United Nations

An intergovernmental organization with global membership that provides an institutional structure through which states can try to settle conflict with less reliance on the use of force.

The United Nations (UN) was created in 1945 when representatives of fifty countries gathered at the UN Conference on International Organization in San Francisco to draw up the UN Charter. The forerunner of the UN was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during World War I and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles “to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.”

In the 1950s and 1960s, the UN’s membership more than doubled as colonies in Africa and Asia won independence. The composition of the UN has changed, such that developing countries now comprise the majority. They have pressed for a new agenda focused on the economic and social development of the developing world. Developing countries have used the UN as a forum for criticizing the economic policies of the developed countries. UN members now number 191 countries.

The UN Charter established six organs: the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, the Trusteeship Council, and the International Court of Justice. In addition to these depart ments, there are a variety of specialized programs and funds. The Security Council is the primary body for dealing with issues of international peace and security, two of the primary purposes of the UN as set forth in the charter. The Security Council is composed of fifteen members: five permanent members with veto power (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and ten elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Each council member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of at least nine of the fifteen members. Decisions on substantive matters require nine votes, including the concurring votes of all five permanent members with veto power. Under the charter, all members of the UN agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council.

Economic Agencies and Programs

Although most people associate the UN with the issues of peace and security, as much as 70 percent of its resources are devoted to economic development, social development, and sustainable development. From its inception, the UN has focused on the economic and social sources of conflict. The assumption is that violence arises from poverty, illiteracy, and disease. The UN has sponsored summit meetings to discuss global social and economic problems, including the Earth Summit (the UN Conference on Environment and Development) in Brazil in 1992, the Millennium Summit in New York in 2000, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.

A number of UN programs and funds work under the authority of the General Assembly and ECOSOC to carry out the UN’s economic and social mandate. The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. It is composed of representatives from all member states, each of which has one vote. Although the decisions of the assembly do not have a legally binding force on governments, they carry the weight of world opinion on major international issues, as well as the moral authority of the world community.

Although most people associate the United Nations with issues of peace and security, as much as 70 percent of its resources are devoted to economic, social, and sustainable development. (National Archives at College Park)

Since 1960, the General Assembly has set social and development priorities and goals through ten-year international development strategies. Objectives have included sustainable development, the advancement of women, human rights, environmental protection, and good governance. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders adopted a set of Millennium Development Goals aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; and ensuring environmental sustainability. These goals will be evaluated through a set of measurable targets to be achieved by 2015. Among these targets are a 50 percent reduction in people who earn less than a dollar a day, a 50 percent reduction in the number of people who do not have access to safe drinking water, and assurance that all children complete a full course of primary education.

Under the UN Charter, ECOSOC is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social, and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and encouraging universal respect for human rights and basic freedoms. ECOSOC is composed of fifty-four member states elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms. ECOSOC coordinates the work of the fourteen autonomous agencies working with the UN (such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank group, and the World Trade Organization); ten functional commissions that deal with global topics such as population growth, narcotics trafficking, and the status of women; five regional commissions that focus on the success of programs in different regions of the world; and eleven UN funds and programs (such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], UN Development Programme [UNDP], and the World Food Program). ECOSOC issues policy recommendations to the different UN organs and to member states.

Several of the funds and programs overseen by ECOSOC have grown in importance. The UN Environment Program (UNEP) has become more prominent in the last ten years as the economic development of the developing world and the growing economies of the industrialized world have taken a toll on the environment. The work of the UNEP is guided by the principles adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992. The UNDP, which is funded by voluntary contributions, coordinates all UN efforts related to technical development assistance. UNCTAD is the main organ dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. It seeks to negotiate international trade agreements to stabilize commodity prices and promote development. Throughout developing countries, the UN maintains an active presence in economic and social affairs.

Lilian A. Barria

See also: World War II.

Bibliography

Baehr, Peter R., and Leon Gordenker. The United Nations: At the End of the 1990s. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

Mingst, Karen A., and Margaret P. Karns. The United Nations in the Post–Cold War Era. Boulder: Westview, 2000.

Yoder, Amos. The Evolution of the United Nations. Washington, DC: Taylor and Francis, 1997.

Ziring, Lawrence, Robert Riggs, and Janck Plano. The United Nations: International Organization and World Politics. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 2000.