United Nations

The United Nations Organization (UN), also known simply as the United Nations (NN. USA), is the largest international organization in existence. It was created to maintain international peace and security, foster friendly relations between nations, achieve international cooperation to solve global problems, and serve as a center that harmonizes the actions of nations. Its headquarters are in New York (United States) and It is subject to a regime of extraterritoriality. It also has offices in Geneva (Switzerland), Nairobi (Kenya) and Vienna (Austria).

The UN is governed by the Charter of the United Nations, which entered into force on October 24, 1945 and was signed on June 25 of the same year in the US city of San Francisco, by 51 countries, a few months before of the end of World War II. The two world wars are explicitly mentioned in the preamble of the Charter.

The UN is financed by voluntary contributions from member states. Its main objectives are to guarantee compliance with international law, the maintenance of international peace, the promotion and protection of human rights, the sustainable development of nations, and international cooperation in economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian matters.

The 193 member states of the United Nations and other related bodies deliberate and decide on significant and administrative issues at regular meetings held throughout the year. The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the General Secretariat, the Trusteeship Council and the International Court of Justice.

The main public figure of the UN is the Secretary General. The current one is António Guterres of Portugal, who took office on January 1, 2017, replacing Ban Ki-moon.

There are six official languages of the UN: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

History

Harry Truman at the foundational conference in San Francisco, 1945.

First version of the United Nations flag.

The UN replaced the League of Nations (SDN), founded in 1919, as that organization had failed in its attempt to prevent another international conflict.

The term "United Nations" was first used in the midst of World War II by the then President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt, in the Declaration of the United Nations, on January 1, 1942 as an alliance of 26 countries in which its representatives pledged to defend the Atlantic Charter and to use their resources in the war against the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis.

The idea of the UN was elaborated in the declaration issued at the Yalta conference held by the Allies in February 1945. There Roosevelt suggested the name United Nations.

Although inspired by the League of Nations, the UN differs from it both in its composition and in its structure and functionality. On the one hand, it will increase its universalization, which will allow the expansion of the organization through the great powers, the new States that emerged after decolonization, or those that will emerge after the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in Eastern Europe. The League of Nations did not have the great powers as member states, thus making it difficult to respect their authority. The UN, having these nations, emphasizes its own universality and authority, thus forcing member states to respect the laws established by the same organization, avoiding important repercussions.

From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union held the Dumbarton Oaks conference to outline the purposes of the organization, its membership, agencies, and provisions to maintain peace, security and international cooperation. The current organization partly reflects this conference, as the five permanent members of the Security Council (who have veto power on any Security Council resolution) are those States, or their successors (the People's Republic of China which replaced the Republic of China in Taiwan and the Russian Federation that succeeded the Soviet Union).

The UN in 1945. In light blue, the founding countries. In dark blue, protective and colonies of the founding countries.

On April 25, 1945, the San Francisco Conference (the United Nations Conference on International Organization) was held. In addition to governments, non-governmental organizations were invited. On June 26, the fifty nations represented at the conference signed the Charter of the United Nations. Poland, which had not been represented at the conference, added its name later among the founding signatories, for a total of 51 States.

The UN began its existence after the ratification of the Charter by the Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States and the vast majority of the other 46 members. The first session of the General Assembly was held on January 10, 1946 in Central Hall Westminster (London). The League of Nations was officially dissolved on April 18, 1946 and ceded its mission to the United Nations.

In 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed, one of the most outstanding achievements of the UN.

The founders of the UN expressed hope that this new organization would serve to prevent new wars. These wishes have not come true in many cases. From 1947 to 1991, the division of the world into hostile zones during the so-called Cold War made this objective very difficult, due to the veto system in the Security Council. Since 1991 UN peacekeeping missions have become more complex, covering non-military aspects that ensure proper functioning of civilian institutions, such as elections.

Currently, the international conditions that prompted the creation of the UN do not remain; Due to the fact that the international system is constantly changing, problems have taken new forms, new threats have emerged, among the most outstanding are: drug trafficking, terrorism, biological and chemical weapons, proliferation of nuclear weapons, environmental degradation and the pandemics (Valdés, 2007: 09); as well as new forms of international cooperation and issues of social relevance such as the digital divide. Adjusting the UN to the new international reality has been the main reason for the international community and thus prevent the UN from becoming an obsolete international organization.

Recently there have been numerous calls for UN reform. Some want the UN to play a bigger or more effective role in world affairs, others want its role to be reduced to humanitarian work. There have also been numerous calls to expand the composition of the Security Council to reflect the current geopolitical situation (ie more members from Africa, Latin America and Asia) and to change the election procedure for the Secretary General.

Member States

Map of United Nations member States and their recognized dependent territories.

Since 2011 and after the accession of South Sudan, the number of Member States is 193. All internationally recognized States are included, except:

• The State of the Vatican City — the Holy See, as a subject of international law, is considered an observer member —
• The Order of Malta — based in Rome, is a subject of international law and is an observer member —
• The State of Palestine — the Palestinian National Authority exercises as an observer member.
• The Republic of China on Taiwan — whose seat at the UN was transferred to the People ' s Republic of China in 1971 —
• Western Sahara —of iureas indicated in document S/2002/161.

