UNITED NATIONS, A BRIEF OVERVIEW

UNITED NATIONS

The Name UN: 

• Coined by the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• 1st used on 1 January, 1942 during 2nd world war in UN Declaration.

Officially Established: 

• In October 1945, when 50 countries got their representatives together at San Francisco and the UN Charter was formulated.
• These 50 states are often referred to as the "Original Members" or the "Founding Members" of the UN.

Total Member States: 193

Non-Member States:

• The UN Charter dictates as to who can be a member of the UN and who cannot.
• A total of 54 States are not full members of and are partially recognized by the UN.
• Some states worth mentioning here are as follows.

• Palestine and Kosovo are non members due to lack of International support. Palestine however was given the observer status by the UN in 2012.
• Taiwan, initially a part of the UN left in 1971 when the Republic of China became a member.
• Vatican City is a small state with a small population and holds permanent observer status at the UN and is not a member by its own choice.

Official Languages of the UN

The SIX languages that are officially the part of UN include the following.

1. English
2. French
3. Russian
4. Arabic
5. Chinese
6. Spanish

UN Logo

• Designed by a team lead by Oliver Lincoln Lundquist in 1945.
• The Emblem comprises of a World Map with a wreath surrounding it.
• It received approval on 7th December, 1946.

Nobel Peace Price

• Received Nobel Peace Prize 11 times since its inception.

Main Heads/Organs: 

• General Assembly

• Develops policies and all 193 nations are represented in it. It thus is the only organ occupying the status of Universal representation within the United Nations.           
• The annual General Assembly session is held in New York every year in September.

• Security Council

• Responsible for maintaining peace and security in the international realm.
• 15 members, out of which 5 hold permanent membership status while 10 are such members whose membership is temporary.
• Has a President that is changed every month.

• Economic and Social Council

• involved in reviewing policies, collaboration between the states, conducting discussions and talks on different issues and implementation of goals related to development.
• 54 members that are appointed for 3 year terms by the General Assembly.

• Trusteeship Council

• Created in 1945 for the sole purpose of supervising 11 Trust Territories.
• Aim was to make the Trust Territories independent and self reliant.
• The purpose was achieved by 1994 and the members agreed to meet only if deemed necessary.

• International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• The only body within the United Nations that is principally takes up the Judicial role.
• Located at the Peace Palace in Hague, Netherlands.
• Gives advice and verdict on international disputes and matters filed in or referred to it.

• Secretariat

• Responsible for carrying out the everyday tasks of the United Nations.
• Consists of a huge staff of over tens of thousands of people from all over the world and the Secretary General.
• The Secretary General if appointed by the UN General Assembly for five years. His term can be renewed.

BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY THE EASY WAY

Vocabulary enables us to Interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future.

(Jim Rohn)

Whether you need it for better understanding of literature, for improving your conversational abilities, for enhancing your perception of things, for an exam or for grooming your personality, Building vocabulary requires a dedicated effort. 

Determination and Perseverance is the key

Once you decide on improving your vocabulary, you need to make sure that you do so on a regular basis, Starting and giving up immediately or losing interest will not benefit you in any way and so once you have made up your mind, you need to keep your nose to the grindstone. This holds true not just for enhancing your linguistic skills but for anything that you wish to achieve in life. 

A few Tips and Tricks on enhancing your vocabulary are listed below.

1. Read Newspapers, Magazines and Books

• Develop a habit of reading. If you cannot read a lot or if you are not a fan of reading books and other stuff, just read one small paragraph at a time.
• Highlight an interesting word and note it down in your word journal or in an index card.

2. Using Post it Notes or keeping Flash or Index Cards in office or at home

This technique is what helped me the most in improving my vocabulary. 

• Write the word and its meaning with an example on a Post it note and stick it where you can read it even if you don't want to. Like on the fridge, on the study table, etc.
• Write the word on a flash card and keep the card with you. You can read them even when doing some house or office chore, while watching TV or doing office work.

3. Maintaining a word Journal

• Grab a notebook, a small diary or if that is too much trouble then just use the notes app on your mobile phone and write down the words that you find interesting.
• Keep reading them everyday so that the words become a permanent part of your memory. 
• Try using them in sentences.

