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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Aleda from Lexington, KY. Aleda Wonders, " How many countries belong to the United Nations? How many do not? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Aleda!

On October 24, 1945, the United Nations (U.N.) was born when France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States created a new international peacekeeping organization . These five countries - along with 46 others - committed to maintaining world after World War II ended.

In addition to seeking international , the United Nations also tries to develop better relationships among nations. Through related , the U.N. also promotes progress, higher standards of living, and human rights around the world.

Today, the U.N. is made up of 193 member nations. This includes every independent nation in the world except for Vatican City.

The United Nations Headquarters is in New York City. It also has major offices in Geneva, Switzerland; Nairobi, Kenya; and Vienna, Austria.

The 193 member nations represent populations around the world that speak hundreds of different languages. However, the U.N. has only six languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

These languages represent the five languages of the original member nations. Arabic was added later by popular request. The six languages are used at U.N. meetings and for documents.

These languages are the primary or secondary language for approximately 2.8 billion people (or about half of the world population). They are also the language of more than half of the U.N.'s member nations.

When a representative of a country speaks at the U.N., he or she must either speak in one of the six languages or provide interpretation from the language used into one of the six languages. The U.N. then provides interpretation from the language used into the other five languages.

The U.N. treats documents in a similar way. Until a document is available in all six languages, it is not published.

One of the special issues that arises often at the U.N. is the fact that it's home to 193 member nations, each of which has its own unique . Naturally, people do and say things differently in different countries.

What may be in one country may be offensive in another. To help avoid international incidents, the U.N. gives up to 10,000 people special language lessons each year.

For example, one lesson teaches how to interrupt people gracefully. Classes also teach four levels of politeness, from very wordy to very direct.

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How Many Languages Are Spoken At the U.N.?

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Aleda from Lexington, KY. Aleda Wonders, " How many countries belong to the United Nations? How many do not? " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Aleda! On October 24, 1945, the United Nations (U.N.)

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Photo Credit: livehappy.com

Residents of the US East Coast still recovering from last week's record snowstorms will be happy to know that today is not just the first day of spring, but also the International Day of Happiness. First celebrated in 2013, this fun holiday was established by the United Nations (UN) to remind us that "the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal."

Setting aside a day to appreciate things that we take for granted - good health, family, and friends - was first suggested by residents of the tiny South Asian country of Bhutan. They also came up with the idea of establishing the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index in the 1970's. The tiny nation, which has an annual per capita income of about $2,300, or 21 percent of the world's average, believes that material wealth, measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Index, is not a meaningful measurement of human happiness. The UN advises people to observe the day in "an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities."So what can you do to celebrate besides cracking a big smile?

Help the UN achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Image Credit: Unicef.org

In 2015, countries worldwide adopted 17 sustainable development goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. According to the UN, we can all help achieve these aims with simple actions like turning off unnecessary lights, riding a bike or walking, and speaking up against social injustice and bullying. To educate young people everywhere and enlist their help in achieving the goals, the UN and the Smurfs team have also launched the "Small Smurfs Big Goals" campaign. Be sure to check it out.

Put together a playlist of uplifting songs

In 2015, the UN asked famous musicians like Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, David Guetta, and John Legend, as well as music fans, to submit their favorite happy songs. Six of the entries were used to create the "world's happiest playlist," and shared globally. Though the intergovernmental agency has not repeated the effort since, it's a good idea to create an uplifting song playlist and share it with your friends and family.

Photo Credit: Stuart Semple CC 2.0 via Wikipedia

Give or receive a (free) hug

While Washington D.C. has organized a formal event at the Dupont Circle Foundation to give or receive hugs, you don't need to be in the nation's capital to do this. Seek out a sibling, parent, or friend, and make their day by giving them a spontaneous hug.

Take the "Happy Acts" challenge

The global initiative is the brainchild of the "Live Happy" magazine. It encourages people to perform a random good deed and post it on the magazine's social media sites or tweet about it at #HappyActs. The actions can be as simple as sharing a fun photo or calling a grandparent.

Treat yourself

Sometimes all it takes to make one happy is a little indulgence. So go ahead and grab a cup of cocoa or your favorite tub of ice cream and snuggle up with a blanket and good book!

