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Do not fill this in! ==History== {{Main|History of the United Nations}} === Background (pre-1941) === In the century prior to the UN's creation, several [[international organization]]s such as the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] were formed to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/history-icrc|title=Red Cross-History-Objective|journal=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=28 November 2018|date=11 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623005302/https://www.icrc.org/en/document/history-icrc|archive-date=23 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> During [[World War I]], several major leaders, especially American President [[Foreign policy of the Woodrow Wilson administration|Woodrow Wilson]], advocated for a world body to guarantee peace. The winners of the war, the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], met to decide on formal peace terms at the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]]. The [[League of Nations]] was approved, and started operations, but the [[United States]] never joined. On 10 January 1920, the League of Nations formally came into being when the [[Covenant of the League of Nations]], ratified by 42 nations in 1919, took effect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/league-of-nations-instituted|title=League of Nations instituted|website=[[history.com]]|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005625/https://www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/league-of-nations-instituted|archive-date=4 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The League Council acted as an executive body directing the Assembly's business. It began with four permanent members—the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Italy]], and [[Japan]]. After some limited successes and failures during the 1920s, the League proved ineffective in the 1930s, as it failed to act against the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] in 1933. Forty nations voted for Japan to withdraw from [[Manchuria]] but Japan voted against it and walked out of the League instead of withdrawing from Manchuria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.johndclare.net/EL5.htm|title=League of Nations and Manchuria invasion|website=www.johndclare.net|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127143657/http://www.johndclare.net/EL5.htm|archive-date=27 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> It also failed to act against the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]], when calls for economic sanctions against Italy failed. Italy and other nations left the League. When [[Causes of World War II|war broke out in 1939]], the League closed down.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://johndclare.net/league_of_nations8.htm|title=Why the League failed|website=johndclare.net|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803231709/http://johndclare.net/league_of_nations8.htm|archive-date=3 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> === Declarations by the Allies of World War II (1941–1944) === [[File:United Nations organization sketch by Franklin Roosevelt with the Four Policemen in 1943.jpg|thumb|1943 sketch by Franklin Roosevelt of the UN original three branches: The [[Four Policemen]], an executive branch, and an international assembly of forty UN member states]] The first step towards the establishment of the United Nations was the Inter-Allied Conference that led to the [[Declaration of St James's Palace]] on 12 June 1941.<ref>{{Cite book|last=United Nations|first=Dept of Public Information|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98U8YSrp1YUC&q=%22The+first+of+the+specific+steps+that+led+to+the+establishment+of+the+United+Nations+was+the+Inter-Allied+Declaration%22%22|title=Everyone's United Nations|date=1986|publisher=UN|isbn=978-92-1-100273-7|page=5|language=en|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116165825/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=98U8YSrp1YUC&dq=The+first+step+towards+the+formation+of+the+UN+was+the+Declaration+of+St+James%27s+12+June+1941&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22The+first+of+the+specific+steps+that+led+to+the+establishment+of+the+United+Nations+was+the+Inter-Allied+Declaration%22%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Tandon|first1=Mahesh Prasad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5g6AQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+following+may+be+summed+up+as+the+steps+that+led+to+the+formation+of+the+United+Nations.+(1)+London+Declaration%22|title=Public International Law|last2=Tandon|first2=Rajesh|date=1989|publisher=Allahabad Law Agency|page=421|language=en|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116165837/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P5g6AQAAIAAJ&dq=The+first+step+towards+the+formation+of+the+UN+was+the+Declaration+of+St+James%27s+12+June+1941&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22The+following+may+be+summed+up+as+the+steps+that+led+to+the+formation+of+the+United+Nations.+%281%29+London+Declaration%22|url-status=live}}</ref> By August 1941, American President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]] and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] had drafted the [[Atlantic Charter]]; which defined goals for the post-war world. At the subsequent meeting of the Inter-Allied Council in London on 24 September 1941, the eight [[List of governments in exile during World War II|governments in exile of countries under Axis occupation]], together with the [[Soviet Union]] and representatives of the [[Free French Forces]], unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth by Britain and the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lauren|first=Paul Gordon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efV5wvpUjDgC&pg=PA140|title=The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-2138-1|pages=140–141|language=en|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=15 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215201515/https://books.google.com/books?id=efV5wvpUjDgC&pg=PA140|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=24 September 1941|title=Inter-Allied Council Statement on the Principles of the Atlantic Charter|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/interall.asp|access-date=14 August 2013|work=The Avalon Project|publisher=Lillian Goldman Law Library|archive-date=3 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803012648/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/interall.