The last country to be admitted was the Republic of South Sudan, on July 14, 2011.

The so-called «special cases», the only non-member territories, without observer membership and with their own government are:

• Niue
• Cook Islands.

Both territories are currently in free association with New Zealand. However, each could declare their independence by applying to join the UN. This has already happened, for example, with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, all States in free association with the United States and members of the United Nations.

Article 4, Chapter 2 of the Charter of the United Nations establishes the requirements to be a Member State:

All other peace-loving States that accept the obligations contained in this Charter may be Members of the United Nations, and that, in the opinion of the Organization, they are able to fulfil those obligations and are willing to do so.
The admission of such States as members of the United Nations shall be made by a decision of the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

Conflict over the seats of the ROC and the People's Republic of China

China, represented by the ROC government, was one of the five founding members of the UN in 1945 and joined the UN as an original member on October 24, 1945. However, as As a result of the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang-controlled ROC government fled to the island of Taiwan in 1949, and the communist government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), declared on October 1, 1949, took control of most of China's territory. ROC government representatives continued to represent China at the UN, despite the small size of the ROC's Taiwan jurisdiction (and other islands not considered part of Taiwan Province) compared to the PRC's mainland China jurisdiction, until October 25, 1971, when the General Assembly passed resolution 2758, recognizing the PRC Government as the only legitimate representative of China in the UN, expelling the representative of Chiang Kai-shek as the legitimate representative of China and instead recognizing the PRC. This, in effect, transferred China's UN seat (including its permanent seat on the Security Council) from the ROC to the PRC.

Since 1991, the ROC has repeatedly applied to rejoin the UN, solely as the representative of the people of Taiwan, and not as the representative of all of China, using the designation "Republic of China in Taiwan", "Republic of China (Taiwan)" or simply "Taiwan". However, in 2007 a key UN committee rejected the ROC's request for the fifteenth consecutive time. Asking General Secretary Ban Ki-moon about the reasons for the rejection, he said it was legally impossible, due to the assembly resolution that expelled the Chinese nationalists in 1971.

Currently, 14 UN member states, in addition to the Holy See, maintain diplomatic relations with the ROC. The People's Republic of China, which views Taiwan as a rogue province, opposes the island-state's membership in the UN.

The case of the European Union

All the member states of the European Union (EU) are part of the UN. The EU, despite being a member of other international organizations such as the WTO, is not part of the UN. However, it has developed missions commissioned by the UN in different parts of the world. Such is the case of EUFOR.

When the Treaty of Lisbon was ratified, the EU has a unique legal personality in international society, since December 2009. The treaty specifies regarding its action on the international scene and relations with the UN:

The action of the Union on the international scene will be based on respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law (...) The Union will promote multilateral solutions to common problems, particularly within the United Nations framework. (...) The Union will establish all forms of appropriate cooperation with United Nations bodies and their specialized agencies...

When the Union has defined a position on an item on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, member States that are members of the Union will request that the High Representative be invited to present the position of the Union. (...) The United Nations Organization may request the assistance of the Union to urgently carry out missions under chapters VI and VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Headquarters

Headquarters in New York.

The legal regime of the UN headquarters is governed by a treaty between it and the United States of America (Agreement relative to the headquarters of the United Nations, of October 31, 1947), and the Convention on the Privileges and United Nations Immunities, 1946.

For security reasons, all mail received is sterilized. The United Nations Postal Administration issues stamps, with which all items sent from the building must be stamped. Accredited journalists, when reporting from the compound, should not use "New York" as their location identification in recognition of their extraterritorial status.

The complex designed by an international team of architects includes the following buildings: the Secretariat (a 39-story tower), the General Assembly, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and the conference area. There are also gardens and outdoor sculptures.

Although the main headquarters is in the complex on New York soil, the UN and its specialized and regional agencies have other headquarters, such as: Geneva, Switzerland; The Hague, the Netherlands; Vienna, Austria; Montreal, Canada; Copenhagen, Denmark; Bonn, Germany; Nairobi, Kenya; Paris France; Santiago, Chile; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Valencia Spain; San José, Costa Rica, Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bogota, Colombia.

Official languages

The UN's working languages are Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The United Nations Radio Service broadcasts, in addition to the six official languages, in Bengali, Portuguese and Swahili.

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  Mandarin

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Staff and associated staff

UN personnel and associated personnel are protected by the Convention on the Security of United Nations Personnel and Associated Personnel, approved on December 9, 1994 by the UN General Assembly.

