the former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea. It is customary to let the position rotate among the different world regions.
===General Assembly===
The General Assembly is the main [[deliberative assembly]] of the UN. Composed of all [[Member states of the United Nations|UN member states]], the assembly meets in regular yearly sessions, but emergency sessions can also be called.{{sfn|Fomerand|2009|pp=131–133}} The assembly is led by a [[President of the United Nations General Assembly|president]], elected from among the member states on a rotating regional basis, and 21 vice-presidents.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=69–70}} The first session convened 10 January 1946 in the [[Methodist Central Hall, Westminster|Methodist Central Hall]] in London and included representatives of 51 nations.<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950 />
[[File:Powell-anthrax-vial.jpg|thumb|right|[[Colin Powell]], the [[United States Secretary of State|US Secretary of State]], demonstrates a vial with [[Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq#Weapons of Mass Destruction|alleged]] [[Iraq]]i [[chemical weapon]] probes to the UN Security Council on [[United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War|Iraq war]] hearings, 5 February 2003]]
The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among countries. While other organs of the UN can only make "recommendations" to member states, the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out, under the terms of Charter Article 25.<ref name="Chapter|V" /> The decisions of the Council are known as [[United Nations Security Council resolution]]s.{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=39–43}}
===International Court of Justice===
==Criticism==
The U.N. has at various times in its history been accused of inefficiency and waste, which some critics have attributed to its cumbersome and excessive bureaucracy. Probably the most controversial issue with the United Nations is the Oil-for-Food scandal.
As a meeting place for many different nations, the UN can only act as a mechanism for international consensus. The UN has been unable to act in a clear and decisive way when confronted crises in which this consensus is not present. Recent examples include the [[Iran]]ian nuclear program and the genocides in Darfur, Sudan and Rwanda. Because each of the five permanent members of the Security Council has a veto, and because they often disagree, many times no action can be agreed upon. Typically but not always this division includes the [[United States]] on one side with either [[China]], [[Russia]] or both on the other. Other times the Security Council has been able to agree but lacks the will or means to enforce its resolutions. A recent example is the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Crisis, where no action has been taken to enforce the provisions of Resolution 1559 and Resolution 1701 to disarm terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. There usually are no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.
[[Alex Jones]], a [[paleoconservative]] believes that the United Nations is plotting to take over the world along with the [[Bilderberg group|Bilderberg organization]]. Some believe the United Nations will be the [[one-world government]] mentioned in [[Revelation]].
Inclusion on the old United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) of nations such as Sudan and Libya, whose leaderships have dubious records on human rights, and Libya's chairmanship of this Commission, has been a highly controversial issue.
[[Image:un_building.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The UN headquarters, on the east side of Manhattan, opened its doors on January 10th, 1951.]]
The U.N. has been accused of hypocritical conduct and double standards. The U.N. condemns Israel for its conduct toward the Palestinians, yet it refuses to condemn China for its conduct toward the Tibetans.<ref>[http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=C0058CAB-F932-4EB8-B2C1-2C8CABB01F53 The U.N.'s Hypocrisy in Tibet], [[Joseph Klein]], ''[[Front Page Magazine]]'', March 28, 2008</ref>
The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of the United Nations can establish various specialized agencies to fulfil its duties.<ref name=CharterIX /> Some best-known agencies are the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], [[UNESCO]] (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the [[World Bank Group|World Bank]], and the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO). The UN performs most of its humanitarian work through these agencies. Examples include mass vaccination programmes (through WHO), the avoidance of famine and malnutrition (through the work of the WFP), and the protection of vulnerable and displaced people (for example, by [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]).{{sfn|Fasulo|2004|pp=171–177}}
The United Nations has on many occasions ignored the plight of people across the world, especially in parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Current examples include the UN's inaction toward the Sudanese government in Darfur, the Chinese government's ethnic cleansing in Tibet, and the Israel-Arab conflict.<ref>IBD Editorial, [http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=291423057524689 U.N. Fiddles As China Torches Tibet], retrieved 30 March 2008.</ref>
During the Rwandan genocide, the UN did not authorize UNAMIR to intervene or use force to prevent or halt the killing.
