UN (United Nations)

The United Nations (UN ) is an international body created on October 24, 1945, after World War II and headquartered in New York City, United States.

The function of the body is to maintain international peace and security , as well as developing cooperation between peoples.

It seeks to solve social, humanitarian, cultural and economic problems, promoting respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights.

Aims of the UN

Keep the peace :in order to achieve this objective, the UN will be able to collectively take measures to preserve the peace and to repress acts of aggression towards its rupture. The UN will seek peaceful means with the aid of justice and international law and, thus, reach a solution to situations that jeopardize the maintenance of peace;
Cooperation among nations :relations between nations will be friendly and based on the principle of equal rights, self-determination of peoples and the strengthening of world peace;
Contribute to the solution of economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems :the actions will be directed to the promotion of individual and collective rights, regardless of race, color, religion, language or sex;
Harmonization Center :built and structured to develop actions that guarantee the fulfillment of objectives.

The creation of the UN

After World War II, on August 19, 1945, the balance left was devastating. There were more than 30 million injured and at least 50 million dead distributed in countless destroyed cities.

Nations like France, England and Germany were devastated. Poland alone had lost six million inhabitants, and Japan, 1.5 million as a result of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

There were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps.

The world was politically divided between capitalists and socialists, led respectively by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was the beginning of the Cold War, a period of uncertainty and insecurity.

Yalta Conference

In February 1945, even before the end of the war was made official, the Yalta Conference was held, on the shores of the Black Sea, in Crimea (Soviet Union).

Franklin Roosevelt (1858-1911), Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and Josef Stalin (1878-1953) began to discuss the creation of the UN.

This discussion was guided by bases other than the League of Nations, which ended up failing.

Meeting in San Francisco (United States), between April 25 and June 26, 1945, representatives of 50 countries drafted and signed the United Nations Charter .

The document officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.

As a result of this date, October 24th is now celebrated annually as United Nations Day , which has been going on since 1948.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a document proclaimed by the UN on December 10, 1948. It consists of 30 articles that aim to reinforce what was presented in the United Nations Charter.

The purpose of the Declaration is to serve as an ideal of a just, egalitarian and fraternal society, which guarantees the freedom and dignity of the human person.

In its first article, it states:

Main organs of the UN

Based in New York, the UN comprises 5 main bodies :

Security Advisory;
General Assembly;
Secretariat;
Economic and Social Council;
International Court of Justice.

They are bodies that work separately, but with wide intercommunication, coordinating the activities of the organization.

The Trusteeship Council had the function of protecting peoples without self-government, being composed of members of the Security Council and others elected by the General Assembly.

It was deactivated in 1997, three years after the independence of the last colony, Palau, which became a member state of the United Nations, in December 1994. The council only meets at the request of the General Assembly.

1. Security Council

The Security Council is considered the most important organ of the UN. It is up to the Council to maintain world peace. He can propose agreements or decide on armed actions.

It is composed of five permanent members, with the right to veto:

United States;
Russia (before 1991 it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics);
United Kingdom;
France;
China (initially Nationalist China, Taiwan, and from 1971, Mainland China, communist).

In addition, there are 10 appointed by the General Assembly for a period of two years.

Brazil, among other countries, is demanding the expansion of the number of permanent members of the Security Council and their participation among them.

2. UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly is made up of representatives from all member countries, each having one right to vote.

Its role is to discuss issues related to peace, security, well-being and justice in the world.

It cannot make decisions, presenting only a vote of recommendation and an advisory role.

3. UN General Secretariat

The UN Secretariat General is headed by the Secretary-General, the main authority of the UN, who has the function of administering the institution.

It is elected for 5 years (with the right to re-election), by the Security Council and approved by the General Assembly.

In 2019, the Portuguese diplomat Antônio Guterres occupies this role. His term ends in 2022.

4. Economic and Social Council

The objective of the Economic and Social Council is to promote the economic and social well-being of populations.

It works through commissions such as the Human Rights Commission, the Women's Statutes Commission, the Narcotics Commission, among others.

It also coordinates specialized agencies, such as:

Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization);
Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund);
the ILO (International Labor Organization);
the IMF (International Monetary Fund);
ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America);
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization);
the WHO (World Health Organization).

5. International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the main legal body of the UN. It is based in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Unicef

Unicef was created on December 11, 1946 by decision of the UN General Assembly. Initially, UNICEF programs provided emergency assistance to child victims of war in Europe, the Middle East and China.

With Europe rebuilt, UNICEF's work was directed towards assisting children suffering from hunger in the world. Thus, in 1953, Unicef joined the UN as a permanent body.

The body, whose headquarters are in New York, serves 191 countries, with the support of 36 national committees, eight regional offices and 126 in the countries where it operates.

See also:Refugee Crisis in Brazil and in the World

Unesco

UNESCO, whose headquarters are in Paris, is considered the intellectual agency of the UN. It was created in 1945 to respond to post-war needs.

Among the unesco goals are:

act for the access of every child in the school;
protect heritage and cultural diversity;
promote scientific cooperation between countries;
protect freedom of expression.

IMF

The IMF was created in 1945, its headquarters are located in Washington, D.C:and today it brings together 188 countries. Among the objectives of the fund are:

the promotion of monetary cooperation at the international level;
the guarantee of financial stability;
the ease of international trade;
promoting actions that guarantee;
economic growth;
the reduction of poverty in the world