4. Write More

• Write Letters and use the new words in your sentences
• If not letters then write Articles or Essays. That will give you the added benefit of improving your writing skills.
• If you hate writing then at least you can Text. Instead of using slangs and abbreviations, use complete and proper words while writing texts to your family and friends and add new words wherever you can. 

5. Download a Vocab app

• An application on your phone that notifies you of a new word each day, such as the app by www.dictionary.com, which is easily available for downloading on most android and iOS devices, have a widget that gives you a new word to learn daily.

6. Watching English movies with Subtitles

• This is something that will serve a dual purpose. While providing entertainment, it enables to build your conversational skills and learn new words and ways of using those in sentences.

Building vocabulary needs constant revision of words because if you don't use the words, you forget them. Incorporating the newly learned words in your conversations, either they are face to face or on the phone, is what will help you in the long term. 

THE TIMELINE FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONVENTION (NWC)

A multilateral treaty that has been proposed to ban Nuclear Weapons is what the Nuclear Weapons Convention is all about. This is somewhat similar to the conventions on Biological and Chemical weapons. 

According to Arms Control Association Pakistan is a signatory to Biological and Chemical Weapons Convention but has not signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty as yet.

FAILED ATTEMPTS

The cold war left all parties across the globe to end the creation and proliferation of Nuclear weapons. A few proposals were put forward at that time which did not lead to any favorable results. 

These include but are not limited to the following,

• Baruch Plan (1946)
• the Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting in Reykjavik (1986)
• Rajiv Gandhi’s action plan presented to the UN General Assembly (1988)

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

Over the years, the following developments took place.

• During the 1950s, UK and the US continued conducting nucleur tests.
• In July 1955, Russell–Einstein manifesto was issued which warned of the hazards of using nuclear weapons.
• During the 1960s, France and China conducted Nuclear tests.
• On 1st July 1968, 1st Non Proliferation treaty was signed that lead to nuclear disarmament and a ban on future acquisition of nuclear weapons of the parties involved.
• During the 1970's India conducted a nuclear test and a Nuclear explosion in the South Indian Ocean possibly by South Aftrica took place.
• During the 1990s, South Africa, South East Asia, Africa and Ukraine turned into Nuclear free states.
• At the end of Cold War, UN General Assembly posed the following question and asked the International Court of Justice its opinion on the matter by adopting a resolution 49/46K on 15th December, 1994.

 Is there any circumstance in which the International law permits the threat of or the usage of Nuclear weapons?

The International court of Justice (IJC) responded on 8th July 1996 by announcing the following statement,

 “there exists a legal obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its respects.” 

• On 24th September, 1996 China, UK, France, United Nations, United States and Russia signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which India refused to put its signatures on.
• In the year 1997, a draft was made by a group of experts and was presented to the UN General Assembly by Costa Rica for discussion. It was updated and used in 2007 as the Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC) and was based on different chemical and biological conventions.
• In the year 1998, India and Pakistan conducted Nuclear Tests.
• In 2006, 123 state parties including Pakistan and India asked for starting up negotiations in Nuclear Weapons Convention regarding banning the acquisition, manufacture, testing, stockpiling, transferring and usage, threat and proliferation of Nuclear weapons.
• In 2007, ICAN (International Campaign to abolish Nuclear Weapons) created an improved model of Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC).
• in 2008, UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon presented a five point plan regarding disarmament of nuclear weapons by countries.
• In 2009, the first set of recommendations for Nuclear disarmament in a Nuclear convention were presented in draft form. It went unsuccessful.
• In May, 2009 a program of work, entitled “Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament” was approved and thus adopted by the CD (Conference on Disarmament). 
• In September 2009, The United Nations adopted the Resolution 1887 which was proposed by the United States. Two more resolutions were adopted by the UN in the same year regarding Nuclear Disarmament.
• In 2010, member states of Nuclear Proliferation Treaty adopted the Final Document proposed by the NPT Review Conference.
• In 2013, "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act" was Introduced which called for elimination of Nuclear arms in all countries by 2020.
• In 2014, 164 member Inter Parliamentary union approved a resolution that urged countries to start negotiation regarding Nuclear disarmament as soon as possible.
• In 2016, different sessions of open-ended working group (OEWG) were held whereby proposals and negotiations on nuclear bans were carried out. Challenges regarding the imposition of the ban have been discussed as well.