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> Roosevelt and Churchill met at the [[White House]] in December 1941 for the [[Arcadia Conference]]. Roosevelt, considered a founder of the UN,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.un.org/en/1999/19990504.award.brf.html |title=Press Conference On Franklin Delano Roosevelt Disability Award |publisher=UN Press |date= |accessdate=2022-07-17 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170557/https://press.un.org/en/1999/19990504.award.brf.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.un.org/en/1998/19981117.sgsm6799.html |title=Without Global Cooperation Between Great And Small Alike, No Progress And No Peace Can Last Forever, Secretary-General States |publisher=UN Press |date= |accessdate=2022-07-17 |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024142/https://press.un.org/en/1998/19981117.sgsm6799.html |url-status=live }}</ref> coined the term ''United Nations'' to describe the [[Allies of World War II|Allied countries]]. Churchill accepted it, noting its use by [[Lord Byron]].<ref>{{cite web|date=3 February 2007|title=United Nations|url=http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/united_nations/|access-date=28 March 2016|website=Wordorigins.org|archive-date=31 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331193323/http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/united_nations/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=Geoffrey C.|title=The Roosevelts: An Intimate History|last2=Burns|first2=Ken|date=2014|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-385-35306-9|page=397|chapter=Nothing to Conceal|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73CAwAAQBAJ&pg=SA6-PA60|access-date=5 December 2020|archive-date=8 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308161849/https://books.google.com/books?id=V73CAwAAQBAJ&pg=SA6-PA60|url-status=live}}</ref> The text of the [[Declaration by United Nations]] was drafted on 29 December 1941, by Roosevelt, Churchill, and [[Harry Hopkins]]. It incorporated Soviet suggestions but included no role for France. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for [[religious freedom]], which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roll|first=David|title=The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-989195-5|pages=172–175|publisher=Oup USA }}</ref>{{sfn|Sherwood|1948|pp=447–453}} Roosevelt's idea of the "[[Four Policemen|Four Powers]]", referring to the four major Allied countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]], emerged in the Declaration by the United Nations.<ref name="sheriff">{{cite news|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/07/16/looking-for-the-sheriff/|last=Urquhart|first=Brian|author-link=Brian Urquhart|title=Looking for the Sheriff|work=New York Review of Books|date=16 July 1998|access-date=14 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626054432/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1998/07/16/looking-for-the-sheriff/|archive-date=26 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On New Year's Day 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, the Soviet Union's former Foreign Minister [[Maxim Litvinov]], and the Chinese Premier [[T. V. Soong]] signed the "[[Declaration by United Nations]]",<ref>{{cite web|title=1942: Declaration of The United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1942-declaration-united-nations/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108015243/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1942-declaration-united-nations/index.html|archive-date=8 November 2015|access-date=1 July 2015|publisher=United Nations}}</ref> and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures. During the war, the United Nations became the official term for the Allies. In order to join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the [[Axis powers]].{{sfn|Schlesinger|2003}} The October 1943 [[Moscow Conference (1943)|Moscow Conference]] resulted in the [[Moscow Declarations]], including the [[Declaration of the Four Nations|Four Power Declaration on General Security]] which aimed for the creation "at the earliest possible date of a general international organization". This was the first public announcement that a new international organization was being contemplated to replace the League of Nations. The [[Tehran Conference]] followed shortly afterwards at which Roosevelt, Churchill and [[Joseph Stalin]], the leader of the Soviet Union, met and discussed the idea of a post-war international organization. The new international organisation was formulated and negotiated amongst the delegations from the [[Big Four (World War II)|Allied Big Four]] at the [[Dumbarton Oaks Conference]] from 21 September to 7 October 1944. They agreed on proposals for the aims, structure and functioning of the new organization.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bohlen |first=C.E. |title=Witness to History, 1929–1969 |year=1973 |location=New York |page=159}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |url=https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39024 |title=Video: Allies Study Post-War Security Etc. (1944) |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |year=1944 |access-date=28 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204142851/https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39024 |archive-date=4 December 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Milestones 1941-1950: Dumbarton Oaks Conference |url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103212423/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html |archive-date=3 November 2018 |access-date=22 November 2018 |website=United Nations}}</ref> It took the [[Yalta Conference|conference at Yalta]] in February 1945, and further negotiations with the Soviet Union, before all the issues were resolved.