Context: The United Nations was born out of the horrors of World War II. At the time of its foundation, it was primarily tasked with the goal of maintaining world peace and saving future generations from the evils of war.

• The UN boasts of several significant achievements in the last 75 years. It has also expanded its scope to resolve over a large number of global issues such as health, environment, and women empowerment among others.
• The United Nations completed 75 years this year.

The birth of the United Nations

• The League of Nations was created in June 1919, after World War I, as part of the Treaty of Versailles.
• In August 1941, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill discussed the possibility of creating a body for international peace effort and a range of issues related to the war.
• Together they issued a statement that came to be called the Atlantic Charter.
• It was not a treaty, but only an affirmation that paved the way for the creation of the UN.
• It declared the realization of “certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
• The United Nations finally came into existence on October 24, 1945 after being ratified by 51 nations, which included five permanent members (France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US) and 46 other signatories.
• The four main goals of the UN included maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation in solving international problems and being at the center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

Achievements and failures of the UN in the last 75 years

• While at the time of its formation, the UN consisted of only 51 member states, independence movements and de-colonization in the subsequent years led to an expansion of its membership. At present, 193 countries are members of the UN.
• The UN boasts of several significant achievements in the last 75 years. It has also expanded its scope to resolve over a large number of global issues such as health, environment, and women empowerment among others.
• Soon after its formation, it passed a resolution to commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons in 1946.
• In 1948, it created the World Health Organization (WHO) to deal with communicable diseases like smallpox, malaria, HIV. At present the WHO is the apex organization dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
• In 1950, the UN created the High Commissioner for Refugees to take care of the millions who had been displaced due to World War II. It continues to be on the frontlines of crises faced by refugees from countries across the world.
• In 1972, the UN environment programme was created. More recently in 2002, the UN established the UN criminal court to try those who have committed war crimes, genocide, and other atrocities.

Criticism:

• The UN has also met with its share of criticisms.
• In 1994, for instance, the organization failed to stop the Rwandan genocide.
• In 2005, UN peacekeeping missions were accused of sexual misconduct in the Republic of Congo, and similar allegations have also come from Cambodia and Haiti. In 2011, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was unsuccessful in eliminating the bloodshed caused in the civil war that broke out in 2013.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-birth-of-the-united-nations-and-its-growth-in-the-last-75-years-6604983/

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