Updated: September 21, 2020 5:30:08 pm
The UN boasts of several important achievements in the last 75 years. It has also expanded its scope to solve a large number of global problems such as health, the environment, the empowerment of women, among others.
The United Nations turned 75 this year. To commemorate the historic moment, world leaders gathered on Monday at a one-day high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly. The meeting, on the theme “The future we want, the UN we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism,” is a historic event, as for the first time in 75 years, the 193-member body will hold the session in a formal manner. virtual. due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The declaration adopted at the meeting looks back on the glorious years of the UN and highlights both its achievements and its failures. He also set his goals for the next decade. “The next 10 years, which have been designated as the decade of action and dedication for sustainable development, will be the most critical of our generation. It is even more important as we rebuild better from the COVID-19 pandemic, ”the report reads. The listed goals for the next ten years include the protection of the planet and the environment, the promotion of peace, gender equality and the empowerment of women, digital cooperation and sustainable financing.
The United Nations was born out of the horrors of World War II. At the time of its founding, it was primarily entrusted with the goal of maintaining world peace and saving future generations from the evils of war.
The birth of the United Nations
The UN was born from the ashes of another international organization created with the intention of keeping the war at bay. The League of Nations was created in June 1919, after World War I, as part of the Treaty of Versailles. However, when World War II broke out in 1939, the League closed and its headquarters in Geneva remained empty throughout the war.
Consequently, in August 1941, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill held a secret meeting aboard naval ships in Placenta Bay, located on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The heads of the two countries discussed the possibility of creating a body for the international peace effort and a series of issues related to the war. Together they issued a statement that was renamed the Atlantic Charter. It was not a treaty, but just a statement that paved the way for the creation of the UN. He declared the realization of “certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
The United States joined the war in December 1941, and for the first time President Roosevelt coined the term “United Nations” to identify allied countries against the Axis powers. On January 1, 1942, representatives from 26 allied nations met in Washington DC to sign the United Nations declaration, which basically spelled out the war goals of the allied powers.
During the next two years, several meetings were held between the four great allies (the United States of America, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and China) to decide on the post-war charter that would describe the precise role of the United States. Nations.
The United Nations finally emerged on October 24, 1945 after being ratified by 51 nations, which included five permanent members (France, the ROC, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and 46 other signatories. The first meeting of the General Assembly took place on January 10, 1946.
The four main objectives of the UN included maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations between nations, achieving international cooperation in solving international problems, and being at the center of harmonizing the actions of nations in achieving these. common purposes.
UN achievements and failures in the last 75 years
Although at the time of its formation, the UN consisted of only 51 member states, movements for independence and decolonization in the years that followed led to an expansion of its membership. Currently, 193 countries are members of the UN.
The UN boasts of several important achievements in the last 75 years. It has also expanded its scope to solve a large number of global problems such as health, the environment, the empowerment of women, among others.
Shortly after its formation, it passed a resolution to commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons in 1946. In 1948, it created the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat communicable diseases such as smallpox, malaria, HIV. Currently, WHO is the lead organization dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In 1950, the UN created the High Commissioner for Refugees to take care of the millions who had been displaced due to World War II. It continues to be at the forefront of the crises faced by refugees from countries around the world. In 1972, the UN environment program was created. More recently, in 2002, the UN established the UN criminal court to try those who committed war crimes, genocide and other atrocities.
The UN has also faced its share of criticism. In 1994, for example, the organization failed to stop the Rwandan genocide. In 2005, UN peacekeeping missions were accused of sexual misconduct in the Republic of the Congo, and similar complaints have also come from Cambodia and Haiti. In 2011, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan failed to eliminate the bloodshed sparked by the civil war that erupted in 2013.
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