United Nations

• Formal Establishment: On October 24, 1945, when the UN Charter was ratified by the five permanent members and a majority of signatory nations (celebrated annually as United Nations Day).
• Three Primary Objectives (Article 1 of UN Charter):
1. To Maintain International Peace and Security: To prevent wars, peacefully settle international disputes, and take collective military action to suppress acts of aggression.
2. To Develop Friendly Relations Among Nations: Based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
3. To Achieve International Cooperation: In solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems, and promoting universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.

• Composition of Security Council: Consists of 15 member nations:
1. 5 Permanent Members (P-5): United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France.
2. 10 Non-Permanent Members: Elected by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority for a two-year term representing different world geographic regions.
• The Veto Power:
On all important substantive matters, a resolution requires 9 votes, including the unanimous concurring votes of all five permanent members.
If any single P-5 member votes "No" (casts a negative vote), the resolution is immediately vetoed and killed, even if the remaining 14 members vote in favor!
(Abstaining from voting is not counted as a veto).

• Location: Situated at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands (the only principal organ of the UN located outside New York).
• Composition: Composed of 15 independent judges elected simultaneously by the General Assembly and Security Council for a term of 9 years.
• Jurisdiction:
1. Contentious Jurisdiction: Adjudicates and delivers binding legal verdicts on legal disputes submitted to it by sovereign states (e.g., maritime borders, territorial sovereignty).
2. Advisory Jurisdiction: Gives non-binding advisory legal opinions on legal questions referred to it by the General Assembly, Security Council, or authorized specialized agencies.

• (a) UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization):
• Headquarters: Paris, France.
• Function: Promotes global literacy, scientific research, cultural cooperation, and protects global monuments through its World Heritage Sites program.
• (b) UNICEF (UN International Children's Emergency Fund):
• Headquarters: New York City, USA.
• Function: Focuses on child welfare, child healthcare, infant survival, maternal health, primary education, and emergency relief.
• (c) WHO (World Health Organization):
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
• Function: Coordinates international public health, pandemic surveillance (COVID-19), disease eradication (Smallpox, Polio), and sets global drug and nutrition standards.

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): A historic milestone international document proclaiming the inalienable, fundamental civil, political, economic, and social rights to which every human being on Earth is inherently entitled, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, or nationality.
• Adoption: Adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948.
• Human Rights Day: Celebrated globally every year on December 10 to commemorate this historic declaration.

• Role: UN Peacekeeping operations are deployed by the Security Council to war-torn regions to monitor ceasefires, maintain buffer zones between warring factions, protect civilians, disarm combatants, and facilitate humanitarian aid.
• Common Name: Commonly referred to as "Blue Helmets" (or Blue Berets) because soldiers wear distinct UN-blue helmets and badges to signify neutral international humanitarian peacekeeping rather than combat aggression.

• Appointment: Appointed by the General Assembly on the formal recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year renewable term.
• Responsibilities:
1. Functions as the Chief Administrative Officer and head of the UN Secretariat.
2. Acts as the world's top diplomatic mediator, using "quiet diplomacy" to mediate international disputes.
3. Empowered under Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that may threaten international peace.

• Because it is the only organ of the United Nations in which all 193 sovereign member states (from superpower nations like the USA to tiny island states like Nauru) are equally represented.
• Every member country has an equal platform and possesses exactly one vote.
• It serves as the open, universal parliament of humanity where all pressing global issues (climate change, poverty, human rights, disarmament) are freely debated and discussed.