The United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization designed to make the enforcement of international law, security, economic development, social progress, human rights easier for countries around the world and achievement of world peace. The United Nations includes 193 member countries and its main headquarters are located in New York City. The UN Headquarters is not legally a part of New York City and is treated as an independent country. And from these 193 countries there are Five Permanent Members of the Security Council - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states and has six official languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

History of the United Nations

In 1914 The First World War was fought. After this war the first International Organization League of Nations was established to protect world from wars and to maintain Peace in the World. The League of Nations failed to prevent World War II (19391945). Because of the widespread recognition that humankind could not afford a third world war, the United Nations was established to replace the flawed League of Nations in 1945 in order to maintain international peace and promote cooperation in solving international economic, social and humanitarian problems. At first it was called the United Nations organization and known as the UNO. Later it was shortened to the UN. The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. On 25 April 1945, the UN Conference on International Organization began in San Francisco, attended by 50 governments and a number of non-governmental
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organizations involved in drafting the United Nations Charter. This Conference were continues up to 26 June 1945. The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of the Security CouncilFrance, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United Statesand by a majority of the other 46 signatories. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, and the Security Council, took place in Westminster Central Hall in London in January 1946. The League of Nations formally dissolved itself on 18 April 1946 and transferred its mission to the United Nations. The main points of that Charter were:All countries should have a democratic government. All countries would engage in trade freely with one another. All countries would share in world prosperity. All countries would seek to reduce their weaponry. To achieve such laudable aims, the United Nations (a wider and permanent system of the general security) was created.

United Nations Charter

The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries (Poland, the other original member, which was not represented at the conference, signed it two months later). It entered into force on 24 October 1945, after being ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Councilthe Republic of China (later replaced by the People's Republic of China), France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (later replaced by the Russian Federation), the United Kingdom, and the United Statesand a majority of the other signatories. Today, 193 countries are the members of the United Nations. The Charter has 19 chapters and 111 articles.

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Objectives of the United Nations

The people all over the world realized that if another war was fought it would destroy the whole world. They also realized that the huge amount of money being spent on making destructive weapons could be used for constructive work, which would bring prosperity and happiness to mankind. This led to the formation of the UN. The UN set some objectives for itself. A) To maintain international Peace and Security and to settle disputes between the member states by peaceful means. B) To develop Friendly Relation among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self determination of peoples. C) To solve Economic, Social, Cultural and Humanitarian problems peacefully in cooperation with other nations. D) To promote Respect or Human Rights and Support Freedom for all people, regardless of their race, sex, religion, color or language. E) To provide a meeting place where all members could work together to attain these common ends. To achieve the above aims, the United Nations has set the following principals:a) All member countries are sovereign and equal and should respect the right of other nations. b) All members should settle their disputes by peaceful means. c) They should refrain from any threat or use of force. d) They must support the organization in all its activities.

The structure of the United Nations

The structure of the United Nations is based around its charter. The United Nations Charter consists of 111 articles. These articles explain how the United Nations works. The charter established six parts of the United Nations:
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1. The General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly). 2. The Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security). 3. The Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development). 4. The Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN). 5. The International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ). 6. The United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Four of the five principal organs are located at the main United Nations Headquarters located on international territory in New York City. The International Court of Justice is located in The Hague, while other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi. Other UN institutions are located throughout the world. The six official languages of the United Nations, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The Secretariat uses two working languages English and French. Four of the official languages are the national languages of the permanent members of the Security Council, Spanish and Arabic are the languages of the two largest blocs of official languages outside of the permanent members (Spanish being official in 20 countries, Arabic in 26). Five of the official languages were chosen when the UN was founded Arabic was added later in 1973.

