United Nations

(Un) an international organization whose main function is to maintain and strengthen international peace and security and to develop cooperation among nations. The principles of the organization’s activities and its structure were worked out during World War II by the principal participants in the anti-Hitler coalition. The most important stages in the creation of the UN were the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain in 1943, the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944, the Yalta Conference in 1945, and the San Francisco Conference in 1945. At the conference in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, representatives of 50 nations signed the UN Charter; these states and Poland are considered to be the original members of the UN. The Charter came into force on Oct. 24, 1945, after the Soviet Union, the USA, Great Britain, France, China, and most of the other signatories had filed their instruments of ratification. October 24 has been designated as United Nations Day.
As a result of efforts of the USSR and all progressive forces, the UN Charter contains such democratic principles of international cooperation as the sovereign equality of all UN members, the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means, the renunciation in international relations of the threat or use of force in any way inconsistent with the aims of the UN, and nonintervention by the UN in matters that essentially fall under the domestic jurisdiction of a state.
Membership in the UN is open to all peace-loving states that are able and willing to fulfill the obligations of the Charter. States are admitted by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. As of Mar. 1, 1977, the UN had 147 members, including the 51 original members and 87 states admitted to the UN between 1946 and 1976 (see Table 1).
The principal organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
The General Assembly has the right to discuss any question within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any UN organ and to make recommendations where this does not conflict with the special powers of the Security Council.
The Security Council bears the main responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and all UN members
Table 1. Members of the United Nations1
1Nation listed without a date was one of the 51 charter members; nations admitted later are listed with their date of admission 2formerly Dahomey 3Until 1971, China’s seat was illegally held by a representative of the Chiang Kai-shek regime on the island of Taiwan; on Oct. 25, 1971, the rights of the People’s Republic of China were restored 4Until December 1969 the Republic of the Congo 5Until 1963, Malaya 6Until 1961, the Union of South Africa 7Until 1972, Ceylon 8On Dec. 14, 1961, Tanganyika was admitted to the UN, and on Dec. 16, 1963, Zanzibar was admitted. On Apr. 26, 1964, an agreement went into effect uniting Zanzibar with Tanganyika and forming a single state, Tanzania, whose date of entry into the UN is considered Dec. 14, 1961. 9Until 1962, the Yemen Mutawakkilite Kingdom 10Until 1970, the People’s Republic of Southern Yemen 11Until 1964, the Republic of the Congo; until 1971, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Afghanistan (Nov. 19, 1946)
Albania (Dec. 14, 1955)
Algeria (Oct. 8, 1962)
Angola (Dec. 1, 1976)
Argentina
Australia
Austria (Dec. 14, 1955)
Bahamas (Sept. 18, 1973)
Bahrain (Sept. 21, 1971)
Bangladesh (Sept. 17, 1974)
Barbados (Dec. 9, 1966)
Belgium
Benin2 (Sept. 20, 1960)
Bhutan (Sept. 21, 1971)
Bolivia
Botswana (Oct. 17, 1966)
Brazil
Bulgaria (Dec. 14, 1955)
Burma (Apr. 19, 1948)
Burundi (Sep. 18, 1962)
Byelorussian SSR
Cambodia (Kampuchea) (Dec. 14, 1955)
Cameroon (Sept. 20, 1960)
Canada
Cape Verde Islands (Sept. 16, 1975)
Central African Republic (Sept. 20, 1960)
Chad (Sept. 20, 1960)
Chile
China3
Colombia
Comoro Islands (Nov. 12, 1975)
Congo, People’s Republic of the4 (Sept. 20, 1960)
Costa Rica
Cuba
Cyprus (Sept. 20, 1960)
Czechoslavakia
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea (Nov. 12, 1968)
Ethiopia
Fiji (Oct. 13, 1970)
Finland (Dec. 14, 1955)
France
Gabon (Sept. 20, 1960)
Gambia (Sept. 21, 1965)
German Democratic Republic (Sept. 18, 1973)
Germany, Federal Republic of (Sept 18, 1973)
Ghana (Mar. 8, 1957)
Greece
Grenada (Sept. 17, 1974)
Guatemala
Guinea (Dec. 12, 1958)
