UNITED NATIONS

AND ITS SYSTEMS

By:
Prof. Catherine S. Telan

UNITED NATIONS FACTS

General Assembly: 193 Member States
Security Council: 5 permanent members
and 10 non-permanent members
Economic and Social Council: 54
members
International Court of Justice: 15 judges

HISTORY OF THE UNITED

NATIONS
After the League of Nations failed to prevent World War II (19391945),
there was widespread recognition that humankind could not afford a third
world war. Therefore, the United Nations was established to replace the
flawed League of Nations in 1945 in order to maintain international peace
and promote cooperation in solving international economic, social, and
humanitarian problems.
Franklin D. Roosevelt first coined the term 'United Nations' as a term to
describe the Allied countries. The term was first officially used on 1 January
1942, when 26 governments signed the Atlantic Charter, pledging to
continue the war effort.
On 25 April 1945, the UN Conference on International Organization began
in San Francisco, attended by 50 governments and a number of nongovernmental organizations involved in drafting the United Nations Charter.
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon
ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of
the Security Council-France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom and the United Statesand by a majority of the other 46
signatories.

MEMBERSHIP TO THE UNITED

NATIONS
Original or Charter Members
Are those states which, having participated in
the
United
Nations
Conference
on
International Organization at San Francisco or
having previously signed by the Declaration by
the United Nations of January 1, 1942, signed
and ratified the Charter of United Nations.
Elective Members
Members may be admitted to the United
Nations by decision of the General Assembly
upon favorable recommendation of the
Security Council.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR
MEMBERSHIP TO THE UNITED
NATIONS
It must be a state.
It must be a peace-loving state.
The state must accept the obligations of
the Charter.
It must be able to carry out the obligations
of the Charter.
It must be willing to carry out the
obligations of the Charter.

ORGANS OF THE UNITED

NATIONS

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

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the
United Nations. Decisions on important questions, such as
those on peace and security, admission of new members
and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority.
Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.
Each country has one vote. Some Member States in arrear
of payment may be granted the right to vote.
The General Assembly has established a number of
Councils, Working Groups, Boards, etc. for the performance
of its functions.
The General Assembly has adopted its own rules of
procedure and elects its President for each session.

SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council is composed of the permanent
members, namely, France, United Kingdom, United
States, Russia, and Peoples Republic of China and
non-permanent members comprises of ten countries
elected by the members of the United Nations.
United Nations resolutions are formal expressions of
the opinion or will of United Nations organs. They
generally consist of two clearly defined sections: a
preamble and an operative part. The preamble
generally presents the considerations on the basis
of which action is taken, an opinion expressed or a
directive given. The operative part states the opinion
of the organ or the action to be taken.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COUNCIL
A founding United Nations Charter body established in 1946, the
Council is the place where such issues are discussed and
debated, and policy recommendations issued.
ECOSOC has broad responsibility for some seventy percent of
the human and financial resources of the entire United Nations
system, including fourteen specialized agencies, 9 functional
commissions, and 5 regional commissions.
The Council holds regular meetings throughout the year with
prominent academics, business sector representatives and 3,200
plus registered non-governmental organizations.
Held in alternate years in New York and Geneva, the session is
divided into 5 segments High-level; Coordination; Operational
Activities; Humanitarian Affairs; and General which cover both
global issues and technical, administrative questions.

TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on November
1, 1994 with the independence of Palau, the last remaining
United Nations trust territory, on October 1, 1994. By a
resolution adopted on May 25, 1994, the Council amended its
rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and
agreed to meet as occasion required - by its decision or the
decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its
members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.
Under the Charter, 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.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF
JUSTICE
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of
the United Nations. 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 6 principal organs of the United Nations, it is
the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
The Courts role is to settle, in accordance with 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.
The Court is composed of fifteen 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.

SECRETARIAT
The Secretariat is an international staff working in duty stations
around the world. It carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the
Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United
Nations and administers the programs 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
for a five-year, renewable term.
The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the
problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from
administering peacekeeping operations to mediating international
disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems
to preparing studies on human rights and sustainable
development. Secretariat staff also inform the world's
communications media about the work of the United Nations;
organize international conferences on issues of worldwide
concern; and interpret speeches and translate documents into the
Organization's official languages.

 Secretaries of the United Nations

Trygve Lie (Norway)
Dag Hammarskjld (Sweden)
U Thant (Burma)
Kurt Waldheim (Austria)
Javier Prez de Cullar (Peru)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt)
Kofi Annan (Ghana)
Ban Ki-moon (South Korea)

THE UNITED NATIONS

SPECIALIZED AGENCY

Food and Agriculture Organization

International Atomic Energy Agency
International Civil Aviation Organization
International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Labor Organization
International Maritime Organization
International Monetary Fund
International Telecommunication Union
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
World Tourism Organization
Universal Postal Union
World Food Programme
World Health Organization
World Meteorological Organization