United Nations Day 2020: Theme, History, Significance & Facts

UN Day – 24th October 2020

Every year 24th October is celebrated as United Nations Day. In the year 1945, the United Nations was officially established. Almost 50 representatives set up the official UN charter on 24th October 1945 paving a hallmark establishment of the UN at the United States of America (USA). The massive and enormous amount of work done by the UN across the world is more significant than life and cannot be measured.

To celebrate the setting up of the UN charter on this prestigious day of significance, the world around us celebrates UN Day. We can understand the enormous impact that the UN has had on its member nations and also in every global operation it carries out. In this article, we shall discuss more in-depth into the subject of UN history, importance, themes and celebrations and major FAQs concerning UN Day 2020. Let us go deeper into each section.

UN Day History

The name ‘United Nations’ first came into being in the year 1942. The President of America at the time of World War 2 was Franklin D Roosevelt. The term ‘United Nations’ was collectively used by a pact of 26 countries that chose to fight against the axis powers. It was more of a representative term to collectively group member nations of 26 states to stand against the Axis powers and defeat them. They strived to continue their war and fight against the Axis powers and never to accept defeat in the face of World War 2. From here, almost 50 countries joined the UN pact and came to a common understanding at a formal congregation at San Francisco in 1945.

The formal meeting was held under the distinguished title of “United Nations Conference on International Organisation”. This meet was an official extension of the charter formed in the previous year 1944. UN was thus born. Initially, the 50 countries which formed part of the UN pact gave their complete support.

Later, Poland came to the scene much later and signed the settlement along with the 50 countries that had already joined. With this, the strength increased to 51. The United Nations Day is thus celebrated on 24th October every year, the day the UN Charter came into existence.

The United Nations lays the foundation of international peace and tranquillity and serves humanity with more excellent socio-political stability. As on today, the strength of the UN stands at 193 member nations. It is headquartered at New York and is involved in some of the most elaborate philanthropic works to uplift humanity.

Importance of the UN Day 2020

An ever-increasing docket of various commendable humanitarian efforts is lined up by the UN since their inception. They serve the fundamental rights of humans, and provide food and shelter to the needy, provide medical supplies and kits to war-ravaged countries and offer essential supplies to various parts of the world.

They believe in achieving excellence through the promotion of diversity in cultures. They progress through the needs and requirements of people at the global level. The UN was established with the primary goal of achieving support and reinforcement from every corner of the world, as a result of their continued pursuance of services for humanity. These words are very well inscribed in the charter prepared on official lines at the stone-laying foundation of the UN.

Member nations practice this day and celebrate their motto as a public holiday. This practise came into effect from the year 1971. The services rendered by the UN create a big difference to the world. Some of their actions on impending issues and crisis around the globe that have signified the UN at all times are given below:

• They ensure peace talks between warring nations. UN has always advocated peace policies between countries.
• They are against wars and bloodshed and practice peace filling methods to bridge gaps between countries.
• Territorial integrity between nations has always been of immense importance to not just one, but many countries across the globe. Trespassing security protocols and defeating border conventions could lead to vast disputes between nations. So, maintaining security through international concord is one of the biggest tasks of the UN.
• People and their fundamental human rights are one of the ground level civil tasks carried out by the UN.
• Specialised teams at various intensities of the pyramid endeavour different campaigns starting from the grassroots level.
• Community development, infrastructure progress, socio-economic breakthrough are some of the other intermediaries constituting the foundation stones of UN.

Themes of UN Day 2020

Here are some of the past year themes that were attached to previous celebrations by the UN:

• 2016 set an achievable milestone for the year 2030. It read “Road to 2030 for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable economic production and consumption”.
• 2017 kept a short theme that said “Potential in Diversity”.
• 2018 made it slightly more significant with the theme “Traditions of peace, non-violence”.
• 2019 made it a global inclusive theme with “Our Planet, Our Future”.
• 2020 is exclusively women-centric with the theme “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights”.

Celebrations of UN Day

Here are some of the many ways in which UN Day is celebrated across the globe:

• Governments of many nations hoist the UN Flag along with their own nation’s flag on many council offices.
• Educational institutions spread the importance of the UN by inviting good, motivational campuses to their campus.
• Social media broadcasts many videos related to UN humanitarian activities.
• Discussions and debates on international platforms are some of the noteworthy events as part of the day.
• UN invites proposals from various charitable organizations and NGOs at local, national and international levels to discuss various issues related to health, youth and women empowerment amongst others.
• Residents can form a small group/ community and organize shows and talks in their localities about the various features of the UN.

Conclusion

UN leads the world in its implementation of programs, advocating policies, restoring peace among nations, maintaining friendly relations between countries, promotion of fundamental human rights, co-operation on international matters of importance etc. They are the leading-strings of harmony when it comes to social, cultural, economic and humanitarian efforts. We should support the UN in achieving its desired goals and objectives and make the world a better place to live in.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is UN Day celebration?

The UN Charter was established in the year 1945. UN Day marks the observance of its anniversary by member nations.

2. Why do we celebrate UN Day?

When the United Nations was at its very nascent stage of formation, 51 member nations formed a pact to continue peace efforts against the warring Axis powers. To keep the establishment of peace across the world, UN Day is celebrated every year.

3. What is the theme of UN Day 2020?

“Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights” is the theme for the current year 2020.

4. What are the six organs of the UN?

The General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and UN Secretariat are the six wings of the United Nations.

5. How many countries are in the UN?

As on today, there are 193 member nations under the UN.

6. Who is the head of the United Nations?

The present Secretary-General of the UN is Antonio Guterres. He is the serving CEO of UN presently.

7. When is UN day celebrated?

Every year, 24th October is celebrated as UN Day.