2004

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Rice (by the United Nations)
- International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO)
- 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization)
- Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in 2004 for a description of the state of the world in this year. See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
Events

January

- January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets a vote of confidence from an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the provincial assemblies, confirming him as President of Pakistan until 2007.
- January 3 - Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
- January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- January 4 -NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
- January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, currently the largest ocean liner in the world.
- January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
- January 22 - The European Union bans the import of poultry from Thailand, as bird flu spreads throughout Southeast Asia.
- January 24 - NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars.
- January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British universities.
- January 28 - The findings of the Hutton Inquiry are published in London. The British Government is found not to have falsified information in the "sexed up dossier". The report criticises the BBC's role in the death of David Kelly, a weapons expert on Iraq.
- January 28 - At a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the September 11, 2001, terrorists used Mace (a brand of tear gas) or pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.
February

- February 1 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
- February 3 - The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- February 6 - A suicide bomber kills 41 people on a metro car in Moscow.
- February 7 - Several leaders of Abnaa el-Balad arrested in Israel.
- February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- February 10 - The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
- February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
- February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- February 14 - Riots break out between New South Wales Police and Aboriginal residents of Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
- February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of petrol, fertiliser, and sulfur derails and explodes in Iran, killing 320 people.
- February 20 - Conservatives win a majority in the Iranian parliament election.
- February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of Al Hoceima - over 400 dead. Ait Kamara is destroyed. 517 dead.
- February 25- Ash Wednesday. Also, the religious docudrama, The Passion of the Christ was released.
- February 26 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
- February 26 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- February 29 - 2004 Haiti rebellion: Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president.
- February 29 - The film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson wins 11 Academy Awards in every category it was nominated.
March

- March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning nine out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
- March 2 - NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity), has confirmed that the area of Mars they landed in was once drenched in water.
- March 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested for questioning.
- March 11 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people.
- March 12 - Following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, millions of protesters take to the streets of Spanish cities against terrorism.
- March 14 - Two suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
- March 14 - The Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by José María Aznar is defeated by the Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
- March 14 - Presidential elections in Russia are held. Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
- March 15 - A trio of astronomers announce they have discovered a large trans-Neptunian object, the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930. Initially designated 2003 VB₁₂, it was named 90377 Sedna in late September.
- March 15 - The new Spanish government announces that it will withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq.
- March 17 - Organized violence breaks out over two days in Kosovo. Nineteen people are killed, 139 Serbian homes are burned, schools and businesses are vandalized, and over 30 orthodox monasteries and churches are burned and destroyed.
- March 19 - The UN launches a corruption investigation due to the scandal over its Iraqi Oil for Food program.
- March 20 - President Chen Shui-bian wins the Taiwanese presidential election by 0.2% of the vote. The day before, he and Vice President Annette Lu were 'shot'. Lien Chan refuses to concede and demands a recount. A controversial 'peace referendum' opposed by the People's Republic of China is invalidated.
- March 21 - The 2004 Malaysian general election takes place. The incumbent Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the Malaysian Parliament.
- March 21 - Tony Saca is elected President of El Salvador (inauguration June 1).
- March 22 - Palestinians protest in the streets after an Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City, killing Yassin and 7 others.
- March 25 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's WMD programme in December 2003 - the first time a major western leader has visited the nation in several decades.
- March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections. The first ever South Atlantic Hurricane makes landfall in South Brazil on the state of Santa Catarina, the Hurricane is dubbed Hurricane Catarina.
- March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in all enclosed work places including: restaurants, pubs and bars.
- March 29 - Largest expansion of NATO to date, allowing Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the organization.
- March 31 - Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.
April

- April 1 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms. Coat of Arms
- April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11.
- April 4 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in Iraq as Shia insurgents supporting Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces.
- April 5 - Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.
- April 8 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- April 8 - Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
- April 8 - Former Japanese famous economist, professor at Waseda University graduate school Kazuhide Uekusa was arrested on the escalator of JR Shinagawa Station because of trying to peep under high school girl's skirt with his hand mirror.
- April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years.
- April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
- April 20 - In Iraq, 12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. Twenty two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-20-iraq_x.htm]
- April 21 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
- April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
- April 22 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
- April 25 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Greek and Turkish parts. Although the Turks vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.
- April 28 - Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
May

- May 1 - the largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
- May 6 - The final episode of Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in North America.
- May 8 - Would-be "Saudi Princess" "Antoinette Millard" surfaces in New York City and claims that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262.000 from her (she later proves to be an impostor).
- May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
- May 9 - Team of Canada won the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.
- May 10 - The 2004 Philippine presidential and legislative elections take place. Incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wins the presidency.
- May 11 - An explosion destroys a plastics factory in Glasgow, UK, killing nine people and injuring over a hundred.
- May 12 - An American civilian contractor in Iraq, Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to al-Qaida on a web-distributed video.
- May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
- May 14 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen.
- May 17 - Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the Iraqi Governing Council, is killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad.
- May 17 - Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Judicial Court (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health).
- May 19 - Tony Blair is hit with a purple flour bomb in the chamber of the House of Commons during a session of Prime Minister's Questions.
- May 19 - Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in a court-martial in connection with alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
- May 23 - A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at Paris's Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least six lives.
- May 23 - Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea to secure the release of the families of the nine abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier.
- May 26 - Terry Nichols is convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
- May 29 - Dedication of the National World War II Memorial takes place in Washington, DC.
- May 30 - Thousands of people in Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
June

