EDITORIAL: Happy United Nations Day, we proudly say

Today, October 24, is United Nations Day, marking the 75th anniversary counting from the date in 1945 when the United Nations Organisation (UNO; popular simply as ‘UN’) officially came into existence.

For, it was on October 24, 2045 when the Charter under which the United Nations was officially established became operational – thereby opening a whole new world to the comity of nations in the wake of the Second World War (WW-II: 1939-45).

This is especially in the sense that the UN is an intergovernmental organization that is fully committed to maintaining international peace and security; developing friendly relations among nations; achieving international cooperation, and harmonizing the actions of nations.

In 1947, the UN General Assembly formally declared October 24 devoted to making known to the world the aims and achievements of the global Organisation.

Then, in 1972, the Assembly instituted a World Development Information Day (WDID).

Coinciding with UN Day on October 24 – and first ‘observed’ in 1973 – WDID is a special occasion on which stakeholders across the world are tasked with raising awareness of development problems – and the need to strengthen international co-operation in seeking to solve and otherwise surmount them.

October 24 was further recognized as the date on which the International Development Strategy for the 2nd Nations Development Decade (1971-1980) was adopted in 1970.

With some 193 sovereign states as its members – and the likes of the Vatican City and State of Palestine as non-member permanent observers – the United Nations is today the largest, most internationally-represented, and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world.

Indeed, we have the UN (and the Good God) to thank for succeeding to prevent another world war for 75 years so far – which its precursor, the League of Nations (1920-1945) could only do haphazardly for 19 years. So: ‘Happy United Nations Day and World Development Information Day,’ we boldly say.