United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA/GA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also established a wide number of subsidiary organs.
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The General Assembly meets under its president or Secretary-General in regular yearly sessions the main part of which lasts from September to December and resumed part from January until all issues are addressed (which often is just before the next session's start). It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions. Its composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter. The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Westminster Central Hall in London and included representatives of 51 nations. Each member country can sent its 5 representatives in GA. And they also have right to sent five Alternative Representative to GA. But each member country has one vote. Voting in the General Assembly on important questions recommendations on peace and security, election of members to organs, admission, suspension and expulsion of members, budgetary matters is by a two-thirds majority (Permanent Members of Security Council must ne included) of those present and voting. Other questions are decided by majority vote. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under Security Council consideration. The one state, one vote power structure theoretically allows states comprising just eight percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a twothirds vote.

Agenda
The agenda for each session is planned up to seven months in advance and begins with the release of a preliminary list of items to be included in the provisional agenda. This is refined into a provisional agenda 60 days before the opening of the session. After the session begins, the final agenda is adopted in a plenary meeting which allocates the work to the various Main Committees who later submit reports back to the Assembly for adoption by consensus or by vote. Items on the agenda are numbered. Regular plenary sessions of the General Assembly in recent years have initially been scheduled to be held over the course of just three months, however additional work loads have extended these sessions to last on through just short of the next session.

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Resolutions
The General Assembly votes on many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These are generally statements symbolizing the sense of the international community about an array of world issues. Most General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable as a legal or practical matter, because the General Assembly lacks enforcement powers with respect to most issues. The General Assembly has authority to make final decisions in some areas such as the United Nations budget. General Assembly Resolutions are generally non-binding on member states, but carry considerable political weight, and are legally binding towards the operations of the General Assembly. The General Assembly can also refer an issue to the Security Council to put in place a binding resolution.

UN budget The General Assembly also approves the budget of the United Nations, and decides how much money each member state must pay to run the organization.

Resolution numbering scheme From the First to the Thirtieth General Assembly sessions, all General Assembly resolutions were numbered consecutively, with the resolution number followed by the session number in Roman numbers (for example, Resolution 1514 (XV), which was the 1514th numbered resolution adopted by the Assembly, and was adopted at the Fifteenth Regular Session (1960)). Beginning in the Thirty-First Session, resolutions are numbered by individual session (for example Resolution 41/10 represents the 10th resolution adopted at the Forty-First Session).

Elections
The General Assembly votes in elections for the ten non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. These elections take place every year, and member states serve two year terms, with five replaced each year. The candidates are selected by their regional groups. The General Assembly also elects members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It also elects members of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and some members of the United Nations

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Trusteeship Council. The General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General of the United Nations on recommendation of the Security Council, and adopts rules governing the administration of the Secretariat. Along with the Security Council, the General Assembly elects Judges for the International Court of Justice.

Special Sessions
Special sessions may be convened at the request of the United Nations Security Council, or a majority of UN members or if the majority concurs, of a single member. A special session was held on October 1995 at the head of government level to commemorate the UN's 50th anniversary. Another special session was held in September 2000 to celebrate the millennium; it put forward the Millennium Development Goals. A further special session (2005 World Summit) was held in September 2005 to commemorate the UN's 60th anniversary; it assessed progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and discussed Kofi Annan's In Larger

Freedom proposals. At the first Special Session of the UN General Assembly held in 1947, Osvaldo Aranha, then president of the Special Session, began a tradition that has remained until today whereby the first speaker at this major international forum is always a Brazilian. If the Security Council fails to act to maintain international peace and security due to a disagreement between its permanent members, the General Assembly has the power to convene an emergency special session and act to ensure peace and security under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 377.

United Nations Security Council

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the
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authorization of military action. Its powers are exercised through United Nations Security Council resolutions. There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding permanent membersChina, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United Statesbased on the great powers that were the victors of World War II and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, London. Since its Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time. This requirement of the United Nations Charter was adopted to address a weakness of the League of Nations since that organization was often unable to respond quickly to a crisis.

