The Importance of the United Nations

Ensuring Human Rights and Peace for Now and the Future

With the world woven in natural disasters, irreversible plights, manmade evils, and perpetuating power-thirsty dictators, it is only right to work for a semblance of peace, justice, and charity in as many areas of our fighting planet attainable.

Founded in 1945, the United Nations is an international organization comprising of 193 member states (first beginning only with 51) that strives for the protection of human rights, upholding of international peace, obedience of international law, provision of humanitarian aid, and promotion of sustainable global developments. The organization was formed after the end of World War II.

Along with twenty-six other representatives from different nations who fought against Axis Powers, the term United Nations was given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Declaration of the United Nations at the time when World War II was taking place. On October 24, 1945, fifty more representatives from several countries converged in San Francisco to create the United Nations Charter. After the approval of the countries China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, by June 26, 1945, the United States Charter was signed.

The United Nation’s logo shows a map of the world in an azimuthal (direction) equidistant projection (proportionate distances) centering the North Pole. It is wrapped around a wreath with olive tree branches revealed with a light blue background. It was designed by Oliver Lincoln Lundquist and his team on the same year.

 

Year after year, millions of people are losing out on education, ailing from a lack of medical attention, and dying from food and water deprivation. The UN’s goals include creating an open community to reach out and foster those needing critical aid especially in inaccessible rural regions. Per year estimate, the organization alleviates 370 million poverty-stricken individuals, vaccinates 58 percent of children worldwide, donates food to 90 million (in 75 different countries), protects human rights through 80 treaties and declarations, and finally spends over $12.5 billion solely for humanitarian efforts.

For seven decades now, the organization has changed the lives of the deprived and inspired the hearts of the rest of humanity. It operates in offices and agencies in many parts of the globe from the Asia and the Pacific, Americas, Africa, Middle East, to Europe and Central Asia. The United Nations works hand in hand with 140 nations to battle climate change. They also have dozens of funds, specialized agencies and related organizations with programs that include United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The International Maritime Organization (IMO), and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The United Nations continues to uphold its exemplary qualities of philanthropism. The organization and its related agencies were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize eleven times in a span of seventy years of existence.

References

United Nations. 2016. Accessed December 9, 2016. http://www.un.org.

Borgen Project. 2016. “20 Facts About the United Nations.” http://borgenproject.org/20-facts-united-nations/.