Start a conversation

With the influx of gadgets, we tend to spend more time looking at our screens than the person in front of us. Tuck your computers or smartphones away for one evening and spend time reacquainting yourself with your parents or siblings. You might be pleasantly surprised at the joy it will bring them and you.

Pursue your dreams

Most of us have dreams that we never realize due to our fear of failing. Remember FAIL stands for "First Attempt In Learning." Make this the day when you take the first action towards something you have always dreamed of doing but been too scared to pursue.

Image Credit: Nese CCO via Pixabay

Finally, don't forget to love yourself for who you are and be happy every single day! International Day of Happiness is a reminder that joy is all around us - you just have to reach out and grab it!

Happy Spring & International Day Of Happiness!

Resources: guardian.com,wikipedia.org, unicef.org

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Rejoice! It's The First Day Of Spring And International Day Of Happiness!

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Residents of the US East Coast still recovering from last week's record snowstorms will be happy to know that today is not just the first day of spring, but also the International Day of Happiness. First celebrated in 2013, this fun holiday was established by the United Nations (UN) to remind us that "the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal."

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Adelie Penguins on iceberg (By Jason Auch CC 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

The world is finally uniting to save the environment. On October 5, the United Nations announced that the threshold to enforce the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement had been met, paving the way for its implementation starting November 4. On Friday, October 28 came additional good news. After five years of negotiations, representatives of 24 nations and the European Union agreed on a landmark deal to establish the world's largest marine protected area (MPA) in Antarctica.

While the unanimous agreement that covers 600,000 square miles (twice the size of the state of Texas) of Antarctica's Ross Sea, is less than the 875,000 square miles proposed by the USA and New Zealand in 2011, it is being hailed as a victory by environmentalists. That's because the protected region often called the 'Garden of Eden', is considered by experts to be the least altered marine environments on Earth. Ross Sea's nutrient-rich waters that are abundant with plankton and krill, support over 16,000 species of marine animals, including the Ross Sea orcas, Adélie penguins, emperor penguins, and Antarctic minke whales.

World's largest marine protected area (Photo Credit: WWF)

Under the terms of the agreement, starting December 2017, about 72% of the Ross Sea will be a "no-take" zone, which means everything from mineral mining to fishing is prohibited. The remaining 28% has been designated as a research area and will be open for fishing provided it is for scientific research.

Officials of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), say this will allow researchers to compare the impact on marine life between the protected and open zones. They believe the results will enable scientists to understand the different factors that affect the status and health of the marine ecosystems.

Blue Ice on Lake Fryexel (Photo Credit: Joe Mastroianni, National Science Foundation via Wikimedia Commons)

What makes this deal even more historic is that this is only the second time the world has come together to create an MPA. The first, signed in 2009, covers about 17,000 square miles of Antarctica's South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf. A recent inspection of the area by an international team led by the British Antarctic Survey revealed that the protection measures are working. The scientists reported many new species of coral and anemones and also a vast increase in the population of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME), both in the MPA and surrounding areas.

Environmentalists believe that the same will be the case for the Ross Sea. While there is some concern that the deal is valid for just 35 years, experts hope that it will be extended indefinitely once there is evidence of its success. Though the two MPA's are a great start, there is more to be done. The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups and individuals formed to campaign the creation of marine protected areas, believes that 40 percent of the Southern Ocean should be designated a "no-take" zone.

Adélie penguin shortly after a dip in the Ross Sea. (Photo Credit John Weller/Antarctic Ocean Alliance)

While protecting the waters around the Antarctica can only be done with consensus from the member nations that monitor the region, countries are free to designate MPA's in their territorial waters. In August, President Obama increased the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands from 140,000 square miles to 582,578 square miles of land and sea, making it the second-largest MPA in the world. Hopefully, more nations will follow his lead and help protect our increasingly fragile environment.

Resources: asoc.org,wired.co.uk, zmescience.com, CCAMLR.

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Nations Come Together To Create The World's Largest Marine Sanctuary

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The world is finally uniting to save the environment. On October 5, the United Nations announced that the threshold to enforce the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement had been met, paving the way for its implementation starting November 4. On Friday, October 28 came additional good news.