Members
There are two types of Members in Security Council:1. Permanent Members 2. Non-Permanent Members

1. Permanent Members

The permanent

members

of

the United

Nations Security Council, also known as the Permanent Five, Big Five, or P5, include the following five governments: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The members represent the great

powers considered the victors of World War II. Each of the permanent members has power to veto, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft. At the UN's founding in 1946, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the French Republic, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. There have been two seat changes since then, although not reflected in Article 23 of the United Nations Charter as it has not been accordingly amended:
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China's

seat was

originally

held

by Chiang

Kai-shek's Nationalist

Government, known as the "Republic of China". After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia was recognized as the legal successor state of the Soviet Union and maintained the latter's position on the Security Council. The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in World War II and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces ever since. They annually top the list of countries with the highest military expenditures in 2011, they spent over US $1 trillion combined on defense, accounting for over 60% of global military expenditures (the U.S. alone accounting for over 40%). They are also the only countries officially recognized as "nuclear-weapon states" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), though there are other states known or believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons. Expansion in Permanent Members There have been proposals suggesting the

introduction of new permanent members. The candidates usually mentioned are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan. They comprise the group of G4 nations, mutually supporting one another's bids for permanent

seats. Britain, France and Russia support G4 membership in the UN Security Council. The group is led by Italy and Spain, Mexico, Colombia,

and Argentina , Pakistan, and South Korea , in addition to Turkey, Indonesia and others. Since 1992, Italy and other members of the group have instead proposed semipermanent seats or the expansion of the number of temporary seats. Most of the leading candidates for permanent membership are regularly elected onto the Security Council by their respective groups. Japan and Brazil were elected for nine two-year terms each and Germany for three terms. India has been elected to the council seven times in total, with the most recent successful bid being in 2010 after a gap of almost twenty years since 199192. As of 2011, the current "P5" members of the Security Council, along with the G4, account for nine of the world's ten largest defense budgets.

2. Non-Permanent Members

Ten

other

members

are

elected

by

the General Assembly for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five
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replaced each year. The members are chosen by regional groups and confirmed by the United Nations General Assembly. To be approved, a candidate must receive at least 2/3 of all votes cast for that seat. The African bloc is represented by three members the Latin America and the Caribbean, Asian and Western European and others blocs by two members each and the Eastern European bloc by one member. Also, one of the members is an "Arab country" alternately from the Asian or African bloc. The current elected members are:-

1 January 2011 31 December 2012 1. Colombia 2. Germany 3. India 4. Portugal 5. South Africa

1 January 2012 31 December 2013 1. Azerbaijan 2. Guatemala 3. Morocco 4. Pakistan 5. Togo

President
The role of president of the Security Council involves setting the agenda, presiding at its meetings and overseeing any crisis. The President is authorized to issue both presidential statements and notes, which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue. The Presidency rotates monthly in alphabetical order of the Security Council member nations' names in English.

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Veto Power
A negative vote, or veto, also known as the rule of "great powerunanimity", by a permanent member prevents adoption of a proposal. Abstention is not regarded as a veto despite the wording of the Charter. Since the Security Council's inception, China (ROC/PRC) has used its veto 6 times; France 18 times; Russia/USSR 123 times; the United Kingdom 32 times; and the United States 82 times. The majority of Russian/Soviet vetoes were in the first ten years of the Council's existence. Since 1984, China and France have vetoed three resolutions each; Russia/USSR four; the United Kingdom ten; and the United States 43 Procedural matters are not subject to a veto, so the veto cannot be used to avoid discussion of an issue. The same holds for certain decisions that directly regard permanent members.

The ICJ
The ICJ: A Layman's Explanation by Christopher Schuller ICJ President 2002, 2003 The International Court of Justice, located in The Hague, Netherlands, is the judicial arm of the United Nations. U.N. member states bring their disputes before the ICJ, whose jurisdiction is dependent on both states' prior acceptance of whatever verdict the court delivers. The ICJ does not try war criminals; rather, it resolves what we might call 'civil' disputes in an American trial court: it settles border disagreements, assesses fault for breaches of treaties, and arbitrates questions of interpretation of international law between member states. In these proceedings, the "Applicant" (plaintiff) and "Respondent" (defendant) each submit their written pleadings, Memorials and Counter-Memorials, respectively, in advance of actual written arguments before the court. The Court also serves as a judicial advisory body to the General Assembly and Security Council, both of whom may ask the Court for Advisory Opinions regarding specific GA or Security Council resolutions' compliance with the U.N. Charter. The U.N.'s ICJ consists of thirteen Justices, a President, and a Vice-President.
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United Nations Economic and Social Council

