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Established in 1945 by the victorious powers in the Second World War, initially the UN had 51 member states. Subsequently the neutral states in that war, the defeated states, and the numerous new states which emerged with the end of colonialism and the breakdown of some federal states were also admitted, so that in December 2002 the UN had 191 members.
The UN\'s main initial purpose was to maintain international peace and security on the basis of the principle of collective security, which largely fell by the wayside on account of the mutual distrust of its two major members, the Soviet Union and the United States. But, largely through its Security Council, the UN made some useful contributions in the area of peace-keeping; and since the end of the Cold War has operated much more on the lines expressed in the UN Charter.
The Charter also spoke of the need to respect the principle of self-determination, of the desirability of cooperation on economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian matters, and of promoting respect for human rights. In all these areas there has, over the years, been a huge expansion in the UN\'s work, for which the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council are chiefly responsible. The Trusteeship Council also played a part. The pacific settlement of disputes always lies high on the UN\'s agenda, and in that connection the work of the International Court of Justice must be mentioned.
The UN\'s headquarters is in New York, United States. But many members of its secretariat are based at widely spread locations throughout the world, including those who service the UN\'s regional economic commissions and some of its programmes. The Secretary-General heads the secretariat; the current, and seventh, incumbent, is Kofi Annan, a national (sense 2) of Ghana.
See also multilateral diplomacy; specialized agencies; UN system. |
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