Funding

Major contributors 2013 regular budget
European Union	30,00 %
United States	22,00 %
JapanJapan	10.83 %
GermanyGermany	7.14 %
France	5.59 %
United Kingdom	5.17 %
China	5.14 %
Italy	4.44 %
CanadaCanada	2.98 %
SpainSpain	2.97 %
BrazilBrazil	2.93 %
Russia Russia	2.43 %
Australia	2.07 %
South Korea	1.99 %
Mexico Mexico	1.84 %
Netherlands	1.65 %
Turkey	1.32 %
Switzerland	1.04 %
Belgium	0.99 %
Sweden	0.96 %
Poland	0.92 %
Saudi Arabia	0.86 %
Norway	0.85 %

The financing of the United Nations and some of its specialized agencies is ensured by compulsory contributions from member states. In the case of some specialized agencies, their funding comes from voluntary contributions from Member States, organizations, companies or individuals.

The General Assembly establishes in the ordinary budget the mandatory contributions for two years (1,924,840,250 USD in 2006) and determines the contribution of each member based on the countries' ability to pay, calculated from the national income per inhabitant; however, to maintain a level of independence, the maximum level of contribution is set at 22% (the minimum level is 0.01% of the total). It is important to note that mandatory contributions are not always paid by the countries and in accordance with Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations, the right to vote in the General Assembly can be deprived of the Member State whose payment arrears equal or exceed the amount that you should have contributed in the previous two years.

Functions

International events

The UN celebrations aim to contribute, worldwide, to the fulfillment of the objectives of the United Nations Charter and to raise public awareness about political, social, cultural, humanitarian, or rights-related issues of man. They are occasions to promote national and international actions and arouse interest in the programs and activities of the United Nations.

A meeting is held every year and when an issue is considered particularly important to discuss at that time, the General Assembly can recommend to the Security Council an international conference and the Security Council decides whether or not to do so to focus attention and build consensus for unified action, a meeting is held each year. An example would be the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), from June 3 to 14, 1992, whose agreements led to the adoption of the Agenda 21 program by 179 countries.

In this same sense of focusing attention on important issues of international interest, the UN declares international celebrations, such as days, months, years, etc., to promote, mobilize and coordinate events around the world.

Gun control and disarmament

The Charter of the United Nations in its article 26, conceived the possibility of a system of regulation of armaments that would ensure "the smallest possible diversion of the human and economic resources of the world towards armaments". The appearance of nuclear weapons occurred weeks after the signing of the Charter and this was an immediate boost in the development of the notion of arms control and disarmament. In fact, the UN General Assembly adopted in its first resolution (February 1946), it referred to the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the elimination of atomic weapons of mass destruction.

The UN has established several forums to address disarmament issues. The main one is the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament and International Security, whose agenda has taken into account the complete prohibition of nuclear tests, the prohibition of chemical weapons, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, the prevention, combat and eradication of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, the maintenance of international security...

In June 1978, the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament established a Disarmament Commission as a subsidiary body of the Assembly, composed of all United Nations Member States. It was created as a deliberative body, with the function of considering different problems in the field of disarmament and making recommendations in this regard, and with that of following up on the pertinent decisions and recommendations of the special session. Since the year 2000, its agenda deals only with two substantive issues. This Commission submits an annual report to the General Assembly.

Peacekeeping

Current missions. Missions finished.

A Brazilian soldier on a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

United Nations peacekeepers (the “blue helmets”) are sent to various regions where armed conflicts have recently ceased, in order to enforce peace agreements and discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Because the UN does not maintain an independent army, the troops are supplied by member states, and their participation is optional. The authority to send or withdraw peacekeeping troops rests with the contributing government, as does responsibility for pay, disciplinary and personnel matters.

Since its creation in 1948. It has been recognized that the primary purpose of the United Nations Peace Missions "the blue helmets" is to maintain international peace and security, and to this end they are empowered to take collective measures Effective to prevent and eliminate threats to peace and ensure that disputes arising between different States are resolved through diplomatic channels and international justice established for this purpose. However, in order to have a better understanding of the purpose, operation and scope of the Peace Missions, it is necessary to understand their origin, their principles and the context in which they are developed.

Peacekeeping operations are established by the UN Security Council and help support surveillance and resolve conflicts between countries or with hostile communities within the same country, the architects of these peacekeeping operations are popular Mindfully known as blue helmets, peacekeeping operations are especially useful to remind the parties to the conflict that the international community is aware of their actions and their legality, their principles are not based on the sending of forces that fight for the culmination of a conflict if not in making the parties involved try to settle their controversies in a peaceful and negotiated way, the troops of the united nations carry light weapons and can use force only in cases of self-defense or in the event that armed elements try to prevent them from following the orders of their commanders, security operations p az must have the consent of the government of the country in which they are deployed and, if possible, with the authorization of the countries involved.

The first peacekeeping operation was UNSCOB (United Nations Commission for the Balkans), ordered by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by Resolution No.109(II) of October 21, 1947. took place in Greece between October 1947 and February 1952

All member states have a legal obligation to pay their share of the cost of peacekeeping activities under a complex formula that they themselves established, which includes a surcharge for the five permanent members of Security Council. Countries that voluntarily contribute uniformed personnel to peacekeeping operations are reimbursed by the United Nations at a flat rate of just over $1,000 per soldier per month. The United Nations also reimburses countries for the equipment they contribute.

The UN awards United Nations Medals to members of the military service who enforce the Organization's agreements.

