United Nations

1. What is the UN's predecessor organisation

which failed after being created at the end of
WWI?
The correct answer was The League of
Nations
The idea was drafted by U.S President
Woodrow Wilson, but failed because it had no
army to back up its stance.
2. In which city was the United Nations
created?
The correct answer was San Francisco
3. What was the 'spark' to the First World
War?
The correct answer was The Assassination
of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
4. How many active councils are there in the
United Nations?
Your Answer: 5
There are 6 councils...but the Trusteeship
council has had no effectiveness in the UN
since 1997.
5. Who was the first woman appointed to the
post of Deputy-Secretary-General of the UN?
The correct answer was Louise Frechette
She was appointed in 1999.
1. Who inspired the creation of the United
Nations?
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. Winston Churchill
d. Margaret Thatcher
Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a need for a
'trusteeship of the powerful' after the League
of Nations had failed to prevent World War II,
and in 1945, the United Nations came into
being.
2. At the beginning of 'Operation Iraqi
Freedom', how many member nations did the
UN have?
a. 191
b. 151
c. 200
d. 199
The original 51 member nations has grown to
191 in 2003, representing nearly all the
countries of the world.

3. What does the United Nations Charter call

for?
a. To prevent succeeding generations
going to war
b. To give succeeding generations the
option to go to war
c. To stop succeeding generations
suffering from war
d. To save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war
The United Nations Charter, signed by 51
nations in 1945, calls on the United Nations
'to save succeeding generations from the
scourge of war' and gives it the authority to
approve military action if deemed necessary.
4. Which member nations are permanent
members of the United Nations Security
Council?
a. Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the
USA
b. Britain, France, Germany, Russia and
the USA
c. Britain, China, France, Russia and
the USA
d. China, France, Germany, Russia and
the USA
The five permanent members of the UN
Security Council can cancel any measure with
a veto. They can also abstain, to express
reservations about a resolution without
blocking it. The Council has a total of 15
members, 10 are elected by the General
Assembly for two-year terms. The Presidency
of the Council rotates monthly following the
alphabetical listing of the member States'
names in English!
5. Which five nations have argued that they
deserve a greater say in the operation of the
Security Council?
a. Brazil, Germany, India, Japan and
Nigeria
b. Argentina, Germany, India, Japan
and Nigeria
c. Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa
and Nigeria
d. Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India and
Japan
Brazil and India, which joined the UN in
October 1945 (India as part of the British
Commonwealth prior to Independence in
1947) and Nigeria, which joined in October
1960, whose populations are far greater than
those of France and Britain, have argued that
they deserve a greater say in the operation of

the Security Council, as have economic

powers such as Germany whose membership
of the Security Council ends in December
2004 and Japan, who joined the UN in
December 1956.
6. In which two years has the United Nations
sanctioned full-scale wars?
a. 1950 and 1991
b. 1950 and 1993
c. 1945 and 1990
d. 1952 and 1989
Along with dozens of peacekeeping and
monitoring operations, the United Nations
sanctioned both the Korean War in 1950 and
the Gulf War in 1991.
7. In which four world areas was the United
Nations undertaking peace keeping
operations in 2002?
a. Africa, Asia, North America and The
Middle East
b. Asia, Africa, South America and The
Middle East
c. Europe, North America, South America
and The Middle East
d. Africa, Asia, Europe and The
Middle East
In Africa the United Nations peace keepers
are active in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone and
Western Sahara; in Asia, they are active in
East Timor and on the India-Pakistan border;
in Europe they are represented in Cyprus,
Georgia and Kosovo; and, in the Middle East,
they are operating in the Golan Heights, on
the Iraq-Kuwait border and in Lebanon.
8. Which of the following is not one of the
main 'organs' of the United Nations?
a. Humanitarian Affairs Council
b. The Secretariat
c. The International Court of Justice
d. The General Assembly
The main organs of the United Nations are the
General Assembly, the International Court of
Justice, the Secretariat, the Security Council,
the Economic and Social Council and the
Trusteeship Council.
9. Which of the following is a specialized
agency of the United Nations?
a. World Health Organization
b. The Salvation Army
c. Red Cross
d. International Fund for Animal Welfare

