Alternative History
United Nations
الأمم المتحدة - 联合国 - Organisation des Nations unies - Организация Объединённых Наций - Naciones Unidas
Timeline: The Era of Relative Peace
OTL equivalent: United Nations
United Nations Flag Emblem of the United Nations
Coat of arms
HeadquartersNew York City (international territory)
Official languages English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Filipino, Dutch, etc.
Government Intergovernmental organization
Establishment
 -  UN Charter Signed June 26, 1945 
 -  Charter Enforced October 24, 1945 

The United Nations is an international organization promoting world-cooperation through peace, prosperity, and economic development. The organization was formed in 1945 following the end of the Second World War and the failure of the League of Nations. Its headquarters is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City with other branches in Vienna, Austria; Geneva, Switzerland; and Nairobi, Kenya.

History[]

The United Nations was the successor to the League of Nations after the latter failed to prevent a second global conflict which resulted in World War II. It was formed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, in which the victors of war, namely the United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China as the sitting countries in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UN oversaw the independence of several former western colonies in Asia and the Middle East after World War II.

In 1950, the United Nations became involved in the Korean War (1950-1953), led by the United States. UN soldiers fought against the Korean People's Army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) of the newly-established People's Republic of China. The war ended on a ceasefire on July 27, 1953 with no official document to end the war; both South Korea and North Korea were technically a state-of-war resulting in border clashes, defections, and stand-offs until the war's re-ignition in 1990 as part of World War III.

Much throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the UN was hard at work in trying to maintain peace in affected areas of the Third World, mainly in South America, Asia, and Africa. It also saw turbulent times such as the Cuban Missiles Crisis in October 1962 and the Yom-Kippur War in 1973.

The United Nations attempted to mediate peace between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies in 1989 as tensions flared among the two superpowers. Despite the hardwork of all diplomats involved, peace talks in Malta ultimately broke down and the militaries took over, resulting in World War III.

Structure[]

The UN is made up of 6 main organs:

  • UN General Assembly - Deliberate Assembly made up of all 198 member states - non-compulsorary decisions, budget
  • UN Secretariat - administrative organ - headed by UN Secretary-General
  • International Court of Justice - Universal Court of International Law - sorts out disputes between countries
  • UN Security Council - International Security Issues - compulsory resolutions of 5 permanent members and 10 elected
  • UN Economic and Social Council - Global Economic and Social Affairs - Supports co-operation between states
  • UN Trusteeship Council - For administrating trust territories - currently inactive - responsible for the former Trust Territories, often former League of Nations mandates. An example of this is the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which is presently composed of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands (U.S. Commonwealth).

Security Council[]

The Security Council is composed of the five members, of which three of the five signatories of the San Francisco Treaty remain in the UNSC to this day.

Country Region Date of Admission to UNSC Former State Representatives
Flag of China 2 AoK Chinese Federated Union East Asia-Pacific 1991 Flag of the Republic of China Republic of China (1912–1949) (on the Mainland)

Flag of the Republic of China Republic of China (1949–1971) (on Taiwan)

Flag of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China (1971-1991)

Flag of France French Fifth Republic Western Europe, Indian Ocean, South Pacific, North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, Antarctica 1945 Flag of France French Fourth Republic(1946-58)
Flag of Russia Russian Federation Eastern Europe, Central Asia, East Asia-Pacific 1993 Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union (1945-1993)
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Western Europe, Indian Ocean, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, Antarctica 1945 n/a
US flag 51 stars United States of America North America, Caribbean Sea, Pacific 1945 n/a

Peacekeeping[]

The United Nations maintains a peacekeeping force which are deployed to regions racked by conflict to ensure the security of the population affected. UN Peacekeepers do not function as an offensive force and are primarily defensive in nature. They can only return fire once fired upon. Equipment for UN Peacekeepers varies according to origin of country (i.e. U.S. peacekeeper armed with an M16 or M4A1, Russian peacekeeper armed with an AK-variant, etc). In addition, the peacekeeping forces operate a few armored vehicles and an air fleet.