The United Nations System

Focusing on the legal rather than political aspects of the United Nations, White (international organizations, U. of Nottingham) evaluates the goals, purposes, and values of the UN system, analyzes the institutional machinery created to fulfill those purposes, examines the implementation of the organization's goals, and comments on the UNOs effectiveness in the key areas of security, justice, human rights, the environment, and economic development. White intends this academic text to provide a useful basis from which to consider the long-term effects of recent dramatic world events, and the responses of the international community. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Charter of the United Nations was signed in 1945 by 51 countries representing all continents, paving the way for the creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice forms part of the Charter. The aim of the Charter is to save humanity from war; to reaffirm human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person; to proclaim the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small; and to promote the prosperity of all humankind. The Charter is the foundation of international peace and security.

"Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations in one book! This primer to the United Nations is designed for all global citizens. It covers the history of the UN, what it does and how it does it. As the world's only truly global organization, the United Nations is where countries meet to address universal issues that cannot be resolved by any one of them acting alone. From international peace and security to sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and humanitarian action, the United Nations acts on our behalf around the world." --

Politics in the United Nations reflects the predominant discord and occasional convergence among the members of the UN system as they view the international problems of our times through lenses of their geographic, historical, ideological, religious, and ethnic diversity. The contributors to this book describe how, since the United Nations was founded more than forty years ago, the UN system has changed to accommodate the varied interests of its members.

From the beginnings of the Cold War to efforts to control Saddam Hussein's weapons program, this indispensable guide to the history and workings of the UN system shows how this widely misunderstood organization has helped to make the world a safer place and what its future prospects are likely to be. Rising from the ashes of World War II, the UN's birth was announced on October 24, 1945. Its military arm began in 1948 with the deployment of just 36 soldiers, tasked with supervising a fragile cease-fire in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since then it has undertaken more than 50 peacekeeping missions and concluded 500 multilateral conventions on human rights, arms control, environment, terrorism, and many other subjects. The United Nations System examines the continuing controversy that surrounds this organization. Whereas conservatives accuse the UN of wavering in the face of gross violations of its own resolutions by Saddam Hussein, many liberals have lambasted it for failing to take decisive action against genocide in the Balkans and in Rwanda. Highly readable and packed with useful facts and illustrations, this book is essential reading for those who wish to make up their own minds.

In January 2020, the United Nations launched the global consultation to mark its 75th anniversary. Through surveys and dialogues, it asked people about their hopes and fears for the future – representing the UN’s most ambitious effort to date to understand expectations of international cooperation and of the UN in particular. It is also the largest survey to date on priorities for recovering from the COVID-19 (coronavirus, COVID) pandemic. By September 2020, over a million people from all countries and all walks of life had taken part. Their answers provide unique insights into what the public wants at this challenging time. The key findings are contained in this publication.

This volume introduces the United Nations by considering its purposes, as stated in Article 1 of its Charter. It provides a concise history of this institution, and describes its structure, concentrating on its Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, and Regional Commissions. It then splits the work into two different major sections, on the basis of topic and geographical region. The former includes the following: development, education, environment, food and agriculture, and peace and security, while the latter comprises Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. These are followed by reflective comments and concluding remarks.