- When was the United Nations formed?
On New Year's Day 1942, many influential political leaders, including Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, got together in order to develop The Declaration of the United Nations.
It was to be a declaration of accord between many nations against the Axis Powers, who were the Soviet Union, Germany and Italy. It was a vow not to become entangled in any kind of alliance, and that once World War Two was over there would be a formal peacekeeping body, which was to be called the United Nations, and which would take active measures in order to stop any hostilities between the countries that made up its membership.
- Was this the first attempt at something of this nature?
After World War One ended, an organization called The League of Nations was founded in 1919. This played a major role in the Treaty of Versailles, and its core objective was to play a peace keeping role. Obviously, as World War Two illustrates, it was not a success and it was disbanded when this war began.
- Components of the United Nations
The UN has been split into separate divisions with each one having its own role to play. These are The Security Council; The General Assembly; The Economic and Social Council; The International Court of Justice; and The Secretariat. Although each has its own purpose they all work towards the common goals of the UN charter.
The UN has as many detractors as it does advocates because there are always differences of opinions as to how far it should interfere between squabbling countries.
All countries, regardless of whether they are members of the UN are supposed to settle disagreements in a peaceable manner, but there have been times when this tenet has been totally disregarded. A prime example of this is the second war between Iraq and the United States, when the US blatantly disregarded the charter.