It was also criticized as being a Communist front, with evidence including [[Alger Hiss]], who was infamously exposed as being a Soviet agent, being one of the key founders of the United Nations, several key founders of the UN being Soviet spies or otherwise enablers, the UN's own charter being a direct copy of the Soviet constitution, and former Communist leader Joseph Z. Kornfelder's own testimony that the people who founded the UN intended for it to be a Trojan horse to implement Communism in America.<ref>http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/05/25/united-nations-communist-plot/84927828/</ref><ref>http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0900comun.htm</ref><ref>http://www.iahf.com/world/un-milit.html</ref>
In addition, there are two [[United Nations General Assembly observers|non-member observer states of the United Nations General Assembly]]: the [[Holy See]] (which holds sovereignty over Vatican City) and the [[State of Palestine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/member-states/non-member-states/index.html |title=Non-member States |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> The [[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]], both [[associated state|states in free association]] with [[New Zealand]], are full members of several UN specialized agencies and have had their "full treaty-making capacity" recognized by the Secretariat.<ref name=art102>{{cite web|url=http://legal.un.org/repertory/ |title=Repertory of Practice |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref>
The UN has supported left-wing pet agenda items. In his 2018 New Year proclamation, Secretary-General António Guterres issued a "red alert for our world" to fight against "nationalism," "xenophobia," and "climate change."<ref>Starr, Penny (January 1, 2018). [http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/01/01/un-sec-gen-makes-new-year-proclamation-world-must-unite-fight-nationalism-xenophobia-climate-change/ U.N. Chief Issues ‘Red Alert’ Against Nationalism, Xenophobia, Climate Change for 2018]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 5, 2018.</ref> The UN is supportive of [[open borders]] and mass migration.<ref>Montgomery, Jack (January 12, 2018). [http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/12/new-united-nations-boss-plan-promote-global-mass-migration/ New United Nations Boss Unveils Plan to Promote Global Mass Migration]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved January 12, 2018.</ref>
===Group of 77===
===Promoting Abortion===
The Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) pushes countries to promote [[abortion]].
The Group of 77 at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the UN. Seventy-seven nations founded the organization, but by November 2013 the organization had since expanded to 133 member countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g77.org/doc/members.html |title=The Member States of the Group of 77 |accessdate=7 November 2013}}</ref> The group was founded 15 June 1964 by the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD). The group held its first major meeting in [[Algiers]] in 1967, where it adopted the Charter of Algiers and established the basis for permanent institutional structures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g77.org/doc/ |title=About the G77 |publisher=Group of 77 |accessdate=5 November 2013}}</ref>
<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/int620.html United Nations Committee Pushes Countries to Promote Abortion in CEDAW Mtg], [[Samantha Singson]], ''[[Life News]]'', February 15, 2008</ref>
==Objectives==
===Arab-Israel dispute===
[[File:Bnai-brith.jpg|thumb|300px|''B'nai B'rith'' magazine gives a Jewish view of the UN, [http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?i=25994 winter 2009 online]]] A General Assembly resolution led to the partition of Palestine in 1947, but the UN was useless in preventing armed Arab aggression against the new State of Israel in 1948. Increasingly the General Assembly became a forum for Arab attacks on [[Israel]].
The UN has taken a one-sided approach to issues relating to the [[Israel]]-Arab conflict. Israel has consistently been singled out by the UN for uniquely critical treatment. In 1975 the General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that "Zionism is racism",<ref>[http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/a06f2943c226015c85256c40005d359c/761c1063530766a7052566a2005b74d1!OpenDocument 16/12/1991, A/RES/46/86, Elimination of racism and racial discrimination/Zionism]</ref> and UN-sponsored meetings supposedly opposing [[racism]] have criticized Israel (which grants equal political and religious rights to Arabs) while suppressing all criticism of those Arab countries (where non-Muslims are second-class citizens and [[anti-Semitism]] enjoys state support).
Unlike other refugee groups, the Palestinian Arabs have their own agency within the United Nations, and are beneficiaries of special events such as an "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People."<ref>[http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/palestinian/ UN Web Site for International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, retrieved June 29, 2007]</ref> Israel was excluded from membership in any of the UN's regional groups until 2000. In effect, this meant Israel was forbidden from serving on UN bodies such as the Security Council. Israel's recent permission to participate more fully within the UN as a member of the Western European and Others regional group is temporary and subject to renewal. Israel is allowed to participate only in the New York operations of the UN and is excluded from the UN offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome, and Vienna which handle such issues as human rights and arms control. Censure of Israel has apparently been instituted as a routine agenda item for various UN bodies such as the Human Rights Council. The 1975 Resolution 3379 qualified Zionism as a form of racism (later revoked with Resolution 4686).