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DK Find Out- Declaration of Human Rights

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DK Find Out- Declaration of Human Rights

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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The United Nations (UN) is an association of independent countries that agreed to work together to prevent and end wars. The UN also attempts to improve social conditions by promoting international cooperation, economic development, public health, environmental conservation, and human rights. Members of the UN are supposed to cooperate peacefully and resolve differences diplomatically rather than rely on force; however, this ideal has not always been met. The UN does not make laws or act as a world government, but it does provide opportunities for discussion, cooperation, and actions that serve the interests of its members. The UN was founded by 51 countries in 1945. Membership was eventually extended to almost every country on Earth, growing to 193 member countries (also called member states) by 2011.

After World War II it was expected that the great powers would work together to keep the peace. Instead, disagreements arose in the late 1940s between the Soviet Union and the West that led to decades of conflict and international tension known as the Cold War. The two emergent superpowers-the Soviet Union and the United States-and their respective allies built up enormous arsenals of conventional and unconventional weapons, including nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The UN attempted to act as peacemaker between the superpowers, but the two states often rendered the organization ineffective in regard to Cold War conflicts. After the Cold War ended in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the UN continued to promote peace in many troubled areas of the world, adapting to circumstances that were not dreamed of by its founders. The UN has faced numerous humanitarian crises and civil wars. It has struggled to assist large numbers of refugees and to deal with the spread of AIDS and other diseases, with international terrorism, and with the vast differences in wealth and opportunity between the world's richest and poorest peoples.

The preamble of the United Nations Charter sets forth the aims of the organization. The charter itself states the basic principles and purposes, defines the membership, and establishes the six principal UN bodies, which are also called organs. The charter provides that all "peace-loving states" can become members on the recommendation of the Security Council if approved by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. The Assembly, on recommendation of the Security Council, can expel a member that has persistently violated the principles of the charter.

Amendments to the charter require a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the General Assembly. Following Assembly approval, the amendment must be ratified by two-thirds of the member states, including all five permanent members of the Security Council. Each of these "big five" members can veto Security Council proposals and even prevent discussion of some issues in the Council.

In addition to sharing the responsibility of maintaining peace and security, the member states of the UN share in the costs of the organization. Each country contributes to the main budget and makes voluntary contributions to the budget of each agency to which it belongs. The scale of contributions, based partly on ability to pay, is set by the General Assembly. In 2017 the largest contributors were the United States, Japan, China, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. On occasion, some members have had trouble paying their UN dues, and others-including the Soviet Union in the 1960s and the United States from the 1980s into the 21st century-have withheld or delayed payments as a way of pressuring the UN or protesting its actions. In 2016 about 25 percent of the member states failed to make their full payments to the UN's regular budget.

In 1941, before the U.S. entered World War II, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, which outlined their vision for global peace and security. The following year representatives of 26 countries calling themselves the United Nations signed a pledge in Washington, D.C., to defeat the Axis Powers -the alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan-and to uphold the principles of the Atlantic Charter. In 1944 representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States drew up plans for a world organization when they met at Dumbarton Oaks, a private mansion in Washington, D.C.

In February 1945, in the Soviet city of Yalta, representatives of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States met to resolve some of their earlier disagreements, including the terms of membership in the organization. Delegates of 50 countries later met in San Francisco, California. (Poland was unable to send a delegate but is considered one of the 51 founding members of the UN.) On June 26 the United Nations Charter was adopted and signed, and on October 24, 1945, the UN officially came into existence. October 24 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1947, and some countries have set aside the week encompassing October 24 as United Nations Week.

The General Assembly opened its first session in London, England, on January 10, 1946. In February Trygve Lie, foreign minister of Norway, was elected the first secretary-general. The first years of the UN sorely tested the organization's power as conflict after conflict arose in different areas of the world, particularly in the Middle East and Asia. The UN was not always able to resolve issues completely, but it was often successful at initiating communication between what often were centuries-old enemies.

The cornerstone was laid on October 24, 1949. The Secretariat, the General Assembly, and the Conference Building were completed in 1951-52. A library added in 1961 was named after Dag Hammarskjöld, the secretary-general who was killed in a plane crash earlier that year.

