The
Founding
Of
The
UN
Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations
Signed on June 26, 1945
Brought into force on October 24, 1945
"We the peoples of the United Nations
determined to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war,
which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow
to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and
women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions
under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from
treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom,
and for these ends
to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as
good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international
peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and
the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save
in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the
promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,
have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives
assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full
powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present
Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international
organization to be known as the United Nations."
THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
General Assembly
Security Council
Economic & Social Council
International Court of Justice
Secretariat
Trusteeship Council
- INSTRAW International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
- UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
- UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- UNDP United Nations Development Programme
- UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
- UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
- UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- UNICEF United Nations Childrens Fund
- UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women
- UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research
- UNU United Nations University
- WFC World Food Council
- UNDCP United Nations International Drug Control Programme
- WFP World Food Programme
- ITC International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT
- ILO International Labor Organization
- FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- WHO World Health Organization
World Bank Group:
- IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World
Bank)
- IDA International Development Association
- IFC International Finance Corporation
- IMF International Monetary Fund
- ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
- UPU Universal Postal Union
- ITU International Telecommunication Union
- WMO World Meteorological Organization
- IMO International Maritime Organization
- WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
- IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
- UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
- GATT General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade
Functional Commissions:
- Commission for Social Development
- Commission on Human Rights
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Population Commission
- Statistical Commission
Regional Commissions:
- Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
- Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
- Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
- Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
- Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
1945-1995
In fulfillment of these ideals, the United Nations has for 50 years
pursued and achieved many worthy objectives, including:
- Maintaining peace and security
- more than 35 peace-keeping forces and observer missions
- Making peace
- negotiating peaceful settlements to regional conflicts
- using diplomacy to avert wars
- Promoting human rights
- fashioning comprehensive agreements on
political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights since the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948
- Leading global efforts to protect the environment
- the adoption of Agenda 21 at the Earth Summit in Rio, 1992
- Promoting the democratic process
- Promoting self-determination and independence in 80 countries
- Helping to end apartheid and establish a majority government in South Africa
- Promoting women's rights
- Alleviating chronic hunger and rural poverty in developing
countries
- Reducing child mortality rates; mounting a global campaign for
children's welfare
- Improving global communications
- Making sea and air travel safer
- Eradicating smallpox worldwide in 1980;
- wiping out polio in the Western Hemisphere in 1991
- immunizing 80% of the world's children against polio, tetanus,
measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and tuberculosis
UN50 /
The Bahá'í International Community /
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