This year marks the 70th anniversary of the U.N.
Last week in New York City, the United Nations, or U.N., opened its 70th annual
session. The U.N. is an organization made up of representatives from most of the
countries in the world. It tries to help people and work for peace. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, a diplomat from South Korea, has led the U.N. since 2007. He
supervises all U.N. projects and efforts.
To celebrate its 70th year, the U.N. has planned a number of big events. It is also
drawing leaders from around the world. On September 25th, Pope Francis will be
address all 193 members of the U.N. Other major world leaders will also be speaking
to the U.N., including President Obama, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The U.N. has an interesting structure. All U.N. nations are represented in the large
group called the General Assembly. These people try to work out solutions for world
problems. After discussion, members can propose new rules, called resolutions, and
every country gets a vote.
The resolution then goes to the 15-member Security Council. Ten of these nations
change every year, but five of them are permanent members. They are China, France,
Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. Any of these permanent members have the power to
veto a resolution. If any one of the permanent members uses its veto, the resolution
does not get passed — no matter how many other nations want it to pass.
The U.N. was formed in 1945 to
solve international problems.
The idea of creating a “united nations” came about after World War One. This
terrible war killed 16 million people. When it ended in 1918, world leaders wanted
to form an international group to prevent wars like this from happening again.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson came up with an idea called the League of
Nations. Forty-two nations signed on, but the U.S. never joined this group because
many members of Congress did not want to be involved in the problems of Europe
anymore. The League of Nations was a weak organization, and it failed to stop
World War Two, which broke out in Europe in the 1930s.
During World War Two, a group of countries known as the Allies, which included
the U.S., fought a group of countries called the Axis powers. The Axis powers
included Germany, Italy, and Japan. As more and more countries joined the Allied
effort, the idea of forming a more permanent group caught on. President Franklin
Roosevelt, helped set up the United Nations before he died in early 1945. He said
he hoped this group would “make it possible for the Earth to have peace for 50
years, if not eternity.”
In the summer of 1945, before the war was even over, the United Nations was
formed in San Francisco, California. U.S. President Harry Truman, who took over
after Roosevelt died, was there to witness the first meeting.
This organization takes on big issues
— and faces major challenges.
At first, there were only 50 countries in the United Nations. Since then, this
organization has grown in responsibility as well as size. The U.N. has the ability to
send soldiers to troubled spots in the world. These soldiers, taken from the military
forces of member nations, are called “peacekeepers.”
But the U.N. does many other things as well. It funds a number of humanitarian
programs around the world. One of these programs is UNICEF, a group that tries
to help children in troubled areas stay healthy and safe; this program is partially
funded by children who collect money during Halloween trick-or-treating.
Another one, UNESCO, is an organization that helps nations share scientific,
educational, and cultural knowledge.
The World Food Programme, or WFP, tries to get food to hungry people and
eliminate malnutrition, the illness caused by lack of access to healthy food.
Another group called United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, works
only in the Middle East to help people there who have suffered from conflict.
The U.N. has a lot of power in some ways, but not in others. For example, it cannot
actually stop a nation from declaring war on another. It can only try to help
leaders talk with each other. But it continues to be a very important organization
that addresses some of the world’s biggest challenges. This year its focus wil be on
ending wars, helping to solve the refugee crisis, and fighting climate change.