The Nuclear Weapons Convention is still a matter of discussion at the United Nations and at the Conference of Disarmament (CD). More and more conferences are being conducted on the matter.

ORGANIZATIONS FOR REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION (SAARC, SCO)

One of the most significant developments in the world trading system came up with the emergence of the phenomenon of Regional Cooperation during the 1990s.

This Regional Cooperation,

o   is a way of gaining economic security and developments within the regions involved.

o   helps group remote areas of the world so that the nations by entering into regional agreements can benefit from each other’s assets and resources.

o   facilitates competition among countries and helps them attract more investment and state of the art technology.

SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC)

SAARC is an organization for both political and economic cooperation between eight member countries in the South Asian region. Its history and other important aspects are listed below.

1.     Establishment: At Dhaka in 1985

2.     Secretariat: Kathmandu, Nepal

3.    Secretary General: Arjun Bahadur Thapa

4.     Members:

·        India                   ·        Pakistan

·        Sri Lanka            ·        Bangladesh

·        Nepal                  ·        Bhutan

·        Maldives            ·        Afghanistan

5.     Observers:

· Australia, China, The European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States of America.

6.     SAARC Recognized Bodies

·        SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry

·  SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law

·        SAFA (South Asian Federation of Accountants)

·        SAF (South Asia Foundation)

·    SAIEVAC (South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children

·        FOSWAL (Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature)

7.     Objectives of SAARC

•       To eliminate all forms of Corruption
•      To fast-track the growth of the economy
•     To promote cultural and social growth of the members
•   To Buildup trust between the regional states and creation of mutual reliance

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION 

(SCO)

   SCO is basically an organization formed between the governments of six countries whereby Pakistan acts as an observer state. This organization has broadened its goals since the time of its inception and is considered as an essential forum for boosting confidence and strengthening friendly relations among the member states. 

1.    Initially Named as: Shanghai Five (Inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001 changed the number of member states to 6)

2.     Renamed to: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2001)

3.     Establishment: At Shanghai in 1996

4.     Two Headquarters:

·        Secretariat: Beijing, China

·Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS): Tashkent, Uzbekistan

5.     Secretary General: Dmitry Fyodorovich Mezentsev (Russian)

6.     Members: 6 member states

·        China             ·        Russia

·        Kazakhstan    ·        Kyrgyzstan

·        Tajikistan       ·        Uzbekistan
  2 Acceding States 
·         Pakistan 
 ·        India
(Signed memorandum of obligations on  24 June, 2016 at Tashkent)
(Expected to become full members by 2017)

7.     Observers: 4 observer states

·        Belarus          ·        Iran

·        Mangolia       ·        Afghanistan

8.     Objectives of SCO

·        To work on improving the security situation in the member states.

·  To fight the three evils, namely “Terrorism, Extremism and Separatism”.

·       To demilitarize the borders of member states and thus build confidence.

·        To share Intelligence between member states with the purpose of countering all anti state agents.

·        To promote economic initiatives in the region, e.g. Eurasian Economic Union (Lead by Russia) or Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative (Lead by China)

·       To collaborate in order to avoid international conflicts and offer and implement peace solutions.

The boy who lived!

How do you define SHOCK? TRAUMA? According to The Merriam Webster dictionary, Shock is a mental or emotional disturbance that is sudden or violent. Healthline defines it as a state that leads to a physical shutdown. So is that it? Does that child reflect Shock? Trauma according to Dictionary.com is an experience that leads to psychological pain or injury.

Or is it Numbness? Indifference? Or a sign of acclimation to the terrifying environment in which he has been living? I honestly cannot tell. Omran!!! Sigh! How old do you think he would be? 3? 4? 5? Did he deserve this? Wiping blood and dust off his tiny hands onto the chair and that hollow expression!!! The blood on his innocent face, his dusty hair and oh those eyes!!! It is unforgettable and will numb the mind of any sane human. But he is not the only one. There are thousands of other humans, children, women and men suffering at the hands of these Terrorists, not just in Syria but all over the world. Who are they really? 