- June 1 - Twelve-year-old Satomi Mitarai, a Japanese schoolgirl attending Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Japan is murdered. Her killer, an 11-year-old classmate identified by Japanese authorities as "Girl A", becomes the basis for the Nevada-tan Internet meme.
- June 4 - Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in Grancby, Colorado
- June 5 - Former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, dies at age 93.
- June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered by world leaders.
- June 7 - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames in 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 8 - The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
- June 8 - The G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.
- June 8 - The pickled heart of Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
- June 11 - Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The decision came on the third anniversary of the execution of his co-defendant, Timothy James McVeigh, in Terre Haute, Indiana.
- June 11 - After the first presidential state funeral since 1973, President Ronald Wilson Reagan is laid to rest at Simi Valley, California, at the site of the Reagan Presidential Library.
- June 12 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite struck a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.Ellerslie, New Zealand
- June 15 - The Detroit Pistons upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals, four games to one.
- June 16 - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or "9/11 Commission") issues an initial report of its findings.
- June 21 - SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
- June 28 - Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains collided in a rural area outside of San Antonio, Texas. Forty cars were derailed, including one chlorine car, and three people died, another 50 people were hospitalized because of exposure to the gas.
- June 28 - The U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
- June 28 - Canadian election: The Liberal Party, led by Paul Martin, is reduced to a minority government, after holding a majority since November 1993.
- June 30 - The preliminary hearings begin in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
July

- July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
- July 4 - Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero in New York City.
- July 4 - The Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Greece wins the match 1:0.
- July 22 - The Old Bridge of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina is reconstructed and reopened after being destroyed by Bosnian Croat forces on November 9, 1993.
- July 25 - Over 100,000 opponents to Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 participate in a human chain from Gush Katif, to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers).
- July 25 - Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas wins an unprecedented 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title.
August

- August 1 - Supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, kills about 400 people and leaves over 100 missing.
- August 3 - Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.
- August 6 - A United Nations report that blames the government of Sudan for crimes against humanity in Darfur is released.
- August 12 - Singapore's prime minister Goh Chok Tong hands over his position to Lee Hsien Loong.
- August 13 - The 2004 Summer Olympics begin in Athens. They end on August 29.
- August 13 - Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Charley made landfall near Cayo Costa, FL as a Category 4 hurricane. Charley was the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
- August 16 - Severe flooding in the village of Boscastle in Cornwall.
- August 18 - In Dublin, Ireland the Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works were completed and the final tunnel boring machine breakthrough ceremony took place.
- August 21 - A series of blasts rocks a rally of an opposition party in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing at least 13 people.
- August 22 - Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch's The Scream, Madonna and other paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
- August 24 - Two airliners in Russia, carrying a total of 89 passengers, crash within minutes of each other after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, leaving no survivors. Authorities suspect suicide attacks by rebels from Chechnya to be the cause of the crashes.
- August 29 - Around 200,000 protesters demonstrate in New York City against President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the 2004 Republican National Convention.
- August 31 - Two suicide attacks on buses in Beer Sheva, Israel, kill at least 16 people and injure at least 60. Hamas claims responsibility for the attacks.
- August 31 - A woman commits a suicide attack near a subway station in northern Moscow, Russia, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50. Authorities hold Chechen rebels responsible.
September

- September 1 - Chechen rebels take between 1,000 and 1,500 people hostage, mostly children, in a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. The hostage-takers demand the release of Chechen rebels imprisoned in neighbouring Ingushetia and the independence of Chechnya from Russia.
- September 2 - The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1559 calling for the removal of all foreign troops from Lebanon. This measure is largely aimed at Syrian troops.
- September 3 - Russian forces end the siege at a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
- September 3 - Hurricane Frances makes landfall in Florida. After killing two people in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances killed ten people in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
- September 7 - The Scottish Parliament meets in the new Scottish Parliament Building for the first time.
- September 7 - Hurricane Ivan passes directly over Grenada, killing 37 people. It passes over other Caribbean islands over the next two days, killing 5 people in Venezuela, 4 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Tobago and 20 in Jamaica.
- September 8 - In the "Rathergate" affair, the first Internet posts appear pointing out that documents claimed by CBS News to be typewritten memos from the early 1970s appear instead to have been produced using modern word processing systems.
- September 9 - A bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
- September 13 - The Assault Weapons Ban expires.
- September 15 - Davíð Oddsson prime minister of Iceland steps down after serving as prime minister since April 30 1991. Oddson becomes foreign minister as his foreign minister Halldór Ásgrímsson becomes prime minister.
- September 15 - Security at the Palace of Westminster is compromised when the House of Commons is stormed by a small group of protestors during a debate about fox hunting.
- September 15 - "Girl A" is sentenced to be institutionalized due to the murder of classmate Satomi Mitarai.
- September 16 - Hurricane Ivan strikes Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in Alabama and Florida.
- September 17 - 2004 Summer Paralympics commences in Athens, Greece.
- September 17 - Mexico and Japan finish the two year long negotiations and sign a Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.
- September 23 - Mount St. Helens becomes active again.
- September 23 - Tropical Storm Ivan, having come around and reformed in the Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm killed 92 people.
- September 25 - Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall near Hutchinson Island, FL. In all, Jeanne killed over 3,000, most in Haiti.
- September 29 - First Ansari X-Prize flight of SpaceShipOne.
October

