Structure of the United Nations

The Structure of the United Nations

The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations:

* General Assembly
* Security Council
* Economic and Social Council
* Trusteeship Council
* International Court of Justice
* Secretariat

(Pay particular attention to notes in parenthesis as they will give you a little more insight into the origins of the United Nations, I believe. Also take note that anything in parenthesis was taken

from the Academic American Encyclopedia)

List of members of the United Nations

General Assembly
(The underlying assumption in creating the General Assembly was that the airing of disputes among nations could contribute to the Pacific settlement of those disputes as well as to peaceful changes in the international system. )

The General Assembly, largest of the six basic organs, is the main deliberative organ. It is linked up with all the other organs and it elects part or all of their membership. It may discuss any subject within the scope of the charter, except those disputes that are being dealt with by the Security Council. After voting, it may pass on its recommendations to other organs or to member governments. It is composed of representatives of all Member States, each of which has one vote. Decisions on important questions, (listed in the charter), such as recommendations on peace and security, admission of new Members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority. Decisions on other questions are reached by a simple majority of those voting.

Functions and powers. Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the General Assembly include the following:
     * to consider and make recommendations on the principles of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments;
    * to discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, to make recommendations on it;
    * to discuss and, with the same exception, make recommendations on any question within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations;
    * to initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political co-operation, the development and codification of international law; the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all and international collaboration in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields;
    * to make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation, regardless of origin, which might impair friendly relations among nations;
     * to receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs:
     * to consider and approve the United Nations budget and to apportion the contributions among Members;
     * to elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council and those members of the Trusteeship Council that are elected: to elect jointly with the Security Council the Judges of the International Court of Justice; and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to appoint the Secretary-General.

Under the "Uniting for peace" resolution adopted by the General Assembly in November 1950, the Assembly may take action if the Security Council, because of a lack of unanimity of its permanent members, fails to act in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Assembly is empowered to consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures, including, in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression, the use of armed force when necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Sessions. The General Assembly's regular session begins each year on the third Tuesday in September and continues usually until mid-December. At the start of each regular session, the Assembly elects a new President, 21 Vice-Presidents and the Chairmen of the Assembly's seven Main Committees. To ensure equitable geographical representation, the presidency of the Assembly rotates each year among five groups of States: African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American, and Western European and other States.

In addition to its regular sessions, the Assembly may meet in special sessions at the request of the Security Council, of a majority of Members of the United Nations, or of one Member if the majority of Members concurs. Emergency special sessions may be called within 24 hours of a request by the Security Council on the vote of any nine members of the Council, or by a majority of the United Nations Members, or by one Member if the majority of Members concurs.

At the beginning of each regular session, the Assembly holds a general debate, in which Member States express their views on a wide range of matters of international concern. Because of the great number of questions which the Assembly is called upon to consider (154 separate agenda items at the regular and resumed 1988 session of the Assembly), the Assembly allocates most questions to its seven Main Committees:

First Committee (disarmament and related international security matters);
Special Political Committee;
Second Committee (economic and financial matters);
Third Committee (social, humanitarian and cultural matters) ;
Fourth Committee (decolonization matters);
Fifth Committee (administrative and budgetary matters);
Sixth Committee (legal matters).

There is also a General Committee, composed of the President and 21 Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the Chairmen of the seven Main Committees, and a Credentials Committee, appointed by the President at each session.

Some questions are considered only in plenary meetings, rather than in one of the Main Committees, and all questions are voted on in plenary meetings, usually towards the end of the regular session, after the Committees have completed their consideration of them and submitted draft resolutions to the plenary Assembly.
Voting in Committees is by a simple majority. In plenary meetings, resolutions may be adopted by acclamation, without objection or without a vote, or the vote may be recorded or taken by roll call.

While the decisions of the Assembly have no legally binding force for Governments, they carry the weight of world opinion on major international issues, as well as the moral authority of the world community.
The work of the United Nations year-round derives largely from the decisions of the General Assembly-that is to say, the will of the majority of the Members as expressed in resolutions adopted by the Assembly. That work is carried out:
      * by committees and other bodies established by the Assembly to study and report on specific issues, such as disarmament, outer space, peace-keeping, decolonization, human rights and apartheid;
       * in international conferences called for by the Assembly:
and
      * by the Secretariat of the United Nations-the Secretary-General and his staff of international civil servants.
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Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Every member of the United Nations is pledged to accept and carry out the Council's decisions.

The Security Council has 15 members. Five nations--the United Kingdom, China, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States--have permanent seats. Of the other ten, five are elected each year by the General Assembly for two-year terms; five retire each year.

