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UN CHRONICLE E-ALERT: The United Nations at 60: Past and
Present HA-7-11-05
This year marks the sixtieth anniversary
of the United Nations, which officially came into existence on
Please see the message of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
on the occasion of UN Day: Today, as we celebrate 60 years of our United
Nations, we must recognize that the world today is very different from that of
our founders. The United Nations must reflect this new age, and respond to its
challenges -- including, first and foremost, the knowledge that hundreds of millions
of people are left defenseless against hunger, disease and environmental
degradation, even though the world has the means to rescue them. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sgsm10132.doc.htm
Below are related UN Chronicle articles and features on the UN Charter
and the United Nations, as well as links to other relevant UN sites.
THE UNITED NATIONS AT 60: PAST AND PRESENT
From Seeds to System - The United Nations Charter By Lawrence S. Finkelstein (Issue
3, 2005) The Charter of the United Nations was adopted on 26 June 1945 during
the United Nations Conference on International Organization, convened in San
Francisco, and came into force on 24 October 1945 when enough ratifications had
been received. War in
A United Nations-San Francisco Reunion for the New Millennium (Issue 3,
2005) By Mishana Hosseinioun.
Sixty years ago, the Charter of the United Nations was signed in
An
United Nations Milestones (Issue 3, 2005) A timeline of UN events. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2005/issue3/0305p20.pdf
Nobel Peace Prize 2001 - United Nations and Kofi Annan (Issue 3, 2003) By
Nuchhi R. Currier. It was time to consider historical
continuities, the ideals of the unity of mankind and the promotion of justice
and humanity as envisaged by Alfred Nobel. The culmination of this scrutiny was
the recognition of the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi
Annan as the Nobel Peace Laureates for the first year
of the new century http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2003/issue3/0303p46.asp
From the Secretary-General: ‘How would Hammarskjöld have
handled this?’ (Issue 4, 2001) The overriding purpose of this community
was to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and to do this it
had to follow certain key principles.These were: First,
“equal political rights” - which encompassed both the “sovereign equality” of
all Member States, in Article 2 of the Charter, and “respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms”, in Article 1.Second, “equal economic
opportunities” - spelt out in Article 55 as the promotion of “higher standards
of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and
development”, as well as “solutions of international economic, social, health,
and related problems”. Third, “justice” - by which he meant that the international
community must be “based on law ... with a judicial procedure through which law
and justice could be made to apply”. And finally, the prohibition of the
use of armed force, “save in the common interest”. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2001/issue4/0104p44.html
A Strong, Transnational Coalition: Prevent Undemocratic Regimes From Acquiring Arms (Issue 2, 2000) By Oscar Arias
Sánchez. The United Nations has done outstanding work
promoting peace, democracy and development. It has been a tireless advocate for
human rights, decolonization and international understanding.
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2000/issue2/0200p11.htm
Reinforcing a Humanitarian Mandate (Issue
2, 2000) By Agon Demjaha.
There is an urgent need for UN reform. However, the expectations about such a
reform need to be realistic, and one could say that UN reform should
concentrate more on easing the political obstacles for collective action rather
than in improving its existing mechanisms. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2000/issue2/0200p12.htm
Putting People First: A Fundamental Shift in Mindset and Paradigm (Issue 2, 2000) By
Chris Landsberg. In the final analysis, the
Secretary-General and the Secretariat should continue to try, as they have done
so steadfastly, to unite the world around a new set of post-cold-war norms,
values and principles: that of humanitarianism. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2000/issue2/0200p14.htm
'Oblivious to Barbarism of the Most Horrific Sort' The Charter: Does It Fit? (Issue 2, 1999) By Michael J. Glennon. Year
by year, it became more and more clear that the Charter contains a fundamental
flaw: it is oblivious to barbarism of the most horrific sort, so long as that
barbarism remains purely internal. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/1999/issue2/0299p32.htm
LINKS TO RELATED RESOURCES AT THE UNITED NATIONS
60th Anniversary of the United Nations (Main Website) Today as we celebrate sixty
years or our United Nations, we must recognize that the world today is very
different from that of our founders. The
United Nations must reflect this new age, and respond to its challenges http://www.un.org/un60/
60 Ways the United Nations Makes a Difference the United Nations is
much more than a peacekeeper and forum for conflict resolution. Often without attracting
attention, the United Nations and its family of agencies are engaged in a vast
array of work that seeks to improve people’s lives around the world. http://www.un.org/events/unday/2005/60Ways.pdf
UN Day Events http://www.un.org/events/unday/2005/
UN Day Dedication Ceremony of Peace Window by Marc Chagall on UN Day [
Archived Video - 44 minutes ] http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/specialevents/se051024pm.rm
Sixty Years: A Pictorial History of the UN http://www.un.org/issues/gallery/history/index.html
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