The United Nations (UN) is 77 years this year and deserves congratulations and commendations.
Let’s remind ourselves that the UN replaced the League of Nations established in 1919 after the first World War failed to maintain global peace as a result of which the second World War erupted on September 1, 1939 and raged till September 2, 1945.
On April 25, 1945, while the World War II was still on, some 51 governments or countries met in St Francisco, USA to discuss the drafting of a charter to establish a new organisation to ensure global peace.
The UN Charter was formally adopted on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco as the founding document of the United Nations, which it subsequently established on October 24,1945.
Therefore, the UN turned 77 on Monday, boasting a membership of 193 independent sovereign countries, leaving out Taiwan and the Palestine.
The UN is in place to maintain global peace and security and has been able to do so to a large extent so far.
It must be noted that by its activities, the UN has defined peace and security beyond its narrow parameters of existence of tranquillity and serenity.
It has demonstrated that it is a hoax seeking peace when prerequisites for peace are non-existent.
This means peacekeeping operations in countries alone are not enough.
Thus, it has established organisations, agencies, programmes and funds among other things that support human progress and help to eliminate factors that can compromise the very peace and security it is seeking.
The spread of the locations of the headquarters of all of these across the continents is in itself a picture of the UN’s global character and seriousness to involve all countries in ensuring global peace. For instance, the United Nations Development Programme, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience so countries can sustain progress, is headquartered in New York; United Nations Environment Programme is in Kenya; the World Food Programme in Italy; International Labour Organisation in Switzerland; the International Maritime Organization in the UK; and United Nations Educational, and Scientific and Cultural Organization in France. All UN agencies have offices in every member country whereas it has specialised activities in various countries.
Currently the UN has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which it wants member countries to achieve by 2030.
The SDGs adopted in 2015 constitute a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone everywhere.
As the global body celebrates its 77th anniversary, its office in Ghana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration have been shedding light on its work.
Ghana has chosen “Building on the 3Ss – Solidarity, Sustainability and Science – towards a more resilient Ghana” as the national theme, couched from the focus of the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Solidarity, Sustainability and Science, which seeks to emphasise the necessity for strong solidarity, leveraging on the power of science for sustainable solutions to achieve the SDGs.
Today, the UN is still working to maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law.
It is expected that it would help to end the Russian-Ukraine war, which is economically hurting the whole world, so that the world would once again have some comfort.
