The United Nations Overview

The United Nations

• The UN, a truly global organization, has near universal membership with offices and missions around the world.
• UN Purposes:
  • The UN Charter's preamble and Article 1 outline the UN's comprehensive purposes.
• UN Principles:
  • The UN is guided by principles outlined in Article 2 of the UN Charter.

UN Structure and Main Bodies

• Article 7 of the UN Charter defines the six UN principal organs:
  • The Secretariat
  • The General Assembly (GA)
  • The Security Council (SC)
  • The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
  • The Trusteeship Council
  • The International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The Secretariat

• The Secretariat is responsible for the UN's day-to-day operations.
• It is led by the Secretary-General, the UN's chief administrative officer, who serves as the UN's face to the world.
• The Secretariat has approximately 35,000 staff members, working independently from member states.

The General Assembly

• The General Assembly (GA) is outlined in Chapter IV of the UN Charter and has a broad range of competences, including:
  • Membership: All UN member states.
  • Decision-making:
    • "Important questions" require a two-thirds majority vote (Article 18, paragraph 2).
    • "Other questions" are decided with a simple majority vote (Article 18, paragraph 3).
  • Output: The GA can issue non-binding resolutions, except in cases where resolutions have binding effect.

The Security Council

• The Security Council (SC) is outlined in Chapter V of the UN Charter and bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security (Article 25).
• The SC can take measures to restore or maintain international peace and security when it determines a threat to or breach of peace exists.
• Its members are divided into 10 non-permanent members ('E10') and 5 permanent members ('P5').
  • 'E10' membership is for two years.
  • 'P5' members have permanent membership.
• Decision-making:
  • Each member state has one vote (Article 27(1)).
  • Procedural matters require a simple majority of 9 out of 15 votes (Article 27(2)).
  • Other matters require 9 out of 15 votes including a "yes" vote from all five permanent members (Article 27(3)). This means a P5 member can veto the adoption of a resolution.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• ECOSOC is responsible for overseeing economic and social development and cooperation.
• It coordinates the work of UN specialized agencies.

The Trusteeship Council

• The Trusteeship Council is responsible for assisting and administering territories until their independence.
• This body is currently defunct.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• The ICJ is the UN's principal judicial organ, outlined in Chapter XIV of the UN Charter.
• Comprises 15 judges elected by the GA and SC, representing legal systems globally.
• The ICJ's responsibilities:
  • To adjudicate contentious cases between states.
  • To issue advisory opinions.
  • The court's decisions are binding upon the states involved.

Other UN Bodies

• The UN has subsidiary organs that are overseen and coordinated by the principal organs.
• These subsidiary organs, such as the International Law Commission (ILC) and the Human Rights Council (HRC), are focused on specific tasks but do not hold final responsibility over any UN matters.

Specialized Agencies

• Specialized agencies are autonomous international organizations that work with the UN.
• They are legally distinct from the UN, responsible for their own work and budgets.
• They focus on specific, often technical, subject matters and are coordinated by ECOSOC
• These specialized agencies include the:
  • International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • World Health Organization (WHO)

This quiz covers the fundamental aspects of the United Nations, including its purposes, principles, and main bodies as outlined in the UN Charter. Explore the roles of essential organs such as the General Assembly and the Secretariat, and gain insights into the UN's operations and global significance.