His first mission consisted of supervising the cessation of the war between the Iranians and Arabs in 1948. Since then, more than 71 peace operations have been launched in which more than 110,000 people from 120 countries have participated, including observers, expert soldiers, civilian personnel and police officers, of whom more than 3,326 have unfortunately lost their lives in the service of the UN, among the peacekeeping operations in which they have participated are the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 in the Congo 1961, Rwanda 1994 those of Somalia Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995 as well as East Timor 2000 to 2001 among others, recognizing their peaceful work the blue helmets became creditors, during the second term of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar as secretary In general, the UN Peacekeepers received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. In 2001, the UN and its Secretary General Kofi Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better world or “Organized and More Peaceful”, peacekeepers today carry out a wide variety of complex tasks such as helping to establish sustainable governance institutions as well as monitoring the situation of human rights, security, disarmament, demobilization and the reintegration of ex-combatants.

Basic principles governing peacekeeping

The origin and beginning of the implementation of the principles occurred in FENU I, which was the 1st United Nations Emergency Force operated by the General Assembly during the Suez Crisis (1956), which was the first in having armed forces, since the first and previous Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) were missions only to obtain information and observation. These principles would later be modified in response to the Congo Crisis, prevailing with minimal variation until the 1980s. The doctrine that is where the principles come from along with the search for unanimity in the way of acting in the event of a difficult situation, finds that they are adequate by having a common affinity in all operations

1. Cooperation consent of the parties ':' The consent of the parties in accordance with article 2 paragraph 7 of the Charter of the United Nations, which provides for non-intervention in matters that are solely within the internal jurisdiction of States, makes it legally imperative that the operations of those involved in the conflict agree on commitments in the peace process to gain progress under the necessary freedom of action, both physical and political in order to achieve the previously established goals. Otherwise it would be affected by its main role that is to maintain peace, the principle of impartiality being fractured. The commitment that the parties to the conflict must have should be clear, as uncertainty may arise as a result of a lack of confidence based on the principle of good faith, and with a clear formal and material consent of the parties to the maintenance and support operations of the peace process. Ensuring confidence among the parties must be critical as a support and strategy in the peace process, in turn they must be supported by peace-keeping operations by ensuring that the parties to the conflict and the purpose in the process are not threatened.
2. Impartiality: The impartiality is essential in the political negotiation that is supported in preserving the approval and contribution of the main parties; peacekeeping operations should not be inclined by any of the parties to the conflict more when there is no real ceasefire, should maintain a passive and neutral position, from the point of view of objectivity, of the operation of the United Nations peace process; it must be impartial in its conduct with the parties involved, acting consistent with the Charter. In order for the parties not to reach a war, there is a need for a commitment both to the mission of the operation and also to the parties to the conflict with a will as a peaceful solution and a decisive action to ensure that, on the basis of the United Nations peacekeeping operation, it forces the parties to the conflict to stop the confrontation, achieving the main objective of the conclusion of peace agreements. If there is no will to desist in this type of action it is indispensable as SÁNCHEZ affirms “recognition that making peace is to determine who commands”A mission for prevention of bad justification or, in retaliation, should not leave aside the principle of impartiality, to do so would jeopardize the legality and reliability of the peace-keeping operation and consequently lead one or more parties to withdraw their approval. Whatever the need to institute and conserve good relations with the parties, and the implementation of peace-keeping must rigorously prevent activities that might hinder the parties to the conflict from being impartial.
3. Exceptional and Limited Use of Force: In this principle, two very precise aspects should be differentiated and taken into account, since they can be confused by the need for the two of them of a prior authorization by the Security Council for their action, the first of which is the robust maintenance of peace where precision, the tactic to use force to the minimum extent possible and to keep the civilian population as far away from attacks together with the preservation of a public order. Secondly, the imposition of peace where the strategy should be very well assessed and provided by seeking the non-expenditure of situations that are not budgeted, and at the political and international levels may cause conflicts. Every movement or determination that carries the use of force must be known that this is a last instance acting on self-defence.
4. Respect for International Humanitarian Law With the limited use of force there is respect for International Humanitarian Law, also known as the right to war or armed conflict, precisely because it limits the performance in those positions where armed force is used. This right as well as treaties and conventions safeguard victims during the conflict, protecting the life and dignity of people who are not involved and not involved in these events that all they cause is fear, destruction and suffering. Within peacekeeping operations, protection of the fundamental rights of victims, civilians, military and non-combatants is vital because they develop in post-conflict situations or in which the conflict can recommit this particularity to the limited use of force. Peace-keeping operations resort to the use of force in specific cases or in self-defence or to ensure respect for peace, if not, they have to be in line with pre-established assumptions or limits and both parties to conflict and the international agency must always respect it.

International security and its characteristics

According to the Charter of the United Nations, it establishes that the Security Council is in charge of maintaining peace and security in the world in relation to any type of conflict. This same Security Council is made up of 15 members of which 5 are permanent with the right of veto, which are the United Kingdom, the United States, the French Republic, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, while the other 10 are not permanent. Non-permanent are elected 5 in 5 each year by the UN General Assembly and for a period of 2 years, and the presidency of the council rotates monthly in alphabetical order. The Security Council can make more well-known decisions as resolutions and force the members to comply with them since they are the ones in charge of maintaining peace and security and as previously mentioned it is established by the Charter of the United Nations.

