联合国历史趣事

阿兰特萨·古利亚斯·瓦弗尔德

On October 24， 1945—a long time ago—the United Nations， also known as the UN， was born. It has as its objective four purposes： keeping international peace and security， fostering friendly relations among nations， achieving international cooperation in solving international problems and promoting respect for human rights， and serving as a center that brings nations efforts together in harmony.

It is currently the largest international organization in existence， and it facilitates cooperation among countries and lays the groundwork for seeking a better world. This organization deserves honor after so many years of work， and its history is filled with interesting facts， famous people， and profound challenges.

The history of the United Nations

Even though it was founded in 1945， everything began much earlier. It was during wartime when then-President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt uttered the term， “united nations，” for the first time in the Declaration by United Nations on January 1， 1942， as an alliance of 26 countries committed to defending the Atlantic Charter. This 1941 document was proposed and signed onboard the HMS Prince of Wales somewhere in the Atlantic by Franklin Roosevelt and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom， Winston Churchill in order to establish a series of principles for international collaboration with the objective of maintaining peace and security.

After World War II， 51 countries signed the United Nations Charter， the international treaty that founded the organization and which defines the groundwork of its internal constitution. The act was celebrated in the city of San Francisco in the Veterans Building at the War Memorial Opera House， which is currently known as the Herbst Theatre.

The first General Assembly

On January 10， 1946， at Central Hall Westminster in London， the first session of the UN was held with its first 15 member states.

The UN headquarters

The main headquarters is located at First Avenue 750 in New York. Even though the organization wanted to build an independent city for its global headquarters， it was ultimately decided that what they needed was a vertical complex. So John D. Rockefeller financed the purchase of property in the city of skyscrapers. The architectural project was designed by Le Corbusier， Oscar Niemeyer， and Wallace K. Harrison， and construction was underway from 1948 to 1952.

The UN also has three regional headquarters： one in Geneva （Switzerland）， opened in 1946; another in Vienna （Austria） in 1980; and in Nairobi （Kenya） in 2011. These offices help represent the organizations interests and facilitate diplomatic activities.

The general assemblies take place at the global headquarters in a green and gold room that is 22 meters high and has 1898 seats.

The proclamation of Human Rights

In 1948， they proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights， one of the organizations most significant milestones in the fight for the freedom， equality， and dignity of all people.

The first woman in charge

Canadian diplomat Louise Frechette was named UN Deputy Secretary-General in 1999， chosen for the position by Kofi Annan， and thereby becoming the first woman in a position of high responsibility in the organization.

193 member countries and 6 official languages

South Sudan was the last country to join the UN as a member in July 2011， bringing the total to 193 member states.

The UN has 6 official languages： English， French， Spanish， Russian， Arabic， and Mandarin.

The UN brought hope to a society that lived through two world wars， an unequal society with a low education rate， scarce healthcare， low quality of infrastructure… Nonetheless， in 75 years， it has filled the pages of books， encyclopedias， websites on history and interesting facts， with profound achievements.

1945年10月24日，在那个久远的日子，联合国诞生了。它有四个宗旨：维护国际和平与安全;发展国家间友好关系;在解决国际问题和促进尊重人权上达成国际合作;成为协调各国行动的中心。

联合国是现存最大的国际组织。它促进各国间的合作，为寻求一个更美好的世界奠定基础。该组织多年的工作使其赢得了世人的尊敬，而它的历史也充满了趣事、名人和严峻的挑战。

联合国的历史

尽管联合国成立于1945年，但其源起要早得多。那是在战时，时任美国总统富兰克林·罗斯福于1942年1月1日发表的《联合国宣言》中首次提出了“联合国”这个词，指由26个国家组成的联盟，致力于捍卫《大西洋宪章》。1941年，富兰克林·罗斯福和时任英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔共同提出并在大西洋某处的“威尔士亲王号”战列舰上签署了该宪章，目的是建立一系列国际合作原则以维护和平与安全。

第二次世界大战后，有51个国家签署了《联合国宪章》。该宪章是标志联合国成立的国际条约，阐述了联合国内部架构的基础。签署的庆祝活动在旧金山市退伍军人大楼里的战争纪念歌剧院举办。该剧院现称赫伯斯特剧院。

第一届联合国大会

1946年1月10日，在伦敦威斯敏斯特中央大厅，首批15个会员国举行了联合国第一届大会。

联合国总部

联合国总部位于纽约第一大道750号。尽管该组织希望建立一个独立城市作为全球总部，但最终还是决定建一个综合建筑群。于是，在这座摩天大楼林立的城市，约翰·D.洛克菲勒出资购买了地皮。该建筑项目由勒柯布西耶、奥斯卡·尼迈耶和华莱士·K.哈里森设计，1948年到1952年施工建设完成。

联合国还在三地设有办事处：一个是日内瓦办事处（瑞士），1946年成立;另一个是维也纳办事处（奥地利），1980年成立;还有一个是内罗毕办事处（肯尼亚），2011年成立。这些机构有助于代表联合国的各项利益，并促进各种外交活动。

联合国大会在全球总部一个绿色和金色装饰的房间里举行。该房间高22米，有1898个席位。

人权宣言

1948年，联合国公布了《世界人权宣言》，这是该组织在争取所有人的自由、平等和尊严方面最重要的里程碑之一。

第一位女性负责人

1999年，加拿大外交官路易丝·弗雷谢特由科菲·安南选任为联合国副秘书长，从而成为该组织第一位身居高位的女性。

193个会员国和6种正式语文

2011年7月，南苏丹共和国成为最新加入的联合国会员国。至此，联合国会员国总数达到193个。

聯合国有6种正式语文：英文、法文、西班牙文、俄文、阿拉伯文和中文。

联合国为这个经历过两次世界大战的社会带来了希望，这个社会仍不平等，教育率低下、医疗资源稀缺、基础设施质量不高……然而，经过75年的努力，联合国取得了诸多重大成就，这些成就已记录在各类图书、百科全书、历史和趣闻网站中。