- October 4 - Two car bombs kill at least 16 people and injure dozens more in Baghdad.
- October 5 - A fire breaks out on the Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi leaving it stranded without power in the North Atlantic ocean, off the north coast of Ireland. One crewmember is killed.
- October 8 - Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage held by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Iraqi insurgent, is killed after a failed escape attempt.
- October 8 - Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt, killing 34 people, mainly Israeli tourists and Egyptian workers.
- October 9 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Scottish Parliament Building in a ceremony in Edinburgh
- October 9 - Incumbent Prime Minister of Australia John Howard leads the Liberal-National coalition to victory over the Labor Party led by Mark Latham in federal elections.
- October 9 - Direct elections for president held for the first time in Afghanistan. Interim president Hamid Karzai is eventually declared the winner.
- October 10 - Abdullahi Yusuf is chosen as the new transitional president of Somalia.
- October 14 - Prince Norodom Sihamoni is chosen as the new king of Cambodia.
- October 16 - The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox, 19-8 in Game 3 of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series. The game, which pushed the Yankees to a 3 games to none series lead, sets a record for longest nine inning baseball game.
- October 17 - A referendum in Belarus approves the lifting of constitutional term limits for the presidency.
- October 18 - Three men attack Greek journalist Philippos Syrigos in Athens and seriously wound him
- October 19 - General Khin Nyunt is replaced by Lieutenant-General Soe Win as Prime Minister of Myanmar.
- October 20 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, completing an unprecedented comeback from three games to none down.
- October 20 - Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people, and injuring 2.
- October 20 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes the first directly-elected President of Indonesia.
- October 21 - The Ministry of Defence approves the deployment of the Black Watch regiment of the British Army to Baghdad, Iraq after a request for assistance by the U.S. government.
- October 24 - The bodies of 49 Iraqi soldiers discovered after being ambushed by insurgents.
- October 24 - Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space.
- October 25 - Reverand Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King receive Congressional Gold Medal.
- October 26 - October 26The Cassini probe passes within 1,200km of Titan
- October 27 - Details of the discovery of a new, recent, species of fossil hominid, Homo floresiensis, from the island of Flores, Indonesia are published.
- October 27 - The Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series championship for the first time since 1918.
- October 29 - A videotape of Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the United States, and taunts the president, George W. Bush, over the September 11 Terrorist attacks.
- October 29 - European heads of state signed in Rome the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.
- October 30 - A 163 metre high radio mast in Peterborough, UK collapsed at a fire
- October 31 - Leftist candidate Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of Uruguay.
November

- November 1 - a 16 year old Palestinian, a muslim, blew himself up in an outdoor market in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis.
- November 2 - U.S. presidential election: President George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry. Republicans make gains in the calendar for any leap year starting on Thursday (dominical letter DC), e.g. 2004. Previous year | Next year This kind of year has 53 weeks in the ISO 8601 week - day format. Furthermore, ISO week 10 (which begins March 1) and all subsequent ISO weeks occur earlier than in any other kind of year. Category:Thursday Category:Weeks ko:목요일로 시작하는 윤년 th:ปีอธิกสุรทินที่วันแรกเป็นวันพฤหัสบดี

