The United of Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international body created on October 24, 1945, after World War II and headquartered in New York City, United States.

The body's function is to maintain international peace and security, as well as to develop cooperation between peoples.

It seeks to solve social, humanitarian, cultural and economic problems, promoting respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights.

UN objective 

Keeping the peace: in order to achieve this objective, the UN will be able to collectively take measures that preserve the peace and that repress acts of aggression to its rupture. The UN will seek peaceful means with the aid of justice and international law and, thus, reach a solution to situations that put the maintenance of peace at risk;

Cooperation between nations: relations between nations will be friendly and based on the principle of equal rights, self-determination of peoples and the strengthening of world peace;

Contribute to the solution of problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature: actions will be aimed at promoting individual and collective rights, regardless of race, color, religion, language or gender;

Harmonization center: built and structured to develop actions that guarantee the fulfillment of objectives.

 The creation of the UN

After the Second World War, on August 19, 1945, the balance left was devastating. There were more than 30 million injuries and at least 50 million deaths distributed across countless destroyed cities.

Nations like France, England and Germany were devastated. Poland alone had lost six million inhabitants, and Japan, 1.5 million as a result of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

There were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps.
The world was politically divided between capitalists and socialists, led respectively by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was the beginning of the Cold War, a period of uncertainty and insecurity.

 Yalta conference

In February 1945, even before the end of the war was made official, the Yalta Conference was held, on the shores of the Black Sea, in Crimea (Soviet Union).

Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945 ), Winston Churchill (1874-1965 ) and Josef Stalin (1878-1953 ) began to discuss the creation of the UN.
This discussion was oriented on different bases than the League of Nations, which ended up failing.

Gathered in San Francisco (in the United States), between April 25 and June 26, 1945, representatives of 50 countries drafted and signed the Charter of the United Nations.

The document officially came into existence on October 24, 1945.
As a result of this date, October 24th began to be celebrated annually as United Nations Day, which has been happening since 1948.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a document proclaimed by the UN on December 10, 1948. It is composed of 30 articles that aim to reinforce what was presented in the Charter of the United Nations.

The purpose of the Declaration is to serve as an ideal of a fair, egalitarian and fraternal society, which guarantees the freedom and dignity of the human person.

In his first article, he states:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and must act towards each other in a spirit of fraternity.

Main UN Bodies

Headquartered in New York, the UN comprises 5 main bodies :

1. Security advice;

2. General meeting;

3. Secretariat;

4. Economic and Social Council;

5. International Court of Justice.

These are bodies that work separately, but with broad intercommunication, coordinating the organization's activities.

The Guardianship Council had the function of protecting people without their own government and was composed of members of the Security Council and others elected by the General Assembly.

It was deactivated in 1997, three years after the independence of the last colony, Palau, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994. The council only meets at the request of the General Assembly.

1. Security Council

The Security Council is considered the most important body of the UN. It is up to the Council to maintain world peace. He can propose agreements or decide on armed actions.

It is made up of five permanent members, with the right to veto:

* US ;

* Russia (before 1991 it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics);

* United Kingdom;

* France;

* China (initially Nationalist China, Taiwan, and from 1971, Communist Mainland China).

In addition, there are 10 appointed by the General Assembly for a two-year period.
Brazil, among other countries, demands the expansion of the number of permanent members of the Security Council and its participation among them.

2. UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly is made up of representatives from all member countries, each having the right to vote.

Its function is to discuss issues related to peace, security, well-being and justice in the world.

It cannot make decisions, presenting only a recommendation vote and an advisory role.

3. UN General Secretariat

The UN General Secretariat is headed by the secretary-general, the main authority of the UN, who is responsible for managing the institution.

He is elected for 5 years (with the right to re-election) by the Security Council and approved by the General Assembly.
In 2019, Portuguese diplomat Antônio Guterres occupies this role. His term ends in 2022.

4. Economic and Social Council

The objective of the Economic and Social Council is to promote the economic and social well-being of populations.
It operates through committees, such as the Human Rights Commission, the Women's Status Commission, the Narcotics Commission, among others.
It also coordinates specialized agencies, such as:

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization);

UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund);

the ILO (International Labor Organization);

the IMF (International Monetary Fund);

ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America);

the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization);

the WHO (World Health Organization).

5. International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the main legal body of the UN. It is based in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Unicef

UNICEF was created on December 11, 1946 by decision of the UN General Assembly. In the beginning, UNICEF programs provided emergency assistance to child victims of war in Europe, the Middle East and China.

With Europe rebuilt, Unicef's work was directed to assisting children who were victims of hunger around the world. Thus, in 1953, Unicef ​​joined the UN as a permanent body.

UNESCO

UNESCO, whose headquarters are in Paris, is considered the intellectual agency of the UN. It was created in 1945 to respond to post-war needs.
Among UNESCO's objectives are:

1. work towards access for all children at school;

2. protect cultural heritage and diversity;

3. promote scientific cooperation between countries;

4. Protect freedom of expression.

 IMF

The IMF was created in 1945, its headquarters are located in Washington, DC: and today it brings together 188 countries. Among the fund's objectives are:

1. The promotion of monetary cooperation at an international level;

2. ensuring financial stability;

3. ease of international trade;

4. the promotion of actions that guarantee;

5. economic growth;

6. reducing poverty in the world