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Read about:
- Important Organs of the United Nations
- Focus: MUN
The United Nations is central to global efforts to solve problems that challenge
humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated
organizations, known together as the UN system. Day in
and day out, the UN and its family of organizations work
to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment,
fight disease and reduce poverty. UN agencies define the
standards for safe and efficient air travel and help improve
telecommunications and enhance consumer protection. The
United Nations leads the international campaigns against
drug trafficking and terrorism. Throughout the world, the
UN and its agencies assist refugees, set up programmes
to clear landmines, help expand food production and lead
the fight against AIDS.
Important Organs of the UN
General Assembly
[Website]
The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations. It
is composed of representatives of all Member States, each
of which has one vote. 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 reached by a simple majority.
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the General Assembly include:
- to consider and make recommendations on the principles of cooperation in the
maintenance of international peace and security, including
the principles governing disarmament and arms regulation;
- to discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except
where a dispute or situation is 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
cooperation, the development and codification of international
law, the realization of human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, and international collaboration in
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.
SESSIONS
The General Assembly's regular session usually begins each year in September.
The 2000-2001 session, for example, is the fifty-fifth regular session
of the General Assembly. At the start of each regular session, the Assembly
elects a new president, 21 Vice-Presidents and the Chairspersons of the
Assembly's six 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 Caribbean,
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 Member
States, 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 Council members, 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, often addressed by heads of state and government, in which Member
States express their views on the most pressing international issues.
MAIN COMMITTEES
Most questions are then discussed in its six Main Committees:
- First Committee - Disarmament and International Security Committee
- Second Committee - Economic and Financial Committee
- Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee
- Fourth Committee - Special Political and Decolonization Committee
- Fifth Committee - Administrative and Budgetary Committee
- Sixth Committee - Legal Committee
Some issues are considered only in plenary meetings, rather than in one of the
Main Committees. All issues are voted on through resolutions
passed 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, 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 the committees and other bodies established by the Assembly to study and report
on specific issues, such as disarmament, peacekeeping,
development and human rights;
- in international conferences called for by the Assembly; and
- by the Secretaria of the UNited Nations - the Secretary-General and his staff
of international civil servants.
ECOSOC
[Website]
What ECOSOC does
The Economic and Social Council coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized
agencies, 10 functional commissions and five regional commissions;
receives reports from 11 UN funds and programmes ( click here for list of subsidiary bodies ); and issues policy recommendations to the UN system and to Member States. Under
the UN Charter , ECOSOC is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment,
and economic and social progress; identifying solutions
to international economic, social and health problems;
facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation;
and encouraging universal respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. ECOSOC's purview extends to over
70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the
entire UN system.
In carrying out its mandate, ECOSOC consults with academics, business sector
representatives and more than 2,100 registered non-governmental
organizations. The Council holds a four-week substantive
session each July, alternating between New York and Geneva.
The session includes a high-level segment, at which national
cabinet ministers and chiefs of international agencies
and other high officials focus their attention on a selected
theme of global significance. This year, the high-level
segment will cover "Resources mobilization and enabling environment for poverty eradication in the
context of the implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010". The Council will adopt a Ministerial Declaration, providing policy guidance
and recommendations for action.
Policy leadership
ECOSOC has taken a lead role in key policy areas in recent years. Its 1999 high-level
segment issued a "Manifesto on Poverty", which in many respects anticipated the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals that were approved at the UN Millennium Summit in New York. The Ministerial
Declaration of the high-level segment in 2000 proposed
specific actions to address the digital divide, leading
directly to the formation in 2001 of the ICT [Information and Communication Technologies] Task Force . Last year, ECOSOC's consideration of African development resulted in the first
formal international endorsement of the New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Outside of the substantive sessions, ECOSOC initiated in 1998 a tradition of
meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees
of the Bretton Woods institutions -- the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These consultations initiated
inter-institutional cooperation that paved the way for
the success of the International Conference on Financing for Development , held in March 2002 in Monterrey, Mexico. At that conference, ECOSOC was assigned
a primary role in monitoring and assessing follow-up to
the Monterrey Consensus.
ECOSOC Members in 2004:
The Council's 54 member Governments are elected by the General Assembly for overlapping
three-year terms. Seats on the Council are allotted based
on geographical representation with fourteen allocated
to African States, eleven to Asian States, six to Eastern
European States, ten to Latin American and Caribbean States,
and thirteen to Western European and other States.
Security Council
The Security Council
[Website]
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter,for the maintenance of international
peace and security. It 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. On 31 January 1992, the first ever Summit
Meeting of the Council was convened at Headquarters, attended
by Heads of State and Government of 13 of its 15 members
and by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the remaining
two. The Council may meet elsewhere than at Headquarters;
in 1972, it held a session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and
the following year in Panama City, Panama.