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It is responsible for coordinating the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. ECOSOC has 54 members it holds a fourweek session each year in July. Since 1998, it has also held a meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system. The main task of the Economic and Social Council is to promote and improve the economic and social well-being of those living in the member states. This council deals with human rights and seeks to develop a greater understanding of cultures throughout the world. An improvement in world health is also in its remit. Article 57 gives a clear indication of the areas this council covers health, education, economic, social and cultural issues and the promotion of the position of women in the world.

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Chamber Design
The Economic and Social Council Chamber in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden. It was conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius, one of the 11 architects in the international team that designed the UN headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine trees was used in the delegates' area for the railings and doors. The pipes and ducts in the ceiling above the public gallery were deliberately left exposed; the architect believed that anything useful could be left uncovered. The "unfinished" ceiling is a symbolic reminder that the economic and social work of the United Nations is never finished there will always be something more which can be done to improve living conditions for the world's people.

President
The current president of ECOSOC is Ambassador Milos Koterec of the Slovak Republic. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen from the small or mid-sized powers represented on ECOSOC.

Members
The Council has 54 member states, which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are based on geographical representation with 14 allocated to African states, 11 to Asian states, 6 to East European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to West European and other states.

Official Languages of United Nation:Arabic

Chinese English French

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United Nations Secretariat

The United Nations Secretariat is one of the principal organs of the United Nations, an intergovernmental organization charged with the promotion of aiding states to collectively maintain international peace and security; it serves as a forum for member-states to discuss and resolve pressing issues in the international field through primarily diplomatic resources. The Secretariat is composed of a Secretary General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. The Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programs and policies laid down by them. The Secretariat carries out myriad duties ranging from the administration of peacekeeping operations to making surveys/studies about different countries' economic and social trends. The Secretariat comprises of a Secretary-General and it is the body that runs the United Nations. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly which receives recommendations from the Security Council. The Secretary-General is the United Nations chief administrative officer.

Secretary-General
The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who acts as the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon, who took over from Kofi Annan in 2007 and has been elected for a second term to conclude at the end of 2016. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. The General Assembly can theoretically override the Security Council's recommendation if a majority vote is not achieved, although this has not happened so far. There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years, it has become accepted that the post shall be held for one or two terms of five years, that the post shall be appointed on the basis of geographical rotation, and that the Secretary-General shall not originate from one of the five permanent Security Council member states.

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Membership
The activities of the Secretariat are performed by a staff of 44,000 civil servants from around the world under the leadership of the Secretary-General. Eligibility for civil service is based on a UN-administered examination offered worldwide, in addition to a competitive application process. Qualifications for membership include "the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity", according to the UN Charter. Staffmembers are appointed by the Secretary-General alone and are assigned to the organs of the United Nations. Staff members are appointed on a temporary or permanent basis, under the discretion of the Secretary-General. During staff recruitment, geographical variety is an especially prominent selection factor in order to accurately reflect the scope of member states present in the UN. While the Secretariat seeks to represent UN membership fairly through diverse geographical representation, staff members are foremost international officials. The charter states that staff members are responsible "only to the organization" and are prohibited from any action or influence that would suggest affiliation with a government or organization outside the UN.

