Women displaced by violence in Darfur, Sudan
This blog post was written and orignally posted by Gerald Martone, the director of humanitarian affairs for our affilitate organization The International Rescue Committee.
On this day in 1945, fifty nations gathered in San Francisco to finalize the Charter of the United Nations. Little did they know that the United Nations would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize – seven times.
Although the United Nations offers no quick fixes, it is one place where all nations of the world can come together, set international standards, and take collective action.
The treaties and international agreements brokered by the United Nations make the world go round. The work of the UN has improved the international cooperation needed to allow ships and planes to cross borders; to regulate telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal service; to oversee international trade and labor laws; to coordinate response to epidemics; and to enforce court judgments across borders.
The United Nations helps to advance human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people, improve the standards of living worldwide, promote social progress, resolve conflict and prevent security threats, address climate change, and assist refugees and people uprooted by war and disasters. There is simply no other single global institution with a mandate as broad as this.