The United Nations Essay

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The United Nations

There have been many organizations throughout recent history that have tried to attain international unity but have failed. Organizations such as: the European River Commissions of the early 1800’s, the International Telegraph Union (1865) and the Universal Postal Union (1874), the Court of Arbritrations (1899), and the League of Nations (1914). The United Nations, however, has emerged as a great power in the struggle for international peace.

The Charter of the United Nations was ratified on October 24, 1945. This was the official beginning of what was to become one of the greatest organizations in the world today, however, the true beginning of the U.N. took place six months earlier. The United Nations Conference On International Organization was the true beginning of the U.N. This conference took place in San Francisco in late April of 1945. Fifty nations sent delegates to take part in the negotiations. During this conference the representatives of the respective countries debated over many topics dealing with international peace, and in doing so wrote a document that laid the ground work for what was later to become the U.N. This document is known as the Charter of the United Nations. It set the guide lines for six principal organs which are: The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, The International Court of Justice, The Trusteeship Council, The Secretariat. These six main branches of the U.N. work together "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war." (Patterson 202) On January 10,1946 the United Nations officially began it’s work when the General Assembly met for the

first time in London, England.

The General Assembly is the first of the six main organs that is discussed in the Charter. The General Assembly is composed of representatives from every nation belonging to the United Nations each of which has one vote. Most of the decisions of the General Assembly are reached

by a simple majority, however, decisions on items deemed important such as peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary matters require a two-thirds majority. Although the decisions of the General Assembly are not legally binding they do however carry strong world opinion. The General Assembly meets once a year. This session usually begins on the third Tuesday of September and ends sometime in mid-December. Every time the General Assembly begins a new year of deliberations their first task is to elect one president, twenty-one vice presidents, and chairpersons for each of the six standing committee’s. These six committee’s deal with major international issues such as: "disarmament and international security; world economy and finance; social, humanitarian, and cultural issues; special political issues and decolonization; administration and budget; and legal matters."(Patterson 26)

Even though the regular session of the General Assembly lasts around three months, the work of these six committee’s is continued throughout the year.

The Security Council is the second major organ in the United Nations. The Security Council’s main responsibility, as stated by Article 24 of the U.N. Charter, is to maintain peace and security throughout the world. A representative of each nation that is currently sitting on the Security Council has to be present at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York at all times. When a complaint concerning a threat of peace is brought before it:

"The council’s first action is usually to recommend to the parties to try to reach an agreement by peaceful means. In some cases, the council itself may undertake the investigation and the mediation. It may appoint special representatives or request the Secretary-General to do so or to use his good offices."(Security Council 1 of 4)

On the recommendation of the Security Council the General Assembly can and sometimes does

suspend a member nation of its rights and privileges. This usually occurs when either preventative measures or enforcement actions have been taken against that member nation. Any member nation may participate in the Security Council’s proceedings, however, a nation must be an elected member of the council to be allowed to vote. The Security Council is composed of fifteen nations. All nations of the United Nations are eligible to be elected to the Security Council every year. Five of these nations, specifically, China, France, The Russian Federation, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and The United States, are permanent members of the Council and don’t need to be elected. These five nations are also called the V-5 because they are the only nations in the Security Council to have the power of vetoing a resolution with a "no" vote. Of the remaining ten positions the General Assembly elects five nations every year for a two year term thus staggering the new membership. Any nation who has just previously served a term on the Security Council, excluding the five permanent members, can not serve two consecutive terms. Non-members of the United Nations can also sit in on the deliberations of the Security Council. This can happen if and only if they are a part of what is being disputed and negotiated. The presidency of the Council rotates monthly thus eventually all members will at some point during their term have a chance to be president.

The third major organ of the United Nations is the Economic and Social Council also known as ECOSOC. The Economic and Social Council is used by the U.N. to coordinate the economic and social work that the U.N. carries out throughout the world. Its three major functions as stated by Article 55 of the U.N. Charter are to promote:

"(A) higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social

progress, (B) solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems

and international cultural and educational cooperation, and (C) universal respect for, and observance...

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