Cooperation with the United Nations

President Franklin Roosevelt’s formulation of the Four Freedoms provided a type of blue-print, or inspiration for the United Nations’ Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, sixty years ago. In fact, it was Roosevelt himself who coined the name “United Nations” in 1942 as an affirmation among 26 nations to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.

In a certain sense The United Nations was a continuation of the mission and vision embodied in the failed League of Nations that was conceived during World War I and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles “to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.” After it failed to prevent the outbreak of World War II, The League of Nations was withdrawn.

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the Charter, from proposals worked out at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC (USA) in August-October 1944. The United Nations officially came into being on October 24, 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and by a majority of other signatories. It was established as a vehicle to ensure peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the U.N. and its membership totals 191 countries.

Upon joining, members agree to uphold the UN Charter. According to that Charter the UN has four main purposes: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

The United Nations is not a world government and does not make laws. It does, however, provide a platform for the resolution of international conflicts and formulates policies on matters affecting all of us. All the Member States, large and small, have a voice and a vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them—the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat—are based in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague in the Netherlands. For more information on these organs go to http://www.un.org/Overview/brief1.html

Subsequent to its founding a number of autonomous organizations joined the UN through special agreement throughout the years. The Specialized Agencies can be viewed at the following link: http://www.un.org/Overview/brief6.html

 The Work of the U.N.

Having been conceived in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War, the work of the United Nations has always been intimately involved in securing the peace and in helping the nations of the world settle disputes by peaceful means by refraining from the use of force against other States.

The U.N. has played a significant role in helping to defuse and resolve crises. Its work extends to include the complex work of peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance as well. The U.N.’s work attempts to address the root causes of war which can, in turn, help to lay the foundation for a true and lasting peace.

Disarmament and Peacekeeping

The peacekeeping work initially developed during the time of the Cold War. The peacekeepers were unarmed or lightly armed military personnel from a number of different countries, under U.N. command, mediating between the forces of the former warring parties. The UN could be called in at any time by the major international powers to bring an end to conflicts threatening regional stability.

As the Cold War ended the U.N.’s role in peacekeeping shifted to a multilateral stance, in a new spirit of cooperation. New and more complex peacekeeping missions were established through the Security Council. This new style of peacekeeping helped to implement peace agreements in intra-State conflicts. In 1992 the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations was established to support the increased demands for complex peacekeeping which embraced the non-military elements in sustainability using such measures as confidence-building, power-sharing, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law and economic and social development. The U.N. Charter gives the U.N. Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security.

The U.N. has been intimately involved in the work of disarmament with the goal of eventually eliminating all weapons of mass destruction. The U.N. has provided a forum for disarmament negotiations which have produced such agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996) and treaties establishing nuclear-free zones.

It has also supported other treaties that prohibit the use of chemical and biological weapons, landmines and weapons in the seabed and in outer space. It also works to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. To learn more about the U.N’s work in Peacemaking, Peace-building, and Peacekeeping in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East, go to http://www.un.org/Overview/brief2.html

Justice, Human Rights and International Law

One of the U.N.’s most outstanding legacies to the world remains its work with international law, including human rights law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1948. It codifies the basic rights and freedoms to which all women and men are entitled—among them the right to life, liberty and nationality; to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to work and to be educated; the right to food and housing; and the right to take part in government.

The Declaration has helped lay the groundwork for subsequent declarations to eliminate racial discrimination and discrimination against women; the convention on the rights of the child, against torture and other cruel treatment and punishment, the status of refugees and the prevention of genocide.

The U.N. is currently shifting the emphasis of its human rights efforts to legislation. The U.N. Charter calls upon the United Nations to undertake the codification and development of international law. There have been over 500 conventions and treaties as a result of this work which have provided a framework for promoting international peace and security and economic and social development. To see more information related to this aspect of the U.N.’s work go to: http://www.un.org/Overview/brief3.html

The U.N. reports that in 1945, “750 million people lived in non-self-governing territories. Today, that number has been reduced to just over one million, in large measure due to the crucial role played by the U.N. in encouraging the aspirations of dependent peoples and helping speed their independence. A United Nations-led campaign, lasting more than 30 years, was instrumental in ending the system of racial segregation in South Africa known as apartheid. In 1994, a U.N. observer mission witnessed that country’s first all-race elections.”

Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance

For information about the U.N.’s valiant work in Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance go to: http:///www.un.org/Overview/brief4.html

Development

A full 70% of the U.N.’s development work goes towards the promotion of higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development.

Since 1960 the U.N. has formulated its priorities and goals through a series of 10-year International Development Strategies. These strategies have stressed the need for progress on all aspects of social and economic development.

A major development initiative was launched in September 2000 when world leaders adopted the Millennium Goals which are aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger through a set of measurable targets to be achieved by the year 2015. Among the goals are: cutting in half the proportion of those who earn less than a dollar a day; achieving universal primary education; eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education; and dramatically reducing child mortality while increasing maternal health.

In September 2005 the Millennium Goals will be the focus of the DPI/NGO Conference as well as five year review, also in September, will take place within the General Assembly.