UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS. Full form United Nations Organization. Short forms UN, U.N., UNO, U.N.O. An international organization of nation-states set up in 1945 as successor to the League of Nations, with the aim of promoting peace, security, co-operation, and the self-determination of nations. Its headquarters are at the UN Building in New York. Its name originated as a cover term for the countries which fought against the Axis in the Second World War. When first constituted, there were 51 members; in 1995, there were 186 members (most of the sovereign nations of the world). The UN has a wide range of institutions (such as the General Assembly and Security Council) and agencies (such as the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, and the Food and Agricultural Association, FAO). Its five official languages are English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese; of these, English is the most widely used, notably in peacekeeping and aid projects. Official UN documents in English follow British print conventions; submissions by the US follow AmE print conventions, but any UN comments on them will be in the BrE style. In 1977, the US spacecraft Voyager One left Earth on a journey to Jupiter and beyond. On board was a recorded greeting on a golden disk to any sentient beings whom the craft might one day encounter in deep space. On it, Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian, spoke in English. He began: ‘As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, an organization of a hundred and forth-seven member states who represent almost all of the human inhabitants of the planet Earth, I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet.’ This was followed by brief messages in 55 other languages.