The United Nations has fourteen specialised

agencies coordinated by the Economic and
Social Council. Some of the best known are
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the
World Health Organisation (WHO).
10. The United Nations was created in San
Francisco and has its headquarters in New
York.
a. True
b. False
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met
in San Francisco at the United Nations
Conference on International Organisation.
Poland, the 51st original member of the
United Nations was not represented at the
Conference. The United Nations Headquarters
is at First Avenue and 46th Street, New York.
11. What date is United Nations' Day?
a. 24 June
b. 24 October
c. 24 February
d. 24 December
The United Nations officially came into
existence on 24 October 1945, when the
United Nations Charter was ratified by China,
France, Russia, Britain, the USA and a
majority of other signatories.
12. Who was the first Secretary-General of
the United Nations?
a. Javier Perez de Cuellar
b. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
c. Dag Hammarskjold
d. Trygve Lie
Serving his term from 1946 to 1952 when he
resigned, Trygve Lie led the Norwegian
delegation to the inaugural United Nations
Conference in 1945.
13. In what year was the flag of the United
Nations officially approved?
a. 1945
b. 1950
c. 1946
d. 1947
The United Nations emblem, a map of the
world centred on the North Pole with a wreath
of olive branches and five concentric circles is
shown in white, centred on a light blue
background on the official flag.

14. A United Nations entity, UNAIDS is an

acronym for what?
a. Joint United Nations Program on
HIV/AIDS
b. United Nations Aid International
c. United Nations AIDS Program
d. United Nations Asiatic
Interdenominational Service
In February 2003 the Executive Director of
UNAIDS stated that realising human rights is
fundamental to the global fight against AIDS
and went on to say that action to combat
discrimination against people living with
HIV/AIDS or AIDS-related issues were to be
discussed in Geneva.
15. Where does the International Court of
Justice sit?
a. Geneva, Switzerland
b. The Hague, Netherlands
c. New York, USA
d. Berlin, Germany
The principal judicial organ of the United
Nations sits at the Peace Palace in The Hague
and began working in 1946, when it replaced
the Permanent Court of International Justice
which had operated from the Peace Palace
since 1922.
1. On what date was the United Nations
established?
a. August 18, 1945
b. June 12, 1945
c. October 24, 1945
d. November 28, 1945
The UN was established and went into force
on October 24, 1945.
2. This was the second multi-nation
organization established in the 20th century.
What is the name of the first?
Answer: League of Nations
Other accepted answers: The League of
Nations
The League of Nations was established by the
Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
3. Who was the first secretary-general of the
United Nations?
a. Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden
b. Kurt Waldheim of Austria
c. U Thant of Burma
d. Trygvie Lie of Norway

4. The security council consists of 15 seats, of

which five are permanent. Which of these
countries does not have a permanent seat?
a. China
b. India
c. France
d. United Kingdom
India does not have a permanent seat. The
other two permanent seats belong to the
Russian Confederation and the United States.
5. The United Nations has its headquarters in
New York City. It also has three offices in other
cities in the world. Can you name one?
Answer: Geneva
Other accepted answers: Vienna Nairobi
Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. The United
Nations also operates field stations in other
cities around the world.
6. Which of these countries was not an
original member in 1945?
a. Argentina
b. Italy
c. Poland
d. Greece
Italy became a member in 1955.
7. Which of these countries was an original
member in 1945?
a. Finland
b. Iraq
c. Sweden
d. Spain
Sweden was admitted in 1946 and Finland
and Spain in 1955.
8. How many original member nations signed
the charter of the United Nations back in
1945?
a. 58
b. 28
c. 51
d. 39
51 Nations signed the Charter of the United
Nations on October 24, 1945.
9. The United Nations issues its own postage
stamps. True or False?
a. True
b. False
10. Child actress Shirley Temple was once a
United States representative to the United
Nations. True or False?
a. True

b. False

True. Shirley Temple Black was appointed as a

U.S. representative to the United Nations in
1969.