Guinea-Bissau (Sept. 17, 1974)
Guyana (Sept. 20, 1966)
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary (Dec. 14, 1955)
Iceland (Nov. 19, 1946)
India
Indonesia (Sept. 28, 1950)
Iran
Iraq
Ireland (Dec. 14, 1955)
Israel (May 11, 1949)
Italy (Dec. 14, 1955)
Ivory Coast (Sept. 20, 1960)
Jamaica (Sept. 18, 1962)
Japan (Dec. 18, 1956)
Jordan (Dec. 14, 1955)
Kenya (Dec. 16, 1963)
Kuwait (May 14, 1963)
Laos (Dec. 14, 1955)
Lebanon
Lesotho (Oct. 17, 1966)
Liberia
Libya (Dec. 14, 1955)
Luxembourg
Malagasy Republic (Sept. 20, 1960)
Malawi (Dec. 1, 1964)
Malaysia5 (Sept. 17, 1957)
Maldives (Sept. 21, 1965)
Mali (Sept. 28, 1960)
Malta (Dec. 1, 1964)
Mauritania (Oct. 27, 1961)
Mauritius (Apr. 24, 1968)
Mexico
Mongolian People’s Republic (Oct. 27, 1961)
Morocco (Nov. 12, 1956)
Mozambique (Sept. 16, 1975)
Nepal (Dec. 14, 1955)
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger (Sept. 20, 1960)
Nigeria (Oct. 7, 1960)
Norway
Oman (Oct. 7, 1971)
Pakistan (Sept. 30, 1947)
Panama
Papua New Guinea (Oct. 10, 1975)
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal (Dec. 14, 1955)
Qatar (Sept. 21, 1971)
Rumania (Dec. 14, 1955)
Rwanda (Sept. 18, 1962)
Sāo Tomé and Príncipe (Sept. 16, 1975)
Saudi Arabia Senegal (Sept. 28, 1960)
Seychelles (Sept. 21, 1976)
Sierra Leone (Sept. 27, 1961)
Singapore (Sept. 21, 1965)
Somalia (Sept. 20, 1960)
South Africa6
Spain (Dec. 14, 1955)
Sri Lanka7 (Dec. 14, 1955)
Sudan (Nov. 12, 1956)
Surinam (Dec. 4, 1975)
Swaziland (Sept. 24, 1968)
Sweden (Nov. 19, 1946)
Syria
Tanzania8 (Dec. 14, 1961)
Thailand (Dec. 16, 1946)
Togo (Sept. 20, 1960)
Trinidad and Tobago (Sept. 18, 1962)
Tunisia (Nov. 12, 1956)
Turkey
Uganda (Oct. 25, 1962)
Ukrainian SSR
United Kingdom
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
United Arab Emirates (Dec. 9, 1971)
United States
Upper Volta (Sept. 20, 1960)
Uruguay
Venezuela
Western Samoa (Dec. 15, 1976)
Yemen Arab Republic9 (Sept. 30, 1947)
Yemen, People’s Democratic Republic of10 (Dec. 14, 1967)
Yugoslavia
Zaire11 (Sept. 20, 1960)
Zambia (Dec. 1, 1964)
are required to obey its decisions. It functions according to the principle of unanimity of the permanent members—the USSR, USA, United Kingdom, France, and China.
In accordance with the UN Charter, in cases of a threat to peace, violations of peace, or acts of aggression, when other measures may prove or have proved to be inadequate, the Security Council has the right to take such actions with the armed forces of UN member states placed at its disposal as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. The Security Council has exclusive jurisdiction over all questions involving the creation and functioning of UN armed forces.
Under the direction of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council performs UN functions in the sphere of international economic and social cooperation. The Trusteeship Council, also under the authority of the General Assembly, supervises the fulfillment of the main functions of the international trusteeship system by states administering trust territories. The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN. The Secretariat is composed of the secretary-general— the UN’s chief administrative official—and an international staff. On Jan. 1, 1972, K. Waldheim of Austria was appointed secretary-general.
Among the large number of UN bodies are the International Law Commission, the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the Special Committee on the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and the Conference on Trade and Development. Related to the UN by special arrangements are 14 specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and various other organizations. (The structure of the UN is shown in Figure 1.)
The UN headquarters are in New York, and the organization’s official languages are English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese.
The work of the UN. The decisions and actions of the UN reflect the evolving balance of forces among the nations of the world and the predominant trends in international affairs. The struggle in the international arena between the forces of socialism and democracy and the forces of aggression and imperialist reaction is also taking place at the UN. Certain positive results achieved by the UN reflect the growing might and international influence of the Soviet Union and the entire socialist community.
