The Second World War that ended in 1945 was a wake-up call for all countries that war had no purpose. Millions of people were killed in that war and the world risked further wars. After seeing the horrors of the war, many nations wanted to come together to achieve peace and prevent war.
Their efforts resulted in the United Nations, a gathering of 193 countries including Sri Lanka that was established on October 24, 1945. Hence October 24 is known as the United Nations day.
As the name suggests, the countries are united to achieve a better, peaceful world. The United Nations headquarters is in New York, USA where its annual General Assembly is held. Interestingly, this land does not belong to the USA – it belongs to all UN member countries. Our President Maithripala Sirisena too addressed the gathering of world leaders present in New York a few weeks ago.
The United Nations has many aims and many agencies that work in different fields. These include World Health Organisation (WHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCF), World Tourism Organization (WTO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Population Agency (UNFPA) and many other agencies. These organisations have separate headquarters, mainly in Geneva, Switzerland. The UN also maintains Peace keeping Forces in several countries where civil wars are on. Sri Lankan soldiers serve in several UN Peace Keeping Missions.
Most of these agencies work in Sri Lanka as well. For example, the vaccination programme in Sri Lanka, assisted by the WHO, has been a great success. Sri Lanka has eight sites on the World Heritage List compiled by UNESCO. Our education system gets assistance from UNICEF. Sri Lanka works closely with ILO too. In fact, the UN has been a ray of hope for all developing countries, stepping in with development and welfare assistance. The UN has formulated Sustainable Development Goals that should be achieved by 2030 in many areas including education, health, sanitation, women and children, poverty alleviation and development. Many countries managed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals that were announced in year 2000.
The UN is headed by a Secretary General. The current Secretary General is Antonio Gutteres from Portugal.
Trigve Lie of Norway was the first UN Secretary General, appointed in 1946. Only two Asians have held the post so far - U Thant from Myanmar (1961-1971) and Ban Ki moon from South Korea (2007-2016).
Although all members of the UN have the same voting rights, the five founding member countries – USA, UK, France, China and Russia have what is called the Veto Power. In other words, they can reject any resolution before the UN with their vote. These five countries are also the only Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, the most important body within the UN and are also the only countries legally permitted to possess nuclear weapons.
The UN has six official languages – English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and Arabic, with German as a working language. Translations are available to and from for all these languages for all UN meetings.
The UN has been instrumental in signing many world treaties. One example is the Paris Climate Accord, under which many nations including Sri Lanka have pledged to reduce air pollution and protect the environment. It has also resolved many conflicts around the world.
If you visit the US, especially New York, do not forget to visit the UN building, which is open to visitors. There are regular guided tours every few hours. For a moment, you can imagine you are a world leader addressing the UN!