Treaties and international law

The UN negotiates treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to avoid potential international disputes. Disputes over use of the oceans may be adjudicated by a special court.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main court of the UN. Its purpose is to adjudicate disputes among states. The ICJ began in 1946 and continues to hear cases. Important cases include:

• Congo v. France, where the Democratic Republic of Congo accused France of illegally detaining former heads of state accused of war crimes; and Nicaragua vs. United States, where Nicaragua accused the United States of illegally arming the Contras (this case led to the Iran-Contra affair).
• In 1993, in response to "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslavia, the UN Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In 1994, in response to the Rwandan genocide, the council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The jurisprudence of these two courts established the current understanding of rape committed in furtherance of an armed conflict as a war crime.
• In 1998 the General Assembly called a conference in Rome for the establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC), at which the "Rome Statute" was adopted. The International Criminal Court became operational in 2002 and began its first case in 2006. It is the first permanent international court charged with trying those who commit the most serious crimes under international law including war crimes and genocide. However, the ICC is functionally independent of the UN both in terms of personnel and financing, although some meetings of the ICC governing body, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, are held at the UN. There is a "relationship agreement" between the ICC and the UN that governs how the two institutions regard each other legally.
• The UN, in 2002, established the Special Court for Sierra Leone in response to the atrocities committed during that country's civil war. There is also a SCIU (Serious Crimes Investigation Unit) for East Timor.

Notable United Nations figures

Many famous humanitarians and celebrities have been involved with the United Nations including: Audrey Hepburn, Eleanor Roosevelt, Danny Kaye, Jay-Z, Peter Ustinov, Bono, Jeffrey Sachs, Clint Borgen, Angelina Jolie, Mother Teresa, Shakira, and Nicole Kidman for UNIFEM.

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