History United Nations

1 history

1.1 background
1.2 1942 declaration of united nations allies of world war ii
1.3 founding
1.4 cold war era
1.5 post-cold war

history


1943 sketch franklin roosevelt of un original 3 branches: 4 policemen, executive branch, , international assembly of forty un member states.


background

in century prior un s creation, several international treaty organizations , conferences had been formed regulate conflicts between nations, such international committee of red cross , hague conventions of 1899 , 1907. following catastrophic loss of life in first world war, paris peace conference established league of nations maintain harmony between countries. organization resolved territorial disputes , created international structures areas such postal mail, aviation, , opium control, of later absorbed un. however, league lacked representation colonial peoples (then half world s population) , significant participation several major powers, including us, ussr, germany, , japan; failed act against japanese invasion of manchuria in 1931, second italo-ethiopian war in 1935, japanese invasion of china in 1937, , german expansions under adolf hitler culminated in second world war.

1942 declaration of united nations allies of world war ii

the earliest concrete plan new world organization began under aegis of state department in 1939. text of declaration united nations drafted president franklin roosevelt, british prime minister winston churchill, , roosevelt aide harry hopkins, while meeting @ white house, 29 december 1941. incorporated soviet suggestions, left no role france. 4 policemen coined refer 4 major allied countries, united states, united kingdom, soviet union, , china, emerged in declaration united nations. roosevelt first coined term united nations describe allied countries. on new year s day 1942, president roosevelt, prime minister churchill, maxim litvinov, of ussr, , t. v. soong, of china, signed short document later came known united nations declaration , next day representatives of twenty-two other nations added signatures. term united nations first officially used when 26 governments signed declaration. 1 major change atlantic charter addition of provision religious freedom, stalin approved after roosevelt insisted. 1 march 1945, 21 additional states had signed.

a joint declaration united states of america, united kingdom of great britain , northern ireland, union of soviet socialist republics, china, australia, belgium, canada, costa rica, cuba, czechoslovakia, dominican republic, el salvador, greece, guatemala, haiti, honduras, india, luxembourg, netherlands, new zealand, nicaragua, norway, panama, poland, south africa, yugoslavia

the governments signatory hereto,

having subscribed common program of purposes , principles embodied in joint declaration of president of united states of america , prime minister of great britain dated august 14, 1941, known atlantic charter,

being convinced complete victory on enemies essential defend life, liberty, independence , religious freedom, , preserve human rights , justice in own lands in other lands, , engaged in common struggle against savage , brutal forces seeking subjugate world,

declare:

the foregoing declaration may adhered other nations are, or may be, rendering material assistance , contributions in struggle victory on hitlerism.

during war, united nations became official term allies. join, countries had sign declaration , declare war on axis.

founding

the un in 1945. in light blue, founding members. in dark blue, protectorates , territories of founding members.

the un formulated , negotiated among delegations allied big 4 (the soviet union, uk, us, , china) @ dumbarton oaks conference in 1944. after months of planning, un conference on international organization opened in san francisco, 25 april 1945, attended 50 governments , number of non-governmental organizations involved in drafting un charter. heads of delegations of sponsoring countries took turns chairman of plenary meetings: anthony eden, of britain, edward stettinius, of united states, t. v. soong, of china, , vyacheslav molotov, of soviet union. @ later meetings, lord halifax deputized mr. eden, wellington koo t. v. soong, , mr gromyko mr. molotov. un officially came existence 24 october 1945, upon ratification of charter 5 permanent members of security council—france, republic of china, soviet union, uk , us—and majority of other 46 signatories.

the first meetings of general assembly, 51 nations represented, , security council took place in london beginning 10 january 1946. general assembly selected new york city site headquarters of un, , facility completed in 1952. site—like un headquarters buildings in geneva, vienna, , nairobi—is designated international territory. norwegian foreign minister, trygve lie, elected first un secretary-general.

cold war era

dag hammarskjöld particularly active secretary-general 1953 until death in 1961.

though un s primary mandate peacekeeping, division between , ussr paralysed organization, allowing intervene in conflicts distant cold war. (a notable exception security council resolution in 1950 authorizing us-led coalition repel north korean invasion of south korea, passed in absence of ussr.) in 1947, general assembly approved resolution partition palestine, approving creation of state of israel. 2 years later, ralph bunche, un official, negotiated armistice resulting conflict. in 1956, first un peacekeeping force established end suez crisis; however, un unable intervene against ussr s simultaneous invasion of hungary following country s revolution.

