United Nations

The name United Nations was used during World War II to denote the nations allied against Germany, Italy and Japan and later was adopted as the name of the postwar world organization. The Declaration of the United Nations, signed by 26 states on January 1, 1942, set forth the war aims of the Allied powers. The first major step toward the formulation of a permanent organization was taken at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, a meeting of diplomatic experts of the Big Four powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China. On April 25, 1945, in San Francisco started the UN Conferences on International Organizations where the 50 invited nations signed the Charter of the United Nations, establishing the five permanent members of the Security Council: Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States. The primary objective of the United Nations is the maintenance of international peace and security. The organization is also dedicated to the development of friendly relations among nations, based on the principle of equal rights and self-determination of people; to the achievement of international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural or humanitarian problems; and to serving as a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. Some of theses basic principles of the United Nations, as outlined in Article 2 of the Charter, are the following: the United Nations is based on the sovereign equality of its members; disputes are to be settled by peaceful means; members undertake not to use force or threat of force in contravention of the purposes of the United Nations; each member must assist the organization in any action it takes under the Charter; and states that are not members of the United Nations are required to act in accordance with these principles insofar as necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security. Article 2 also states that, except to take enforcement measures, the organization shall not intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. New members are admitted to the United Nations on recommendation of the Security Council and by a two-third vote of the General Assembly. in 2006 there are 192 United Nations member states. The United Nations has six principal organs: The General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.

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United Nations, UN, The General Assembly, Security Council,