... support is not alays easy. Many nations are reluctant to defer their on authority and follo the dictates of the UN. IIPURPOSES OF THE UNITED NATIONS The UN today has the same basic purpose and structure as it did hen it as founded in 1945. Its primary purposeand greatest benefit to its membersis to maintain orld peace. That, in turn, helps encourage business and international trade. In addition to that primary mission, the UN serves its member countries in a variety of other ays. The UN provides a forum for countries to promote their vies and settle conflicts ithout violence. It allos countries to cooperate to solve orld problems, such as poverty, disease, and environmental degradation. It serves as a symbol of international order and global identity. It promotes and coordinates economic and social progress in developing countries, ith the idea that such problems create sources of conflict that can lead to ar. The UN helps coordinate the ork of hundreds of agencies and programs, both ithin its on organization and outside it. It also collects and publishes international data. IIICREATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS The UN is the result of a long history of efforts to promote international cooperation. In the late 18th century, German philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed a federation or league of the orlds nations. Kant believed that such a federation ould allo countries to unite and punish any nation that committed an act of aggression. This type of union by nations to protect each other against an aggressor is sometimes referred to as collective security. Kant also felt that the federation ould protect the rights of small nations that often become pans in poer struggles beteen larger countries. Kants idea came to life after orld ar I 1914-1918. Horrified by the devastation of the ar, countries ere inspired to come together and ork toard peace. They formed a ne organization, the League of Nations, to achieve that goal. The League ould last from 1920 to 1946 and have a total of 63 member nations through its history, including some of the orlds greatest poers France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. But the League had to major flas. First, several of the orlds most poerful countries ere not members, most notably, the United States. Second, League members proved unilling to oppose aggression by Japan, Italy, and Germany in the 1930s. This aggression ultimately led to orld ar II 1939-1945. In the end, the League failed in its most basic mission, to prevent another orld ar. Despite this failure, the idea of a league did not die. The first commitment to create a ne organization came in 1941, hen U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister inston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, in hich they pledged to ork toards a more effective system to keep orld peace and promote cooperation. In 1942 representatives of the Alliesthe orld ar II coalition of 26 nations fighting against Germany and Japansigned a Declaration of United Nations accepting the principles of the Atlantic Charter. The declaration included the first formal use of the term United Nations, a name coined by President Roosevelt. A year later, four of the Alliesthe United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and Chinaagreed to establish a general international organization. The four countries met in 1944 at the Dumbarton Oaks estate in ashington, D.C. and drafted a charter for the ne organization. They called the ne league the United Nations. But they still could not agree to certain details, such as membership and voting rights. The four countries met again in early 1945 at a summit in Yalta. There, they settled their differences and called for a conference of nations to complete their ork. On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on International Organization convened in San Francisco, ith delegates from 50 countries attending. The delegates orked for to months to complete a charter for the UN that included its purpose, principles, and organizational structure. The charter contained a formal agreement committing all the orlds nations to a common set of basic rules governing their relations. The UN officially came into existence on October 24, 1945. Like the League of Nations, the UN as founded to promote peace and prevent another orld ar. The UN recognized it ould not be successful unless it had the ongoing support of the orlds most poerful countries. The organization took several steps to ensure that support. To encourage continued U.S. involvement, the UN placed its headquarters in Ne York City. To reassure the orlds most poerful countries that it ould not threaten their sovereignty, the UN gave them veto authority over its most important actions. Five countries received this veto poer the United States, Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China. Russia inherited the Soviet Unions veto after the breakup of that country in 1991. Another major strength of the UN, unlike the earlier League of Nations, is that virtually every territory in the orld is a member, or a province, or a colony of a member. Sitzerland is an exception, maintaining only an observer mission status, meaning it can participate in UN deliberations but cannot vote. Sitzerland has considered becoming a full UN member. Over the years that nations voters have rejected to referendums suggesting Sitzerland join. The Siss apparently prefer to maintain their neutral observer status. Some nonmember political entities, such as the Vatican City and the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO, also have permanent observer mission status at the UN. IVSTRUCTURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS The UNs charter established six distinct bodies that serve different functions 1 the General Assembly, 2 the Security Council, 3 the Secretariat, 4 the Economic and Social Council, 5 the International Court of Justice, and 6 the Trusteeship Council. VGENERAL ASSEMBLY The General Assembly is made up of all 185 member countries, each ith one vote. It undertakes all major discussions and decisions about UN actions. It is like a global ton hall, providing a poerful medium for countries to put forard their ideas and debate issues. The Assembly can discuss and make recommendations on any issue covered by the UNs charter. Hoever, the recommendations are not binding because the Assembly has no authority to enforce them. Members decide routine matters ith a simple majority vote. Important decisions require a to-thirds majority. The General Assembly meets annually in regular sessions that generally run from mid-September to mid-December. Recently the General Assembly has been meeting year round. It also convenes for special sessions every fe years on specific topics, such as economic cooperation or disarmament. In addition, the Assembly can meet in emergency session to deal ith an immediate threat to international peace. At the beginning of each regular session, Assembly members elect a president to presi...
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