The buildings were designed by an international group of architects headed by Wallace K. Harrison of the United States. The General Assembly has long, concave sides and a sloping roof surmounted by a dome. The General Assembly Hall, under the dome, is decorated with murals by Fernand Léger, a French artist. The low, rectangular Conference Building has chambers for the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council. This building connects the General Assembly with the 39-story Secretariat, which is easily recognizable from many vantage points in New York City. The Dag Hammarskjöld Library is adjacent to the Secretariat at the southwest corner of the headquarters site. The site was made international territory by agreement with the U.S. government.

In the first dispute brought to the Security Council, Iran demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops that had been stationed there during World War II. The Soviet delegate walked out of the Council in protest, but months later the troops were withdrawn. For much of the 20th century, the Soviet Union was notorious for blocking discussion of issues and for using its veto power-more than 100 times in the UN's first 20 years alone-mainly to reject new applicants for membership. (During the same period, other Council members used the veto only a few times.) The Soviet Union also vetoed attempts to investigate the Greek Civil War, in which communist insurgents were fighting, and it nullified Security Council resolutions that would have condemned Soviet military actions in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Although the UN Charter named the Republic of China as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the Chinese communist conquest of the mainland in 1949 caused a dilemma in the Council and also for the UN as a whole. The communist government forced the Nationalist Chinese government to retreat to the island of Formosa (now Taiwan). The Soviet Union demanded that the Council expel the Nationalist delegate and seat the communist delegate. The United States blocked the move, prompting the Soviet Union to boycott all UN bodies in which Nationalist China was represented. In 1971 the U.S. government finally stopped blocking the change because it wished to improve relations with mainland China.

Membership in the UN swelled in the early 1960s. An influx of newly independent African and Asian countries led to new voting-bloc alignments and competition for power in the organization. To address this, the General Assembly in late 1963 approved an amendment to the UN Charter that increased membership in the Security Council from 11 to 15 and in the Economic and Social Council from 18 to 27. The changes were finally ratified in 1965. Many communist governments and newly independent countries gained influence because of the changes.

By 1964 peacekeeping operations in Cyprus, the Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere had almost bankrupted the UN because the Soviet Union and other members refused to contribute funds. In retaliation, the United States threatened to have the nonpaying countries ejected. The General Assembly averted a showdown on the issue by deciding that future peacekeeping missions would be funded with voluntary contributions. In 1966 the first UN sanctions in history were imposed on Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) after it declared itself independent from Great Britain rather than grant the colony's black majority additional voting rights.

The UN also squared off against South Africa. In 1968 the Assembly voted to change the name of South-West Africa to Namibia and condemned South Africa for continuing to defy a 1966 UN resolution terminating South Africa's mandate over the area. The Assembly also called upon members to break off relations with South Africa.

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Security Council passed 12 resolutions against Iraq, and it authorized a U.S.-led military coalition to attack and remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. In the brief Persian Gulf War (1990-91), including a ground attack that lasted only 100 hours, the U.S.-led force was victorious. UN inspection teams were later sent to Iraq to locate and destroy weapons-producing facilities.

In 1992 Secretary-General Pérez de Cuéllar was replaced by Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, who was both the first Arab and the first African to hold the post. As secretary-general, Boutros-Ghali strongly supported UN mediation in the post-Cold War strife that settled over the countries emerging from the ashes of the Soviet Union. His term saw lengthy and difficult peacekeeping operations throughout the world. In August 1992 a UN peacekeeping force was sent into Somalia to safeguard food shipments to famine-ravaged areas. This force was supplemented in December by a contingent of 30,000 U.S. Marines. At the same time peacekeepers were bogged down in a violent civil war in newly independent Bosnia, a former Yugoslav republic that Serbia was trying to annex.

In addition to its work in restoring and maintaining peace around the world, the UN became increasingly involved in humanitarian and environmental efforts by the end of the 20th century. This was in part because of the efforts of Boutros-Ghali's successor, Kofi Annan of Ghana, who in 1997 became the first black African to hold the post of secretary-general. Annan, who was reappointed in 2001, emphasized organizational reform in the UN and worked to make the organization more responsive to the peoples of the world.