When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the
Council's first action is usually to recommend to the parties to try
to reach agreement by peaceful means. In some cases, the Council itself
undertakes investigation and mediation. It may appoint special representatives
or request the Secretary-General to do so or to use his good offices.
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, 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 forces 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 on the recommendation
of the Security Council. A Member State which has persistently violated
the principles of the Charter may be expelled from the United Nations
by the Assembly on the Council's recommendation.
A State which 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 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 sets the conditions for
participation by a non-member State.
The Presidency of the Council rotates monthly, according to the English
alphabetical listing of its member States.
International Court of Justice
[Website]
The International Court of Justice, which sits at The Hague, in the Netherlands,
acts as a world court. It decides in accordance with international
law disputes of a legal nature submitted to it by States,
whilst in addition certain international organs and agencies
are entitled to call upon it for advisory opinions. It
was set up in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations
to be the principal judicial organ of the Organization,
and its basic instrument, the Statute of the Court, forms
an integral part of the Charter.
Secretariat
[Website]
The Secretariat -- an international staff working in duty stations around the
world -- carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the
Organization. It services the other principal 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 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.
The Secretariat has a staff of about 8,900 under the regular budget drawn from
some 170 countries. As international civil servants, staff
members and the Secretary-General answer to the United
Nations alone for their activities, and take an oath not
to seek or receive instructions from any Government or
outside authority. Under the Charter, each Member State
undertakes to respect the exclusively international character
of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the
staff and to refrain from seeking to influence them improperly
in the discharge of their duties.
The United Nations, while headquartered in New York, maintains a significant
presence in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Geneva, Nairobi,
Santiago and Vienna, and has offices all over the world.
Focus: MUN
UNEP
[Website]
To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment
by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples
to improve their quality of life without compromising that
of future generations.
UNESCO
[Website]
UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
was born on November 16, 1945. For this specialized UN
agency, it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated
countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education,
Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are
the means to a far more ambitious goal: to build peace
in the minds of men. (more)
Today, UNESCO works as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to
forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. The Organization
also serves as a clearinghouse – that disseminates and shares information
and knowledge – while helping Member States to build their human and
institutional capacities in diverse fields. In short, UNESCO promotes
international co-operation among its 190 Member States and six Associate
Members in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.
UNESCO works to create the conditions for true dialogue, based upon respect
for commonly shared values and the dignity of each civilization and culture.
This role is critical, particularly in the face of terrorism, which constitutes
an attack against humanity. The world urgently requires global visions
of sustainable development based upon observance of human rights, mutual
respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which lie at the heart
of UNESCO’s mission and activities.
WHO
[Website]
The World Health Organization, the United Nations specialized agency for health,
was established on 7 April 1948. WHO's objective, as set
out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples
of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined
in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity.
WHO is governed by 192 Member States through the World Health Assembly.
The Health Assembly is composed of representatives from WHO's Member
States. The main tasks of the World Health Assembly are to approve the
WHO programme and the budget for the following biennium and to decide
major policy questions.
FAO
[Website]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international
efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing
countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations
meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy.
FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. We help
developing countries and countries in transition modernize
and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices
and ensure good nutrition for all. Since our founding in
1945, we have focused special attention on developing rural
areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry
people. FAO's activities comprise four main areas:
- Putting information within reach.
- Sharing policy expertise.
- Providing a meeting place for nations.
- Bringing knowledge to the field.
UNICEF
[Website]
UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every
child are realized. We have the global authority to influence
decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots
level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.
That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique
among those working with the young.
We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones
of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to
work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease
and discrimination place in a child’s path. We believe that we can,
together, advance the cause of humanity.
We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because
proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a
person’s future.
We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education
as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys.
Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens,
and better parents to their own children.
We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases,
and are well nourished, because it is wrong for a child to suffer or
die from a preventable illness.
We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because
it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others.
We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives
with dignity.
We involve everyone in creating protective environments for children.
We are present to relieve suffering during emergencies, and wherever
children are threatened, because no child should be exposed to violence,
abuse or exploitation.
UNICEF upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We work to
assure equality for those who are discriminated against, girls and women
in particular. We work for the Millennium Development Goals and for the
progress promised in the United Nations Charter. We strive for peace
and security. We work to hold everyone accountable to the promises made
for children.
We are part of the Global Movement for Children – a broad coalition dedicated
to improving the life of every child. Through this movement, and events
such as the United Nations Special Session on Children, we encourage
young people to speak out and participate in the decisions that affect
their lives.
We are more than 7,000 people working in 158 countries around the world.
We are UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
ILO
[Website]
IAEA
[Website]
The IAEA is the world's center of cooperation in the nuclear field. It was set
up as the world's "Atoms for Peace" organization in 1957 within the United Nations family. The Agency works with
its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote
safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.
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