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bohlen |first=C.E. |url=https://archive.org/details/witnesstohistory00bohl |title=Witness to History, 1929–1969 |publisher= Norton |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-393-07476-5 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/witnesstohistory00bohl/page/159 159] |url-access=registration}}</ref> ===Founding (1945)=== [[File:United Nations Member States-1945.png|thumb|upright=2|The UN in 1945: founding members in light blue, protectorates and territories of the founding members in dark blue]] By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed the Declaration by the United Nations.{{sfn|Osmańczyk|2004|p=2445}} After months of planning, the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|UN Conference on International Organization]] opened in [[San Francisco]] on 25 April 1945. It was attended by 50 nations' governments and a number of non-governmental organizations.<ref name="Charter">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/|title=Charter of the United Nations|website=United Nations|access-date=29 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204151003/http://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/|archive-date=4 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UNHistory">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/index.html|title=History of the United Nations|website=United Nations|access-date=29 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107223107/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/index.html|archive-date=7 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/San-Francisco-the-birthplace-of-the-United-6336655.php|title=San Francisco – the birthplace of the United Nations|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=29 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229171754/http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/San-Francisco-the-birthplace-of-the-United-6336655.php|archive-date=29 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The delegations of the Big Four chaired the plenary meetings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1945-san-francisco-conference/index.html|title=1945: The San Francisco Conference|publisher=United Nations|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112180024/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1945-san-francisco-conference/index.html|archive-date=12 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Previously, Churchill had urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the [[liberation of Paris]] in August 1944. The drafting of the [[Charter of the United Nations]] was completed over the following two months, and it was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries.<ref>{{cite book |title=Progress in International Law |editor-last1=Miller |editor-first1=Russell A. |editor-last2=Bratspies |editor-first2=Rebecca M. |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |location=Leiden, the Netherlands |date=2008 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8K9kL1h79ucC&dq=%22drafter+of+the+Charter+of+the+United+Nations%22&pg=PA837 837]}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=South Africa: Time Running Out |publisher=University of California Press |date=1981 |work=The Study Commission on U.S. Policy Toward Southern Africa |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sq43lnbklEUC&dq=%22author+of+the+Charter+of+the+United+Nations%22&pg=PA31 31] |isbn=978-0-520-04547-7}}</ref> The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]]: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and China — and by a majority of the other 46 nations.<ref name="unmilestones1941to1950" /> The first meetings of the [[General Assembly]], with 51 nations represented,{{efn|Poland had not been represented among the fifty nations at the San Francisco conference due to the reluctance of the Western superpowers to recognize its post-war communist government. However, the Charter was later amended to list Poland as a founding member, and Poland ratified the Charter on 16 October 1945.{{sfn|Grant|2009|pp=25–26}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/foreign_policy/international_organisations/united_nations/poland_and_the_un/ |title=Poland and the United Nations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland |access-date=29 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003602/http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/foreign_policy/international_organisations/united_nations/poland_and_the_un/ |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} and the Security Council took place in [[London]] beginning in January 1946.<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html|title=Milestones 1941-1950 |website=United Nations|access-date=1 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027013705/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html|archive-date=27 October 2017|url-status=dead }}</ref> Debates began at once, covering topical issues such as the presence of Russian troops in [[Iranian Azerbaijan]] and British forces in [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first= J. M. (John Morris)|title=History of the world|date=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-521043-9|location=New York|page=778|oclc=28378422}}</ref> British diplomat [[Gladwyn Jebb]] served as interim secretary-general. The General Assembly selected [[New York City]] as the site for the headquarters of the UN. Construction began on 14 September 1948 and the facility was completed on 9 October 1952. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, [[Trygve Lie]], was elected as the first [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN secretary-general]] (Jebb was only in the position until a permanent secretary-general was elected).<ref name="unmilestones1941to1950" /> ===Cold War (1947–1991)=== [[File:Dag Hammarskjöld.