THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION
The name “United Nations”, coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
was first used in the “Declaration by United Nations” of 1 January 1942, during the
Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to
continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.
States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters.
The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International
Telegraph Union, and the Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are
now United Nations specialized agencies.
In 1899, the first International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and
established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began work in 1902.
The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization
conceived in similar circumstances during the First World War, and established in 1919
under the Treaty of Versailles “to promote international cooperation and to achieve
peace and security.”
The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of
Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations
Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those
delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China,
the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks,
United States, in August-October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the
representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference,
signed it later and became one of the original 51 member states.
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the
Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom,
the United States and a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated
on 24 October each year.
United Nations Charter
(www.un.org/aboutun/charter)
The Charter is the constituting instrument of the Organization, setting out the rights
and obligations of member states, and establishing the United Nations organs and procedures. An international treaty, the Charter codifies the major principles of international relations — from the sovereign equality of states to prohibition of the use of
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Amendments to the United Nations Charter
The Charter may be amended by a vote of two thirds of the members of the General
Assembly and ratification by two thirds of the members of the United Nations, including the five permanent members of the Security Council. So far, four Charter Articles
have been amended, one of them twice:
• In 1965, the membership of the Security Council was increased from 11 to
15 (Article 23) and the number of affirmative votes needed for a decision was
increased from seven to nine, including the concurring vote of the five permanent members for all matters of substance rather than procedure (Article 27).
• In 1965, the membership of the Economic and Social Council was increased
from 18 to 27, and in 1973, was increased to 54 (Article 61).
• In 1968, the number of votes required in the Security Council to convene a
General Conference to review the Charter was increased from seven to nine
(Article 109).
force in international relations in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the
United Nations.
Preamble to the Charter
The Preamble to the Charter expresses the ideals and common aims of all the peoples
whose governments joined together to form the United Nations:
“WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which
twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth
of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of
nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other
sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
“AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice tolerance and live together
in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our
strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure,
by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that
armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to
employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic
and social advancement of all peoples,
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“HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO
ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS. Accordingly, our respective
Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San
Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good
and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United
Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be
known as the United Nations.”
Purposes and principles
The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, are:
• to maintain international peace and security;
• to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle
of equal rights and self-determination of peoples;
• to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
• to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these common ends.
The United Nations acts in accordance with the following principles:
• it is based on the sovereign equality of all its members;
• tall members are to fulfil in good faith their Charter obligations;
• they are to settle their international disputes by peaceful means and without
endangering international peace and security and justice;
• they are to refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state;
• they are to give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in
accordance with the Charter;
• nothing in the Charter is to authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.
Membership
Membership of the United Nations is open to all peace-loving nations which accept the
obligations of the Charter and are willing and able to carry out these obligations.
The General Assembly admits new member states on the recommendation of the
Security Council. The Charter provides for the suspension or expulsion of a member for
violation of the principles of the Charter, but no such action has ever been taken.
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Official languages
Under the Charter, the official languages of the United Nations are Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish. Arabic was later added as an official language of the
General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
Structure of the Organization
The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations: the General
Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship
Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The United Nations
family, however, is much larger, encompassing 15 agencies and several programmes and
bodies.
General Assembly
(www.un.org/ga)
The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ. 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 by 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;
* 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 lack of unanimity of its permanent
members, fails to act where there appears to be a threat to international 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 case of a breach of the
peace or act of aggression, the use of armed forces when necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.
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• 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 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 additional members of the Trusteeship
Council (when necessary); 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.
Beginning with its fifty-eighth regular session (2003-2004), the Assembly will open on
Tuesday of the third week in September, counting from the first week that contains at
least one working day. The election of the President of the Assembly, as well as its 21
Vice-Presidents and the Chairpersons of its six main committees, will take place at least
three months before the start of the regular session. 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 the Caribbean, and
Western European and other states.
In addition, 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 concur. 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 concur.