According to Article 27 of the Charter of the United Nations we can see the rationale for the vote

• Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.

• The decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be taken by the affirmative vote of nine members.
• The decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be taken by the affirmative vote of nine members, including the affirmative votes of all permanent members; but in decisions made under Chapter VI and Article 52 (3), the party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.

When there is a dispute, the first action taken by this Security Council is to try to reach an agreement in the most peaceful ways possible, thus not making a big problem and having to take more dramatic and/or larger measures. Some of these other more severe measures that this Council can impose are; embargoes, economic sanctions, authorizing the use of force to enforce the mandates, and this in extreme cases or when there is no remedy. The United Nations Organization is the largest organization for maintaining international peace and security that is run by the Security Council. It is headquartered in New York, United States and this headquarters is an extraterritorial area, this being a place without any jurisdiction or abiding by the regulations of this same country where it is located, such as consulates, ships or military bases.

Within this Security Council there are different places or organizations around the world where these conflicts are resolved, for example; there is the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Runda, where these two places genocide trials are held. We also find the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace, the Committee Against Terrorism, the United Nations Commission for Surveillance, Verification and Inspection, among others.

Functions and Powers in Article 24

• In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and recognize that the Security Council acts on their behalf in carrying out its responsibilities.
• In carrying out these functions, the Security Council shall proceed in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The powers vested in the Security Council for the performance of these functions are defined in Chapters VI, VII, VIII and XII.
• The Security Council shall submit to the General Assembly for consideration annual reports and, where necessary, special reports.

Equally, a very important article that should be highlighted is Article 33 of the United Nations Charter, since it establishes “the prevention of conflicts and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The parties to an international dispute have access to various measures and mechanisms for the settlement of disputes, including negotiation, investigation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and recourse to regional bodies or agreements.” This is in order to have a faster, more efficient solution and maintain peace between the parties involved without having to reach stricter and more severe measures.

Human Rights

United Nations Information Centre in Asunción, Paraguay.

Concern for human rights was one of the main reasons for the creation of the United Nations. The atrocities and genocide of World War II contributed to a consensus that the new organization should work to prevent similar tragedies in the future. In this sense, a legal framework was created to consider and act on complaints referring to human rights violations.

The UN Charter (arts. 55 and 56) obliges all its members to promote "universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all" and to take "measures jointly or separately, in cooperation with the Organization" to this end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, although not legally binding, was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 as a standard of achievement for all; and consequently, the Assembly deals regularly with issues relating to human rights. Thus, on March 15, 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) with the UN Human Rights Council. Its purpose is to address human rights violations. humans. The UNCHR had been criticized on several occasions by its members, specifically, several of its members, such as Sudan or Libya, had a dubious record of respect for human rights, including the representatives chosen to chair the commission.

The International Bill of Human Rights provided for the creation of seven bodies, among which the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) stand out. The support of the General Secretariat is provided through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), except for CEDAW, which receives it from the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW).

The United Nations and its agencies are fundamental in maintaining and applying the principles emanating from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; For example, UN support for countries in transition to democracy has contributed significantly to democratization around the world, and has manifested itself in technical assistance to enable free and fair elections, in improving judicial structures, in drafting constitutions, training civil servants, or transforming armed movements into political parties. This has recently been seen in Afghanistan and East Timor.

The United Nations is also a forum to support the rights of women to participate fully in the political, economic and social life of their countries. The UN contributes to elevate the meaning of the concept of human rights through its treaties and its attention to specific abuses with its resolutions of the General Assembly or the Security Council or the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Humanitarian assistance

The UN, together with other organizations such as the Red Cross, provides food, drinking water, shelter and other humanitarian services to populations in need, whether they are displaced by war or affected by other disasters. The most important humanitarian agencies of the UN are the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): Organization belonging to the General Secretariat of the UN, in charge of carrying out humanitarian coordination actions. It supports organizations such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the National or local Humanitarian Teams; makes the technical secretary to INSARAG, a group specialized in advising search and rescue groups; administers the CERF and ERF funds; carries out advocacy actions for those affected, and proposes care policies for those affected, as well as prevention. Additionally, it provides services and information resources to strengthen decision-making. The World Food Programme (WFP), which in 2004 distributed food to around 100 million people, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which until 2001 had contributed to the resettlement of at least 25 million people in different countries. Also noteworthy are the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is the largest international organization to guarantee technical assistance in the world, the organizations such as UNAIDS, WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (also called the Global Fund), which fight diseases in the world, especially in poor countries, and have helped reduce infant and maternal mortality. Following these initiatives, in December 2005, the General Assembly created the Emergency Response Fund (CERF), administered by OCHA, as a system that would improve the coordination of humanitarian aid, making it more timely and accountable to the victims of natural disasters. or man-made.