Each member has one vote. On all routine (procedural) matters, approval requires nine "yes" votes. On all other matters, the nine "yes" votes must include the votes of all five permanent members.
This is the rule of "great Power unanimity", often referred to as the "veto"power. All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another. Thus, each of the Big Five has a veto power. Any one of them can block even the discussion of an action that it disapproves. A party to a dispute, however, must abstain from voting.

Any state, even if it is not a member of the United Nations, may bring a dispute to which it is a party to the notice of the Security Council. If the council finds there is a real threat to peace, or an actual act of aggression, it may call upon the members of the United Nations to cut communications with the countries concerned or break off trade relations (economic sanctions). If these methods prove inadequate, the charter states that the Council may take military action against the offending nation by air, sea, and land forces of the United Nations.

Every member of the United Nations was pledged by Article 43 to supply the Council with armed forces on its call. These forces were to be directed by a Military Staff Committee, consisting of the chiefs of staff (or their representatives) of the five permanent members.

Functions and powers.
Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

* to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations:
* to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
* to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
* to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
* to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
* to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force in order to pre- vent or stop aggression;
* to take military action against an aggressor;
* to recommend the admission of new Members and the terms on which States may become parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice:
* to exereise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";
* to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly. to elect the Judges of the International Court.

The Security Council is so organized as to be able to function continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at United Nations Headquarters. The Council may meet elsewhere than at Headquarters if it considers this advisable. In 1972, it held a session in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia, and the following year, it met in Panama City, Panama.

When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the Council's first action is usually to recommmend that the parties try to reach agreement by peaceful means. In some cases, the Council itself undertakes an investigation and mediation. It may appoint special representatives or request the Secretary-General to do so, or to use his good offices. In some cases, it may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement.

When a dispute leads to fighting, the Council's first concern is to bring it to an end as soon as possible. On many occasions since the United Nations was founded, the Council has issued cease-fire directives which have been instrumental in preventing wider hostilities. It also sends United Nations peace-keeping forces to help reduce tensions in troubled areas, keep opposing forccs apart and create conditions of calm in which peaceful settlements may be sought. The Council may decide on enforcement measures, economic sanctions (such as trade embargoes) or collective military action.

A Member State against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. A Member State which has persistenthy violated the principles contained in the Charter may be expelled from the United Nations by the Assembly on the Council's recommendation.

A State whieh is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that that country's interests are specially affected. Both Members of the United Nations and non-members, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, are invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions. The Council lays down the conditions for participation by a State which is not a United Nations Member.
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Economic and Social Council

(The Economic and Social Council, was created in the belief that a great deal of international strife was rooted in poverty and misery and that therefore the UN should do its utmost to help raise standards of living and improve economic conditions throughout the world. )
The Economic and Social Council was established by the Charter as the principal organ to co-ordinate the economic and social work of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and institutions-known as the " United Nations family " of organizations.

The Economic and Social Council is devoted to the constructive tasks of peace, achieving higher standards of living, improving health and education, and promoting respect for human rights and freedoms throughout the world. It works under the authority of the General Assembly and reports to it. The Assembly elects 9 of the council's 27 members each year. They serve three-year terms.

The Economic and Social Council is assisted by its own commissions and by independent specialized agencies.

The Council has 54 members who serve for three years. Eighteen members are elected each year for a three-year term to replace 18 members whose three-year term has expired.

Voting in the Econonmic and Social Council is by simple majority; each member has one vote.

Functions and powers
The functions and powers of the Economic and Social Council are:

* to serve as the central forum for the discussion of international economic and social issues of a global or inter disciplinary nature and the formulation of policy recommendations on those issues addressed to Member States and to the United Nations system as a whole;
* to make or initiate sludies and reports and make recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, ducational, health and related matters;
* to promoe respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all;
* to call international conferences and prepare draft conventions for submission to the General Assembly on matters falling within its competence;
* to negotiate agreements with the specialized agencies defining their relationship with the United Nations;
* to co-ordinate the activities of the specalized agencies by means of consultations with and recommendations to them and by means of recommendations to the General Assembly and the Members of the United Nations;
* to perform services, approved by the Assembly for Members of the United Nations and, upon request, for the specialized agencies;
* to consult with non-governmental organizations concerned wilh matters with which the Council deals.

Sessions.
The Economic and Social Council generally holds two month-long sessions each year, one in New York and the other at Geneva. The year-round work ofthe Council is carried out in its subsidiary bodies-comnmissions and committees-which meet at regular intervals and report back to the Council.

