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TOPICS
The name "United Nations" was devised by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations" of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. The Charter of the United Nations was drawn up by the representatives of 50 countries at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which met at San Francisco in June, 1945, and the United Nations officially came into existence the following October. A central purpose of the United Nations has been to preserve world peace. The UN has helped resolve disputes between nations, prevent conflicts, and put an end to fighting. It has carried out complex operations involving peacemaking, peacekeeping, and has played a major role in resolving some of the most protracted conflicts of recent years. The means at its disposal are varied--from unpublicized diplomatic approaches during informal encounters to the dispatch of peacekeeping forces made up of contingents voluntarily provided by Member States.
Military peacekeepers are the most visible, but not the only, UN peace presence in the field. The Secretary-General plays a central role in peacemaking, both personally and through special envoys. The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which appears to threaten international peace and security may use his "good offices" to carry out mediation, or exercise "quiet diplomacy" behind the scenes. The Secretary-General also conducts "preventive diplomacy" to help resolve disputes before they escalate. In many instances, the Secretary-General has been instrumental in securing a peace agreement or in averting a threat to peace. UN envoys and other civilian personnel are also engaged in diplomacy, human rights monitoring, humanitarian assistance, and other peace efforts in scores of regions threatened or afflicted by fighting.
The Charter goals of justice and equal rights, for individuals and for peoples, have been also been pursued by the United Nations from its inception. As one of its first tasks, the UN formulated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a historic proclamation of the basic rights and freedoms to which all men and women are entitled - the right to life, liberty and nationality, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to work, to be educated, to take part in government, and many other rights. Two International Covenants adopted in 1966 - one on economic, social and cultural rights and the other on civil and political rights - have expanded and made legally binding the rights set forth in the Declaration. These three documents constitute the International Bill of Human Rights, a standard and a goal for all countries and peoples. The UN has put in place mechanisms to further human rights: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights coordinates all the human rights activities of the UN, and seeks to prevent violations, investigates abuses and works with governments in resolving violations.
When countries are stricken by war, famine or natural disaster, the United Nations helps provide humanitarian aid. Part of this aid is in the form of direct assistance from the UN operational agencies and programmes: the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for the protection and assistance of over 26 million people around the world who have fled war or persecution, seeking at the same time durable solutions to their plight. Lasting world peace can be realized only through social and economic development for all peoples of the world. This link is recognized by the Charter, which assigns to the UN, as one of its main functions, the promotion of higher standards of living, full employment and economic and social progress. Thus a major part of the work of the United Nations system of organizations--measured in terms of budget and personnel involved--goes into numerous programmes aimed at achieving a better life for people everywhere.
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