Objectives United Nations

1 objectives

1.1 peacekeeping , security
1.2 human rights
1.3 economic development , humanitarian assistance
1.4 other

objectives
peacekeeping , security


bolivian blue helmet @ exercise in chile, 21 october 2002

the un, after approval security council, sends peacekeepers regions armed conflict has ceased or paused enforce terms of peace agreements , discourage combatants resuming hostilities. since un not maintain own military, peacekeeping forces voluntarily provided member states. these soldiers nicknamed blue helmets distinctive gear. peacekeeping force whole received nobel peace prize in 1988.

in september 2013, un had peacekeeping soldiers deployed on 15 missions. largest united nations organization stabilization mission in democratic republic of congo (monusco), included 20,688 uniformed personnel. smallest, united nations military observer group in india , pakistan (unmogip), included 42 uniformed personnel responsible monitoring ceasefire in jammu , kashmir. un peacekeepers united nations truce supervision organization (untso) have been stationed in middle east since 1948, longest-running active peacekeeping mission.

a study rand corporation in 2005 found un successful in 2 out of 3 peacekeeping efforts. compared efforts @ nation-building un of united states, , found 7 out of 8 un cases @ peace, compared 4 out of 8 cases @ peace. in 2005, human security report documented decline in number of wars, genocides, , human rights abuses since end of cold war, , presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, international activism—mostly spearheaded un—has been main cause of decline in armed conflict in period. situations in un has not acted keep peace intervened include korean war (1950–53) , authorization of intervention in iraq after gulf war (1990–91).

un buffer zone in cyprus established in 1974 following turkish invasion of cyprus.

the un has drawn criticism perceived failures. in many cases, member states have shown reluctance achieve or enforce security council resolutions. disagreements in security council military action , intervention seen having failed prevent bangladesh genocide in 1971, cambodian genocide in 1970s, , rwandan genocide in 1994. similarly, un inaction blamed failing either prevent srebrenica massacre in 1995 or complete peacekeeping operations in 1992–93 during somali civil war. un peacekeepers have been accused of child rape, soliciting prostitutes, , sexual abuse during various peacekeeping missions in democratic republic of congo, haiti, liberia, sudan , south sudan, burundi, , ivory coast. scientists cited un peacekeepers nepal source of 2010–13 haiti cholera outbreak, killed more 8,000 haitians following 2010 haiti earthquake.

in addition peacekeeping, un active in encouraging disarmament. regulation of armaments included in writing of un charter in 1945 , envisioned way of limiting use of human , economic resources creation. advent of nuclear weapons came weeks after signing of charter, resulting in first resolution of first general assembly meeting calling specific proposals elimination national armaments of atomic weapons , of other major weapons adaptable mass destruction . un has been involved arms-limitation treaties, such outer space treaty (1967), treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (1968), seabed arms control treaty (1971), biological weapons convention (1972), chemical weapons convention (1992), , ottawa treaty (1997), prohibits landmines. 3 un bodies oversee arms proliferation issues: international atomic energy agency, organization prohibition of chemical weapons, , comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty organization preparatory commission.

human rights

one of un s primary purposes promoting , encouraging respect human rights , fundamental freedoms without distinction race, sex, language, or religion , , member states pledge undertake joint , separate action protect these rights.

eleanor roosevelt universal declaration of human rights in spanish, 1949

in 1948, general assembly adopted universal declaration of human rights, drafted committee headed franklin d. roosevelt s widow, eleanor, , including french lawyer rené cassin. document proclaims basic civil, political, , economic rights common human beings, though effectiveness towards achieving these ends has been disputed since drafting. declaration serves common standard of achievement peoples , nations rather legally binding document, has become basis of 2 binding treaties, 1966 international covenant on civil , political rights , international covenant on economic, social , cultural rights. in practice, un unable take significant action against human rights abuses without security council resolution, though substantial work in investigating , reporting abuses.

in 1979, general assembly adopted convention on elimination of forms of discrimination against women, followed convention on rights of child in 1989. end of cold war, push human rights action took on new impetus. united nations commission on human rights formed in 1993 oversee human rights issues un, following recommendation of year s world conference on human rights. jacques fomerand, scholar of un, describes organization s mandate broad , vague , meagre resources carry out. in 2006, replaced human rights council consisting of 47 nations. in 2006, general assembly passed declaration on rights of indigenous peoples, , in 2011 passed first resolution recognizing rights of lgbt people.

other un bodies responsible women s rights issues include united nations commission on status of women, commission of ecosoc founded in 1946; united nations development fund women, created in 1976; , united nations international research , training institute advancement of women, founded in 1979. un permanent forum on indigenous issues, 1 of 3 bodies mandate oversee issues related indigenous peoples, held first session in 2002.

economic development , humanitarian assistance

another primary purpose of un achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character . numerous bodies have been created work towards goal, under authority of general assembly , ecosoc. in 2000, 192 un member states agreed achieve 8 millennium development goals 2015.

the un development programme (undp), organization grant-based technical assistance founded in 1945, 1 of leading bodies in field of international development. organization publishes un human development index, comparative measure ranking countries poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, , other factors. food , agriculture organization (fao), founded in 1945, promotes agricultural development , food security. unicef (the united nations children s fund) created in 1946 aid european children after second world war , expanded mission provide aid around world , uphold convention on rights of child.

three former directors of global smallpox eradication programme read news smallpox had been globally eradicated, 1980

the world bank group , international monetary fund (imf) independent, specialized agencies , observers within un framework, according 1947 agreement. formed separately un through bretton woods agreement in 1944. world bank provides loans international development, while imf promotes international economic co-operation , gives emergency loans indebted countries.

in jordan, unhcr remains responsible syrian refugees , zaatari refugee camp

the world health organization (who), focuses on international health issues , disease eradication, of un s largest agencies. in 1980, agency announced eradication of smallpox had been completed. in subsequent decades, largely eradicated polio, river blindness, , leprosy. joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids), begun in 1996, co-ordinates organization s response aids epidemic. un population fund, dedicates part of resources combating hiv, world s largest source of funding reproductive health , family planning services.

along international red cross , red crescent movement, un takes leading role in co-ordinating emergency relief. world food programme (wfp), created in 1961, provides food aid in response famine, natural disasters, , armed conflict. organization reports feeds average of 90 million people in 80 nations each year. office of united nations high commissioner refugees (unhcr), established in 1950, works protect rights of refugees, asylum seekers, , stateless people. unhcr , wfp programmes funded voluntary contributions governments, corporations, , individuals, though unhcr s administrative costs paid un s primary budget.

other

since un s creation, on 80 colonies have attained independence. general assembly adopted declaration on granting of independence colonial countries , peoples in 1960 no votes against abstentions major colonial powers. un works towards decolonization through groups including un committee on decolonization, created in 1962. committee lists seventeen remaining non-self-governing territories , largest , populous of western sahara.

beginning formation of un environmental programme (unep) in 1972, un has made environmental issues prominent part of agenda. lack of success in first 2 decades of un work in area led 1992 earth summit in rio de janeiro, brazil, sought give new impetus these efforts. in 1988, unep , world meteorological organization (wmo), un organization, established intergovernmental panel on climate change, assesses , reports on research on global warming. un-sponsored kyoto protocol, signed in 1997, set legally binding emissions reduction targets ratifying states.

the un declares , co-ordinates international observances, periods of time observe issues of international interest or concern. examples include world tuberculosis day, earth day, , international year of deserts , desertification.