Jeremy Gilley feels that the United Nations (UN) is the closest thing we have to an organisation that unites the global community, and that we should do all we can to support it. Jeremy knew that a day of ceasefire and non-violence would have more meaning if it was established through the UN. Below is some information about the UN, the General Assembly, and Jeremy’s process in gaining support for a General Assembly Resolution calling for ceasefire and non-violence on 21 September annually.
At the end of World War II, 51 nations came together to create an organisation that would work for peace and prosperity across the whole world. The United Nations officially began on 24 October, 1945, dedicated to peace, justice, and the well-being of all people.
It enables countries of the world to work together to prevent conflict through negotiation and to address international problems together. Two important principles of the United Nations are that countries must try to settle their differences by peaceful means and avoid using force or threatening to use force.
The United Nations is based in New York, but it has branches in many parts of the world. The senior person who presides over the United Nations secretariat is called the Secretary-General.
Today (2010), there are 192 member states that meet in the General Assembly. All nations, whether small or large, have one vote, and the decisions they make are called Resolutions.
General Assembly Resolutions cannot be forced on any country, but they are vitally important because they represent the opinion of world governments.
The President of the General Assembly changes each year and comes from one of the member states.
In the film you saw Jeremy meeting Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General at that time. This was a very important meeting for Jeremy and signalled a turning point in his journey toward establishing a UN day of ceasefire and non-violence. However, Jeremy still needed the support of two governments: one to sponsor (the United Kingdom) and another to co-sponsor (Costa Rica) a Resolution.
As you saw in the film, the resolution was adopted by all the governments represented at the UN.
Find out what you can about the work of the United Nations. You can start with its website,
www.un.org/aboutun/untoday/
IMPORTANT!! Don’t forget the THREE STEPS TO PEACE ONE DAY Ask your teacher about this.
Young People can take the lead. YOU can make a difference. Resource H1 – Uniting Nations Worksheet 65
Uniting Nations Where It All Began
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