United Nations

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

1. International organization whose constitution was drafted at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles.
2. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace.
3. Its primary goals were preventing war through collective security and disarmament and setting international disputes through negotiation and arbitration.
4. It became ineffective in the later 1930s and after World War II. It was replaced in 1945 by the United Nations.

UNITED NATIONS

1. The name “United Nations” coined by the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the “Declaration by United Nations” of January 1, 1942 during the World War II, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.
2. In 1945,representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Charter was signed on June 25,1945 by the representatives of 50 countries.
3. Poland which was not represented at the conference signed it later and became one of the original 51 member-states.
4. The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States by a majority of other signatories. United Nations day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
5. Membership: 193 countries
6. Languages: The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, while the working languages are English and French.
7. Headquarters: The headquarters of the United Nations are at New York (United States).
8. Flag of the United Nations: Light blue with white global map of the world in centre supported by two olive branches. It was adopted on October 20,1947.
9. United Nations Day: October 24

Organs of the United Nations: There are six main organs of the United Nations.

1. General Assembly

2. Security Council

3. Economic and Social Council

4. Trusteeship Council

5. International Court of Justice

6. Secretariat

1. General Assembly (UNGA)

It is called the town meeting of the world. It is composed of all member nations. Each member has not more than five representatives in the assembly.

It acts primarily as a deliberative body. Here members discuss all types of problems and each member regardless of the size of his nation has an equal voice.

It meets annually or in special sessions. It approves the United Nations budget and apportions expenses among the members.

Its president is elected annually on a rotating basis from five geographic groups of members.

2. Security Council

O It is composed of five permanent members –Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States–and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year term.

O Originally, the Security Council was consisted of 11 members, but it was enlarged to its present 15 members in 1965, in accordance with an amendment in the Charter.

The presidency of the Council relates monthly, according to the English alphabetical listing of its member-states.

It investigates disputes that may cause international friction and advises on how to resolve them.

To prevent or stop aggression, it may impose diplomatic or economic sanctions or authorize the use of military force.

3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

It is composed of 54 members, 18 of which are elected each year by the General Assembly for a three-year term office.

It is aided by separate regional commissions for Europe, Asia, the Far East, Latin America and Africa.

4. Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on November 1,1994,with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory on October 1, 1994.

Trusteeship Council was established as one of the main organs of the United Nations and assigned to it the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System.

It is made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council-China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States.

5. International Court of Justice

It is the principle judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinion to the United Nations and its specialized agencies.

Iis jurisdiction is limited to disputes between states willing to accept its authority on matter of international law.

It comprises of 15 judges, who are elected to nine-year term by the General Assembly and Security Council, voting independently.

6. Secretariat

It is an administrative body that coordinates United Nations activities.

It is composed of a secretary-general, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendations of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term, and such staff as the organization may require.

The secretary-general is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations.

He may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, threatens international peace and security.

The secretary-general makes an annual report, and any supplementary report necessary to the General Assembly on the work of the United Nations.

Secretaries-General of the United Nations

No.	Name	Country	Tenure
1.	Trygve Lie	Norway	February 1,1946-April 10,1952.
2.	Dag Hammarskjold	Sweden	April 10,1953-September 18,1961.
3.	U.Thant	Myanmar	November 30,1961-December 31,1971
4.	Kurt Waldheim	Austria	January 1,1972-December 31,1981
5.	Javier Perez de Cuellar	Peru	January 1, 1982-December 31,1991
6.	Boutros Bontros-Ghali	Egypt	January 1,1992-December 31,1996
7.	Kofi Annan	Ghana	January 1,1997-December 31,2006
8.	Ban Ki-moon	South Korea	January 1, 2007-December 31,2016
9.	Antonio Guterres	Portugal	January 1,2017-Present

Veto power: In accordance with the United Nations Charter veto power can be used on any Federation and the United States.