A retired Law Officer
BEFORE I retired from the civil service, I was grateful for my blessings to attend the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly in October 2004. Memories of the United Nations come flooding back to me like gentle waves, golden and luminous with time. More than 20 years have passed the moments are still alive, though in my mind.
Brief History of the United Nations
The League of Nations, which was founded following World War I, was unable to stop the Second World War. Between 1939 and 1945, the Second World War took place. The effects of the conflict were felt by people all over the world. Following World War II, world leaders endeavoured to prevent a conflict of this nature from ever occurring again. In August 1941, the Atlantic Charter was signed. The United States of America hosted the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in October 1944. In order to create the United Nations, international leaders met and held conferences. The United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco, United States of America, by representatives of fifty states. Poland was unable to attend this summit at the time, but it signed the Charter thereafter. Thus, the original 51-member States of the United Nations existed. Recently, after gaining independence, on 19 April 1948, Myanmar became a member State of the United Nations.
Secretaries-General of the United Nations
The headquarters of the United Nations is situated on the East River in New York City, and covers 18 acres. It is a high and grand 57-storey building. To enter the United Nations campus, everyone took the security card and passed the Security Checkpoint. At the ground floor, the photos of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations from the beginning of the United Nations, 24 October 1945, to the present were recorded in honour of their dignity.
Mr Trygve Lie of Norway served as the first Secretary-General on 2 February 1946. The second was a Swedish man named Mr Dag Hammarskjold. He assumed office in 1953 and died in an aircraft accident on 18 September 1961. From 1961 until 1971, U Thant of Myanmar was the third Secretary-General. From 1957 to 1961, U Thant served as a permanent representative of Myanmar to the UN. He was the head of Myanmar’s delegation to the UN General Assembly during this period. He was the Chairman of the Congo Negotiation Commission in 1961. On 3 November 1961, U Thant assumed the position of temporary Secretary General upon the death of Mr Dag Hammarskjold. The General Assembly then overwhelmingly elected and appointed U Thant as Secretary-General. His first term of service was from 30 November 1962 to 3 November 1966. He was in office from 2 December 1966 until 31 December 1971. On 25 November 1974, U Thant passed away after his retirement.
Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian who held the position from 1 January 1972 until 31 December 1981, was the fourth Secretary-General. Javier Perez De Guellar, a Peruvian who served from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1991, was the fifth. Boutros Boutros Ghali was the sixth Secretary-General. He served from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1996. From 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006, Ghanaian Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General. Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea served as the eighth Secretary-General, holding the position from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2016. Antonio Guterres, a Portuguese national, was the ninth and current Secretary-General. He was reelected for a second term when his term ended on 1 January 2017. He is still carrying out his duties as of right now.
The main organs of the United Nations
The General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and Secretariat are the six main organs of the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council thereafter halted operations in 1994. However, this Council cannot be dissolved without amending the UN Charter. One of the Assembly’s six Main Committees discusses the majority of questions: Disarmament and International Security is the first committee; Economics and Finance is the second; Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural is the third; Special Politics and Decolonization is the fourth; Administrative and Budgetary is the fifth; and Legal is the sixth. At that time, the Sixth Committee meeting was attended by the Myanmar Delegation, which was led by the Ambassador of Myanmar to France. Each member State was required to present at the meeting, and the States were arranged alphabetically in the meeting room. One week before the meeting, the agenda was distributed. All member States received the Statements, which the member States are required to submit and consider during the meeting. The legal issues of international conventions and international law were the primary topics of discussion in the Sixth Committee.
The United Nations’ principal policy-making, deliberative, and representative body is the General Assembly. Each of the 193-member States has one vote, attends the General Assembly session. The meeting starts every Tuesday during the third week of September. Decisions on major issues, the advancement of crucial political, security, social, and economic issues, the defence and prevention of human rights, the compilation of international law, admission to member States, and exhortation debates are all carried out by the Assembly. Additionally, this Assembly approves the United Nations’ budget and member States’ financial funds. A two-thirds majority is needed for the General Assembly to make decisions on significant issues (including peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary issues). Simple majority decisions are made on other issues. No matter how big or small, or how many people live there, every nation has the right to one vote. For instance, China, Russia, Canada, and the United States of America are large countries with large populations, while Singapore is a small country with a small population. However, these nations are entitled to one vote.