in 1960, un deployed united nations operation in congo (unoc), largest military force of decades, bring order breakaway state of katanga, restoring control of democratic republic of congo 1964. while travelling meet rebel leader moise tshombe during conflict, dag hammarskjöld, named 1 of un s effective secretaries-general, died in plane crash; months later posthumously awarded nobel peace prize. in 1964, hammarskjöld s successor, u thant, deployed un peacekeeping force in cyprus, become 1 of un s longest-running peacekeeping missions.

with spread of decolonization in 1960s, organization s membership saw influx of newly independent nations. in 1960 alone, 17 new states joined un, 16 of them africa. on 25 october 1971, opposition united states, support of many third world nations, mainland, communist people s republic of china given chinese seat on security council in place of republic of china occupied taiwan; vote seen sign of waning influence in organization. third world nations organized group of 77 coalition under leadership of algeria, briefly became dominant power @ un. in 1975, bloc comprising ussr , third world nations passed resolution, on strenuous , israeli opposition, declaring zionism racism; resolution repealed in 1991, shortly after end of cold war.

with increasing third world presence , failure of un mediation in conflicts in middle east, vietnam, , kashmir, un increasingly shifted attention ostensibly secondary goals of economic development , cultural exchange. 1970s, un budget social , economic development far greater peacekeeping budget.

post-cold war

kofi annan, secretary-general 1997 2006

after cold war, un saw radical expansion in peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in ten years had in previous 4 decades. between 1988 , 2000, number of adopted security council resolutions more doubled, , peacekeeping budget increased more tenfold. un negotiated end salvadoran civil war, launched successful peacekeeping mission in namibia, , oversaw democratic elections in post-apartheid south africa , post-khmer rouge cambodia. in 1991, un authorized us-led coalition repulsed iraqi invasion of kuwait. brian urquhart, under-secretary-general 1971 1985, later described hopes raised these successes false renaissance organization, given more troubled missions followed.

though un charter had been written prevent aggression 1 nation against another, in 1990s un faced number of simultaneous, serious crises within nations such somalia, haiti, mozambique, , former yugoslavia. un mission in somalia viewed failure after withdrawal following casualties in battle of mogadishu, , un mission bosnia faced worldwide ridicule indecisive , confused mission in face of ethnic cleansing. in 1994, un assistance mission rwanda failed intervene in rwandan genocide amid indecision in security council.

beginning in last decades of cold war, american , european critics of un condemned organization perceived mismanagement , corruption. in 1984, president, ronald reagan, withdrew nation s funding unesco (the united nations educational, scientific , cultural organization, founded 1946) on allegations of mismanagement, followed britain , singapore. boutros boutros-ghali, secretary-general 1992 1996, initiated reform of secretariat, reducing size of organization somewhat. successor, kofi annan (1997–2006), initiated further management reforms in face of threats united states withhold un dues.

in late 1990s , 2000s, international interventions authorized un took wider variety of forms. un mission in sierra leone civil war of 1991–2002 supplemented british royal marines, , invasion of afghanistan in 2001 overseen nato.in 2003, united states invaded iraq despite failing pass un security council resolution authorization, prompting new round of questioning of organization s effectiveness. under eighth secretary-general, ban ki-moon, un has intervened peacekeepers in crises including war in darfur in sudan , kivu conflict in democratic republic of congo , sent observers , chemical weapons inspectors syrian civil war. in 2013, internal review of un actions in final battles of sri lankan civil war in 2009 concluded organization had suffered systemic failure . 1 hundred , 1 un personnel died in 2010 haiti earthquake, worst loss of life in organization s history.

the millennium summit held in 2000 discuss un s role in 21st century. 3 day meeting largest gathering of world leaders in history, , culminated in adoption member states of millennium development goals (mdgs), commitment achieve international development in areas such poverty reduction, gender equality, , public health. progress towards these goals, met 2015, uneven. 2005 world summit reaffirmed un s focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights, , global security. sustainable development goals launched in 2015 succeed millennium development goals.

in addition addressing global challenges, un has sought improve accountability , democratic legitimacy engaging more civil society , fostering global constituency. in effort enhance transparency, in 2016 organization held first public debate between candidates secretary-general. on january 1, 2017, portuguese diplomat antónio guterres, served un high commissioner refugees, became ninth secretary-general. guterres has highlighted several key goals administration, including emphasis on diplomacy preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, , streamlining organization more responsive , versatile global needs.

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