October 24: United Nations Day

Every year, the United Nations Day is celebrated on October 24. This year, 2020, marks 75 years of successful functioning of the United Nations.

Key Highlights

The UN Day marks the anniversary of UN Charter coming in to force. The United Nations came into Existence on October 24, 1945. The day is being celebrated as the United Nations Day since 1947. This year, the United Nations Day is celebrated under the theme

Theme: The Future We Want, UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism

World War II Allies Day

The Day is also called World War II Allies Day. The Allies of World War called for establishing the United Nations in 1942. They together opposed the Axis powers during the second world war. The Axis powers were Japan, German and Italy.

The Allies alliance was formalised by the Declaration of the United Nations. The decisions of the allies were controlled by UK, Soviet Union and United States. These three countries were then referred as “Big Three”. Along with China, the four countries are referred to as “Four Policemen of the United Nations”.

India in the United Nations

India is the largest contributor to the United Nations Peace Keeping Force. There are more than 200,000 Indians serving in 71 peacekeeping missions of the UN. Also, India is the highest financial contributor of the United Nations. This year, India has been elected as the non-permanent member to the United Nations Security Council.

Why is United Nations Security Council membership important to India?

There are two reasons for which the United Nations Security Council membership is important to India. They are veto power and Prestige. With Veto power India can defend its interest against Pakistan. This is just similar to what Russia did in 2019 over the civil war in Ukraine. Also, the membership will acknowledge the rise of India as a global power and its key role in international peace and security.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020