78th Foundation Day of United Nations

78th Foundation Day of United Nations

Important for Prelims:

78th Foundation Day of the United Nations, United Nations Charter, Theme of UN Day 2023, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD

Important for Main Exam:

History of United Nations, Major Role of United Nations, United Nations and India Relations

October 25, 2023

In News:

  • Recently, the 78th Foundation Day of the United Nations was celebrated on 24 October.

United Nations Day

About:

  • The United Nations Charter was officially accepted on 24 October 1945.

UN Charter:

  • The United Nations Charter is the founding document of the United Nations, which works towards global equality and peace.
  • United Nations Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Charter, highlight the organization's achievements and raise awareness of its goals.
  • Theme of UN Day 2023: "Equality, freedom and justice for all".

Purpose of celebrating United Nations Day

  • Celebrating diversity is important on UN Day and it recognizes the diversity of cultures, faiths and languages found around the world. On this day, countries come together to promote the concepts of harmony and peace among individuals of different origins.
  • On 24th October, the following facts are considered and discussed:
  • Diversity, spirit of cooperation among nations, equality, peace, unity, justice and universal respect for international law, human rights, fundamental freedoms

History of the United Nations

  • With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations was officially established in the year 1945.
  • The United Nations was officially established on October 24, 1945, after the United Nations Charter was ratified by China, the Soviet Union, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as well as other signatories.
  • US President Franklin D. Roosevelt coined the name “United Nations”.

Signing of the UN Charter:

  • The United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 by representatives of 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the conference, signed the charter at a later stage and became one of the original 51 member states.
  • The first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly was held on January 10, 1946.
  • Currently, the United Nations has 193 member states.
  • There are a number of specialized agencies responsible for carrying out the mission of the United Nations and working in accordance with the goals and principles stated in the Charter.

Main Functions:

  • Upholding international law,
  • Maintaining world peace and security,
  • Protecting human rights,
  • Providing humanitarian relief, and
  • To pursue sustainable development.
  • official languages of the united nations
  • There are six official languages of the United Nations:- 1. Arabic 2. Chinese 3. English 4. French 5. Russian 6. Spanish

UN funding

  • The United States, Japan, China and Germany contribute most of the finances to the United Nations.
  • This economic contribution to the United Nations is determined by the population size, national revenue and ability to pay of the member countries.

key role of the United Nations

  • Controlling nuclear proliferation
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established as an autonomous organization by the United Nations in the year 1957 to control nuclear proliferation.
  • Maintaining peace and security
  • Over the past 60 years, the United Nations has played a vital role in ending violence and unrest in unstable regions around the world.
  • Support for disarmament
  • The United Nations has been supporting disarmament efforts through treaty agreements like the Chemical Weapons Convention-1997, Mine-Ban Convention-1997, Arms Trade Treaty-2014 etc.
  • Promote development
  • Development actions have been promoted by the United Nations through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to raise living standards and human capabilities around the world.
  • The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have played an important role in meeting the development goals of the United Nations.
  • Economic development
  • The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a United Nations organization, helps developing countries maximize their trade potential.
  • World Bank and IMF provide financial assistance to developing countries to complete various projects.
  • Playing the role of global think tank
  • The United Nations Statistics Division is the hub of the global statistical system, collecting and disseminating data on global economic, demographic, social, gender, environmental and energy trends.
  • The United Nations Population Division is a leading source of information and research on global population trends, producing updated estimates and demographic projections.
  • To preserve historical architecture and natural sites
    • UNESCO has assisted 137 countries in protecting historical, cultural and natural sites.
    • To protect cultural properties, cultural diversity and exceptional natural and cultural places, it has negotiated international agreements.
    • More than a thousand of these places have been named World Heritage Sites because of their outstanding universal significance.
  • To protect and improve the environment
  • Climate change is a global problem that demands global solutions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together 2,000 leading climate change scientists, releases comprehensive scientific assessments every 5-6 years.
  • Declaration of human rights
    • Human rights were universally declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
    • It has helped create dozens of legally binding agreements on political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.

United Nations and India

India's role

  • India has been a founding member of the United Nations (UN) and played an important role in the activities of the United Nations. India formally received membership of the United Nations by participating in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
  • In 1944, India, along with other original UN members, signed the Declaration by the United Nations in Washington DC. This declaration laid the foundation for the establishment of the United Nations and United Nations Day.
  • India had expressed concern over issues like colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in the United Nations General Assembly in 1946.
  • India was the first country to bring the issue of apartheid and discriminatory treatment of Indians in South Africa to the attention of the United Nations.
  • India also played an important role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
  • However, India's experience with the United Nations has not always been positive. In the case of the Kashmir issue, India's trust in the UN and its adherence to its principles proved costly, as the organization appeared to be influenced by pro-Pakistan forces.
  • India also recognizes and makes people aware of the goals and achievements of the United Nations on UN Day.

United Nations' contribution to India

  • The United Nations agencies, offices, programs and funds operating in India constitute one of the largest United Nations field networks worldwide.
  • The Asian and Pacific Center for Technology Transfer (APCTT), established in New Delhi in 1977, is a regional institute of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
  • Its primary focus is on the entire Asia-Pacific region. The Centre's activities revolve around technology information, technology transfer and innovation management.
  • The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) began its operations in India in 1948 with the aim of revolutionizing the food and agricultural sectors of the country through technical assistance and policy support.
  • Over time, FAO's involvement has expanded to include issues such as food access, nutrition, livelihoods, rural development and sustainable agriculture.
  • With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), FAO's efforts in India will primarily focus on promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Conclusion:

  • The United Nations has been playing an important role in strengthening global peace, security and unity around the world and to maintain this continuously, United Nations Day is celebrated every year. There is a need that all the member countries, especially the nuclear-armed countries, should fulfill their promise to come together on United Nations Day to maintain peace throughout the world.

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Mains Exam Question

Discuss the relations between India and the United Nations.