United Nations

The United Nations (abbreviated UN in English, and ONU in French and Spanish), is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement ofworld peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

Flag Headquarters International territory in New York City, New York, United States Arabic Chinese English French Russian Spanish 193 member states Leaders Secretary-General Deputy SecretaryGeneral General Assembly President Security Council President Establishment United Nations Charter signed Entry into force of Charter Website UN.org 26 June 1945 Ban Ki-moon Jan Eliasson

Official languages

The UN currently has a total of 193 member states. From its offices around the world, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year. The organization has six principal organs: the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and the United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Other prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most prominent position is Secretary-General which has been held by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea since 2007. The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese,English, French, Russian, and Spanish.[2] Secretary-General Main article: Secretary-General of the United Nations

Membership

Vuk Jeremi

Masood Khan

24 October 1945

languages: Arabic, Chinese,English, French, Russian, and Spanish.[2] UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The current Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN. The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon, who took over from Kofi Annan in 2007 and has been elected for a second term to conclude at the end of 2016.[19] Envisioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "world moderator", the position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's "chief administrative officer",[20] but the Charter also states that the Secretary-General can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance ofinternational peace and security",[21] giving the position greater scope for action on the world stage. The position has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization, and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues.[22] The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power.[23] The General Assembly can theoretically override the Security Council's recommendation if a majority vote is not achieved, although this has not happened so far.[24] There are no specific criteria for the post, but over the years, it has become accepted that the post shall be held for one or two terms of five years, that the post shall be appointed on the basis of geographical rotation, and that the Secretary-General shall not originate from one of the five permanent Security Council member states.[24] HEADQUARTERS The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official

Org type Acronyms

Specialized Agency UNESCO ONUSC

Head

Irina Bokova Director-General of UNESCO

Status Established Headquarters Website

Active 16 November 1945[1] Paris, France UNESCO.org

intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information".[6] Other priorities of the Organization include attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (French: L'Organisation des Nations unies pour lducation, la science et la culture: UNESCO; pron.: /junsko/) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Its purpose is to contribute peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter.[1] It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation. UNESCO has 195 Member States[2] (it recently added Palestine in November 2011) and eight Associate Members.[3][4] Most of the field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries; there are also national and regional offices. UNESCO pursue its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; translations of world literature; international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and attempts to bridge theworldwide digital divide. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.[5] UNESCOs aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and Website Parent org UNICEF official site ECOSOC Status Established Headquarters Active December 1946 New York, USA Org type Acronyms Head UNICEF Logo Fund UNICEF Anthony Lake communication.[7] The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international communityas set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs)underpin all UNESCOs strategies and activities. UNICEF

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF; pron.: /unsf/ YEW-ni-sef)[1] is a United Nations Programme headquartered in New York City, that provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. It is one of the members of theUnited Nations Development Group and its Executive Committee.[2]

children and mothers with HIV, nutritional supplements, emergency shelters, educational supplies, among others. A 36-member Executive Board establishes policies, approves programs and oversees administrative and financial plans. The Executive Board is made up of government representatives who are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, usually for three-year terms. Following the reaching of term limits by Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy, former United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann Venemanbecame executive director of the organization in May 2005, with an agenda to increase the organization's focus on the Millennium Development Goals. She was succeeded in May 2010, by Anthony Lake. UNICEF is an inter-governmental organization and thus is accountable to those governments. UNICEFs salary and benefits package[5] is based on the United Nations Common System. World Health Organization

UNICEF was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1954, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronymbased on this old name. UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors and UNICEF's total income for 2008 was $3,372,540,239.[3] Governments contribute two thirds of the organization's resources; private groups and some 6 million individuals contribute the rest through the National Committees. It is estimated that 91.8% of their revenue is distributed to Program Services.[4] UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-being of children. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Awardof Concord in 2006. Most of UNICEF's work is in the field, with staff in over 190 countries and territories. More than 200 country offices carry out UNICEF's mission through a program developed with host governments. Seventeen regional offices provide technical assistance to country offices as needed. Overall management and administration of the organization takes place at its headquarters in New York. UNICEF's Supply Division is based inCopenhagen and serves as the primary point of distribution for such essential items as vaccines, antiretroviral medicines for

Flag of the World Health Organization Org type Acronyms Head Status Established Headquarters Website Parent org Specialized agency of UN WHO or OMS Margaret Chan Active 7 April 1948 Geneva, Switzerland www.who.int United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations. The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by all 61 countries of the United Nations by 22 July 1946, with the first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948. It incorporated the Office International d'Hygine Publique and the League of Nations Health Organization. Since its creation, WHO has been responsible for playing a leading role in the eradication of smallpox. Its current priorities includecommunicable diseases, in particular, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; the mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and aging; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and drive the development of reporting, publications, and networking. WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, a leading international publication on health, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health Day (7th-April of every Year). Its links with the International Atomic Energy Agency and distribution of contraception have both proved controversial, as have guidelines on healthy eating and the 2009 flu pandemic.

