United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
It also provides a forum for its members to express their views in the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and committees. By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism for governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems together.
The United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.

FUNCTIONS

• Maintain International Peace and Security
• Protect Human Rights
• Deliver Humanitarian Aid
• Promote Sustainable Development
• Uphold International Law

INTERNATIONAL PEACE & SECURITY

The United Nations came into being in 1945, following the devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security.
The UN does this by working:

• To prevent conflict.
• Helping parties in conflict make peace.
• Peacekeeping.
• Creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and flourish.
• The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security.
• Countering Terrorism.
• Disarmament.

HUMANITARIAN AID

Four UN entities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP) have primary roles in the delivery of relief assistance.

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Responsible for operational activities for natural disaster mitigation, prevention, and preparedness.
• UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): Leads and coordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): Strives to reach as many children as possible with effective, low-cost solutions to counter the biggest threats to their survival.
• World Food Programme (WFP): Provides relief to millions of people who are victims of disasters. It is responsible for mobilizing food and funds for transport for all large-scale refugee-feeding operations managed by UNHCR.
• World Health Organization (WHO): Coordinates the international response to humanitarian health emergencies. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, and articulating evidence-based policy options.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• High Commissioner for Human Rights: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has lead responsibility in the UN system for the promotion and protection of human rights.
• Human Rights Council: Established in 2006, it replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the key independent UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights.
• Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the core international human rights treaties.
• Special Procedures: Prominent independent experts working voluntarily to examine, monitor, publicly report, and advise on human rights from a country-specific perspective.
• UNDG-HRM: The UN Development Group’s Human Rights Mainstreaming Mechanism (UNDG-HRM) advances human rights mainstreaming efforts within the UN development system.

STRUCTURE OF UNITED NATIONS

The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

1. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

All 193 Member States of the Organization are represented in the General Assembly to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations, such as development, peace, and security, international law, etc. Headquarters in New York for the General Assembly session.

Functions and powers of the General Assembly:

According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may:

• Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States.
• Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.
• Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament.
• Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, make recommendations on it.
• Initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational, and health fields.
• Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among countries.
• Consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs.
• The Assembly may also take action in cases of a threat to the peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression when the Security Council has failed to act owing to the negative vote of a permanent member.

2. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are to:

• Maintain international peace and security by the principles and purposes of the United Nations.
• Investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction.
• Recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement.
• Formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments.
• Determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and recommend what action should be taken.
• Call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression.
• Take military action against an aggressor.
• Recommend the admission of new Members.
• Exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in “strategic areas.”

Members

• Five nations are permanently represented on the Security Council. They reflect the post-war power structure that held sway when the council was formed. (Five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States).
• Members of this privileged group work alongside 10 non-permanent member countries. Each member—permanent or otherwise—holds the presidency of the council for one month, on a rotating basis.
• The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by members of the UN General Assembly.
• The aim is to achieve a regional balance, with five Asian or African members, two Latin American members, one East European, and two members from Western Europe or other regions making up the mix of non-permanent members.

3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

It is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development—economic, social, and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.
The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations. It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

Functions are:

• Promoting Sustainable Development
• Advancing policy integration
• Development Cooperation Forum
• Financing for sustainable development
• Coordinating humanitarian action
• Guiding operational activities for development

Structure

• ECOSOC membership is based on geographical representation. Out of 54 seats, specific quotas are fixed for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Europe, etc. They’re elected from General Assembly for a term of three years.
• Four UNSC members—US, UK, Russia, and France—are re-elected continuously because they provide the majority of the funding to ECOSOC.
• Decisions by simple majority vote. Presidency changes annually. NGOs also have “Consultative status.”

4. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)

It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
The Court’s role is to settle, as per international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

Structure

• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
• It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.
• To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies.
• To ensure a degree of continuity, one-third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election.
• Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State. Unlike most other organs of international organizations, the Court is not composed of representatives of governments.

Indian Judges at the ICJ

• Judge Dalveer Bhandari: Member of the Court since 27 April 2012
• Raghunandan Swarup Pathak: 1989-1991
• Nagendra Singh: 1973-1988
• Sir Benegal Rau: 1952-1953

Jurisdiction

• ICJ acts as a world court with two-fold jurisdiction i.e. legal disputes between States submitted to it by them and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
• Only States which are members of the United Nations and which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions are parties to contentious cases.
• The judgment is final, binding on the parties to a case, and without appeal (at the most it may be subject to interpretation or, upon the discovery of a new fact, revision).
• By signing the Charter, a Member State of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of the Court in any case to which it is a party.

5. TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

Under the Charter, the Trusteeship Council was assigned the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System. Trust Territories were those territories that had not achieved self-governance or independence by the time of the inception of the UN.
The Trusteeship Council suspended its operation on 1 November 1994, with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory, on 1 October 1994.

6. SECRETARIAT

It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, and it is the only one that directly represents the international community, as the staff working at the Secretariat represent all Member States. It is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day work of the United Nations as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization’s other principal organs.
The Secretariat’s duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences, gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and consulting with Member States regarding various initiatives.

Roles and Functions

• It is headed by Secretary General Antonio Guterres of Portugal, appointed for a 5-year term.
• Its functions are administrative and non-political, but in reality, the Secretariat plays a political role because it prepares the groundwork for decisions that the UN body takes.

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Subject: International Relation

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