United Nations (UN) – Complete GK Capsule for Railway Exams
1. Overview – What is the UN?
- Established: 24 Oct 1945 (after WW-II)
- Headquarters: New York City, USA
- Founder Members: 51 (Poland signed 15 Oct 1945, became 51st)
- Present Members: 193 (latest: South Sudan 2011)
- Official Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
- Motto: “Peace, Dignity & Equality on a Healthy Planet”
- UN Charter: Signed 26 Jun 1945, San Francisco (came into force 24 Oct 1945)
- UN Day: 24 October (observed globally)
2. Principal Organs – Quick-Fact Table
| Organ | Seat | Head (2024) | Term | Key Fact |
|---|
| General Assembly (UNGA) | New York | President: Dennis Francis (Trinidad & Tobago) | 1 yr | Only universal body – 1 vote per country |
| Security Council (UNSC) | New York | President (rotating): Switzerland (May 2024) | 1 month | 15 members: 5 P + 10 non-P (2-yr) |
| Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) | New York | President: Paula Narváez (Chile) | 1 yr | 54 members elected by GA |
| International Court of Justice (ICJ) | The Hague | President: Joan E. Donoghue (USA) | 9 yrs | 15 judges; only UN organ not in NY |
| Trusteeship Council | New York | Suspended since 1994 | — | Last trust territory: Palau (1994) |
| Secretariat | New York | Secretary-General: António Guterres (Portugal) | 5 yrs (renewable) | 9th SG; 2nd term 2022-26 |
3. UN Secretaries-General – Timeline
| # | Name | Country | Term | First from |
|---|
| 1 | Trygve Lie | Norway | 1946-52 | Scandinavia |
| 2 | Dag Hammarskjöld | Sweden | 1953-61 | Died in plane crash (only SG to die in office) |
| 3 | U Thant | Myanmar | 1961-71 | Asia |
| 4 | Kurt Waldheim | Austria | 1972-81 | — |
| 5 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar | Peru | 1982-91 | Latin America |
| 6 | Boutros Boutros-Ghali | Egypt | 1992-96 | Africa |
| 7 | Kofi Annan | Ghana | 1997-2006 | Nobel Peace Prize 2001 |
| 8 | Ban Ki-moon | South Korea | 2007-16 | East Asia |
| 9 | António Guterres | Portugal | 2017-26 | Western Europe |
4. Security Council Permanent & Non-Permanent Members
| Permanent-5 (P-5) | Non-Permanent (2024) |
|---|
| China, France, Russia, UK, USA | Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland |
- Veto Power: Any P-5 can block substantive resolutions.
- India elected for 8th term (2021-22); next likely 2028-29.
5. Specialized Agencies of UN (HQ & Year)
| Agency | HQ | Est. | Note |
|---|
| FAO | Rome | 1945 | Food & Agriculture |
| WHO | Geneva | 1948 | World Health Day: 7 Apr |
| UNESCO | Paris | 1946 | World Heritage Sites |
| IMF | Washington DC | 1945 | Quota system |
| World Bank | Washington DC | 1945 | 5 institutions (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, ICSID) |
| ILO | Geneva | 1919 | Only agency created before UN |
| ICAO | Montréal | 1947 | 2-letter airline codes |
| UPU | Bern | 1874 | Oldest (pre-League) |
| ITU | Geneva | 1865 | Radio-frequency allocation |
| WMO | Geneva | 1950 | Weather & climate |
| IMO | London | 1959 | Ship safety |
| WIPO | Geneva | 1967 | Patents & copyrights |
| UNIDO | Vienna | 1966 | Industrial development |
| UNWTO | Madrid | 1974 | Tourism |
6. India & UN – Milestones
| Year | Event |
|---|
| 1945 | Original signatory of UN Charter |
| 1948 | First UNPKF deployment in Korea (60 Para Field Ambulance) |
| 1953 | Rajeshwar Dayal led UNOG in Congo |
| 1971 | S. J. S. S. Aiyar chaired UNSC |
| 1988 | Indian Army UN Peacekeeping in Namibia (UNTAG) |
| 1992 | India largest troop contributor (over 100,000 cumulatively) |
| 2004 | Shashi Tharoor finished 2nd in SG election |
| 2010 | India becomes 3rd largest UN budget contributor (assessed 2022-24: 1.044%) |
| 2021 | India elected to UNSC (8th term) |
| 2023 | G-4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan) re-push for UNSC reform |
7. Nobel Peace Prizes to UN System
| Year | Recipient | Reason |
|---|
| 1954 | UNHCR | Refugee protection |
| 1965 | UNICEF | Children welfare |
| 1969 | ILO | Workers’ rights |
| 1981 | UNHCR (again) | — |
| 1988 | UN Peacekeeping Forces | 40th anniversary |
| 2001 | UN & Kofi Annan | Centennial |
| 2020 | WFP | Fighting hunger |
8. One-Liner Rapid Revision Facts
- UN Charter has 111 articles & 19 chapters.
