Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination (Topic: 75th Anniversary of Signing of the UN Charter)

Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

75th Anniversary of Signing of the UN Charter

In 2020, the 26 June marked the 75th anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).
At present, there are 193 members of the United Nations.

The UN was originally founded by 51 countries at the San Francisco Conference and officially came into existence on 24th October 1945.
The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Charter called for the UN to maintain international peace and security; promote social progress and better standards of life; strengthen international law; and promote human rights.

The UN marked the 75th anniversary of its birth with a scaled-down event because of the coronavirus pandemic, one of many challenges a deeply divided world faces along with poverty, inequality, discrimination and unending wars.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the virtual commemoration of the signing of the UN Charter that "global pressures are spiralling up" and "today's realities are as forbidding as ever." ( Other fundamental fragilities have only grown: the climate crisis, environmental degradation, cyber-attacks, nuclear proliferation, a push-back on human rights and the risk of another pandemic." ( Today's marches against racism were preceded by widespread protests against inequality, discrimination, corruption and lack of opportunities all over the world - grievances that still need to be addressed, including with a renewed social contract.
The secretary-general said multilateralism must be given "teeth" to ensure "that effective global governance is a reality when it is needed."

The current composition of the Security Council reflects the geopolitical situation of 1945. The Security Council’s enlargement in 1963/65 did not significantly change this. The Council’s present composition is no longer representative of a world that has seen 142 new countries join the United Nations since 1945. ( Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in particular do not have the representation on the Council that their current standing demands, and are therefore calling for the Council’s composition to be adapted to the new realities.
Alongside the call for a geographically balanced distribution of seats, the Charter of the UN also expressly states that countries that make considerable contributions to the UN should be members of the Security Council. This is why India, Germany and Japan are regarded as candidates for new permanent seats.
Another frequent demand is that the UN become "more democratic", and a key institution of a world democracy. This raises fundamental questions about the nature and role of the UN. The UN is not a world government, rather a forum for the world's sovereign states to debate issues and determine collective courses of action.

India has been pushing for reforms of the UNSC—stating that its composition doesn’t reflect the current realities and is not representative enough.
India has made the largest troop contributions to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (UNPKO).
The UNSC consists of 15 members (5 permanent, 10 non-permanent) and India has been elected eight times as a non-permanent member in the UNSC.
India is hoping that its performance at the UNSC in the next two years would reaffirm its credentials to be a permanent member of the council.