The year 2006 marks the 61st Anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations.  The Government of Lesotho and the resident UN agencies celebrated United Nations Day on Tuesday 24^th October 2006 at the National Convention Centre in Maseru.

The commemoration began at 11:00 am with a tour of exhibition stalls of different UN Agencies for participants to familiarize themselves with the documented good practices of the UN in Lesotho. This was followed by the delivery of UN Secretary General’s Message by the UN Resident Coordinator and a keynote address in response to the SG’s message by the Government. Government Officials, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, and participants from the NGOs, academic institutions as well as the general public attended the event.

Background

Lesotho became a member of the United Nations on 17^th October 1966, after gaining Independence from Britain. The celebration of UN Day 2006, therefore, marks the 40^th Anniversary of the country’s membership of the UN.  The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, and came into force on 24 October 1945. Today, almost every nation in the world (191 Member States) participates in the activities of this international body, dedicated to humanity.

The Charter is the constituting instrument of the United Nations, articulating the rights and obligations of Member States, and establishing the Organization's organs and procedures. It embraces the central role of the United Nations in addressing some of the most profound issues facing the future of humankind, namely: the promotion of peace and security, development, and human rights. 

In order to stress the Charter's importance, in 1947 the General Assembly of the U N passed a resolution that “October 24 shall hereafter be officially called United Nations Day, and shall be devoted to making known to the people of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations, and to gaining their support for the work of the United Nations”. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter. Since it is a constituent treaty, all signatories are bound by its articles; and the preamble of the Charter is at the pinnacle of the recent Secretary General’s Report to the 2005 World Summit, entitled "in larger freedom". 

This year, the UN in Lesotho has chosen the theme “Towards the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals” – a reminder to all of us about a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets agreed by world leaders in September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit.  World leaders agreed on measures for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, discrimination against women as well as strengthening of partnerships for development.

Source: UNDP