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dag Hammarskjöld]] was a particularly active secretary-general from 1953 until he died in 1961.]] Though the UN's primary mandate was [[peacekeeping]], the division between the United States and the Soviet Union often paralysed the organization; generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=35}} Two notable exceptions were a Security Council resolution on 7 July 1950 authorizing a [[United Nations Command|US-led coalition]] to repel the [[Korean War|North Korean invasion of South Korea]], passed in the absence of the Soviet Union,<ref name=unmilestones1941to1950 />{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=58–59}} and the signing of the [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] on 27 July 1953.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html|title=UN Milestones Korean War|website=United Nations|access-date=22 November 2018|date=4 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103212423/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1941-1950/index.html|archive-date=3 November 2018|url-status=dead }}</ref> On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly approved [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|a resolution]] to partition [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]], approving the creation of [[Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/nov-29-1947-united-nations-partitions-palestine-allowing-for-creation-of-israel/|title=Creation of Israel|website=www.nytimes.com|access-date=22 November 2018|date=29 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122092428/https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/nov-29-1947-united-nations-partitions-palestine-allowing-for-creation-of-israel/|archive-date=22 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Two years later, [[Ralph Bunche]], a UN official, negotiated [[1949 Armistice Agreements|an armistice]] to the [[1948 Palestine war|resulting conflict]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=51–54}} On 7 November 1956, the [[United Nations Emergency Force|first UN peacekeeping force]] was established to end the [[Suez Crisis]];<ref name=unmilestones1951to1960>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1951-1960/index.html|title=UN Milestones 1951–1960|website=United Nations|access-date=1 November 2017|date=6 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026061431/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-1951-1960/index.html|archive-date=26 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> however, the UN was unable to intervene against the Soviet Union's simultaneous invasion of [[Hungary]], following [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|the country's revolution]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=114}} On 14 July 1960, the UN established the [[United Nations Operation in the Congo]] (or UNOC), the largest military force of its early decades, to bring order to [[State of Katanga|Katanga]], restoring it to the control of the [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Democratic Republic of the Congo]] by 11 May 1964.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=115–134}} While travelling to meet rebel leader [[Moise Tshombe]] during the conflict, [[Dag Hammarskjöld]], often named as one of the UN's most effective secretary-generals,<ref>See Meisler, p. 76; Kennedy, p. 60; Fasulo, pp. 17, 20</ref> [[1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash|died in a plane crash]]. Months later he was posthumously awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=127–128, 134}} In 1964, Hammarskjöld's successor, [[U Thant]], deployed the [[United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus|UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus]], which would become one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=156–157}} With the spread of [[decolonization]] in the 1960s, the UN's membership shot up due to an influx of newly independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined the UN, 16 of them from Africa.<ref name=unmilestones1951to1960 /> On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, but with the support of many [[Third World]] nations, the [[China|People's Republic of China]] was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] (also known as Taiwan). The vote was widely seen as a sign of waning American influence in the organization.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=195–197}} Third World nations organized themselves into the [[Group of 77]] under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=208–210}} On 10 November 1975, a bloc comprising the Soviet Union and Third World nations passed [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379|a resolution]], over strenuous American and Israeli opposition, declaring [[Zionism]] to be a form of [[racism]]. The resolution was repealed on 16 December 1991, shortly after the end of the Cold War.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=204–226, 213, 220–221}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/761C1063530766A7052566A2005B74D1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206052903/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/761C1063530766A7052566A2005B74D1 | url-status=dead | archive-date=6 December 2012 | title=A/RES/3379 (XXX) of 10 November 1975}}</ref> With an increasing Third World presence and the failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the [[Six-Day War|Middle East]], [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Kashmir]], the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=167–168, 224–225}} By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget. === Post-Cold War (1991–present) === [[File:Kofi Annan 2012 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kofi Annan]], secretary-general from 1997 to 2006]] [[File:UN Members Flags2.JPG|thumb|Flags of member nations at the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations Headquarters]], seen in 2007]] [[File:UN70.JPG|thumb|right|Marking of the UN's 70th anniversary – Budapest, 2015]] After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in five years than it had in the previous four decades.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Matanock|first=Aila M.