UN’s 77th-Anniversary

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    • Recently the world celebrated the annual commemorative day celebrating the 77 years since the creation of the United Nations.

    More about the news

    • During the event External Affairs Minister said that India will always stand with the Global South and seek to strengthen the U.N.’s effectiveness.
    • He also stated that India’s ongoing tenure as a member of the UNSC has reflected its principled approach of promoting dialogue and diplomacy to meet contemporary challenges. 

    The United Nations

    • Origin and members:
      • The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, as the Charter was ratified was by the 5 permanent Security Council members – China, France, Russia, UK, US – and a majority of other countries. 
        • At present, it has 193 member states, and is headquartered in New York City, with main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague.
    • Purpose of formation:
      • A successor to the League of Nations, the UN was formed after World War II to prevent future wars. 
      • Its stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly ties among countries, and achieve international cooperation.
    • The organization’s objectives include:
      • Maintaining international peace and security, 
      • Protecting human rights, 
      • Delivering humanitarian aid, 
      • Promoting sustainable development, and 
      • Upholding international law.
    • The six principal organs of the United Nations are:
      • General Assembly
      • Security Council, 
      • Economic and Social Council, 
      • Trusteeship Council, 
      • International Court of Justice, and the 
      • UN Secretariat

    About the principal organs of the United Nations

    • General Assembly:
      • It can be loosely called the parliament of the United Nations Organisation.
      • Some decisions like budget, admission of new members and peace and security are taken by two-thirds majority to be passed. Other decisions require only a simple majority.
    • United Nations Security Council:
      • It has the primary responsibility of maintenance of peace and security in the international community.
      • It comprises of 15 members, which can be divided in 2 categories:
        • Permanent members: 
          • Also called as the P-5 members. 
          • It is comprised of US, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. 
          • They have veto powers, which essentially means that passing of a decision in the UNSC must have each P5 member’s concurrence.
        • Elected Members: 
          • There are 10 non-permanent members. They are elected by the General Assembly and have a tenure of 2 years each.
    • Economic and Social Council:
      • It is responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization.
      • ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations System.
      • The Council consists of 54 Member States, which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. 
    • Trusteeship Council:
      • It is established to help ensure that trust territories were administered in the best interests of their inhabitants and of international peace and security.
      • The trust territories:
        • Most of them former mandates of the League of Nations or territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II—have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries.
    • The International Court of Justice
      • The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court. 
      • It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. 
      • The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
      • Role and Responsibilities: 
        • The Court settles legal disputes submitted to it by States, in accordance with international law.  
        • It also gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies. 
        • Judgments in disputes between States are binding.  
        • The Court decides disputes between countries, based on the voluntary participation of the States concerned. 
        • If a State agrees to participate in a proceeding, it is obligated to comply with the Court’s decision.
    • UN Secretariat:
      • The secretariat is the UN’s executive arm. 
      • The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodies of the UN (i.e., the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, and Security Council), and the implementation of the decision of these bodies. 
      • The secretary-general, who is appointed by the General Assembly, is the head of the secretariat.

    Why is the UN needed?

    • UN’s specialized agencies:
      • The United Nations along with its specialized agencies assumes a significant job in keeping up harmony and security of the world nations. 
      • The UN specialized agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, World Health Organization, etc have done noteworthy work in the growth and development of developed and developing countries. 
    • Forum for discussion:
      • It is a stage that provides a forum for discussion for the members to come to a common understanding. 
    • Relevance:
      • United Nations is as relevant in the present time as it was at the point when it was established. It is the only organization to have universal membership.
      • The UN since its inception is actively working in this regard for maintaining peace, ensuring development, and cooperation among nations and has devised various initiatives to prevent conflict.

    The Global South

    • The Global South has traditionally been used within intergovernmental development organizations –– primarily those that originated in the Non-Aligned Movement­ ­–– to refer to economically disadvantaged nation-states and as a post-cold war alternative to “Third World.” 
      • However, in recent years and within a variety of fields, the Global South is employed in a post-national sense to address spaces and peoples negatively impacted by contemporary capitalist globalization.

    Source: HT

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