On December 23, 2016, due to the leftist [[Obama Administration]]'s abstention from a vote which broke over 35 years of American policy, a blatantly anti-Israel resolution was passed in the U.N.<ref>[https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-fears-obama-will-strike/ Israel fears Obama will strike again]. ''World Israel News''. December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.</ref><ref>Berkowitz, Adam Eliyahu (December 26, 2016). [https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/80855/fed-up-with-obamas-trickery-netanyahu-takes-drastic-actions/#VbVlRMtkx4zLRc3f.97 Fed Up With United States Trickery, Netanyahu Takes Drastic Actions]. ''Breaking Israel News''. Retrieved December 26, 2016.</ref> In response to the anti-Israel UN vote, Israel cut $6 million in its annual dues to the leftist organization on January 6, 2017.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/06/israel-halts-6-million-to-un-to-protest-un-settlements-vote.html Israel halts $6 million to UN to protest UN settlements vote]. ''Fox News'' (from the Associated Press). January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.</ref>
In March 2017, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia authored a destructive and [[anti-Semitic]]<ref>Tobin, Jonathan S. (March 17, 2017). [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445879/un-report-israel-apartheid-accusation-outrageous-anti-semitic More than Just Another Anti-Israel U.N. Farce]. ''National Review''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref>Russell, George (March 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/17/beyond-apartheid-u-n-commission-pushes-legal-and-propaganda-offensive-against-israel.html Beyond 'apartheid'--U.N. commission pushes legal and propaganda offensive against Israel]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref> report against [[Israel]]. The report and agency were strongly criticized by the United States and UN Ambassador [[Nikki Haley]], and the executive director of the commission resigned in response.<ref>Shaw, Adam (March 17, 2017). [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/17/un-official-resigns-over-nixed-anti-israel-report-after-pressure-from-haley.html UN official resigns over nixed anti-Israel report after pressure from Haley]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/03/17/un-official-quitting-israel-apartheid-report/ UN Official Quitting Over ‘Israel Apartheid’ Report]. ''Breitbart News''. March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref>
===Defending Islam===
The United Nations Secretary General [[Ban Ki-moon]] condemned [[Geert Wilders]]'s controversial film "[[Fitna]]", while stating "freedom of expression is not at stake here." <ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2844232220080328?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true U.N.'s Ban condemns Dutch film as anti-Islamic], ''[[Reuters]]'', March 28, 2008.</ref>
The U.N.'s Human Rights Council passed a resolution that directs the body’s expert on free speech to report on “individuals and news media for negative comments on Islam.” <ref>[http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=F00A83C1-8D4A-4A7B-9545-9A63091D8294 The United Nations: Islam’s Gestapo], [[Stephen Brown]], ''[[Front Page Magazine]]'', April 11, 2008</ref> This suppression of free speech at an organization purporting to fairly represent the world's nations in a common forum is one of numerous actions in the past decade that has undermined U.N. [[credibility]].
[[File:EleanorRooseveltHumanRights.png|thumb|left|[[Eleanor Roosevelt]] with the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in Spanish, 1949]]
===Contemporary U.S. Criticism===
Some American critics view the UN as an agent for [[War on Sovereignty|eroding the sovereignty]] of the [[United States]] and instead promoting forms of [[one-world government]]. Some claim that President [[Bill Clinton]] rejected and ignored the position of the United Nations when he ordered U.S. military "police actions" in foreign countries. President [[George W. Bush]] also rejected the inaction of the UN when he authorized military action against the regime of [[Saddam Hussein]] in [[Iraq]] for ignoring various UN resolutions. Some commentators now feel that it has since devolved into a radical debating society which has ironically blocked most of the goals for which it has been formed.<ref>[http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20030501faessay11217/michael-j-glennon/why-the-security-council-failed.html Why the Security Council Failed], Michael J. Glennon, ''Foreign Affairs'', May/June 2003.</ref>
== U.N. Commissions==
One of the major reasons the United Nations is considered by some to be useless is the Security Council. Along with other countries elected for a term of years, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France all have a permanent seat, along with the power to veto any decision made by the Security Council. When combined with the Security Council's role as voting on most major issues, including military intervention, and the tendency for most resolutions introduced to be vetoed by one or more nations, the Security Council and by extension the United Nations has become ineffective. The U.N. at times places member states in commissions or positions of importance which many believe they don't deserve. The following is a sample of some of those nations and the positions of importance they have been placed in (this list does not include members that are on those commissions and deserve their place).
