Backgrounder
About the United Nations
Hubert H. Humphrey
The United Nations is central to global efforts to solve problems which challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations known together as the UN system. Day in and day out, the UN and its family of organizations work to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment, fight disease, continue development and reduce poverty. UN agencies also define the standards for safe and efficient transport by air and sea, improve telecommunications, enhance consumer protection, and work to ensure respect for intellectual property rights and coordinate allocation of radio frequencies. The United Nations leads the international campaigns against illicit drug trafficking and terrorism. In its most publicized activity, the UN and its agencies assist refugees and set up programmes to clear landmines, help improve the quality of drinking water and expand food production, make loans to developing countries and help stabilize financial markets.
The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 nation-states committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN189 countries in all.
When nation-states become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights, and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
UN Members are sovereign states. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not enforce laws. Additionally, the United Nations does not exhibit common qualities of any government; it cannot levy taxes nor can it maintain a standing military force. It does, however, organize the means to help resolve international conflict and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member Stateslarge and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systemshave a voice and vote in this process.
The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located in The Hague, Netherlands.