Secretariat.

The Secretariat is the civil service of the UN, its staff come from across the member states. It is headed by the Secretary General who is appointed on the recommendation of the Security Council but with ratification by the General Assembly. The current Secretary General, appointed in 1997, is Kofi Annan.

Since 1948 there have been over 50 peacekeeping operations. The peacekeeping forces are a combination of forces from different member countries and their role is to act as a police force between the various opponents in a war zone. Their tasks might involve maintaining a cease-fire or supervising an election.

In 1948, the UNO adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This recommended standards which all nations should uphold to protect the rights of the individual. In 1949, the General Assembly adopted conventions relating specifically to the rights of children; it stated that children under 15 year old should not take part in wars. More generally, the UN is concerned to protect children from poverty, disease and war.

Member states have been backed up by the agencies of the Economic and Social Council. The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent emergency medical teams to areas where disasters such as floods and earthquakes have occured. Immunisation programmes have also been carried out, so that by the 1990s,WHO announced an 80% success rate in elimination the six main diseases ( diphteria, measles, whooping cough, polio, turberculosis and tetanus) in the developing world. In the 1980s WHO had totally eradicated small pox.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aimed to established programs to educate and train people to enable them to become economically viable, and to develop media and communications systems in the developing world. By the 1980s Britain and The USA had concluded the UNESCO was too involved in political issues and withdrew their support.

The Atlantic Charter, Drafted by Roosevelt and Churchill, stated that a United Nations organization had to defend four freedoms:

· freedom of want;

· freedom from fear;

· Freedom of speech;

· Freedom of religious belief.

Yet since its creation in 1945, over 30 million people have been killed in conflicts and over 100 million people have become refugees. Many negotiations have occured outside the remit of the UN – until the 1980s, political groups were based around the allegiances of the Cold War.

Nevertheless, when the UN was established, it had only 51 members. Now 189 nations have committed to its aims. Whilst the UN has not prevented wars, it has often brought about change and cooperation by negotiation, coercion or persuation. Its social and health programmes have brought about speedier recovery from disaster than would otherwise have been possible. Most significally it is the standard bearer for the flag of humanity which its member states are expected to salute.