In the early 1990s UN membership grew with the addition of many former Soviet republics as well as several newly constructed states in eastern Europe. The UN continued to add new members in the early 21st century, with Switzerland and East Timor joining in 2002. The inclusion of Switzerland was notable because of that country's tradition of neutrality with respect to global politics. Following the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, many of the organization's agencies and programs-among them the World Health Organization (WHO)-were headquartered in Switzerland, yet before 2002 the country itself had not played a direct role in the institution.

Under Annan the UN also started several missions in particularly troubled areas to oversee disaster relief, peacekeeping, and rebuilding efforts. In 2002 the UN established such missions in Côte d'Ivoire and in Afghanistan following a U.S.-led military campaign to oust the Taliban from power there. As these efforts unfolded, the UN also became involved in controversial and dangerous work in Iraq.

In November 2002 the UN passed a resolution providing for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq. UN inspectors had been withdrawn from the country in December 1998. Although Iraq allowed inspections to resume, the United States and the United Kingdom challenged the Iraqi government's compliance with the inspection process. In a highly publicized speech to the General Assembly in February 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell alleged that the regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including biological and chemical agents, and that it was working to produce nuclear weapons. The United States and British governments also claimed that the regime had ties to al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks.

Many were unconvinced by these claims, however. Although the United States and the United Kingdom threatened military action if Saddam did not immediately comply with the disarmament resolution, they were unable to pressure other members of the Security Council into authorizing war against Iraq. Annan led the UN in requesting that weapons inspectors be allowed more time to complete their search for WMDs. Nevertheless, U.S. President George W. Bush soon ordered what his administration characterized as a "preemptive" invasion of Iraq. By mid-April 2003 a coalition of mainly U.S. and British forces had entered all major Iraqi cities and overthrown Saddam's regime, but violence and insecurity continued to plague the country. Military and intelligence officials later concluded that at the time of the invasion Saddam had not stockpiled WMDs or had begun a large-scale program to build them.

Amid the crisis in Iraq, allegations emerged of corruption surrounding the UN's oil-for-food program. Under this program-which lasted from 1996 to 2003-Iraq had been allowed to sell a set amount of oil in order to purchase food, medicine, and other necessities. An Independent Inquiry Committee led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker was formed to investigate the corruption charges. It concluded that some $1.8 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges had been paid to Saddam's government by companies and individuals in more than five dozen countries. The committee, which issued its final report in October 2005, exonerated Annan of charges that he had improperly influenced contract bids but criticized the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight of the $64 billion program. Annan, who retained strong support worldwide, vowed to pursue a number of internal reforms, including increasing the transparency of UN operations and strengthening the organization's audit and procurement practices.

In 2007 Annan was succeeded as secretary-general by Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea. Ban was the first Asian to serve in the post since U Thant held the office (1961-71). Ban led UN efforts to combat climate change and world poverty, and he advocated for women's rights. He also worked to reform the UN peacekeeping program and to improve its humanitarian efforts following natural disasters. During Ban's tenure the UN launched new peacekeeping missions in several African countries, including Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic, as well as in Syria. In 2017 Ban was succeeded by António Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal.

The United Nations is divided into six major bodies, or organs, that have specific, complementary responsibilities and powers. These are the General Assembly, the Secretariat, the Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council.

The General Assembly
The largest and most representative component of the United Nations is the General Assembly, the "parliament of nations" that allows every member to debate and vote on international affairs. The General Assembly elects the membership of the other UN bodies. The Assembly may deliberate and vote on subjects covered by the UN Charter, including issues that the Security Council has failed to address. These votes are nonbinding, meaning that they cannot force action on the part of the Security Council or any UN member. Nevertheless, the Assembly represents the voice of world opinion, and this moral authority can be politically and socially influential.

Each member may have up to five representatives but only one vote in the General Assembly. A two-thirds majority of votes is needed for decisions on key issues regarding peace, international security, new membership, and the budget. Other questions are decided by a majority vote. Some issues are resolved by a consensus of members rather than a formal vote. The Assembly meets in regular annual sessions but may also be called for special sessions. A president is elected to oversee each session.

The Secretariat
The day-to-day business of the United Nations is carried on by the Secretariat. At its head is the secretary-general, the chief administrative officer of the UN. He or she is appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council. The secretary-general maintains a busy schedule of public appearances, meetings with national leaders and UN representatives, and UN staff meetings. The secretary-general may make personal appeals to prevent wars and international disputes, to request emergency aid, or to facilitate other work of the organization. Included on the staff of the Secretariat are the deputy secretary-general and thousands of workers from most of the countries of the world.