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) served as the 45th Vice President of the United States (19932001), under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President and lost the 2000 U.S. presidential election despite winning the popular vote. Gore is currently an author and environmental activist. He has founded a number of non-profit organizations, including the Alliance for Climate Protection, and has received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change activism.[4] Gore was previously an elected official for 24 years, serving for eight years each as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and Vice President of the United States. More specifically, representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (197785), and later in the U.S. Senate (1985 93), and finally serving as Vice President (1993-2001). In the 2000 presidential election, Gore won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes. However, he ultimately lost the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush when the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy over the Florida vote recount by ruling 5-4 in favor of Bush.[5] Some who opposed the Supreme Court ruling argued it was the only time in history that the Supreme Court had picked the president.[6] Gore is the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member

of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior adviser to Google. Gore is also a partner in theventure capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading its climate change solutions group.
[8][9] [7]

Born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, studying law. Living in Johannesburgtownships and becoming involved in anticolonial politics, he joined the ANC, becoming a founding member of its Youth League. When the National Party government implemented apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, being elected president of the Transvaal ANC branch and overseeing the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities, and although initially committed to non-violent protest, he adopted a policy of violent resistance, co-founding the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, in 1961. In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela served 27 years in prison, many on Robben Island, while an international campaign lobbied for his release. Released in 1990, Mandela led the ANC in negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk leading to apartheid's abolition and the establishment of democracy in 1994. In that year's elections, he led the ANC to victory. As president, he initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses, while introducing policies aimed at combating poverty and inequality in South Africa. Refusing to run for a second term, and succeeded by his deputy Thabo Mbeki, Mandela became an elder statesman focusing on charitable work in combating poverty andHIV/AIDS. Mandela has received international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having received over 250 awards, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, and is held in deep

He has served as a visiting professor

atMiddle Tennessee State University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
[7][10][11][12]

He is also a

member of the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute. Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize (joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007), aGrammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2009) for his book An Inconvenient Truth,[13] a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV (2007), and aWebby Award (2005). Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning (2007) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. In 2007 he was named a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year.[14]

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoliaa mandela]; born 18 July 1918) is a South African antiapartheid activist and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. His administration focused on dismantling apartheid's legacy, cutting poverty and inequality. Politically left-wing, he served as president of the African National Congress (ANC) political party from 1990 to 1999.

respect within South Africa as the "Father of the Nation", where he is often known under his Xhosa clan name of Mandiba.[1] Controversial for much of his life, critics denounced him as a terrorist for his involvement in Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mother Teresa

Blessed Teresa of Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. King has become a national icon in the history of American progressivism.[3] A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career.[4] He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. He also established his reputation as a radical, and became an object of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's COINTELPRO for the rest of his life. On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. In the next few years leading up to his death, he expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam Waralienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam". King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., called the Poor People's Campaign. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 andCongressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. Hundreds of streets in the U.S. and beyond have been renamed in his honor.
[2] [1]

Calcutta, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Albanian: [as da bjadiu]) and commonly known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta (26 August 1910 5 September 1997), was an ethnic Albanian, Indian Roman Catholic nun. "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."[2] In late 2003, she was beatified, the third step toward possible sainthood. A second miracle credited to Mother Teresa is required before she can be recognized as a saint by the Catholic church.[3][4] Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor". The Missionaries of Charity at the time of her death had 610 missions in 123 countries including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children's and family counselling programmes; orphanages; and schools. For over 45 years, she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Her beatification by Pope John Paul II following her death gave her the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". She was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the

[1]

$192,000 funds be given to the poor in India. Her awards include the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize, the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Pacem in Terris Award, an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia, the Order of Merit from both the United Kingdom and the United States, Albania's Golden Honour of the Nation, honorary degrees, the Balzan Prize, and the Albert Schweitzer International Prize amongst many others. Mother Teresa stated that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world's needy. When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace?" She answered "Go home and love your family." In her Nobel Lecture, she said: "Around the world, not only in the poor countries, but I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from societythat poverty is so hurtable [sic] and so much, and I find that very difficult." She also singled out abortion as 'the greatest destroyer of peace in the world'. During her lifetime, Mother Teresa was named 18 times in the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll as one of the ten women around the world that Americans admired most. In 1999, a poll of Americans ranked her first in Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century. In that survey, she out-polled all other volunteered answers by a wide margin, and was in first place in all major demographic categories except the