Subsidiary bodies
The subsidiary machinery of the Council includes:

* six functional commissions: Statistical Commission, Population Commission, Commission for Social Development, Commission on Human Rights, Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Narcotic Drugs;
* five regional conmmissions: Economic Commission for Africa (headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand), Eeonomic Commission for Europe (Geneva, Switzerland),
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Santiago, Chile), Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (Baghdad, Iraq);
* six standing committees: Committee for Programme and Co-ordination; Committee on Natural Resources; Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations; Committee on Negotiations with Intergovernmental Agencies; Commission on Transnational Corporations; Commission on Human Settlements;
* a number of standing expert bodies on such subjects as crime prevention and control, development planning, international co-operation in tax matters, and transport of dangerous goods.

Relations with non-govemmental organizations. Under the Charter, the Economic and Social Council may consult with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within the Council's competence. The Council recognizes that these organizations should have the opportunity to express their views and that they often possess special experience or technical knowledge of value to the Council in its work.

Over 600 non-governmental organizations have consultative status with the Council. They are classified into three categories:

category I organizations are those concerned with most of the Council's activities;
category 11 organizations have special competence in specific fields of activity of the Council; and organizations on the Roster are those that can make an occasional contribution to the Council, its subsidiary organs or other United Nations bodies.
Non-governmental organzations which have heen given consultative status may send observers to public meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies and may submit written statements relevant to the Council's work. They may also consult with the United Nations Secretariat on matters of mutual concern.

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Trusteeship Council

(Because, moreover, the founders of the UN saw colonialism as another frequent source of war, they felt it necessary also to employ the new world organization to mitigate the anger of dependent peoples against their colonial masters. To devise a technique whereby independence could be gained with as little bloodshed as possible, they provided a fourth major organ, the Trusteeship Council.) In setting up an International Trusteeship System, the Charter established the Trusteeship Council as one of the main organs of the United Nations and assigned to it the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System. Major goals of the System are to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of Trust Territories and their progressive development towards self-government or independence.

The Trusteeship Council seeks to protect the interests of people who live in trust territories and to lead them toward self-government. It receives reports from the administering authorities, examines petitions, and sends out visiting missions. Its members are elected by the General Assembly.

A non-self-governing territory becomes a trust territory through an individual trusteeship agreement with the United Nations. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) is defined as a "strategic area" and is under the authority of the Security Council. All other trust territories are under the General Assembly.

The aims of the Trusteeship System huve been fulfilled to such an extent that only one of the original 11 Trusteeships remains-the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (administered by the United States). The others, mostly in Africa and the Pacific, have attained independence either as separate States or by joining neighbouring independent countries

The Trusteeship Council acts under the authority of the General Assembly or, in the case of a "strategic area", under the authority of the Security Council.

Under the Charter, the total number of members of the Council is to be equally divided between those members which administer Trust Territories and those which do not, a parity which is not currently maintained.

As the number of administering countries has decreased so too has the size of the Council. There are now only five members: the United States (administering State) and the other permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom), Being a strategic area, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands falls within the responsibility of the Security Council.

Voting in the Trusteeship Council is by simple majority. each member has one vote.

The Council meets in annual sessions, usually in mid-year. It also holds special sessions when required.

Functions and powers. The Trusteeship Council is authorized to examine and discuss reports from the Administering Authority on the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the peoples of Trust Territories and in consultation with the Administering Authority, to examine petitions from and undertake periodic and other special missions to Trust Territories.
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International Court of Justice

(Yet another cause of war was believed by the founders of the UN to lie in the absence of common legal standards among nations. For this reason they included within the UN framework a world
court--the International Court of Justice. . The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations Charter.)

The International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court) is the "supreme court" of the United Nations. Its permanent seat is in The Netherlands at The Hague (See Hague Peace Conferences). The court consists of 15 judges (no two from one nation) elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. The judges serve for nine years (five retiring every third
year) and they may be reelected. Nine judges make a quorum and questions are decided by a majority vote.

Any states--even nonmembers--may bring disputes to the court for judgment. Both parties must first agree to allow the court to try the case. Should one of them fail to accept the judgment of the court, the other may appeal to the Security Council for enforcement. The court serves also as the legal adviser to the General Assembly, Security Council, andother United Nations organs.

The Court is open to the parties to its Statute, which automatically includes all Members of the United Nations, A State which is not a Member of the United Nations may become a party to the Statute on conditions determined in each case by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

All countries which are parties to the Statute of the Court can be parties to cases before it. Other States can refer cases to it under conditions laid down by the Security Council. In addition, the Security Council may recommend that a legal dispute be referred to the Court.

Both the General Assembly and the Security Council can ask the Court for an advisory opinion on any legal question. other organs of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, when authorized by the General Assembly, can ask for advisory opinions on legal questions within the scope of their activities.