How do they do it? How do they justify themselves? Do they have no empathy? No soul? Why don't we do anything? Do WE have a soul? So many questions and absolutely no answers.

This child is a reminder of how much the people in Syria, in Palestine and and in Kashmir are suffering because of the ongoing conflicts. People who stay and those who try to migrate in search for some peace and solace almost always face the same fate i.e. More tragedy and death. According to reports, since the start of the war in Syria, the number of children who have died as a result of the conflict in the city Aleppo, where this particular attack took place, alone is about 4,500 and is mostly attributable to the imperialistic and selfish designs of the US.

People such as Donald Trump and his followers want to ban the entry of these refugees, these innocent children, into the country. Thus refusing them the right to a better life. But no one is  willing to take responsibility and whatever is being done to stop this war is not enough and is obviously causing more harm than good.

Will this child and others who manage to survive these atrocities will ever be able to lead normal lives? I don't think so. This trauma and pain is going to build up hatred and animosity in the boy's heart. He and others like him have only seen blood and death and if not all then at least some of them will want to seek vengeance and justice in one form or another. They know violence and they might eventually tread on the same path as that of the perpetrators of these crimes because these incidents will keep haunting them almost all their lives.

#Omran

Will this picture stir something positive? Some kind of a longterm impact? Will it lead to anything beyond this short term outrage?

Individuality is an ugly illusion. One cannot survive in isolation. People live in communities and helping only the ones WE feel deserve it is wrong. It is high time that we raise our voice, make our contributions and put a stop to this catastrophe. Helping everyone without prejudice, without any consideration to race, gender and religion is how we can save ourselves and thus save humanity and our future generations.

Starting small is the key. 

Pakistan and India, The best of Friends

The rivalry between Pakistan and india dates back to the Pre-Independence era. History is a testament to the fact that everytime Pakistan is at the brink of a crisis or is engaged in some kind of celebration, India tends to remind the Pakistanis of its ominous presence either by opening fire at the line of control or by some other theatrical stunt. 

The same happened on 14th August when while people in all provinces of Pakistan were celebrating the independence day, India revealed its nefarious mindset once again by starting an unprovoked firing session at the Line of Control. The Pakistan army obviously responded with full might and silenced the Indian armed forces. On recording protest towards this uncalled for firing and demanding a reason for it from the Indian DG, no proper response was obtained as is the norm of Indian forces and its government. 

This is nothing new as Indian forces have a proven record of behaving unjustly and irrationally towards Pakistan but since Pakistan as a part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has come into focus, the dislike and contempt of Indian officials towards Pakistan has been at its peak. 

Another obvious and never ending bone of contention between the two countries is the issue of kashmir, which unless is resolved, peace between the two will be impossible to achieve. India once again, instead of repenting on and apologising for its inhumane treatment of the Kashmiris fighting for their rights, has levelled allegations against Pakistan for engaging in extremist activities in and against India. These recent allegations were no doubt an attempt made by the Indian government to divert the attention of the world away from the atrocities committed by them against the Muslims in occupied Kashmir.

Funnily Narendra Modi in his statement ascribed responsibility of the incidents against the Kashmiris to ''some deviant and corrupt" people and not the government of India. What he needs to understand however is that a few perverted people without the support of an entire army cannot impose stringent rules on people and impose permanent curfews in the entire Kashmire valley. A few corrupt people can't cause more than 60 deaths in a single month coupled with causing injuries and permanent damage to hundreds of innocent Kashmiris by using the so called harmless Metal pellets.

Injuries caused to a Kashmiri boy by Metal pellets
Source: http://www.thequint.com/kashmir-after-burhan-wani/2016/07/13/wani-burhan-kashmir-violence-srinagar-metal-pellets-crowd-control-crpf-indian-army-stone-pelters-eye-surgery

Instead of abusing its power in Kashmir, if India fulfills the plebicite obligation imposed by the United Nation as a permanent solution to the plight of Kashmiris, Kashmir can become a gateway of friendship between the two countries. But neither of the two is willing to backdown and the ultimate sufferers remain the people of Kashmir whose resilient spirit is the only thing keeping them alive amidst such aggression.

