The United Nations: Founding Principles and Key Organs

The United Nations: Founding and Core Principles

During the Peace Conference in San Francisco in April 1945, the three major Allied powers and France decided to create a body regulating international politics. Thus was born the United Nations Organization (UNO), as a successor to the League of Nations (SDN) following World War I. In its Charter, signed by fifty-one countries, its main objectives were expressed:

Key Objectives of the United Nations

• Maintain peace and security.
• Negotiate and achieve peace through the resolution of conflicts between countries.
• Foster friendly relations among nations based on equal rights and the self-determination of peoples.
• Strengthen international cooperation and promote respect for human rights.

The United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945. It was established that the main objective of the new organization was “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The first article of the Charter signaled the deep impact left by the war, proposing that the UN's goal should be to achieve international cooperation based on development and human rights. This led to the establishment of a Human Rights Commission which, on December 10, 1948, presented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

United Nations Organizational Structure

The new institution was equipped with an organizational scheme that has sometimes been the source of its inability to solve the challenges it has faced, as it gave prominence to a number of countries that, in practice, became the real executive power. This scheme is as follows:

Principal Organs of the UN

• The General Assembly

  Composed of all member countries, each represented by a diplomatic delegation. The Assembly passes resolutions and sanctions, which must be approved by a majority.

• The Security Council

  Composed of fifteen members: five of them permanent (U.S., Russia, France, UK, and China) and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The permanent members hold veto power, which can paralyze resolutions adopted by the Assembly.

• The Secretariat

  The administrative body of the UN, headed by the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General is responsible for coordinating the operation of the organization and promoting initiatives.

Specialized Agencies and Programs

Additionally, the UN has a number of specialized agencies and internal organizations responsible for working in specific fields:

• UNICEF: United Nations Children's Fund. Responsible for developing defense programs and child protection.
• ILO: International Labour Organization. Oversees and regulates international labor relations.
• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
• IMF: International Monetary Fund. Responsible for fostering global monetary cooperation and financial stability.
• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.