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SHORT HISTORY
.The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin
D. Roosevelt
.
In 1899, the
International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate
instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and
codifying rules of warfare
.
..the
forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations,
an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first
World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to
promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security
.
..In 1945,
representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United
Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the
United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of
proposals worked out by the representatives of
China, the Soviet
Union, the United Kingdom and the United States
.. The Charter was signed on
26 June 1945
by the representatives of the 50 countries.
The United
Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the
Charter had been ratified by
China,
France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a
majority of other signatories
.
Extracted from:
Basic Facts About the United Nations 2000, Sales No. E.00.I.21.
Today
The Security Concil has 15 members
- 5 permanent members , China , France , Great Britain ,Russia and the
U.S.. Each has a vote and a right of veto .
-10 members non-permanent members that are on the board for 2 years
.Each has a vote
A resolution must have 9 positive votes to be proposed and no veto to be
adopted.
The United Nation Charter is a treaty of the United States, and as
such forms part of the supreme law of the land under the Constitution,
Article VI, Clause 2. The UN Charter is the highest treaty in the world,
superseding states conflicting obligations under any other international
agreement.
Under the UN Charter , there are only two circumstances in which the
use of force is permissible: in collective or individual self-defense
against an actual or imminent armed attack; and when the Security
Council has directed or authorized use of force to maintain or restore
international peace and security.
Michael Rartner, President, Center on Constitutional Rights, New York
Jules Lobel, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
(excerpts from The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Booklet January 2003 )
See in News : Vetoes by the US from 1972 to 2002
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