We need to act as humans and if the Indians are not willing to back down, maybe the other side of the dispute should. Maybe that would  bring an end to the long enmity between the nations and most importantly put a stop to the miseries of the Kashmiris who have suffered enough already. 

CHILD ABDUCTION IN PAKISTAN: A Humanitarian Crisis

"A child is an uncut diamond"

(Austin O' Malley)

Children are little angels, innocent of any evil with no predujice and vices in their pure hearts. These flowers are unaware of the heinous intentions of the people surrounding them, engrossed in their own worlds, not hurting anyone, not inflicting pain on anyone and being nothing but a source of joy for all. 

However, the world has turned into such a dark and horrid place where people have lost their humanity altogether. Innocent children are now being targeted all over the world for various reasons such as to earn ransom by kidnapping them, to use them for beggary, to sell them to the highest of bidders for prostitution and such and/or to abduct and murder them for their body parts and organs. 

“It's the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.” 

(Frank Warren)

While cases of Child abduction and abuse is not that rare of an occurance in Pakistan, it has now risen to a level that is alarming to even the most ignorent of people. About 600 cases of child abduction have been reported in the past couple of months alone, mostly from different areas of Punjab, particularly Lahore. The police, however, is in denial claiming that the media is exaggerating the numbers which is obviously not true because a new kidnapping case emerges everyday with parents protesting sometimes by burning tires on the streets and complaining that the police and the government is unresponsive and not doing their best to find their kids.

The supreme court took notice and has called for senior police officers and IG police Punjab, Mushtaq Sukhera, to present a report on all the events involved. The opposition parties, such as Tehreek-e-insaf, have decided to raise the matter in the Punjab Assembly in order to find a solution to the burgeoning issue. The government has responded by announcing the introduction of a digital Child Abduction Alert System, that would have a developed database of missing children and will work by disseminating this gathered data to the relevant officials in order to make it easy for them to trace the children. Moreover, training programs for volunteers who will raise awareness and provide guidance to the public at large on how to avoid kidnappings will also be initiated by the government. The Prime Minister played his part by instructing concerned officials to increase sharing of intelligence and enhance cooperation between the federal and provincial units to combat the increasing trend of child abduction.

The question that comes up in the mind of all is if this is enough? Giving a statement, compiling reports and plans on introducing a new software, etc. are not going to bring a child back. The police is adamant and no efforts are being made to improve this department. The police are there to provide us protection but time and again they have failed to do so.  How can i person sleep peacefully at night or remain calm after dropping his kid at school in a country where everything is so unpredictable and where the police fails to take responsibility for protecting the citizens. What are they there for?

Right now, however, one thing that the parents can do is to teach their children about safety and personal protection and about being cautious without adding to their fears and scaring them. They should be taught to

• Avoid talking to strangers and accepting gifts from them
• Avoid going to any place with a stranger no matter how tempting he/she makes it seem. 
• To scream and run if someone tries to follow them or force them to come somewhere with them.
• Discuss it with you or any other trustworthy adult in case they feel scared and uneasy about something or someone
• Never leave the house without permission
• Never open the door for a stranger
• Know their home number, address and your contact number 

These tips should be remembered and taught to the children repeatedly as a mantra so that they remain cautious and remember what to do if a bad situation comes up.

Nothing can be more tragic for a parent than losing his child. In our society the unfortunate reality remains that people and government both are numb to other people's problem and woes. Lack of empathy and concern for the well being of others and active engagement in selfish pursuits is the norm in Pakistan. Only when a tragedy strikes close to home is when someone wakes up a little. Media alone can do nothing if the people themselves do not fight for their rights, safety and protection being one of the most fundamental ones. The need of the hour is to not ignore what is happening, to unite and to urge the government and all others involved to ensure the safe arrival of the lost ones, to prevent future incidents and punish the perpetrators in the severest way possible so as to set an example for anyone who dares to even think of playing with the lives of our children.