According to the UN Charter, maintaining global peace and security is the primary responsibility of the Security Council. It brings together 15 member States. China, Russia, conservation, and allied activities, as well as those of its specialized agencies and other organizations, is the Economic and Social Council. The 54-member States were chosen by the General Assembly to form this Council.
The original purpose of the Trusteeship Council was to oversee 11 Trust Territories internationally. Every trust territory has become independent since 1994. As a result, this council stopped functioning.
The World Court is another name for the International Court of Justice. Situated in The Hague, the Netherlands, it serves as the main court of the United Nations. Only one of the six main organs in the Netherlands is this one. The Court has jurisdiction over international disputes involving nations. Additionally, the Court provides advisory opinions on matters pertaining to international law and associated conflicts that are presented to it by UN entities. The General Assembly and Security Council elect the Court’s fifteen justices, who serve a nine-year term. It is not possible to elect two justices from the same nation. The justices are chosen using a proportional representative system that is based on the geographic location of the primary legal system.
The primary body handling UN administrative affairs is the Secretariat. The civil servants are in charge of organizing it to carry out UN operations. The Secretary General is in charge of it. It maintains the support of United Nations agencies, conducts research, collects data on economic and social problems worldwide, and translates documents into official United Nations languages. On the Security Council’s proposal, the General Assembly appoints the Secretary General for a five-year term that can be renewed.
Specialized Agencies
Specialized Agencies, Funds, and Programs are part of the United Nations. The autonomous and independent administrative entities are known as Specialized Agencies. They have their own organizations and charters and are a part of the UN system. The consent of the other member States must be obtained in order to be admitted to one of their agencies. Contributions enabled the Specialized Agencies to establish their subvention. Specialized Agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and others.
The General Assembly oversees the money, programs, and offices as subsidiary entities. The Economic and Social Council and/or the Assembly receive reports from the specialized agencies, which are connected to the UN by separate agreements. The World Trade Organization, IOM, and the IAEA are examples of related organizations with their own budgets and legislative bodies. All facets of cultural, economic, scientific, and social endeavours are addressed by the members of the UN system working together.
The law library is located on the 38th floor and offers a free selection of legal books, copiers, computers, and internet accessories. The Dag Hammarskjold library, which was constructed next to the main building in his honour, offers courses in all topics. He was 47 when he was chosen and appointed Secretary General. He was Swedish and lost his life in the plane crash.
The main building’s basement houses the restaurants and souvenir shops where you can purchase priceless books and UN mementoes.
The United Nations is set up to work together with all nations worldwide in order to promote global peace and development. Its goal is to prevent another unwelcome war from breaking out after World War II. Tension that is on the verge of a third world war is occurring everywhere. Some circumstances prevent the third world war from occurring. Tension would lessen, and the principle of peace and coexistence would be successfully applied if everyone, including world leaders, could lessen and manage greed, hatred, and illusion as much as possible.
The saviours and witnesses who endured the effects of the First and Second World Wars were unable to hear the sound of battle. There were conflicts during the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. However, abnormal weapons capable of destroying the planet have not yet appeared; therefore, there has been less destruction. The invention of knives, swords, and firearms increased the death toll and devastation compared to earlier times. Furthermore, there was a scenario where the entire globe was destroyed when the nuclear age arrived. People may gain from the advancement of the fields of health, communication, construction, and transportation. Because it is a weapons experiment that has destroyed humanity, it leads to devastation and competition. For the sake of human welfare, mental concentration must be maintained in tandem with physical advancement. Nowadays, as the youth follow the physical progress, wrong ideas in mental development have led to the misuse of modern achievements.
It is necessary to cultivate and practice the attitude of cherishing, appreciating, and preserving religion, culture, and customs, as well as encouraging a patriotic spirit in young people.
To summarize the Buddha’s sayings and teachings:
It preached to abandon all non-virtue, to practice goodness, and to purify one’s own mind. Its interpretation is deep and wide. Only if all mankind follows this teaching and saying as much as possible, will it be peaceful all over the world.
That is the same lesson that all religions teach. No religion can encourage terrible deeds, murder, or property theft. There will be fewer conflicts and wars if everyone, regardless of nationality or religion, has good intentions. The development of bizarre weapons that destroy humans is a horrible step forward.
The United Nations was founded by the majority of States after World War II. It has existed for eight decades. Even though the conflict was taking place all over the world, it managed to keep things from becoming a global conflict. The United Nations continues to exist despite the succession of Secretaries-General and their representatives. May the pursuit of world peace continue forever.
