40 Years of The United Nations October 24, 1985.

The year 1985 marks the 40 years of the United Nations. Born out of ashes and horrors of the Second World War, inspired by the determination of peoples to put an end to armed conflicts and promote peace(by achieving advances for mankind in the social, humanitarian and economic fields,) the United Nations was to play a vital role in international relations.
The purposes and principles of the United Nations as stated in 1945 in its Charter were as follows:
1.To maintain international peace and to that end take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace,
2. To develop friendly relations amongst nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedom for alt,
4. To be a Centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. The Charter embodies the determination of the peoples of the world to institute a working system of international security and of co-operation for the economic and social advancement of all people. However, it does not provide either for a system of world government of supra-state as UN is not a world government, It does not legislate in the sense of enacting laws that nations must accept. The United Nations is meant to be a central instrument for the expression of the multilateral efforts of a system in which member states are sovereign and equal. It provides the machinery to help find solutions to disputes or problem and to deal with virtually any matter of concern to the international community.
The establishment and development of the United Nations system of Specialised Agencies and world programmes since 1945 has been an outstanding achievement of the last four decades.
The assistance provided by the UN system for development, excluding the World Bank now amounts to over $2000 million per year in which high priority is given to the low income countries with particular attention to the problems of the poorest of the poor.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with such Specialised Agencies as UNICEF, FAQ, UNESCO, WFP, etc., now represents an important source of economic and technical assistance for developing countries. Through the work of the Specialised Agencies, the UN is working constantly to expand education, to increase food production, to fight disease, to improve working conditions and help developing countries build industries, promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, outer space and the seas for the benefit of all mankind.
It is not only in the area of economic development that United Nations has achieved its most positive results but also in social domain where the goals of Justice and equal rights for individuals and for peoples have been pursued by the United Nations from its early days. One of the earlier achievements in this regard was the formulation by the UN of a Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is a historical proclamation of the fundamental rights and freedoms to which men and women every where are entitled, Every year, 10th December, is commemorated as Human Rights Day to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration by the General Assembly on 10th December.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations also plays a role to ensure protection of human rights through public appeals to governments on humanitarian consideration and through the use of "quiet diplomacy".
One of the main purposes of the United Nations is to preserve world peace. In many instances the United Nations has played an active-role in helping to resolve disputes between nations, reduce tension, prevent conflicts or put an end to fighting. This has been achieved through various means such as Security Council decisions ordering a cease-fire and setting up machinery to settle the underlying disputes-a compromise worked out by a mediation, quiet diplomatic contacts, good offices of the Secretary-General, Organization of peace-keeping forces or observer missions.
The Secretary-General in his address on 22 January f 985 said that "the real world in which UN has functioned--the world of great-Power tensions, the arms race, collisions of national interests, economic disparities, poverty and drought and famine --the UN has endeavoured strenuously, as much as its Member States permitted, to reduce the causes of tension and conflict, promote international equity, protect human rights and advance social and economic progress".
In connection with the 40 years of the United Nations the Secretary-General expressed the hope that this will provide a further occasion not only to review the performance of the Organization over the past four decades but above all, to encourage a re-dedication by Member States to the principles and purposes of the Charter to promote interest in the work of the organisation and support its efforts and to re-invigorate international co-operation in all fields of human endeavour.
To commemorate the 40 years of the United Nations Pakistan Post Office is issuing two commemorative postage stamps of denominations of Re. 1/- and Rs. 2/- on October 24,1985.