United Nations (اقوام متحدہ)
This international
outlook and desire for peace among nations of the World have expressed
themselves in the formation of international peace sustaining organizations.
The Congress of Vienna grew out of the Napoleonic wars, the League of Nations
from the havoc of World War 1 and the United Nations out of ruins of World War II. The United Nations has its headquarters in New York City. It was formally
set up in a Conference of fifty countries at San Francisco in 1945 and it began
to operate in January, 1946.
The United Nations has a
host of agencies and sub-agencies with headquarters in different cities of the
world. However, there are three main bodies. These bodies work for the
maintenance of peace and creation of Social and economic conditions which are
conducive to the establishment of peace.
Security Council: It has
fifteen members of which five (Russia, United States, China, France and
Britain) are permanent members, whereas ten others are elected by the General
Assembly (which is composed of all the member states, each for a period of two
years. The principal duty of this body is to keep peace throughout the world,
but it cannot make an important decision if any of the permanent members, who
have "Veto Power", votes against it. General Assembly: More than 150
states are its members and each member state has one vote in it. The General
Assembly can discuss all matters. In some cases it can make recommendations to
the Security Council. New members of the UN, and members of most of the main
bodies,
are elected by it, but
in many cases only with the approval of the Security Council.
Economic and Social Council: It is a twenty-seven member body. Its members are elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years.
It aims at making living
conditions better and human rights greater throughout the world. The United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) coordinates
the activities of member states in the fields of education, science and
culture. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
and its affiliates lend money to member states for various development
projects.
The United Nations was
brought into being with the avowed aim of maintaining peace in the strife-torn
world. It was able to stop bloodshed in many parts of the world. It was United
Nations which stopped fighting between India and Pakistan on four occasions,
between Israel and her Arab neighbors many times, between Holland and
Indonesia, ended civil war in Laire and Nigeria. It moved swiftly to prevent
full scale war between Israel, France, Britain and Egypt over the Suez Canal.
But its failures are
also many. It has, for example, failed to force India to honor its commitments
in Kashmir make Israel give up its aggressive Stance towards her neighbors,
especially Lebanon and settle the issue of Cyprus. Let us hope and pray that
the big powers will realize the importance of peace, live in peace and let
others live in peace. Only then the purpose of Setting up the UN will be
achieved.