Duties and Responsibilities

Though ambiguous in description, the UN states that its daily activities are most often carried about the secretariat. But its functions are difficult to define. The UN Charter is not specific about the Secretariat's powers. However it is clear that the Secretariat, and the Secretary-General, are vital parts to the UN. It is in charge of notifications and the arrangement of the meetings of the secretary-general. The Secretariat is also in charge of publishing all of the treaties and international agreements that the UN makes. The role of the Secretariat varies with the agenda of the UN. Sometimes it is required to act as a mediator and other times it is set to administer different peacekeeping operations. This body also has the important job of relating what the UN has accomplished to the different media outlets around the world. Often this can be done through the organizations of international conferences. Another notable job of the Secretariat is their duty of translating speeches and documents into the UNs official languages. The secretariat is also in charge of approving the salary and allowance for the general service as well as providing advice to different UN agencies.
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Leadership Under the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General's duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences, gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area include the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.

The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main judicial body of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies and the UN General Assembly. All members of the United Nations are party to the International Court. The ICJ consists of 15 members and only two members come from the same country at any one time. All members of the United Nations have to agree to abide by the decisions of the ICJ. ICJ was Established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the Court.

Composition
The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The election process is set out in
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Articles 419 of the ICJ statute. Elections are staggered with five judges elected every three years, in order to ensure continuity within the court. Should a judge die in office, the practice has generally been to elect a judge of the same nationality to complete the term. No two may be nationals of the same country. According to Article 9, the membership of the Court is supposed to represent the "main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world". Essentially, this has meant common law, civil law and socialist law (now postcommunist law). Since its creation, four of the five permanent members of the Security Council (France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) have always had a judge on the Court. The exception was China, which did not have a judge on the Court from 19671985, because it did not put forward a candidate. The rule on a geopolitical composition of the bench exists despite the fact that there is no provision for it in the Statute of the ICJ.

Chambers
Generally, the Court sits as full bench, but in the last fifteen years it has on occasion sat as a chamber. Articles 2629 of the statute allow the Court to form smaller chambers, usually 3 or 5 judges, to hear cases. Two types of chambers are contemplated by Article 26: firstly, chambers for special categories of cases and second the formation of ad hoc chambers to hear particular disputes. In 1993 a special chamber was established, under Article 26(1) of the ICJ statute, to deal specifically with environmental matters (although this chamber has never been used).

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent court to prosecute

individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. It came into being on 1 July 2002 with the entering into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which was adopted on 17 July 1998. The ICC is functionally independent of the UN in terms of personnel and financing but some meetings of the ICC governing body, the Assembly of the States Parties to the Rome Statute are held at the United Nations. There is a "relationship

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agreement" between the ICC and the UN that governs how the two institutions regard each other legally.

United Nations Trusteeship Council

The United Nations Trusteeship Council one of the principal organs of the United Nations was established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territoriesmost of them former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War IIhave all now attained selfgovernment or independence either as separate nations or by joining neighboring independent countries. The last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994. The Trusteeship Council was formed in 1945 to oversee the decolonization of those dependent territories that were to be placed under the international trusteeship system created by the United Nations Charter as a successor to the League of Nations mandate system. Ultimately, eleven territories were placed under trusteeship seven in Africa and four in Oceania. Ten of the trust territories had previously been League of Nations mandates the eleventh was Italian Somaliland. Now it is inactive because the last member of the Trusteeship Council Palau is now became the member of UN. Its mission fulfilled, the Trusteeship Council suspended its operation on 1 November 1994, and although under the United Nations Charter it continues to exist on paper, its future role and even existence remains uncertain.

The main works of Trusteeship during its working period:1. To consider the Annual Report of the Trust Territories. 2. To consider the petitions of inhabitants of the Trust Territories. 3. To make spot enquiry of the Trust Territories.

These are the 6 organs of the United Nations.

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Membership
There are 193 United Nations (UN) member states and each of them is a member of the United Nations General Assembly. The criteria for admission of new members are set out in the United Nations Charter Chapter II Article 4 as follows: 1. Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. 2. The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. With the addition of South Sudan on 14 July 2011, there are currently 193 United Nations member states, including all fully recognized independent states.

Original Members
The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 after ratification of the United Nations Charter by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and a majority of the other signatories. A total of 51 original members (or founding members) joined that year 50 of them signed the Charter at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 while Poland, which was not represented at the conference, signed it on 15 October 1945.