The Security Council
Maintaining world peace and security is the primary responsibility of the Security Council. Every member of the United Nations is pledged to accept and carry out the Council's decisions. The Council functions continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at UN headquarters. The presidency of the Council rotates monthly, according to the English alphabetical listing of its members.

The Security Council has 15 members. Five countries- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -are permanent members. (Russia's seat was formerly held by the Soviet Union, which broke up in 1991.) Of the other 10 seats, five are elected each year by the General Assembly for two-year terms; five retire each year. Each Security Council member has one vote. On all routine (procedural) matters, approval requires nine "yes" votes. On all other matters, the nine "yes" votes must include the votes of all five permanent members. Thus, each of the Big Five has veto power. Any one of them can block even the discussion of an action of which it disapproves.

Any state, even if it is not a member of the UN, may bring a dispute to which it is a party to the notice of the Security Council. The first response of the Council is always to search for a peaceful solution to the conflict. If the Council finds there is a real threat to peace, or an actual act of aggression, it may insist on sanctions such as a trade embargo or the freezing of assets. If these methods prove inadequate, the Council may take military action against the offending country.

Several UN members have advocated increasing the size of the Security Council with new permanent members-possibly including Brazil, India, Japan, or Germany-as well as increasing the number of temporary members. Any such change in membership could be accompanied by new rules on Security Council votes and veto powers.

The International Court of Justice
Also known as the World Court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the supreme court of the United Nations. (It is separate from the International Criminal Court, which was established in 2002.) The permanent seat of the ICJ is in the Netherlands at The Hague. The court consists of 15 judges from 15 different countries. Judges are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. They serve for nine years and are eligible for reelection. Nine judges make a quorum (the minimum number required to conduct business) and questions are decided by a majority vote.

Any states, even nonmembers, may bring disputes to the court for judgment. Both parties must first agree to allow the court to try the case. Should one of them fail to accept the judgment of the court, the other may appeal to the Security Council for enforcement. Many countries have been reluctant to bring sensitive issues to the court, so the power of the ICJ has been limited.

The Economic and Social Council

The Trusteeship Council
The responsibility of the Trusteeship Council was to protect the interests of people who lived in trust territories and to lead them toward self-government. Trust territories included colonies taken from countries defeated in World War II as well as colonies that had become mandates of the League of Nations after World War I. Under the UN Charter, states could choose to place other territories under the trusteeship system. The Trusteeship Council met once each year until Palau, the last trust territory, became independent in 1994. The council then terminated its operations, but it may be reconstituted if a need arises.

In addition to providing a forum for international cooperation, the agencies and commissions of the United Nations embrace a wide variety of activities in support of world peace, including supplying aid for development, promoting social welfare and human rights, mantaining peacekeeping forces, and providing support for democratic stability and peace building. In recognition of these efforts, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded numerous times to the UN or its agencies or staff. The award was granted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1954 and in 1981, to UNICEF in 1965, to the International Labour Organization in 1969, and to UN peacekeeping forces in 1988. Ralph Bunche earned the prize in 1950 for his role as UN mediator in the Palestine conflict, and Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld received it posthumously in 1961 in recognition of his peace efforts. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN as a whole were awarded the prize jointly in 2001 for their commitment to world peace and human rights. In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organization set up by the UN in 1988, was awarded the prize jointly with former U.S. vice president Al Gore.

Peacekeeping
United Nations peacekeepers, also known as blue helmets, are military and police personnel provided by member countries to help defuse tensions in specific areas of the world. Since 1948 UN peacekeeping operations have involved the combined efforts of more than 750,000 soldiers and police, as well as thousands of civilian workers. In a typical year tens of thousands of soldiers throughout the world wear the blue helmets of the UN. Decisions to withdraw or discipline peacekeepers are made by the national governments that volunteer them.

During the Cold War UN peacekeeping forces were mainly composed of unarmed or lightly armed troops. They were placed in buffer zones between the armed forces of formerly warring parties to ensure cooperation while UN mediators worked with leaders to resolve problems. Between 1948 and 1988 the UN undertook 13 peacekeeping missions, usually involving troops from neutral countries such as Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, India, Ireland, and Italy.

