A History of the UN

History

The United Nations was established as WW2 was ending in attempts to repair the global damage of war and destruction and goals of mending national relations and economies. Representatives of 50 nations met at the San Francisco Conference from April 25 to June 26 1945 in which the UN charter was drafted and signed by all nations. On October 24th 1945 the United Nations was officially established  after the UN Charter was ratified by “major” nation powers such as China and the United States. 

Main Organs

The basis of the United Nations is outlined by the six main organs of that make up the organization: 

  1. The General Assembly – main organ that contains representatives of each member state
  2. The Security Council (UNSC) – primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security 
  3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)  – the place where the world’s economic, social, and environmental challenges are discussed and debated, and policy recommendations issued
  4. The Trusteeship Council – established to provide international supervision to the 11 Trust Territories and to make sure that the adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-governance or independence 
    • Western Samoa
    • Tanganyika
    • Rwanda-Urundi
    • Cameroons under British administration
    • Cameroons under French administration
    • Togoland under British administration
    • Togoland under French administration
    • New Guinea
    • Nauru
    • Strategic Trust Territory/ Trust territory of the Pacific Islands
    • Italian Somaliland
  5. The Secretariat – the “secretary” of the organs, does the daily work, serves the other UN organs, and administers the programs and policies established by them
  6. International Court of Justice (only one outside of NYC–The Hague) – judicial organ; charged with settling legal disputes between States and giving advisory opinions to the UN and its 17 specialized agencies:
    1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
    2. International Atomic Energy Agency
    3. International Criminal Court
    4. International Fund for Agricultural Development
    5. International Labour Organization
    6. International Monetary Fund
    7. International Organization for Migration
    8. International Seabed Authority
    9. International Telecommunication Union
    10. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
    11. Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization
    12. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
    13. United Nations Industrial Development Organization
    14. World Bank
    15. World Health Organization
    16. World Intellectual Property Organization
    17. World Meteorological Organization

“Specialized Agencies.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/specialized-agencies.

“Un Structure.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/model-united-nations/un-structure.