Current Members
There are currently193 United Nations member states, with the addition of South Sudan on 14 July 2011, including all fully recognized independent states.

Withdrawal of Indonesia (19651966)

since the inception of the UN, only one

member state has unilaterally withdrawn from the UN. During the Indonesia-Malaysia

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confrontation and in response to the election of Malaysia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,

United Nations Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished from both peace building and peace making. The UN, after approval by the Security Council sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the UN does not maintain its own military peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the UN. The forces, also called the "Blue Helmets", who enforce UN accords, are awarded United Nations Medals, which are considered international

decorations instead of military decorations. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. The founders of the UN had envisaged that the organization would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible, however the outbreak of the Cold War made peacekeeping agreements extremely difficult because of the division of the world into hostile camps. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to become the agency for achieving world peace, as several dozen ongoing conflicts continue to rage around the globe.

Formation
Bangladesh contributed the highest number of troops with 10,855 personnel to various UN Peacekeeping Operations worldwide. Once a peace treaty has been negotiated, the parties involved might ask the United Nations for a peacekeeping force to oversee various elements of the agreed upon plan. This is often done because a group controlled by the United Nations is less likely to follow the interests of any one party,

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since it itself is controlled by many groups, namely the 15-member Security Council and the intentionally diverse United Nations Secretariat. If the Security Council approves the creation of a mission then the Department of Peacekeeping Operations begins planning for the necessary elements. At this point the senior leadership team is selected. The department will then seek contributions from member nations. Since the UN has no standing force or supplies, it must form ad hoc coalitions for every task undertaken. Doing so results in both the possibility of failure to form a suitable force, and a general slowdown in procurement once the operation is in the field. Romeo Dallaire, force commander in Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide there, described the problems this poses by comparison to more traditional military deployments:

Cost
Peacekeeping costs, especially since the end of the Cold War, have risen dramatically. In 1993, annual UN peacekeeping costs had peaked at some $3.6 billion, reflecting the expense of operations in the former Yugoslavia and Somalia. By 1998, costs had dropped to just under $1 billion. With the resurgence of larger-scale operations, costs for UN peacekeeping rose to $3 billion in 2001. In 2004, the approved budget was $2.8 billion, although the total amount was higher than that. For the fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2006, UN peacekeeping costs were about US$5.03 billion. All member states are legally obliged to pay their share of peacekeeping costs under a complex formula that they themselves have established. Despite this legal obligation, member states owed approximately $1.20 billion in current and back peacekeeping dues as of June 2004.

Structure

A United Nations peacekeeping mission has three power centers. The first is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the official leader of the mission. This person is responsible for all political and diplomatic activity, overseeing relations with
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both the parties to the peace treaty and the UN member-states in general. They are often a senior member of the Secretariat. The second is the Force Commander, who is responsible for the military forces deployed. They are a senior officer of their nation's armed services, and are often from the nation committing the highest number of troops to the project. Finally, the Chief Administrative Officer oversees supplies and logistics, and coordinates the procurement of any supplies needed.

Human rights and humanitarian assistance

The pursuit of human rights was a central reason for creating the UN. World War II atrocities and genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work to prevent any similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was creating a legal framework for considering and acting on complaints about human rights violations. The UN Charter obliges all member nations to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and to take "joint and separate action" to that end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though not legally binding, was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 as a common standard of achievement for all. The Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues. The UN and its agencies are central in upholding and implementing the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A case in point is support by the UN for countries in transition to democracy. Technical assistance in providing free and fair elections, improving judicial structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials, and transforming armed movements into political parties have contributed significantly to democratization worldwide. The UN has helped run elections in countries with little or no democratic history, including recently in Afghanistan and East Timor. The UN is also a forum to support the right of women to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of their countries. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly, Security Council resolutions, or International Court of Justice rulings. The purpose of the United Nations Human Rights Council, established in 2006,[47] is to address human rights violations. The Council is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which was often criticized for the
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high-profile positions it gave to member states that did not guarantee the human rights of their own citizens.