- Article 99: SG can bring any matter to UNSC attention.
- UN Flag: White UN emblem on light-blue; adopted 20 Oct 1947.
- UN Postal Administration: Issues stamps in USD, CHF, EUR.
- UN Peacekeeping Budget 2023: $6.5 bn; India contributes 0.16%.
- UNGA Resolution 2758 (1971): Recognised PRC, expelled Taiwan.
- Brundtland Report (1987): Coined “Sustainable Development”.
- Millennium Summit: 6-8 Sep 2000 (adopted MDGs).
- SDGs adopted: 25 Sep 2015 (17 goals, 169 targets) to be met by 2030.
- UNGA 2023 Theme: “Rebuilding trust & reigniting global solidarity”.
- First UN city: Geneva (League HQ became Palais des Nations).
- UN has 12 Nobel Prizes so far (including individuals).
- Veto used most by USA (82 times), USSR/Russia next.
- India’s first woman Force Commander: Lt-Gen. (retd) Shokin Chauhan (UNDOF 2022).
- UN Young Leaders: Indian NGO “Make A Difference” featured 2018.
- UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (India): Priyanka Chopra since 2016.
- UN Chinese Language Day: 20 April (Cangjie).
- UN Library: Dag Hammarskjöld Library (NYC).
- UN Laissez-Passer: Official diplomatic passport since 1946.
- UN 75th Declaration: “Shared vision for 2045” adopted 21 Sep 2020.
9. Practice MCQs – Railway Exam Level
Q1. In which year was the United Nations officially established?
Ans: 1945Q2. The headquarters of the International Court of Justice is located at
Ans: The Hague, NetherlandsQ3. Which of the following is NOT a permanent member of the UN Security Council?
Ans: GermanyQ4. The current Secretary-General of the UN (2024) belongs to
Ans: PortugalQ5. UN Day is celebrated every year on
Ans: 24 OctoberQ6. Which organ of the UN has suspended its operations since 1994?
Ans: Trusteeship CouncilQ7. The number of official languages of the UN is
Ans: 6Q8. The first woman President of the UNGA was
Ans: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1953)Q9. Which UN agency is headquartered in Rome?
Ans: FAOQ10. India has been elected to the UN Security Council non-permanent seat for how many times till 2024?
Ans: 8Q11. The UN Peacekeeping Force received the Nobel Peace Prize in
Ans: 1988Q12. Who among the following Secretaries-General died in office?
Ans: Dag HammarskjöldQ13. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved by
Ans: 2030Q14. The resolution that admitted the People’s Republic of China into the UN is
Ans: UNGA Resolution 2758Q15. Which article of the UN Charter empowers the Secretary-General to bring any matter to the Security Council?
Ans: Article 99Q16. The UN agency responsible for weather and climate issues is
Ans: WMOQ17. The total number of judges in the ICJ is
Ans: 15Q18. Which country is the latest (193rd) member of the UN?
Ans: South Sudan (2011)
Revise these tables & one-liners daily; attempt MCQs twice for 100 % retention.
BETA
