69th United Nations Day observed on October 24
The 69th UN Day was celebrated all around the world in UN’s member states. UN day falls on October 24 and it marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. October 24 is the day on which the agreement was ratified by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council.
October 24 is being commemorated since 1948. In 1971, the UNGA recommended that October 24 be observed by the member states as a public holiday.
Greetings from Indian PM
On the eve of UN Day, PM Modi asked UN’s member nations to further the cause of world peace and prosperity. He said is was a ‘day to celebrate the achievements of the UN & look at a roadmap for the future’.
Facts about UN
- The UN was created to replace the inefficient League of Nations following World War II to prevent the occurrence of such wars in the future
- US President Franklin Roosevelt coined the term ‘United Nations’, which was first used in 1942
- Later, in October 1943, in a declaration signed in Moscow, USSR, UK and USA called for the early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security. This goal was reaffirmed at the Tehran Conference in December 1943
- The UN was finally founded in 1945 when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco on April 25 at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Charter was unanimously adopted on June 25. India is a founding member of the UN
- The UN officially came into existence on October 24, 1945
- There are 193 UN member states as of today with South Sudan being the last one to join
- UN Headquarters is situated in New York
- Some of the important bodies of the UN are the UNGA, UNSC, Economic and Social Council (EcoSoc), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Secretariat.
- The official languages of the UN are English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French, whereas the working languages of the UN Secretariat are English and French.
Month: Current Affairs - October, 2014