Since its founding, the UN has adopted, on the initiative of and through the persistent efforts of the USSR and other socialist countries, a number of important resolutions relating to disarmament and the strengthening of international security. Among them are resolutions on the principles defining the overall regulation and reduction of armaments (1946), on the surrender and punishment of war criminals (1946), on measures against war propaganda (1947), on measures to establish and strengthen peaceful and good-neighbor relations among states (1957 and 1958), and on universal and total disarmament (1959). The USSR and other socialist countries may also be credited with the UN’s adoption of the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Internal Affairs of States and on the Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty (1965), the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security (1970), and the Declaration on the Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in Accordance
Figure 1. The United Nations, Specialized Agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (as of January 1977)With the UN Charter (1970). Other measures adopted by the UN through the efforts of the USSR and the other socialist countries include resolutions in favor of convening a world disarmament conference (1971–76), a resolution on the nonuse of force in international relations and the prohibition in perpetuity of the use of nuclear weapons (1972), a resolution on the reduction of the military budgets of the permanent member states of the Security Council by 10 percent and the use of a portion of the funds saved to provide assistance to developing countries (1973), a resolution on a comprehensive nuclear test ban (1975), a resolution on an international treaty prohibiting the development of new types of weapons of mass annihilation (1975), and a resolution on the nonuse of force in international relations (1976). The General Assembly approved the 1963 treaty banning nuclear tests in three environments, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Seabed Treaty, the Convention on Bacteriological Weapons, and the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques.
The General Assembly’s resolutions directed against colonialism, racism, and national oppression are of great positive significance. These include the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (1948), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (1960), the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1963), the Program of Action for the Full Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (1970), and the Convention on a Halt to the Crime of Apartheid and Punishment for It (1973).
The discussion in UN organs of questions relating to the national liberation struggle of peoples and the protection of the national sovereignty of independent states has helped restrain the forces of aggression and international arbitrary behavior. For example, the Security Council played a positive role in the cessation of foreign intervention in Indonesia in 1946–49. The UN provided some assistance in the expulsion of the British-French-Israeli aggressors from Egypt in 1956 and contributed to the abolition of colonial regimes in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Cyprus, West Irian, and other parts of the world. Containment of aggressive actions by imperialist forces was facilitated by the Security Council’s discussions of the intervention of the USA and Great Britain in Lebanon and Jordan (1958), of the USA’s hostile actions against Cuba (1960–62), of the threat to Cyprus’ independence and territorial integrity (1964), and of the USA’s intervention in the Dominican Republic (1965). Of great importance are the Security Council’s resolution 242, adopted on Nov. 22, 1967, concerning a political settlement in the Middle East; resolution 338, passed on Oct. 22, 1973, concerning the cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East; and the 1968 resolution on the establishment of economic sanctions with regard to Southern Rhodesia. However, the forces supporting the aggressors and racist regimes are obstructing the implementation of these decisions.
Useful resolutions and declarations have been worked out and adopted in the economic, social, and legal fields. Among the most important are the resolutions on the inalienable sovereignty of states over their own natural resources (1952, 1962, 1966), the resolutions on democratic land reforms (1954, 1959), the Principles of International Trade Relations and Trade Policy (1964), the Declaration of Social Progress and Development (1969), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952), the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), and the Convention on the Inapplicability of the Statute of Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity (1968).
The opponents of détente have resisted the adoption of resolutions aimed at strengthening international peace and security. Until the mid-1950’s the Western powers, relying on the votes of states dependent on them, frequently succeeded in blocking Soviet proposals, for example, the proposal to prohibit atomic weapons and reduce armed forces and armaments (1948) and the proposal for a pact among the five powers to strengthen peace (1949). The Western powers also succeeded in putting through resolutions dictated by the interests of imperialist policy. The UN flag was used to cover up American aggression in Korea in 1950, and attempts were made to abolish the principle of unanimity of the permanent members of the Security Council and to transfer the powers of that body to the General Assembly (the General Assembly’s resolution Uniting for Peace, 1950).
The change in the world’s balance of forces in favor of socialism led to a substantial improvement in the situation at the UN. In December 1955 the Western powers’ resistance to the admission of a number of socialist states to the UN was broken. Moreover, in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s a large group of new African and Asian states joined the UN, and they have supported important decisions aimed at strengthening world peace and security. Whereas in the 1950’s and 1960’s the Western powers had sometimes managed to use the UN to promote policies hostile to the socialist states and to defend their colonial interests, for example, the discussion of the Hungarian question in 1956 and the UN operation in the Congo in 1960–64, by the mid-1960’s they increasingly found themselves in the minority during discussions of important political questions.
Despite its shortcomings and weaknesses, the UN has contributed to the realization of the aims and principles proclaimed in its Charter. The highly important decisions it has adopted on the initiative of the USSR and other socialist countries have promoted the strengthening of world peace and security. The UN has helped defuse a number of acute international crises. Détente has given the UN a greater opportunity to wield a positive influence on international developments. The Soviet Union and the other countries of the socialist community support the UN as an important instrument for assisting the settlement of current international political problems and advocate an increase in its effectiveness and authority, based on rigorous compliance with the UN Charter.
===PUBLICATION===
Organizatsiia Ob”edinennykh Natsii: Sb. dokumentov. Moscow, 1956.
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