Functions of the United Nations Today

As it was in the past, the main function of the UN today is to maintain peace and security for all of its member states. Though the UN does not maintain its own military, it does have peacekeeping forces which are supplied by its member states. On approval of the UN Security Council, these peacekeepers are often sent to regions where armed conflict has recently ended to discourage combatants from resuming fighting. In 1988, the peacekeeping force won a Nobel Peace Prize for its actions. In addition to maintaining peace, the UN aims to protect human rights and provide humanitarian assistance when needed. In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard for its human rights operations. The UN currently provides technical assistance in elections, helps to improve judicial structures and draft constitutions, trains human rights officials, and provides food, drinking water, shelter, and other humanitarian services to peoples displaced by famine, war, and natural disaster. Finally, the UN plays an integral part in social and economic development through its UN Development Program. This is the largest source of technical grant assistance in the world. In addition, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the UN Population Fund, and the World Bank Group to name a few play an essential role in this aspect of the UN as well. The UN also annually publishes the Human Development Index to rank countries in terms of poverty, literacy, education, and life expectancy. For the future, the UN has established what it calls its Millennium Development Goals. Most of its member states and various international organizations have all agreed to achieve these goals relating to reducing poverty, child mortality, fighting diseases and epidemics, and developing a global partnership in terms of international development by 2015. Some member states have achieved a number of the agreement's goals while

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others have reached none. However, the UN has been successful over the years and only the future can tell how the true realization of these goals will play out.

Funding
The UN is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by their gross national income (GNI), with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income. The Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be overly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a 'ceiling' rate, setting the maximum amount any member is assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the Assembly revised the scale of assessments to reflect current global circumstances. As part of that revision, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25% to 22%. For the least developed countries (LDCs), a ceiling rate of 0.01% is applied.[64] In addition to the ceiling rates, the minimum amount assessed to any member nation (or 'floor' rate) is set at 0.001% of the UN budget. Refer to the table for major contributors. A large share of UN expenditures addresses the core UN mission of peace and security. The peacekeeping budget for the 20052006 fiscal year was approximately US$5 billion, 2.5 billion (compared to approximately US$1.5 billion, 995 million for the UN core budget over the same period) with some 70,000 troops deployed in 17 missions around the world. UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular funding scale, but including a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members, who must approve all peacekeeping operations. This surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. As of 1 January 2011, the top 10 providers of assessed financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations were the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, China, Canada, Spain and the Republic of Korea.

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Top Ten Donators of the UN budget:USA 22.000%

Japan

12.530%

Germany

8.018%

United Kingdom 6.604%

France

6.123%

Italy

4.999%

Canada

3.207%

China

3.189%

Spain

3.177%

Mexico

2.356%

Other member states 27.797%

India And United Nations

Un Reform
As an organization, the United Nations must evolve and adapt itself to a rapidly changing environment, the better to serve the core needs of the world community. As a country which places very great store on the UN s capacity to contribute to international peace and security, and to development, the two crucial priorities before the world community, India, like others, has a vital interest in a UN that continually makes itself more responsive to the needs of its member states, and prepares itself to serve them better.
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At the 2005 World Summit, the member-states pledged themselves to an agenda for early and meaningful reform of the United Nations. India is of the view that the international community needs to make more determined efforts to revitalize the General Assembly to enable it to fulfill its rightful role as the principal deliberative organ of the United Nations. Further, the relationship between the General Assembly and Security Council should be such that it embodies contemporary reality. The annual reporting by the Security Council should be improved. The issues of working methods reform, particularly access by non-members to documentation and the work of the UNSC; genuine consultations with the troop contributing countries; and the right of participation of non-members with a special interest, are also crucial to improving relationship between the UNSC and the UNGA. The composition of the Security Council needs to change to reflect contemporary realities of the twenty-first century. This implies, in the first instance, increase in the membership of the Security Council in both the permanent and nonpermanent categories. Second, new permanent members should have the same responsibilities and obligations as the current permanent members. Third, veto should be extended to new permanent members. This is predicated on the logical and principled position that there can be no discrimination within the same category of members of the Security Council. India announced at the UNGA in 1994 that it is prepared to accept the responsibilities of permanent membership. The following attributes, India believes, would serve the international community well if India were made a permanent member: India is the largest democracy in the world, with ancient civilization values and attainments, and a world-view based on a universalist inspiration, participative governance, respect for diversity and pluralism, as well as readiness for constructive engagement in the world's affairs. India has been actively involved in the affairs of the United Nations since 1945. It has played an important role in shaping the Cold War and post-Cold War international system. India is one of the leading economies in the world and has the potential to play an increasingly important role in the evolving international economic and financial architecture.