|year=2020|title=How International Actors Help Enforce Domestic Deals|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|language=en|volume=23|issue=1|pages=357–383|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-033504|doi-access=free|issn=1094-2939}}</ref> Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased by more than tenfold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinapower.csis.org/china-un-mission/|title=Is China contributing to the United Nations' mission?|publisher=CSIS China Power|date=7 March 2016|access-date=25 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920022437/http://chinapower.csis.org/china-un-mission/|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Fasulo, p. 43; Meisler, p. 334</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Z/pk_tables/expend.pdf|title=Peacekeeping Operations Expenditures: 1947–2005|last=Renner|first=Michael|website=[[Global Policy Forum]]|access-date=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330130052/https://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Z/pk_tables/expend.pdf|archive-date=30 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The UN negotiated an end to the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], launched a successful [[United Nations Transition Assistance Group|peacekeeping mission in Namibia]], and oversaw democratic elections in post-[[Apartheid in South Africa|apartheid]] South Africa and post-[[Khmer Rouge]] Cambodia.<ref>Meisler, pp. 252–56</ref> In 1991, the UN authorized a [[Gulf War|US-led coalition]] that repulsed Iraq's [[invasion of Kuwait]].{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=264–277}} [[Brian Urquhart]], the under-secretary-general of the UN from 1971 to 1985, later described the hopes raised by these successes as a "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|p=334}} Beginning in the last decades of the [[Cold War]], critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=226–227}} In 1984, American President [[Ronald Reagan]] withdrew the United States' funding from the [[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation]] (or UNESCO) over allegations of mismanagement, followed by the United Kingdom and Singapore.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=234–237}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Paul |date=6 August 1996 |title=Jean Gerard, 58, Reagan Envoy Who Led U.S. to Leave Unesco |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/world/jean-gerard-58-reagan-envoy-who-led-us-to-leave-unesco.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=6 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121021748/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/world/jean-gerard-58-reagan-envoy-who-led-us-to-leave-unesco.html |archive-date=21 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], the secretary-general from 1992 to 1996, initiated a reform of the Secretariat, somewhat reducing the size of the organisation.{{sfn|Meisler|1995|pp=285–286}}<ref name="NST" /> His successor, [[Kofi Annan]], initiated further management reforms in the face of threats from the US to withhold its UN dues.<ref name="NST">{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19980116&id=TvxOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4023,6546189 |title=Are UN reforms just reshuffling of the deck? |date=16 January 1998 |work=[[New Straits Times]] |access-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906023654/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19980116&id=TvxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-BQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4023,6546189 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in the early 1990s the UN faced several simultaneous, serious crises within Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the nations that previously made up Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=66–67}} The [[United Nations Operation in Somalia II|UN mission in Somalia]] was widely viewed as a failure after the United States' withdrawal following casualties in the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]]. The [[United Nations Protection Force|UN mission to Bosnia]] faced worldwide ridicule for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing.<ref>For quotation "worldwide ridicule", see Meisler, p. 293; for a description of UN missions in Somalia and Bosnia, see Meisler, pp. 312–329.</ref> In 1994, the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda|UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] failed to intervene in the [[Rwandan genocide]] amidst indecision in the Security Council.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=104}} From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms. The [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244]] authorised the [[NATO]]-led [[Kosovo Force]] beginning in 1999. The [[United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone|UN mission]] in the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]] was supplemented by a [[British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War|British military intervention]]. The [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invasion of Afghanistan in 2001]] was overseen by NATO.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|pp=110–111}} In 2003, the United States [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq]] despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the UN's effectiveness.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=111}} Under the eighth secretary-general, [[Ban Ki-moon]], the UN intervened with peacekeepers in crises such as the [[War in Darfur]] in Sudan and the [[Kivu conflict]] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/world/meast/syria-civil-war/ |title=Syria: Chemical weapons team faces many dangers, says UN chief Ban |author=Smith-Spark, Laura |date=8 October 2013 |publisher=CNN |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224619/http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/world/meast/syria-civil-war/ |archive-date=2 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, [[Secretary-General's Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka|an internal review]] of UN actions in [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|the final battles]] of the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered a "systemic failure".