President Samuel says Happy UN Day

United Nations (UN) Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.

 

The UN was founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The UN has 193 Member States who are represented through the General Assembly, and also via the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a Member State of the UN and represents the other three Kingdom partners, namely Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten. The Netherlands as a Member State is the only one within the Kingdom with voting rights in the UN General Assembly.

With the ratification of the aforementioned founding document by the majority of signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the UN officially came into being.

24 October has been celebrated as UN Day since 1948. In 1971, the UN General Assembly recommended that the day be observed by Member States as a public holiday.

President of Parliament Hon. Drs. Rodolphe Samuel said on Tuesday that the relevance of the international organization known as the UN, and the important role that it plays in global affairs, must be acknowledged.

The UN has four main purposes: to keep peace throughout the world; to develop friendly relations among nations; to help nations work together to improve lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

"As President of Parliament, I would like to use the opportunity of 24 October, to acknowledge the work of the UN which is carried out by international civil servants, and I commend them for their hard work on behalf of the people of the world," President of Parliament Hon. Drs. Rodolphe Samuel said on Tuesday, the eve of UN Day.

The UN everyday provides food to 90 million people in 73 countries; vaccinates 58 per cent of the world’s children, saving 2.5 million lives a year; assists over 36 million refugees and people fleeing war, famine or persecution.

The UN combats climate change; heads a campaign to end leaded fuel rise in over 100 countries; keeps peace with 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations on four continents; fights poverty, helping 370 million rural poor achieve better lives in the last 30 years.

The UN protects and promotes human rights on site and through some 80 treaties/declarations; mobilizes US$12.4 billion in humanitarian aid to help people affected by emergencies.

The UN advances democracy, assisting some 30 countries a year with their elections; and promotes maternal health, saving the lives of 30 million women a year.