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India's long-standing participation in UN peacekeeping operations testifies not only to the dedication and professionalism of the Indian soldiers but also the political will of the government to actively contribute to these operations. Support for Indias candidature has been rapidly growing. We are grateful to the countries that have reposed faith in our ability to play our rightful role at the Security Council as a permanent member. We would continue to count on this support and will work hard with other like-minded countries, especially in Africa towards this end.

Criticism of the United Nations

The UN currently has 16 peacekeeping operations on the go around the world with more than 110,000 troops and staff and questions are being raised about costs and efficiency. Not surprisingly the United Kingdom put peacekeeping on the agenda this month, as chair of the Security Council's rotating presidency. London has long been critical about the increasing number and costs of UN peacekeeping missions. Since 2000, the annual budget for blue helmet missions has more than tripled to $8 billion (5.63 billion Euros). All rich countries are using peacekeeping forces fir their national interests. US regularly use United Nations forces for their national interests. As we seen in US war against Arabian Countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq they used UN forces on the name terrorism. Rich countries at the table, poor in the field. In practice it often is difficult to find the necessary assets for peace missions - qualified soldiers and proper equipment. After almost two years the combined UN African Union mission in Darfur, for example, is still short on troops and lacking helicopters completely.

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Poor countries deliver most peacekeepers. At the same time their voice is barely heard in the Security Council, says Zumach: "Two of the five permanent members of the Security Council never sent out a single peacekeeping soldier - the US and China - and Russia or the former Soviet Union only very reluctantly. There is not much protest among the other members, because they don't like it when one of the big five gets involved militarily, which also then implies a heavy national interest. In background talks you hear ambassadors of poor countries complaining about these discrepancies, but for political reasons they would not go public with their criticism." Any nation may be elected to serve a temporary term on the Security Council, but critics have suggested that this is inadequate. Rather, they argue, the number of permanent members should be expanded to include non-nuclear powers, which would democratize the organization. Another criticism of the Security Council involves the veto power of the five permanent nations. As it stands, a veto from any of the permanent members can halt any possible action the Council may take. One nation's objection, rather than the opinions of a majority of nations, may cripple any possible UN armed or diplomatic response to a crisis. To maintain international peace and security there must have changes in charter of the UN. Otherwise the wars will be increases day by day. The numbers of Permanent members should be increased and there is no any special power to any member state like Veto. All the countries are same and must have equal rights.

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Conclusion:United Nation is very important body of International Politics. Almost every civilized country of the world is the member of this organization. This organization is gaining more and more importance but it should be more democrative and more representative. Five world countries should be made permanent member of security council big power should play more responsibly role by doing every international activity under its guidelines United Nation should also be made a body which should work for complete disarmament and arm control . Small and poor nations should given more representation and complete protection from aggression mal nutrition illiteracy poverty and disease. United Nation is an important international body .But some times big powers ignore its directions and work. This trend should be checked now general assembly has become much important body. It should be given more power and authority

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Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations

http://www.google.com

http://www.yahoo.com

www.un.int/protocol/bluebook.html

Martin Knotzer, Roland Ulbert and Harald Wurth University of Vienna

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