United Nations
The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945. The UN describes itself as a "global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity." It was founded by 51 states and as of 2005 it consists of 191 member states, including virtually all internationally-recognized independent nations. From its headquarters in New York City, the member countries of the UN and its specialized agencies give guidance and make decisions on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is structurally divided into administrative bodies, including the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Economic and Social Council, UN Trusteeship Council, UN Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice, as well as counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies, for example, the WHO and UNICEF. The organization's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General. As the UN main building is aging, the UN is in the process of building a new location designed by Fumihiko Maki. The UN was founded at the conclusion of World War II by the victorious world powers, and the founders of the UN had high hopes that it would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible, by fostering an ideal of collective security. The organization's structure still reflects in some ways the circumstances of its founding; specifically, in addition to the rotating national members of the prominent United Nations Security Council, there are five permanent members with veto power — the United States of America, Russia (which replaced the Soviet Union), United Kingdom, France, and the People's Republic of China (which replaced the Republic of China).
Background and history
Republic of China]] The term "United Nations" was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, to refer to the Allies. Its first formal use was in the January 1, 1942 Declaration by the United Nations, which committed the Allies to the principles of the Atlantic Charter and pledged them not to seek a separate peace with the Axis powers. Thereafter, the Allies used the term "United Nations Fighting Forces" to refer to their alliance. The idea for the United Nations was elaborated in declarations signed at the wartime Allied conferences in Moscow, Cairo, and Tehran in 1943. From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington, D.C. Those and later talks produced proposals outlining the purposes of the organization, its membership and organs, as well as arrangements to maintain international peace and security and international economic and social cooperation. These proposals were discussed and debated by governments and private citizens worldwide. On April 25 1945, the United Nations Conference on International Organizations began in San Francisco. In addition to the Governments, a number of non-government organizations, including Lions Clubs International were invited to assist in the drafting of the charter. The 50 nations represented at the conference signed the Charter of the United Nations two months later on June 26. Poland, which was not represented at the conference, but for which a place among the original signatories had been reserved, added its name later, bringing the total of original signatories to 51. The UN came into existence on October 24, 1945, after the Charter had been ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council — Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States — and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. Initially, the body was known as the United Nations Organization, or UNO. But by the 1950s, English speakers were referring to it as the United Nations, or UN.
Headquarters
The United Nations headquarters building was constructed in New York City in 1949 and 1950 beside the East River on land purchased by an 8.5 million dollar donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer. UN headquarters officially opened on January 9, 1951. While the principal headquarters of the UN are in New York, there are major agencies located in Geneva, The Hague, Vienna, Bonn and elsewhere. The street address is 760 United Nations Plz New York, NY 10017, US
Membership and Structure
UN membership is open to all peace-loving states that accept the obligations of the UN Charter and, in the judgement of the organization, are able and willing to fulfil these obligations. The General Assembly determines admission upon recommendation of the Security Council. The United Nations is based on six principal organs, part of what is collectively called the United Nations System:
- UN General Assembly
- UN Security Council
- UN Economic and Social Council
- UN Trusteeship Council
- UN Secretariat
- International Court of Justice
Security Council
The Security Council is in practice the most powerful decision-making body of the UN, as its resolutions are backed by the will of the most powerful members of the international community. However, this does not mean that its resolutions (e.g. international sanctions) are necessarily enforced, as the UN does not have its own means to do so. Even when economic sanctions are applied, their effectiveness (e.g. against Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1990s, or in abolishing apartheid in South Africa) is unclear.
Financing
South Africa]The UN system is financed in two ways: assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The regular two-year budgets of the UN and its specialized agencies are funded by assessments. In the case of the UN, the General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by national income statistics, along with other factors. The Assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be overly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a 'ceiling' rate, setting the maximum amount any member is assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the Assembly agreed to revise the scale of assessments to make them better reflect current global circumstances. As part of that agreement, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25 to 22 per cent; this is the rate at which the United States is assessed. The United States is the only member that meets that ceiling, all other members' assessment rates are lower. On the other hand, it is in arrears with hundreds of millions of dollars (see also United States and the United Nations). Under the scale of assessments adopted in 2000, other major contributors to the regular UN budget for 2001 are Japan (19.63%), Germany (9.82%), France (6.50%), the U.K. (5.57%), Italy (5.09%), Canada (2.57%) Spain (2.53%) and Brazil (2.39%). Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget (such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, and WFP) are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments. In 2001, it is estimated that such contributions from the United States will total approximately $1.5 billion. Some of this is in the form of agricultural commodities donated for afflicted populations, but the majority is financial contributions.
Aims and activities
International conferences
2001 since 1997.]] The member countries of the UN and its specialized agencies — the "stakeholders" of the system — give guidance and make decisions on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. Governing bodies made up of member states include not only the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, and the Security Council, but also counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies. For example, the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board oversee the work of WHO. Each year, the United States Department of State accredits United States delegations to more than 600 meetings of governing bodies. When an issue is considered particularly important, the General Assembly may convene an international conference to focus global attention and build a consensus for consolidated action. High-level United States delegations use these opportunities to promote United States policy viewpoints and develop international agreements on future activities. Recent examples include:
- The UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, led to the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development to advance the conclusions reached in Agenda 21, the final text of agreements negotiated by governments at UNCED;
- The International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, Egypt, in September 1994, approved a programme of action to address the critical challenges and interrelationships between population and sustainable development over the next 20 years;
- The World Summit on Trade Efficiency, held in October 1994 in Columbus, Ohio, cosponsored by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the city of Columbus, and private-sector business, focused on the use of modern information technology to expand international trade;
- The World Summit for Social Development, held in March 1995 in Copenhagen, Denmark, underscored national responsibility for sustainable development and secured high-level commitment to plans that invest in basic education, health care, and economic opportunity for all, including women and girls;
- The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, in September 1995, sought to accelerate implementation of the historic agreements reached at the Third World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985; and
- The Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), convened in June 1996 in Istanbul, Turkey, considered the challenges of human settlement development and management in the 21st century.
International Years and related
The UN declares and coordinates "International Year of the..." in order to focus world attention on important issues. Using the symbolism of the UN, a specially designed logo for the year, and the infrastructure of the UN system to coordinate events worldwide, the various years have become catalysts to advancing key issues on a global scale.
- UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
Arms control and disarmament
The 1945 UN Charter envisaged a system of regulation that would ensure "the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources". The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided immediate impetus to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament. In fact, the first resolution of the first meeting of the UN General Assembly (January 24 1946) was entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and called upon the commission to make specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction". The UN has established several forums to address multilateral disarmament issues. The principal ones are the First Committee of the General Assembly and the UN Disarmament Commission. Items on the agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons, nuclear and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security. The Conference on Disarmament is the sole forum established by the international community for the negotiation of multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements. It has 66 members representing all areas of the world, including the five major nuclear-weapon states (the People's Republic of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States). While the conference is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to the UN through a personal representative of the Secretary-General; this representative serves as the secretary general of the conference. Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly often request the conference to consider specific disarmament matters. In turn, the conference annually reports on its activities to the General Assembly.
Peace-keeping
UN peacekeepers are sent to various regions where armed conflict has recently ceased, in order to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage the combatants from resuming hostilities, for example in East Timor until its independence in 2001. These forces are provided by member states of the UN; the UN does not maintain any independent military. All UN peacekeeping operations must be approved by the Security Council. The founders of the UN had high hopes that it would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible, by fostering an ideal of collective security. Those hopes have obviously not been fully realized. From about 1947 until 1991 the division of the world into hostile camps during the Cold War made agreement on peacekeeping matters extremely difficult. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to become the agency for achieving world peace and co-operation, as several dozen active military conflicts continue to rage around the globe. The breakup of the Soviet Union has also left the United States in a unique position of global dominance, creating a variety of new challenges for the UN. UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular scale, but including a surcharge for the five permanent members of the Security Council (who must approve all peacekeeping operations); this surcharge serves to offset discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. In December 2000, the UN revised the assessment rate scale for the regular budget and for peacekeeping. The peacekeeping scale is designed to be revised every six months and is projected to be near 27% in 2003. The United States intends to pay peacekeeping assessments at these lower rates and has sought legislation from the U.S. Congress to allow payment at these rates and to make payments towards arrears. Total UN peacekeeping expenses peaked between 1994 and 1995; at the end of 1995 the total cost was just over $3.5 billion. Total UN peacekeeping costs for 2000, including operations funded from the UN regular budget as well as the peacekeeping budget, were on the order of $2.2 billion. The UN Peace-Keeping Forces received the 1988 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 2001 the United Nations and Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the UN, won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." For participation in various peacekeeping operations, the United Nations maintains a series of United Nations Medals which are awarded to military service members of various countries who enforce UN accords. The first such decoration issued was the United Nations Service Medal, awarded to UN forces who participated in the Korean War. The NATO Medal is designed on a similar concept and both the UN Service Medal, and the NATO Medal, are considered international decorations instead of military decorations.
Human rights
The pursuit of human rights was one of the central reasons for creating the United Nations. World War II atrocities and genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work to prevent any similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was creating a legal framework for considering and acting on complaints about human rights violations. The UN Charter obliges all member nations to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and to take "joint and separate action" to that end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though not legally binding, was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 as a common standard of achievement for all. The General Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues. The UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), under ECOSOC, is the primary UN body charged with promoting human rights, primarily through investigations and offers of technical assistance. As discussed, the High Commissioner for Human Rights is the official principally responsible for all UN human rights activities (see, under "The UN Family", the section on "Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights"). The United Nations and its various agencies are central in upholding and implementing the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A case in point is support by the United Nations for countries in transition to democracy. Technical assistance in providing free and fair elections, improving judicial structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials, and transforming armed movements into political parties have contributed significantly to democratization worldwide. The United Nations is also a forum in which to support the right of women to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of their countries. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly or Security Council resolutions or ICJ rulings.
