1.
Global Impact of United Nations
The United Nations (U.N.), headquartered in
New York, is an international organization of 193
member-states. It was founded in 1945 to
prevent another world war.
The U.N.'s founding charter mandates four
ambitious purposes. It maintains international
peace, which is a full-time job in itself. The U.N.'s
other three missions help to achieve that
overarching goal. It fosters friendly relations
between its members, it solves international
problems and promotes human rights, and it
harmonizes its members' actions.
The U.N. also has a host of other initiatives:
 Helps countries reduce hunger, disease, and
illiteracy
 Promotes economic development and
sustainable development
 Protects refugees
 Provides disaster relief
 Counters terrorism
 Promotes nuclear non-proliferation
 Clears landmines
 Protects indigenous cultures
 Upholds international law
How the UN Is Organized
The main parts of the U.N. are the General
Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic
and Social Council, the International Court of
Justice, and the Secretariat.
The General Assembly is composed of
representatives of all member states. It creates
the mandates that guide the day-to-day work of
the boards and councils under it. The General
Assembly meeting lasts for several weeks in
September of each year, and it gives world
leaders a chance to come together and form
working relationships.
The Security Council is the most powerful U.N.
unit. Its mandate is to keep the peace. The five
permanent members are China, France, Russia,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. The
General Assembly also elects 10 non-permanent
members that hold two-year terms.
All U.N. members must comply with Security
Council decisions, and the Council sends peace-
keeping forces to restore order when needed.
The Council can impose economic sanctions or
an arms embargo to pressure countries that
don't comply, and it authorizes the U.N.'s
members to take military action if needed.
The Economic and Social Council conducts
analysis, agrees on global norms, and advocates
for progress in the areas of sustainable
development, humanitarian work, and financial
development. It forms partnerships as needed
and oversees joint U.N. action to address related
issues.
The International Court of Justice is located at
the Hague in the Netherlands. It settles legal
disputes between countries.
The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work
of the organization. It has several departments
and offices that carry out distinct responsibilities.
The Security Council nominates its leader, the
Secretary-General.
The Trusteeship Council, which used to
supervise the Trust Territories, suspended its
operations in 1994 after the last remaining U.N.
trust territory of Palau became independent.
How the UN Works
The U.N. is not a government and has no right
to make binding laws. Instead, it uses the power
of persuasion. The U.N. committees negotiate
multilateral agreements that give more teeth to
its policies. Combined, they form a body of
international law. All nations contribute to the
U.N. budget, so they each have a part in funding
U.N.-specific initiatives. Every member votes in
the General Assembly meeting, so the U.N.'s
decisions reflect the prevailing values and goals
of the majority of its members. Thus, countries
that don't comply know they are in the minority.
Members
There are 193 members of the U.N. The United
States recognizes 195 countries. The two that
aren't U.N. members are Kosovo and the Holy
See. Russia won't allow Kosovo to become a
member because it still considers it a province of
Serbia. The Holy See has not applied for
membership, although it has "permanent
observer" status.
Notably, the U.N. granted Palestine "permanent
observer" status, even though the United States
considers it to be part of Israel. China replaced
Taiwan, which it now considers a province.
All peace-loving countries that are willing and
able to carry out their obligations under the U.N.
charter can join the UN. All members of the
Security Council must approve. Then, two-thirds
of the General Assembly must also approve the
membership.
History
On October 24, 1945, the first 50 nations who
were members of the U.N. ratified its charter.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)
lobbied for the U.N.'s creation even during World
War II. In the Declaration of the United Nations,
the Allies pledged to work together to stop the
Axis. The four major Allies were the United
States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China.
The other Allies included 22 other countries.
FDR's administration worked with Congress to
create a U.N. charter that had its support.
President Harry Truman continued the effort
after FDR's death. On June 26, 1945, the
members created the U.N. Charter at the San
Francisco Conference. Truman made sure that
Congress ratified it right away. The United
Nations is the second attempt at a global peace
initiative. In 1919, U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson pushed for the League of Nations after
World War I. It had 58 members, but the United
States was not one of them. Congress refused to
ratify membership, fearing that would pull the
United States into countless wars. Many felt the
League failed because it could not prevent the
outbreak of World War II.
Other UN Organizations and How They
Influence the World
The International Atomic Energy Agency helps to
prevent nuclear proliferation and possible
annihilation by a worldwide nuclear war. Below
are several other UN organizations and their
functions:
The United Nations Climate Change secretariat
manages the global response to the threat of
climate change.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization addresses world hunger.
The United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund focuses on the protection and
care of the world's children.
The World Bank provides financial and technical
assistance to emerging market countries.
The World Health Organization monitors disease
outbreaks and assesses the performance of
health systems.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an
alliance of 26 countries created to promote
peace in Europe.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
supports countries' efforts to stop human
trafficking. It provides data and research on the
global problem.
2. Bretton Woods System
 The Bretton Woods system of monetary
management established the rules for
commercial and financial relations among
the United States, Canada, Western
European countries, Australia, and Japan
after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement.
 The Bretton Woods system was the first
example of a fully negotiated monetary
order intended to govern monetary
relations among independent states.
 The chief features of the Bretton Woods
system were an obligation for each
country to adopt a monetary policy that
maintained its external exchange rates
within 1 percent by tying its currency to
gold and the ability of the IMF to bridge
temporary imbalances of payments.
 Also, there was a need to address the lack
of cooperation among other countries and
to prevent competitive devaluation of the
currencies as well.
 The Bretton Woods Agreement was
negotiated in July 1944 to establish a new
international monetary system, the
Bretton Woods System. The Agreement
was developed by delegates from 44
countries at the United Nations Monetary
and Financial Conference held in Bretton
Woods, New Hampshire.
 Under the Bretton Woods System, gold
was the basis for the U.S. dollar and other
currencies were pegged to the U.S.
dollar’s value. The Bretton Woods System
effectively came to an end in the early
1970s when President Richard M. Nixon
announced that the U.S. would no longer
exchange gold for U.S. currency.
 The Bretton Woods Agreement and
System created a collective international
currency exchange regime that lasted
from the mid-1940s to the early 1970s.
 The Bretton Woods System required a
currency peg to the U.S. dollar which was
in turn pegged to the price of gold.
 The Bretton Woods System collapsed in
the 1970s but created a lasting influence
on international currency exchange and
trade through its development of the IMF
and World Bank.
3. The United Nations and Contemporary Global Governance
4. International Organizations
 List of International Organizations
 Print
 RSS
 Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
 European Central Bank (ECB)
 Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO)
 International Labour Organization (ILO)
 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)
 Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD)
 Paris 21 (P21)
 Statistical Office of the European Union
(EUROSTAT)
 United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD)
 United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP)
5. International Organizations
 United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (UNECA)
 United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE)
 United Nations Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean
(UNECLAC)
 United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)
 United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
 United Nations Human Settlements
Programme (UN-Habitat)
 United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO)
 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC)
 United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
 World Bank (WB)
 World Health Organization (WHO)
 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
 World Trade Organization (WTO)