The United Nations annually publishes the Human Development Index (HDI), as a way of comparatively ordering countries by their poverty, instruction, education, life expectancy, and other factors such as military spending.

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals already appear in the Millennium Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly and signed by 192 UN member countries on September 8, 2000, after the Millennium Summit; and in this sense, at the 2005 World Summit (September 14-16, 2005), the representatives of the then 191 members of the UN reaffirmed them as eight objectives to be achieved by the year 2015.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger:

• Halve the percentage of people whose income is less than $1 per day.
• Halve the percentage of hungry people

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education.

• Ensure that all children can complete a complete cycle of primary education.

Objective 3: Promote gender equality and empower women.

• Eliminate gender inequalities in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education by 2015

Objective 4: Reduce infant mortality.

• Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate for children under the age of 5.

Goal 5: Improve maternal health.

• Reduce the maternal mortality rate by three quarters.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

• Stop and begin to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
• Stop and begin to reduce the incidence of malaria and other serious diseases.

Objective 7: Guarantee environmental sustainability.

• Incorporate sustainable development principles into national policies and programmes; reverse the loss of environmental resources.
• Halve the percentage of people without access to drinking water.
• Improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

Goal 8: Foster a global partnership for development.

• Further develop an open, rules-based, predictable and non-discriminatory trading and financial system. This includes a commitment to good governance and poverty reduction, in each country and at the international level.
• Address the special needs of the least developed countries. This includes duty-free access and quotas for exports from least developed countries, the enhanced debt relief programme of heavily indebted poor countries and cancellation of official bilateral debt and the granting of more generous official development assistance to countries that have shown their determination to reduce poverty.
• Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
• Generally address the debt problems of developing countries with national and international measures to make long-term sustainable debt.
• In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies that provide young people with decent and productive work.
• In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to essential medicines in developing countries.
• In collaboration with the private sector, ensure that the benefits of new technologies, in particular information and communication technologies, can be harnessed. As well as the purposes of the United Nations organization (UNO).

New Millennium Goals: an evaluation in Latin America

According to an investigation carried out by the Center for Latin American Studies, published in the Revista Electrónica Iberoamericana (Vol. 1 n. 1) states that Latin America, in the first conclusion of the exam, is not positive, because although significant progress has been made in points 4, 5 and 6, there is still a long way to go to reach the desired end.

The reality is accentuated by a Latin America full of countless contrasts, where you have the richest men in the world, on the one hand, but there are also areas where people do not receive the most basic services These areas, in which greater emphasis was placed, were: extreme poverty, maternal mortality, universal primary education and sanitation coverage. However, not everything is disappointing, since there have been great advances, this due to a reduction in infant mortality.

This investigation concludes with a warning for the governments in Latin America to pay more so that in a collaborative way, the necessary strategies are achieved to reduce the negative figures, likewise it is requested not to neglect human rights, these, for being one of the greatest achievements achieved by man, is his struggle to achieve the happiness of all citizens.

United Nations System

Article 7 of the Charter of the United Nations indicated that the principal organs of the organization were:

• The General Assembly
• The Security Council
• The Economic and Social Council
• The Trusteeship Council
• The International Court of Justice
• The Secretariat

In addition, the Charter made it possible for each body of power to establish the subsidiary bodies it deemed necessary for the performance of its functions.

One of the unique features of the UN system is the duplication of responsibility. For example, UNODOC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) reports to the General Secretariat, the General Assembly oversees UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Institute for Crime Investigation and Justice), but the The Economic and Social Committee has two different organic commissions, the one on narcotics on the one hand, and the one on crime prevention and criminal justice on the other.

The United Nations System is organized as follows (although the acronyms vary depending on the official languages of this international organization):

General Assembly bodies Programmes and funds Headquarters UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - ITC, International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO Geneva UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Vienna UNEP United Nations Environment Programme Nairobi UNICEF United Nations Children ' s Fund New York UNDP United Nations Development Programme -UNIFEM, United Nations Development Fund for Women UNV, United Nations Volunteers (Bonn, Germany) UNCDF, United Nations Capital Development Fund New York UNFPA United Nations Population Fund New York UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Geneva WFP World Food Programme Rome UNRWA Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Vienna UNCHS United Nations Human Settlements Programme Nairobi Research and training institutes UNICRI Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute Turin UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research Geneva UNRISD United Nations Institute for Social Development Research Geneva UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Geneva INSTRAW International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women Santo Domingo Other United Nations bodies UNOOSA United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Vienna COPUOS United Nations Committee on the Pacific Use of Space New York OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS Geneva UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services Copenhagen UNSSC United Nations System College Turin United Nations University: Rectorate in Tokyo; Delegations in New York and Paris; and Institutes in Helsinki, Maastricht, Macao, Legon, Caracas, Amaán, Hamilton, Reykjavík and London.