Humanitarian assistance and international development
In conjunction with other organizations, such as the Red Cross, the UN provides food, drinking water, shelter and other humanitarian services to populaces suffering from famine, displaced by war, or afflicted by some other disaster. Major humanitarian arms of the UN are the World Food Programme (which helps feed more than 100 million people a year in 80 countries), the High Commissioner for Refugees with project in over 116 countries, as well as peacekeeping projects in over 24 countries. At times, UN relief workers have been subject to attacks. The UN is also involved in supporting development, e.g. by the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the largest multilateral source of grant technical assistance in the world. Organizations like the WHO, UNAIDS and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are leading institutions in the battle against AIDS around the world, especially in poor countries. The UN Population Fund is a major provider of reproductive services. It has helped reduce infant and maternal mortality in 100 countries. The UN publishes the Human Development Index (HDI) annually, a comparative measure listing and ranking countries based on poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, and other factors. The UN promotes human development through various agencies and departments:
- World Health Organization eliminated smallpox in 1977 and is close to eliminating polio.
- World Bank / IMF
- UNEP
- UNDP
- UNESCO
- UNICEF
- UNHCR The UN has helped run elections in countries with little democratic history including recently in Afghanistan and East Timor. The UN also runs international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Ad-Hoc Court for East Timor.
Treaties and international law
The UN negotiates treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to avoid potential international disputes. Disputes over use of the oceans may be adjudicated by a special court. The International Court of Justice is the main court of the United Nations. Its purpose is to adjudicate disputes amoung states. The ICJ began in 1946 and continues to hear cases. Important cases include: Congo v. France, where the Democratic Republic of Congo accused France of illegally detaining former heads of state accused of war crimes. Nicaragua v. United States, where Nicaragua accused the United States of illegally arming the Contras. This case led to the Iran-Contra affair.
Criticism and Controversies
Reforming the UN
In recent years there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations. There is, however, little clarity, let alone consensus, about what "reform" might mean in practice. Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, others want its role reduced to humanitarian work. In 2004 and 2005, allegations of mismanagement and corruption regarding the Oil-for-Food Programme for Iraq under Saddam Hussein led to renewed calls for reform. An official reform programme was initiated by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan shortly after starting his first term on January 1, 1997. Reforms mentioned include changing the permanent membership of the Security Council (which currently reflects the power relations of 1945); making the bureaucracy more transparent, accountable and efficient; making the UN more democratic; and imposing an international tariff on arms manufacturers worldwide. The United States Congress has shown particular concern with reforms related to UN effectiveness and efficiency. In November 2004, H.R. 4818 mandated the creation of a bipartisan Task Force to report to Congress on how to make the United Nations more effective in realizing the goals of its Charter. The Task Force came into being in January 2005, co-chaired by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. In June 2005, the task force released "American Interests and UN Reform: Report of the Task Force on the United Nations," [http://www.usip.org/un/] with numerous recommendations on how to improve UN performance. On June 17, 2005, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill ([http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h2745: H.R. 2745]) to slash funds to the UN in half by 2008 if it does not meet with certain criteria laid out in the legislation. This reflects years of complaints about anti-American and anti-Israeli bias in the United Nations. The United States of America is estimated to contribute about 22% of the UN's yearly budget, making this bill potentially devastating to the UN. The Bush administration and several former US ambassadors to the UN have warned that this may only strengthen anti-America sentiment around the world and would only serve to hurt current UN reform movements. The bill passed the House in June, and a parallel bill was introduced in the Senate by Gordon Smith on July 13 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s1394:. However, a number of leading Senate Republicans objected to the requirement that the US contributions be halved in the event that the UN failed to meet all of the criteria. The UN Management, Personnel, and Policy Reform Act of 2005 (S. 1383), introduced July 12, 2005 into the Senate by Sen. Coleman, Norm [R-MN] and Sen. Lugar, Richard [R-IN], called for similar reforms but left the withholding of dues to the discretion of the President [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s1383:]. As of December 2005, neither bill has come to a vote. In September 2005, the United Nations convened a World Summit that brought together the heads of most of its 191 member states, in a plenary session of the General Assembly's 60th session. The UN billed the summit as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations" [http://www.un.org/ga/documents/overview2005summit.pdf]. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had proposed that the summit agree upon a global “grand bargain” to reform the United Nations, revamping international systems for addressing peace and security, human rights and development to make those systems capable of addressing the extraordinary challenges facing the United Nations in the 21st century. No such grand bargain emerged. Instead, world leaders agreed upon piecemeal reforms: the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission to provide a central mechanism to help countries emerging from conflict; agreement that the international community has the right to step in when national governments fail to fulfil their “responsibility to protect” their own citizens from atrocity crimes, a vague promise to create a better UN institution on human rights, and agreement to devote more resources to the UN's internal oversight agency. Although the UN's member states achieved little in the way of reform of the UN bureaucracy, Secretary General Kofi Annan continued to carry out reforms under his own authority. He established a ethics office, responsible for administering new financial disclosure and whistleblower protection policies. As of late December 2005, the UN Secretariat was completing a review of all General Assembly mandates more than five years old. That review is intended to provide the basis for decision-making by the member states about which duplicative or unnecessary programs should be eliminated.
Successes and failures in security issues
