542
United Nations
the headquarters of the Un in new York
City is where the General assembly and
security Council meet, as well as many of
the specialist agencies of the organization.
Politicians from every member nation
come to new York to address the Un,
and many international disputes and
conflicts are settled here.seCUritY CoUnCil
the aim of the security Council is to maintain
peace in the world. it investigates any event
that might lead to fighting. the council has
five permanent members—Britain, the United
states, the russian Federation, France,
and China—and
10 members are
elected for two
years each.UniCeF
the United
nations Children’s
Fund (UniCeF) is one of the
most successful agencies of the Un.
UniCeF was originally founded
to help child victims of World
War ii. the fund now provides
education, healthcare, and medical
help for children across the world,
particularly in areas devastated
by war or famine. Much of its
work takes place in the poorer
countries of africa and asia.Children in
underdeveloped
countries are
immunized against
disease, thanks
to UNICEF.PeaCekeePinG
the Un is sometimes called on to send a peacekeeping
force to a country in order to prevent war. in 1989, a Un
force was sent to namibia, southern africa, to supervise the
elections that led to namibia’s independence. More recently,
a Un peacekeeping mission was established to help the
newly created country of south sudan find stability.Un sYMBol
the symbol of the United
nations (above) consists of a
map of the world surrounded
by a wreath of olive branches,
sym bol iz ing peace.in 1945, at the end of World War ii, the nations that opposed Germany,
italy, and Japan decided that such a war must never be repeated. they set
up the United nations, with the aim of preventing future conflicts, and
drew up the United nations Charter. the United nations (Un) met for
the first time in san Francisco in 1945. today, 192 nations belong to the Un.
the Un consists of six main organs: the General assembly, the security
Council, the secretariat, the economic and
social Council, the trusteeship Council, and the
international Court of Justice. each is concerned
with world peace and social justice. the Un also
has agencies that deal with global issues, such
as health. each member nation of the Un has
a seat in the General assembly; 15 nations sit
on the security Council. the Un is not
without problems. its members often disagree,
and it suffers from financial difficulties.leaGUe
oF nations
in 1919, the victors of World War i,
founded the league of nations to
keep peace. But in 1935, the league
failed to prevent italy from invading
ethiopia. in 1946, the league’s
functions were trans ferred to the
Un. haile selassie, emperor of
ethiopia, is seen ad dress ing the
league, above.Find out more
europe, history of
Government and politics
World war i
World war iiUNITED NATIONS
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