Economic and Social Council bodies (ECOSOC) Organizational commissions (New York) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (Vienna) Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Commission on Science and Technology for Development (Geneva) Commission on Sustainable Development Commission on the Status of Women Commission on Population and Development Commission for Social Development Statistical Commission Commission on Human Rights Regional commissions Headquarters ECE Economic Commission for Europe Geneva ECA Economic Commission for Africa Abeba ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Santiago de Chile ESCWA Economic Commission for Western Asia Beirut ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok Other organs (New York) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues United Nations Forum on Forests Sessional Committees and Standing Committees Expert groups. Special and related bodies Specialized agencies ILO International Labour Organization Geneva FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome Unesco United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Paris WHO World Health Organization Geneva IMF International Monetary Fund Washington D.C. ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization Montreal IMO International Maritime Organization London ITU International Telecommunication Union Geneva UPU Universal Postal Union Bern WMO World Meteorological Organization Geneva WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization Geneva IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development Rome UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization Vienna WTO World Tourism Organization Madrid UNCITRAL United Nations Commission on International Trade Law New York and Vienna World Bank Group BIRF, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development AIF, International Development Association IFC, International Financial Cooperation OMGI, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency ICSID, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Washington D.C.

Security Council bodies Headquarters Staff Committee Standing committees and special bodies ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The Hague ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Arusha UNMOVIC United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission New York UNCC United Nations Compensation Commission Geneva Peacekeeping missions and operations General Secretariat bodies UN Women UN Women is a UN entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. OSG Office of the Secretary-General. OIOS Office of Internal Oversight Services. OAJ Office of Legal Affairs. DAP Department of Political Affairs. DAD Department for Disarmament Affairs. DOMP Department of Peacekeeping Operations. OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs. DGACM Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. DIP Department of Public Information. DG Department of Management. OHRLLS Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. DSS Security Department. UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna ONUG United Nations Office at Geneva. ONUV United Nations Office at Vienna. UNON United Nations Office at Nairobi. EIRD International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Related agencies Headquarters WTO World Trade Organization Geneva IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency: Report to the General Assembly and the Security Council. Vienna CTBTO Preparatory Commission for the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization: Report to the General Assembly Vienna OPCW Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: Report to the General Assembly. The Hague ICC International Criminal Court The Hague ITLOS International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Hamburg ISA International Seabed Authority Kingston SHIRBRIG Multinational Rapid Deployment Reserve Forces Brigade for UN operations Copenhagen

Actions

Diplomacy

Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis to the United Nations Security Council

• In 1950, the Security Council, in the absence of the Soviet Union, appeals through a resolution to member States to help the southern part of Korea peacefully prevent the invasion from the north of the country. On June 27, 1953, the UN command and the Chinese-North Korean command signed the Korean Armistice Agreement.
• A series of resolutions on the Sinai war were adopted in 1956. The UN decrees a ceasefire. The first Peacekeeping Mission is established on 5 November: the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF).
• It contributed to deactivating the missile crisis in Cuba.
• On 4 March 1964, the Security Council approved, through a resolution, the dispatch of peacekeeping forces to Cyprus.
• On 27 October 1966, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that stripped South Africa of its mandate to govern Namibia.
• The Security Council imposes mandatory sanctions on Rodesia, Zimbabwe, in 1966.
• After the Six-Day War of 1967, the Security Council adopted resolution 242, with the objective of maintaining peace in the Near East.
• In 1968, the General Assembly adopted the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and called for its ratification.
• It contributed to deactivating the crisis in the Middle East of 1973, adopting resolution 338.
• On 13 November 1974, the General Assembly recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the “only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”.
• In 1988, thanks to a United Nations-sponsored peace settlement, the Iran-Irak War ended.
• In 1989, the United Nations-sponsored negotiations laid the groundwork for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
• In 1991, a ceasefire was negotiated in Angola.
• On 31 December of the same year, and through the Secretary-General, an agreement was signed at the United Nations headquarters between the Government of El Salvador and the National Liberation Front.
• In 1992, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali published the Peace Programme, a report on preventive diplomacy and the establishment, maintenance and consolidation of peace.
• In 1993, the independence of Eritrea was declared.
• From 14 to 16 September, the 2005 World Summit is held.
• Also in 2005, the General Assembly, acting simultaneously with the Security Council, established the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.

Human rights and the fight against discrimination

• On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• In 1950, the Assembly adopted resolution 423 (V), inviting all interested States and organizations to observe 10 December each year as Human Rights Day.
• In 1963, the General Assembly proclaimed the declaration on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
• In 1965, the General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and entered into force on 4 January 1969.
• In 1966, it was proclaimed on 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
• In 1976, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights entered into force.
• In 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was signed.
• In 1977, the General Assembly invited member States to proclaim a day as "United Nations Day for the Rights of Women and International Peace."
• In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was signed.
• In 1993, the General Assembly adopted the declaration on the elimination of violence against women.
• On 13 December 2006, the General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On 30 March 2007, it was opened for signatures.
• In 2008, the statement on sexual orientation and gender identity was presented to the General Assembly, and the impact it caused was a contrary statement. Both are open to new signatories.