The following programs expose the U.N.'s incompetence by placing unworthy member states in positions of importance;<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/03/04/hypocrisy-display/ U.N. Hypocrisy On Full Display, Fox News, March 4, 2011]</ref>
===Economic development and humanitarian assistance===
===U.N. Human Rights Council===
Mission: "…responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all….”<br>
Members: Saudi Arabia, China, Vice-Presidents: Cuba, Angola. Libya was kicked off in February.
===U.N. Commission on the Status of Women===
Mission: “…set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide."<br>
Members: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran
===U.N. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice===
Mission: “…set…out global strategy to prevent crime and promote stable criminal justice systems...and improving the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems."<br>
Members: Libya, Russia, Sudan, Iran, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan
===U.N. Women===
Mission: “…support, address and contribute to gender equality and the empowerment and the advancement of women…”<br>
Members: Executive Board: Libya, Saudi Arabia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China
===U.N. Economic and Social Council===
Mission: “…responsible for: promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress…encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms…"<br>
Members: Saudi Arabia
===Other===
===U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development===
Mission: "...to promote dialogue and build partnerships for sustainable development with major groups include[ing] women, youth, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, the scientific community, and farmers…"<br>
Members: Angola, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia
===U.N. Commission on Social Development===
Mission: “….promoting full employment and decent work for all...Improving public sector effectiveness....National and international cooperation for social development..."<br>
Members: Cuba, Egypt, Zimbabwe
===U.N. Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations===
Mission: “…The consideration of applications for consultative status [with the UN]…submitted by NGOs…”<br>
Members: Sudan, Cuba, Pakistan, China
==Funding==
===U.N. Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)===
Mission: “…promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all…security of tenure and equal access to economic resources for all, with a specific focus on gender equality.”<br>
Members: Governing Council: Iran
===U.N. Committee on Information===
Mission: “To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order…based on the free circulation and wider and better-balanced dissemination of information…”<br>
Members: China, Libya, Kazakhstan, Iran
===U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF)===
Mission: “….advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential…”<br>
Members: Executive Board: Sudan, China
===U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees===
Mission: “…safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.”<br>
Members: Executive Committee: Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan
==Evaluations, awards, and criticism==
===U.N. World Food Programme===
Mission: “advocate policies, strategies and operations that directly benefit the poor and hungry."<br>
Members: Executive Board: Sudan
==UN Peacekeepers Child Sexual Abuse==
The United Nations since its founding has been enmeshed in various scandals.
In July 1997 the UN announced an investigation into [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force]]s in [[Cote d'Ivoire]] on charges of widespread sexual abuse with a large number of underage girls.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/07/21/un.ivory.coast.reut/ U.N. suspends peacekeepers amid sex abuse charges], CNN, July 21, 2007.</ref> More than 300 members of UN peacekeeping missions around the world have been investigated for sexual exploitation and abuse since 2004, including some stationed in [[Congo]], [[Cambodia]] and [[Haiti]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6909664.stm UN probes 'abuse' in Ivory Coast], BBC, July 23, 2007.</ref>
=== Incidents ===
*1998 - Bosnia <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=YVWZRGS4V2AGJQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2002/04/25/wbos25.xml Teenagers 'used for sex by UN in Bosnia'], By Stewart Payne, London Telegraph, 25/04/2002.</ref>
*2003 - Nepalese troops accused of sexual abuse while serving in DR Congo. Six are later jailed