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html |title=UN failed during final days of Lankan ethnic war: Ban Ki-moon |agency=Press Trust of India |date=25 September 2013 |work=FirstPost |access-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030080724/http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html |archive-date=30 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, the organization suffered the worst loss of life in its history, when 101 personnel died in the [[2010 Haiti earthquake|Haiti earthquake]].<ref name="unmilestones2001to2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-2001-2010/index.html|title=UN Milestones 2001–2010|website=United Nations|access-date=1 November 2017|date=21 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106195215/http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/milestones-2001-2010/index.html|archive-date=6 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Acting under the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973]] in 2011, [[NATO]] countries intervened in the [[First Libyan Civil War]]. The [[Millennium Summit]] was held in 2000 to discuss the UN's role in the 21st century.<ref name="BBCagenda">{{cite news |date=7 December 2000 |title=UN summit agenda; The largest gathering of world leaders in history meets in New York to discuss the role of the United Nations in the 21st century. |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/904903.stm |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707210932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/904903.stm |archive-date=7 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> The three-day meeting was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, and it culminated in the adoption by all member states of the [[Millennium Development Goals]] (or MDGs), a commitment to achieve international development in areas such as [[poverty reduction]], [[gender equality]] and [[public health]]. Progress towards these goals, which were to be met by 2015, was ultimately uneven. The [[2005 World Summit]] reaffirmed the UN's focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights and global security.<ref>{{cite web |title=2005 World Summit Outcome |publisher=United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/2005%20World%20Summit%20Outcome.pdf |access-date=1 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109083250/https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/2005%20World%20Summit%20Outcome.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Sustainable Development Goals]] (or SDGs) were launched in 2015 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals.<ref name="Sustainable Development Goals">{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ |title=Sustainable Development Goals |website=United Nations |access-date=2 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102011425/http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ |archive-date=2 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to addressing global challenges, the UN has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with [[civil society]] and fostering a global constituency.<ref>{{cite web|title=Communicating to a global constituency: UN Day in Paris|url=http://unu.edu/news/announcements/un-day-in-paris.html|website=unu.edu|publisher=United Nations University|access-date=24 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124160734/http://unu.edu/news/announcements/un-day-in-paris.html|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In an effort to enhance transparency, in 2016 the organization held its first public debate between candidates for secretary-general.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Falk|first1=Pamela|title=Can U.N. regain trust with an experiment in transparency?|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-secretary-general-candidate-debate-united-nations-trust/|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=13 July 2016 |publisher=CBS News|access-date=24 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125043926/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-secretary-general-candidate-debate-united-nations-trust/|archive-date=25 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 January 2017, Portuguese diplomat [[António Guterres]], who had previously served as the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UN High Commissioner for Refugees]], became the ninth secretary-general. Guterres has highlighted several key goals for his administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining the organization to be more responsive and versatile to international needs.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guterres|first1=António|title=U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres: My Vision for Revitalizing the United Nations |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2017/01/20/davos-2017-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-opinion-540326.html|website=Newsweek.com|publisher=Newsweek|access-date=13 January 2017|date=9 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112222146/http://www.newsweek.com/2017/01/20/davos-2017-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-opinion-540326.html|archive-date=12 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> On 13 June 2019, the UN signed a Strategic Partnership Framework with the [[World Economic Forum]] in order to "jointly accelerate" the implementation of the [[2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tedeneke |first=Alem |date=2019-06-13 |title=World Economic Forum and UN Sign Strategic Partnership Framework |url=https://www.weforum.org/press/2019/06/world-economic-forum-and-un-sign-strategic-partnership-framework/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230107201341/https://www.weforum.org/press/2019/06/world-economic-forum-and-un-sign-strategic-partnership-framework/ |archive-date=2023-01-07 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=[[World Economic Forum]] |language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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