A large share of UN expenditures address the core UN mission of peace and security. The peacekeeping budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year is approximately $5 billion (compared to approximately $1.5 billion over the same period for the UN core budget), with some 70,000 troops deployed in 17 missions around the world. The UN's activities have made a significant difference. The Human Security Report 2005 [http://www.humansecurityreport.info/], produced by the Human Security Centre at the University of British Columbia with support from several governments and foundations, documented a dramatic, but largely unknown, decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses over the past decade. The Report, published by Oxford University Press, argued that the single most compelling explanation for these changes is found in the unprecedented upsurge of international activism, spearheaded by the UN, which took place in the wake of the Cold War. The Report singles out several specific investments that have paid off [http://www.humansecurityreport.info/HSR2005/Overview.pdf , p. 9]: ° A sixfold increase in the number of missions to prevent wars mounted by the UN between 1990 and 2002. ° A fourfold increase in efforts to stop existing conflicts 1990-2002. ° A sevenfold increase in the number of ‘Friends of the Secretary-General’, ‘Contact Groups’ and other government-initiated mechanisms to support peacemaking and peacebuilding missions between 1990 and 2003. ° An elevenfold increase in the number of economic sanctions in place against regimes around the world between 1989 and 2001. ° A fourfold increase in the number of UN peacekeeping operations between 1987 and 1999. These efforts were both more numerous and, on average, substantially larger and more complex that those of the Cold War era. However, in many cases United Nations members have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions. In 2003, controversy surrounded the United States-led invasion of Iraq conducted in the face of strong disapproval by a majority of members and by Israel's decade-long defiance of resolutions calling for the dismantling of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Such failures stem from the UN's intergovernmental nature — in many respects it is an association of 191 member states who must reach consensus, not an independent organization. Even in the case of actions mandated by the 15-member Security Council, the UN Secretariat is rarely given the full resources needed to carry out the mandates.
- Failure to encourage the developed world to act during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when current Secretary General Kofi Annan worked in the peacekeeping department of the UN.
- Failure by MONUC (UNSC Resolution 1291) to effectively intervene during the Second Congo War, which claimed nearly five million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 1998-2002 (with fighting reportedly continuing), and in carrying out and distributing humanitarian relief.
- Failure to intervene during 1995 killings in Srebrenica, despite the fact that the UN designated it a "Safe Haven" for refugees and assigned 600 Dutch peacekeepers to protect it.
- Failure to successfully deliver food to starving citizens of Somalia; the food was usually seized by local warlords instead of reaching those who needed it. A US/UN attempt to apprehend the warlords seizing these shipments resulted in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
- Sexual abuse of girls by U.N. peacekeepers; In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it is reported that U.N. peacekeepers from several nations are sexually abusing and gang raping girls as young as 12 or 13. This abuse is called widespread and ongoing despite many revelations and probes by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42088][http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4262743.stm]
Hypocrisy in committee membership
Inclusion on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights of nations, such as Sudan, Cuba and Libya, which demonstrably have abysmal records on human rights, and also Libya's chairmanship of this Commission, has been an issue. These countries, however, argue that Western countries, with their history of colonialist aggression and brutality, have no right to argue about membership of the Commission.
Oil-for-Food scandal
The Oil-for-Food Programme established by the United Nations in 1996 and terminated in late 2003, was intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs of ordinary Iraqi citizens who were affected by international economic sanctions, without allowing the Iraqi government to rebuild its military in the wake of the first Gulf War. It was discontinued in 2003 amidst allegations of widespread abuse and corruption; the former director, Benon Sevan of Cyprus, was first suspended, and then resigned from the United Nations as an interim progress report[http://www.iic-offp.org/documents/Third%20Interim%20Report.pdf] of a UN-sponsored investigatory panel led by Paul Volcker concluded that Sevan had accepted bribes from the former Iraqi regime and recommended that his UN immunity be lifted, to allow for a criminal investigation.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4131602.stm] Under UN auspices, over US$65 billion worth of Iraqi oil was sold on the world market. Officially, about US$46 billion used for humanitarian needs, with additional revenue paying Gulf War reparations through a Compensation Fund, supporting UN administrative and operational costs for the programme (2.2 per cent), and paying costs for the weapons inspection programme (0.8 per cent). Also implicated in the scandal is United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose son Kojo Annan is alleged to have illegally procured UN oil-for-food contracts on behalf of a Swiss company, Coctecna.
The UN in popular culture
The existence of the UN as a large, world-encompassing government organization has prompted many ideas about world government and world democracy. The UN is also often the subject of conspiracy theories. An education activity called Model United Nations has grown popular in schools worldwide. Model UN has students simulate (usually) a body in the United Nations system, like the Economic and Social Council, the Economic and Finance Committee of the General Assembly, or the Executive Committee of UNICEF, to help them develop skills in debate and diplomacy. The United Nations has been shown in several films. In the 1958 film North by Northwest, director Alfred Hitchcock wanted to film in the U.N but did not have permission. Shots were secretly done and recreated on a sound stage. The 2005 film The Interpreter is the first feature to be filmed on location in the United Nations. It features Nicole Kidman as an interpreter who becomes involved in international intrigue. Fictional UN branches appear in many books, movies, and video games, including:
- United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition in Deus Ex
- United Nations Intelligence Taskforce in Doctor Who
- United Nations Naval Service in some David Feintuch novels
- United Nations Space Command in the Halo video game series
- United Nations Special Agency NERV in Neon Genesis Evangelion
- United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Force in the Godzilla series of films
- United Nations Global Defense Initiative from the Command and Conquer series of games
- United Nations International Critical Response and Tactical Team from the Clive Cussler novel Sahara Similar-themed World or Galactic Bodies that model the UN in some way include:
- League of Non-Aligned Worlds and Interstellar Alliance from Babylon 5.
- Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) and ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty) from the Gundam Universe
- Allied Nations, from the movie Street Fighter
- DOOP (Democratic Order of Planets) from Futurama
Notes
# With the exception of the Holy See, the sole permanent observer state, all internationally recognized independent countries are members. Other political entities, notably the Republic of China (Taiwan), Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) and Palestinian Authority (Palestine) have some international diplomatic recognition from selected states, but are not UN members. The Political status of Taiwan makes the Republic of China the only nation ever removed from the Security Council.
See also