*For Anti-Defamation League, see [http://www.adl.org/PresRele/UnitedNations_94/5443_94.htm "ADL: UN Human Rights Council Resolution Reveals 'Cancerous Bias' Against Israel."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102134316/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/UnitedNations_94/5443_94.htm |date=2 November 2012 }} ADL. 7 July 2009.</ref> In September 2015, [[Saudi Arabia]]'s Faisal bin Hassan Trad has been elected Chair of the [[United Nations Human Rights Council|UN Human Rights Council]] panel that appoints independent experts,<ref>"[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uk-and-saudi-arabia-made-secret-deal-to-exchange-votes-for-human-rights-council-seats-leaked-a6673491.html UK helped Saudi Arabia get UN human rights role through 'secret deal' to exchange votes, leaked documents suggest]". ''[[The Independent]]''. 30 September 2015.</ref> a move criticized by human rights groups.<ref>"[https://news.yahoo.com/u-n-watchdog-slams-scandalous-160650242.html U.N. Watchdog Slams 'Scandalous' Choice of Saudi Arabia to Head Human Rights Panel]". Yahoo News. 21 September 2015.</ref><ref>"[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/saudi-arabia-beheading-crucifixion-nimr/407221/ When Beheading Won't Do the Job, the Saudis Resort to Crucifixion ]". ''[[The Atlantic]]''. 24 September 2015.</ref>
*2004 - Two UN peacekeepers repatriated after being accused of abuse in Burundi
*2005 - UN troops accused of rape and sexual abuse in Sudan <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/03/wsudan03.xml UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan], By Kate Holt in Juba and Sarah Hughes, London Telegraph, 04/01/2007.</ref>
*2006 - UN personnel accused of rape and exploitation on missions is Haiti and Liberia
*2007 - UN launches probe into sexual abuse claims in Ivory Coast
==Notable roles of U.S. Ambassadors to the U.N.==
* 1981–1985, Jeane Kirkpatrick - Denunciated the Soviet Union for the Sept. 1, 1983, shootdown of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] in international airspace just west of [[Sakhalin]] Island.
==Further reading==
* Pubantz, Jerry, ed. ''Encyclopedia of the United Nations'' (2nd ed. 2008), useful basic guide to all activities
* Weiss, Thomas G., and Sam Daws, eds. ''The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations'' (2009), 848pp; articles by scholars [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-United-Nations-Handbooks/dp/0199560102/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]
* Weiss, Thomas G. ''The United Nations and Changing World Politics'' (6th ed. 2009), 504pp; solid college textbook [http://www.amazon.com/United-Nations-Changing-World-Politics/dp/0813344352/ref=pd_sim_b_3cerpt and text search]
==External links==
*[http://www.nysun.com/article/56061 UNDP Officials Said To Hamper Probe Into Counterfeit Cash], By Benny Avni, ''The New York Sun'', June 7, 2007.
*[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00972:@@@D&summ2=m& H.R. 972 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005] - Title I: Combatting International Trafficking in Persons - (Sec. 101); Directs the U.S. Secretary of State, prior to voting for a peacekeeping mission, to notify the appropriate Congressional committees respecting measures taken to prevent Peacekeeping personnel from involvement in human trafficking or sexual exploitation.
==See also==
==See also==
*[[Previous Breaking News/United Nations|Articles about the '''United Nations''' from previous "In the news"]]
*[[War on Sovereignty]]
* [[United Nations Memorial Cemetery]]
|year=2011
* {{cite book
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.un.org/ United Nations] - Official site
*[http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=1813833 All about the United Nations Budget] June 2006
*[http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2007/May/theuae_May569.xml§ion=theuae&col UN General Assembly President Shaikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa calls for Islamic texts re-interpretation,] Khaleej Times Online, 19 May 2007.
*[http://www.rescue007.org/ International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 Survivors]
===Sites critical of the U.N.===
*[http://www.unwatch.org UN Watch]
* [https://www.unric.org/ The United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC)]
*[http://www.unisevil.com/temp213.htm UN is Evil]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150602005106/http://www.unv.org/ United Nations Volunteers]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/united-nations/ What Liberals Say - Category: United Nations], [[Accuracy In Media]]
* [http://research.un.org/en/docs United Nations Documentation Research Guide]
*[http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/05/25/united-nations-communist-plot/84927828/ Letter: United Nations is a Communist Plot]
==See also==
*[[Jeane Kirkpatrick]]
* [http://www.globalpolicy.org/ Website] of the [[Global Policy Forum]], an independent think tank on the UN
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:United Nations| ]]
[[Category:United Nations]]
[[Category:Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty]]
[[Category:Nobel Laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:Organizations awarded Nobel Peace Prizes]]
[[Category:Diplomacy]]
[[Category:Organizations based in New York City]]
[[Category:Human Rights]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1945]]
[[Category:Globalism]]
[[Category:1945 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Communists]]