In 1948 the first UN peacekeepers were deployed to Israel and the Palestinian and Arab territories that it occupied. Tensions in the region had run high since the end of World War II, when thousands of Jewish refugees from Europe had poured into Palestine. Unable to keep the peace between Arabs and Jews, Britain in 1947 turned the problem over to the General Assembly, which recommended dividing Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, Jewish residents established the state of Israel, but they were immediately attacked by the Arab states around them. The UN peacekeepers, a force of 36 unarmed military observers, were deployed within weeks of the initial fighting. UN peacekeeping efforts there persisted into the 21st century. ( See also Arab-Israeli wars.)

After the Cold War ended peacekeeping missions became more complex. Civilian experts often accompanied peacekeepers to help them achieve a range of political and social objectives. In addition, blue helmets were increasingly authorized to use force for reasons other than self-defense. The new missions included troops from the permanent members of the Security Council as well as from developed countries (such as Australia and Canada) and developing ones (such as Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, and India). In the second decade of the 21st century annual peacekeeping costs typically exceeded $7 billion.

Many of the UN's post-Cold War peacekeeping missions were generally successful, including deployments to Cambodia, El Salvador, Liberia, Mozambique, and East Timor. Nonetheless, peacekeeping activities remained perilous and complicated. More than 3,500 UN peacekeepers have been killed over the decades, and some missions have ended in tragedy. Among the more egregious failures were the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the 1995 massacre of unarmed Muslims near the Bosnian town of Srebrenica-both of which occurred despite the presence of UN troops. In the early 21st century the UN set up peacekeeping missions in a number of African countries, including Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Chad, and the Central African Republic.

Arms Control
In 1957 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established to promote the peaceful uses of atomic energy. In 1961 the General Assembly declared the use of nuclear or thermonuclear weapons to be against international law, the UN Charter, and the laws of humanity. Two years later, on August 5, 1963, the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treaty-which was later signed by more than 100 countries-prohibited nuclear tests or explosions in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater. In 1966 the General Assembly unanimously agreed to ban WMDs from Earth's orbit and outer space.

In June 1968 the Assembly approved the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which banned the spread of nuclear weapons from nuclear to nonnuclear powers. Nevertheless, this and other agreements had limited influence on the nuclear arms race between the Soviet bloc and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Both sides continued to maintain large arsenals of such weapons. For years the 1968 treaty was not ratified by some major nuclear powers (including China and France) and many near-nuclear states (including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Israel, India, and Pakistan). China, France, and several other of these countries agreed to the treaty in the 1990s, but Israel, India, and Pakistan remained key holdouts in the second decade of the 21st century. North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003.

Major reductions in nuclear weapons finally occurred with the end of the Cold War. In an effort to control new threats of proliferation, the IAEA and inspectors from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission were active in the 1990s and early 21st century in such places as Russia and the former Soviet republics, Iraq, and other countries that had pledged to destroy or deactivate large stockpiles of WMDs. Despite the efforts of the UN and the IAEA, India and Pakistan became declared nuclear powers in 1998. North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006.

Among other UN initiatives were treaties on land mines, chemical and biological weapons, and trafficking in conventional weapons. In 1996 the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons, was signed, but it has not yet entered into force. Despite international pressure, some countries have resisted entering into these agreements for political or military reasons. The United States, for example, has not signed the land mine treaty or ratified the test ban.

Peace Building and Human Rights
Most United Nations agencies are directly or indirectly involved in peace building, which refers to the rebuilding of a war-torn country and the prevention of future wars and violence. Among the UN's principal peace-building actions are the monitoring of democratic elections, the training of police, investigations into human rights abuses (including torture and extrajudicial killings), and economic and political advising.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, created in 1993, is now the center for UN action on human rights. It played a key role in the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the General Assembly adopted in 2007. The declaration was the result of more than 20 years of negotiations between governments and indigenous groups. It established universal standards for the rights and welfare of indigenous peoples throughout the world in such areas as health, education, and employment. It outlawed discrimination against indigenous groups and affirmed their right to practice their cultural traditions. It also recognized the right of indigenous peoples to pursue self-determination while still maintaining the right to take part in the political, economic, and cultural life of the countries in which they live.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened in 2002 to try individuals accused of war crimes and human rights abuses. The ICC is located at The Hague in the Netherlands, which is also the site of the UN's International Court of Justice. The ICC is a permanent body, unlike the temporary war-crimes tribunals that the Security Council created following the Rwandan genocide and the Balkan wars in the 1990s. One of the concerns of the court is genocide, which the UN has defined as an attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Although the ICC was created with UN assistance, it operates separately, with limited jurisdiction over the countries that have signed the ICC treaty. The court has more than 120 members, but several key countries, including the United States, China, and Russia, have refused to participate.