- United Nations System
- United Nations General Assembly
- United Nations Association
- Oil-for-Food Programme
- 2005 World Summit on the Millennium Development Goals and Reform of the United Nations
- Mundialization
- League of Democracies: proposed replacement for the U.N.
- Independent Inquiry Committee: investigated the corruption and fraud in the UN Oil-for-Food Programme.
- Model United Nations
Further reading

- An Insider's Guide to the UN, Linda Fasulo, Yale University Press (November 1, 2003), hardcover, 272 pages, ISBN 0300101554
- United Nations:The First Fifty Years, Stanley Mesler, Atlantic Monthly Press (March 1, 1997), hardcover, 416 pages, ISBN 0871136562
- United Nations, Divided World: The UN's Roles in International Relations edited by Adam Roberts and Benedict Kingsbury, Oxford University Press; 2nd edition (January 1, 1994), hardcover, 589 pages,ISBN 0198279264
- A Guide to Delegate Preparation: A Model United Nations Handbook, edited by Scott A. Leslie, The United Nations Association of the United States of America, 2004 edition (October 2004), softcover, 296 pages, ISBN 1880632713
- "U.S. At War - International." Time Magazine XLV.19 May 7, 1945: 25-28.
External links

- [http://www.un.org/ United Nations] - Official site
- [http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/index.html United Nations Charter] - Charter text
- [http://www.onlinevolunteering.org United Nations Volunteers]
- [http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html Universal Declaration of Human Rights]
- [http://www.uno-komitee.de Website] of the Committee for a Democratic UN (German and English versions)
- [http://www.globalpolicy.org Website] of the Global Policy Forum, an independent think-tank on the UN
- [http://www.economist.com/background/displayBackground.cfm?story_id=3398746 Economist.com background]
- [http://www.numismondo.com/pm/unn United Nations Paper Money, 1946-56] "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Agpeace.pdf"Agenda for Peace: B.-Boutros Ghali
- [http://unitednationsexposed.blogspot.com/ United Nations Exposed website] - Criticisms of the UN from the Right
- Category:International organizations Category:Nobel Peace Prize winners zh-min-nan:Liân-ha̍p-kok ko:국제 연합 ms:Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu ja:国際連合 simple:United Nations th:สหประชาชาติ

Slavery
in 1834, London.]] Slavery is a condition in which one person, known as a slave, is under the control of another. Slavery almost always occurs for the purpose of securing the labour or sexual availability of the slave. A specific form, known as chattel slavery, is defined by the absolute legal ownership of a person or persons, including the legal right to buy and sell them.
Definitions
The 1926 Slavery Convention described slavery as "...the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised..." Therefore, a slave is someone who cannot leave an owner or employer without explicit permission, and who will be returned if they escape. Therefore a system of slavery — as opposed to the isolated instances found in any society — requires official, legal recognition of ownership, or widespread tacit arrangements with local authorities, by masters who have some influence because of their social and/or economic status. In the strictest sense of the word, "slaves" are people who are not only owned, but are also not paid, and who have no rights. The word comes from the Latin term sclavus, which is thought to have originally referred to slavs, people from Eastern Europe, including parts of the Byzantine empire. However, the current usage of the word serfdom is not usually synonymous with slavery, because serfs are considered to have had some rights. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines slavery as a form of for

Century Year
19th century: 1824 1852 1880

20th century: 1920 1948 1976

21st century: 2004 2032 2060 2088

22nd century: 2128 2156 2184