United+Nations


 * History **

The international organization known as the United Nations, or abbreviated as the U.N., was founded on November 24, 1945 in the aftermath of World War II. In its original state, only 51 member states existed in the UN. Today, 193 member states exist in this international peacekeeping body, which consists of most states on the planet. The UN’s main headquarters are in New York City, but the UN has headquarters and strongholds throughout its member states. The UN has four main purposes: 1) to keep peace throughout the world; 2) to develop friendly relations among nations; 3) to help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms; 4) to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals. For more information on the history of the United Nations, please go to its official page: [].


 * Member States **



Even though no state is supposed to be superior to another in the United Nations, it is often considered that the five states that are permanent members of the Security Council hold a great amount of power among the other member states, especially the United States.


 * Purposes/Goals/Objectives **

The UN has four main purposes: 1) to keep peace throughout the world; 2) to develop friendly relations among nations; 3) to help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms; 4) to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.


 * Structure **

The United Nations consists of five main organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. Four of these five organs (excluding the International Court of Justice) can be found in the UN Headquarters on international land in New York City. The ICJ’s home is located in The Hague. Other major agencies are based in other international cities, such as Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. Other UN institutions are located throughout the world.

The U.N. General Assembly consists of all United Nations member states. They meet yearly to discuss, debate, and vote to provide resolutions to issues facing the world at large. The U.N. Security Council’s goal is to maintain peace and security among states, and has power to make binding decisions to carry out this goal as seen fit. The Security Council has 15 members at a given time: 5 permanent members (The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the P.R.C.) and 10 interchanging non-permanent members. In the Security Council, the permanent members have veto powers over any decision the Council may advocate to make, which is often debated upon by critics of the United Nations.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, or elected leader or moderator of the United Nations, and its objectives are to provide studies, information, and facilities needed by U.N. bodies, as well as to carry out tasks as directed by U.N. bodies. The ICJ is located in the Hague. It acts as the primary judiciary organ of the United Nations to settle disputes among states and cases relating to crimes such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and illegal state interference. The ECOSOC aids the U.N. General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. There are 54 member states of ECOSOC elected every three years. Similarly to the General Assembly, it attempts to provide a recommendation for states to follow in order to assist in economic and social situations.

There are seventeen organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations. They cover a wide range of topics and issues, such as tourism, energy, agriculture and food, health, monetary arrangements, and human rights, among others. The seventeen organizations and specialized agencies are: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Telecommunication Union (ITO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPO), World Bank (WB), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For further information on the topic of the structure of the U.N., go to [].




 * Advantages of Joining **

Since nearly every state on the planet is a member of the United Nations, there are clearly many advantages to membership in the U.N. It attempts to protect states from being aggressively invaded for imperial purposes. It also provides aid or sets of guidelines to help states in need of economic or social assistance. The U.N. fights for the improvement of human rights throughout the world. Also, the U.N. has the ability to adequately and appropriately prosecute offenders of international crimes such as war crimes or ethnic of cleansing.


 * Disadvantages of Joining **

Many of the advantages of membership in the U.N. can also be seen as disadvantages. The U.N. requires monetary donations from more developed countries, or MDCs, in order to provide aid or assistance to less developed countries, or LDCs, or other states in need. Dedication of a state’s tax income to assist other states can be seen as a detriment to the economic lives of citizens of MDCs. In order for the United Nations to carry out the resolutions it creates and recommends, it must infringe upon national sovereignty of some kind or level, no matter how hard it may try not to do so. Many do not believe that states should be restricted from conquering LDCs or states that are not as economically or socially inclined as they are. Also, some believe that states should act in their best interest and not for the good of the rest of the world in general, which could endanger that state’s own people over another state’s people.


 * Effects on Local Diversity **

The United Nations attempts to preserve local diversity through many organizations such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), or committees to revive ethnic languages such as Cornish or Basque. There are six official languages of the United Nations in order to more globalize the effects of the U.N.: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Arabic. However, the existence of an organization like the United Nations can not exist without the globalization of ideals, languages, or products. Despite any attempts to preserve local diversity, the United Nations inevitably challenges local diversity.

United Nations (2011). Structure and Organization. Retrieved from: [].

United Nations (2011). The United Nations at a Glance. Retrieved from: [|__http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml__].