Election monitoring has been an important UN function since 1947, when UN workers were sent to South Korea. Since 1991 UN monitors have supervised elections in more than 100 countries including Mozambique, El Salvador, Cambodia, East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. In 1994 UN monitoring of elections in South Africa helped guarantee the democratic election of Nelson Mandela as the country's first black president. The UN assisted with elections in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

Development, Social Welfare, and Health
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides technical, economic, and social aid to developing countries. With about 170 offices around the world, the UNDP assists with agriculture, industrial programs, and engineering projects. It is also a major provider of grant money. UNDP programs have focused on reducing poverty, developing strategies to treat and combat the spread of HIV/ AIDS, promoting environmentally sound energy and economic policies, and expanding communications and technology infrastructure. UNDP resident representatives in developing countries help to coordinate the local activities of other UN agencies and programs, as well as those of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The UN-supported World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are powerful forces in the global economic system. The main duty of the World Bank is to assist member countries by promoting foreign investment and, when private loans are too difficult to obtain, to make loans from its own funds. The World Bank finances projects such as improvements to road and railway systems, the use of mechanized farming methods, and the building of new telecommunications facilities, ports, and dams. The IMF has the responsibility of stabilizing international monetary rates and promoting financial cooperation. It also makes loans to assist with economic reforms. Both agencies have been the subject of protests and debate because of the heavy influence that they have on developing countries. Among other criticisms, World Bank projects have been accused of undermining the sovereignty of countries receiving aid, and IMF loan terms have often been called too harsh and restrictive. To address the problem of developing countries incurring unmanageable levels of debt to the IMF and World Bank, the two agencies launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996. Through the HIPC Initiative, debt reduction packages have been approved for more than 30 countries-most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Among many other activities, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) develops programs for literacy and teacher training, sponsors cultural exchanges, and promotes environmental protection. The organization also provides support for developing countries that wish to preserve, study, and protect the sites included on UNESCO's World Heritage List. In the mid-1980s the United States and United Kingdom withdrew from the organization after alleging that UNESCO was too political and "anti-Western" in its orientation. UNESCO continued to have an influential presence around the globe, and both countries eventually rejoined the agency, the United Kingdom in 1997 and the United States in 2003.

Many agencies of the UN are concerned with health, forced labor and slavery, equal rights for women, children, and minority rights. In 1975 the first UN conference on women was held in Mexico City, Mexico. Every few years subsequent conferences have generated worldwide attention. UNICEF is devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.

Refugees and Disaster Relief
The United Nations provides vital aid to refugees from wars and other disasters, helping to ship food, water, and emergency supplies to affected areas. UN commissions have given aid to many thousands of refugees and have cared for needy children in many countries. The largest refugee agencies are the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a separate organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. In the first decades of the 21st century the UN assisted millions of refugees in war-torn areas of Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan, among other countries. The organization has also been instrumental in organizing relief efforts for countries affected by natural disasters such as the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. ( See also international relations.)

Docalavich, Heather. The History and Structure of the United Nations: Development and Function (Mason Crest, 2007).Glassner, M.I., ed. The United Nations at Work (Praeger, 1998).Meisler, Stanley. United Nations: The First Fifty Years (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007).Melvern, Linda. United Nations (Watts, 2004).Mingst, K.A., and others. The United Nations in the 21st Century (Westview, 2017).

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The United Nations (UN) is an association of independent countries that agreed to work together to prevent and end wars. The UN also attempts to improve social conditions by promoting international cooperation, economic development, public health, environmental conservation, and human rights.