THE UN – United Nations Organization – is an international entity created after the end of World War II, in 1945, by the San Francisco Conference. Its aim is to promote peace, human rights and prevent international conflicts or mitigate their effects. Its headquarters are in New York City.
At that moment in history, the world was facing the growth of two great powers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Given this configuration, there was a need to create an organization that would fulfill the role of mediating conflicts and trying to promote peace, which is why the UN was created.
In the beginning, only 51 countries were part of the UN, including Brazil. However, today, virtually all existing independent countries are part of this important international body, which has 193 members. Despite this, decisions are taken in two instances: a general meetingit's the security advice.
general meeting: it is the decision space in which all members participate, each with the right to voice and vote. The resolutions are, in this space, discussed, changed and evaluated. To be deliberate, these proposals must have the approval of at least two-thirds of those who vote. In this way, whatever is decided in this assembly represents the official opinion of the international community on certain issues.
This is where the UN General Assembly meetings take place*
Security advice:it is the main body of the UN and is composed of only 15 member countries. Among them, five are permanent, that is, they are always on the board (USA, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom), and ten are temporary, changing every two years. Decisions, to be valid, must be approved by at least nine votes. However, if one of the permanent members wants to, he can veto (ban the approval) the content.
Thus, if something is approved by the General Assembly, it will then be discussed in the UN Security Council, and can be vetoed by a single country. This form of decision is a legacy of historical power struggles, as only the winners of World War II (in addition to China) are permanent members with veto rights in the Council of Safety.
flag symbolizing the UN
The UN is made up of several specialized institutions or agencies, among which we can mention Unesco, which takes care of education, science and culture; FAO, which is concerned with agriculture, food and fighting hunger; and the WHO (World Health Organization), which seeks to improve sanitary and health conditions throughout the world.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