Jurisdiction The jurisdiction of the Court covers all questions which States refer to it, and all matters provided for in the United Nations Charter or in treaties or conventions in force. States may bind themselves in advance to accept the jurisdiction of the Court in special cases, either by signing a treaty or convention which provides for referral to the Court or by making a special declaration to that effect. Such declarations accepting compulsory jurisdiction may exclude certain classes of cases.

In accordance with Article 38 of its Statute, the Court, in deciding disputes submitted to it, applies:

* international conventions establishing rules recognized by the contesting States;
* international custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
* the general principles of law recognized by nations; and
* judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as a subsidiary means for determining the rules of law.

Membership. The Court consists of 15 Judges elected by thc General Assembly and the Security Council, voting independently. They are chosen on the basis of their qualifications, not on the basis of nationality, and care is taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are represented in the Court.

No two Judges can be nationals of the same State.

The Judges serve for a term of nine years and may be re-elected.

They cannot engage in any other occupation during their term of office.

The Court normally sits in plenary session, but it may also form smaller units called chambers if the parties so request.

Judgments given by chambers are considered as rendered by the full Court.

The seat of the Court is at The Hague, Netherlands.
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Secretariat

(The founders of the UN were convinced that the maintenance of peace required a nucleus of men and women whose loyalty was first and foremost not to any particular nation but to the entire international community. To form such an international civil service, they established a sixth major organ of the United Nations, the Secretariat, headed by the secretary-general.) The Secretariat services the other organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

The Secretariat carries on the day-to-day business of the United Nations and assists all the other organs. At its head is the Secretary-General, the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. He is appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council. His staff numbers thousands of workers, from many countries.

Secretary-General. The first Secretary-General of the United Nations was Trygve Lie, of Norway, who served until 1953. Dag Hammarskj”ld, of Sweden, served from 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Africa in 1961. U Thant, of Burma (now Myanmar), served until 1971. He was succeeded by Kurt Waldheim, of Austria, who held the office from 1972 to 1981.

As one of his many functions, the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, threatens international peace and security, and may use his good offices to help resolve international disputes.

The Secretariat, an international staff of more than 25,000 men and women from over 150 countries, carries out the day-to-day work of the United Nations both at Headquarters in New York and in offices and centres around the world. These international civil servants take an oath not to seek or receive instructions from any Government or outside authority.

Under Article 100 of the Charter, each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their duties.

The work of the Secretariat is as varied as the list of probblems dealt with by the United Nations. It includes: administering peace-keeping operations; organizing international conferences on problems of world-wide concern; surveying world economic and social trends and prohlems; preparing studies on such subjects as human rights, disarmament and development; and interpreting speeches, translating documents and supplying the world's communications media with information about the United Nations.
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BUDGET 0F THE UNITED NATIONS

The regular programme budget of the United Nations is approved by the General Assembly biennially. The budget is submitted initially by the Secretary-General and reviewed by a 16-member expert committee-the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. The programmatic aspects are reviewed by the 34-member Committee for Programme and Coordination.

The main souce of funds for the regular budget is the contributions of Member States, which are assessed on a scale specified by the Assembly on the recommendation of the 18-member Committee on Contributions. The fundamental criterion on which the scale of assessments is based is the real capacity of Member States to pay. The Assembly has fixed a maximum of 25 per cent of the budget for any one contributor and a minimum of 0.01 per ccnt. (For scale of assessments of Member States.

The regular programme budget to which these assessments apply covers expenses relating to substantive prograrnmes programme support and administrative activities of the Organization both at Headquarters and around the globe. Outside the regular budget, Member States are also assessed, in accordance with a modified version of the basic scale, for the costs of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the Middle East, the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, and the United Nations Angola Veritication Mission.

Many other United Nations activities are financed mainly by voluntary contributions outside the regular budget. These programmes and Funds include the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and the United Nations Population Fund.
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Specialized Agencies
The specialized agencies attached to the United Nations system can be divided roughly into two groups.

The first group, the major purpose of which is to broaden and facilitate communications among nations, include:
the Universal Postal Union (UPU; see POSTAL UNION, UNIVERSAL),
the INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION (ICAO),
the WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (WMO),
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and
the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO).

The second group may be called the "welfare" agencies, in the sense that each is intended to improve world economic, social, and cultural conditions and thus build defenses for peace.

The oldest of these is the INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION (ILO).
Other agencies in this group include:
the FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO),
the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO),
the UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO),
the WORLD BANK,
the INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (IDA),
the INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC),
the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF),
the INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA),
the GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT),
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR; see
REFUGEES, OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR), and
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

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