Health

• On 7 April 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) was founded.
• In 1958, Víktor Zhdánov, the vice minister of health of the Soviet Union, proposed to the World Health Assembly a joint global initiative to eradicate smallpox, which was approved in 1959.
• In 1980, WHO considered the smallpox to be eradicated.
• In 1990, homosexuality is eliminated from the list of mental disorders.
• In 1993, WHO states that tuberculosis represents a "global emergency"
• In 2016, the Zika virus is declared an international public health emergency.
• In 2018, transsexuality is also removed from the list of mental disorders, and addiction to video games is added as a disorder.

Criticism

Since its founding, there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations but little consensus on how to do it. Some want the UN to play a bigger or more effective role in world affairs, while others want its role to be reduced to humanitarian work. There have also been numerous calls for an increase in the composition of the UN Security Council, the different ways of electing the UN Secretary General and a UN Parliamentary Assembly. Jacques Fomerand asserts that the most enduring division in UN opinion is the "North-South divide" between the rich nations of the North and the poor nations of the South. Southern nations tend to favor a more empowered UN with a stronger General Assembly, allowing them a greater say in world affairs, while Northern nations prefer an economically laissez-faire UN that focuses on transnational threats like terrorism. Some critics perceive the United Nations as only serving the governments of its member countries (especially the most powerful ones) and not ordinary citizens.

After World War II, the French National Liberation Committee was belatedly recognized by the United States as the government of France, so the country was initially excluded from the conferences that created the new organization. The future French president, Charles de Gaulle, criticized the UN, considering it a machin (gadget), and was not convinced that a global security alliance would help maintain world peace, preferring defense treaties between countries. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union repeatedly accused the UN of favoring the other superpower. In 1953 the Soviet Union forced General Secretary Trygve Lie to resign because of his refusal to deal with it, while in the 1950s and 1960s a popular American bumper sticker read: 'You can't write communism without the UN" In a sometimes misquoted statement, US President George W. Bush declared in February 2003 (referring to UN uncertainty in the face of Iraqi provocations under Saddam Hussein's regime) that " free nations will not allow the United Nations to fade into history as an ineffective and irrelevant debating society". Instead, French President François Hollande declared in 2012 that "France trusts the United Nations and knows that no State, no matter how powerful, can solve urgent problems, fight for development and put an end to all crises... France wants the United Nations to be the center of global governance". Criticism has also been raised of the UN's attention to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, which is considered biased against Israel. In September 2015, Faisal bin Hassan Trad of Saudi Arabia has been elected President of the United Nations Human Rights Council panel appointing independent experts, a move criticized by human rights groups.

Critics have also accused the UN of bureaucratic inefficiency, waste and corruption. The UN has also been accused of problems with the planning of its operations and the recruitment and management of personnel. In 1976, the General Assembly created the Joint Inspection Unit to look for inefficiencies within the United Nations system. During the 1990s, the United States withheld quotas, citing inefficiency, and only began paying on the condition that a major reform initiative was introduced. In 1994, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was established by the General Assembly to act as an efficiency watchdog. In 1994, former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Somalia Mohamed Sahnoun published & #34;Somalia: The Missed Opportunities", a book in which he analyzes the reasons for the failure of the United Nations intervention in Somalia in 1992, showing that between the beginning of the Somali civil war in 1988 and the fall of the Siad Barre's regime in January 1991, the UN missed at least three opportunities to prevent major humanitarian tragedies; When the United Nations tried to deliver humanitarian assistance, it was totally outmatched by NGOs, whose competence and dedication stood in stark contrast to the UN's overcautiousness and bureaucratic inefficiencies. If radical reform were not undertaken, warned Mohamed Sahnoun, then the UN would continue to respond to that crisis with inept improvisation. In 2004, the UN faced accusations that its recently terminated Oil-for-Food Program - in which Iraq was allowed him to trade oil for basic needs to ease the pressure of sanctions - had suffered widespread corruption, including billions of dollars in bribes. An independent investigation set up by the UN found that many of its officials had been involved, as well as raising "important" on the role of Kojo Annan, the son of Kofi Annan.

Criticism has also been leveled at various UN agencies. One source of criticism lies in the veto power of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council, which has been used to protect the geopolitical interests of these countries, preventing UN action to safeguard international peace and security. Likewise, reproaches have been made to the fact that the General Assembly has limited power and to the fact that the tasks of the general secretary are not clearly defined.

Acknowledgments

Nobel Peace Prize diploma awarded to the United Nations in 2001

Several agencies and individuals associated with the UN have won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their work. Two General Secretaries, Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan, each received the award (in 1961 and 2001, respectively), as did Ralph Bunche (1950), a UN negotiator; René Cassin (1968), contributor to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and US Secretary of State Cordell Hull (1945) for his role in founding the organization. Lester B. Pearson, Canada's Foreign Minister, received the award in 1957 for his role in organizing the first UN peacekeeping force to resolve the Suez Crisis. UNICEF won the award in 1965, the International Labor Organization in 1969, the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in 1988, the International Atomic Energy Agency (a UN agency) in 2005, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2013. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded in 1954 and 1981, becoming one of only two recipients to win the award twice. The UN as a whole received the award in 2001, sharing it with Annan.