24 联合国日 United Nations Day

The 24th of October is United Nations Day. It was on this day in 1945 that the U.N. was created. The day became a holiday in 1971. The U.N. General Assembly decided there needed to be a day to make the work of the U.N. better known around the world. It stated this day "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for its work”. Furthermore, the General Assembly suggested that United Nations Day “shall be an international holiday” and recommended that it should become a public holiday in all United Nations member states. The day is now part of United Nations Week, which runs from 20 to 26 October.

The www.un.org website provides a summary of the organization’s history. It is an international organization founded after the Second World War by 51 countries. It was then, and is now, “committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights”. The site says: “The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe.” The U.N. is best known for peacekeeping, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, but it has many other functions that “affect our lives and make the world a better place”. These include environment protection, clearing landmines, child protection and much, much, much more.

联合国日（United Nations Day） 1942年1月1日，正在对德、意、日法西斯作战的、以美英苏中领衔的“四大国”等26个国家的代表在美国首都华盛顿发表了《联合国家共同宣言》。当时，“ 联合国” 这一名称是时任美国总统富兰克林·罗斯福设想出来的，1941年12月7日，太平洋战争爆发以后，时任美国总统罗斯福和英国首相丘吉尔为加强所有反法西斯国家的统一行动，拟定了一个反法西斯同盟各国共同遵守的原则，并征得了苏联的赞同。1942年1月1日，正在对德、意、日法西斯作战的美、英、苏、中等26国代表在华盛顿发表了《联合国宣言》。当时，“联合国家”只是作为对德、意、日法西斯进行战争的各国的总称。