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. Most questions are then discussed in its six main committees:
• First Committee (Disarmament and International Security);
• Second Committee (Economic and Financial);
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• Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural);
• Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization);
• Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary);
• Sixth Committee (Legal).
Some issues are considered directly in plenary meetings while others are allocated to
one of the six main committees. Resolutions and decisions, including those recommended by the committees, are adopted in plenary meetings — usually before the recess
of the regular session in December. They may be adopted with or without a vote.
The Assembly generally adopts its resolutions and decisions by a majority of
members present and voting. Important questions, including recommendations on
international peace and security, the election of members to some principal organs
and budgetary matters, are decided by a two-thirds majority. Voting may be conducted as a recorded vote, a show-of-hands or a roll-call vote.
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 mandates
given by the General Assembly — that is to say, the will of the majority of the members as expressed in resolutions and decisions 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, peacekeeping, development and
human rights;
• 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.
Security Council
(www.un.org/Docs/sc)
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The Council has 15 members: five permanent — China, France, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States — and 10 members elected
by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
Each member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of at least 9 of the 15 members. Decisions on substantive matters require
nine votes and the absence of a negative vote by any of the five permanent members.
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All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another.
If a permanent member does not fully agree with a proposed resolution but does not
wish to cast its veto, it may choose to abstain — thus allowing the resolution to be
adopted if it obtains the required number of nine votes in favour.
Under Article 25 of the Charter, all members of the United Nations agree to
accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the
United Nations make recommendations to member states, the Council alone has the
power to take decisions which member states are obligated under the Charter to
implement.
Functions and powers
Under the Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council include the
following:
• to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles
and purposes of the United Nations;
• to formulate plans for establishing a system to regulate armaments;
• to call upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means;
• to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction, and to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
• to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to
recommend what action should be taken;
• to call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures
as it deems necessary or desirable to prevent an aggravation of the situation;
• to call on members of the United Nations to take measures not involving the
use of armed force — such as sanctions — to give effect to the Council’s decisions;
• to resort to or authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international
peace and security;
• to encourage the peaceful settlement of local disputes through regional
arrangements and to use such regional arrangements for enforcement action
under its authority;
• to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the SecretaryGeneral and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the
International Court of Justice;
• to request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on
any legal question;
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• to recommend to the General Assembly the admission of new members to the
United Nations.
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: in 1972 it held a session in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia; in 1973 it met in Panama City, Panama; and in 1990 it met in
Geneva, Switzerland.
When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the Council’s
first action is usually to recommend that the parties try to reach agreement by peaceful
means. The Council may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement. In some cases,
the Council itself undertakes investigation and mediation. It may dispatch a mission,
appoint special envoys or request the Secretary-General to use his good offices.
When a dispute leads to hostilities, the Council’s first concern is to bring them
to an end as soon as possible. The Council may issue ceasefire directives that can be
instrumental in preventing an escalation of the conflict.
The Council may also dispatch military observers or a peacekeeping force to help
reduce tensions, keep opposing forces apart, and create conditions of calm in which
peaceful settlements may be sought. Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council
may decide on enforcement measures, including economic sanctions, arms embargoes, financial sanctions, travel bans or collective military action.
The sanctions instrument is an important tool available to the Security Council
in seeking to promote international peace and security. Each of the sanctions
regimes currently in existence features “smart” or targeted sanctions — arms embargoes, financial sanctions and travel bans — designed to eliminate or minimize unintended effects by focusing on those responsible for the policies condemned by the
international community, while leaving other parts of the population and international trade relations unaffected (see Chapter 2).
After the 1991 Gulf war, the Council established the United Nations Special
Commission (UNSCOM) to verify, together with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), the elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. UNSCOM’s
responsibilities were taken over in 1999 by the United Nations Monitoring,
Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).
The Council has established two international criminal tribunals to prosecute
crimes against humanity in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. The tribunals are
subsidiary organs of the Council. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States
on 11 September 2001, the Council established its Counter-Terrorism Committee,
also a subsidiary organ.
Since 1993, a working group of the General Assembly has been considering
Security Council reform, including the issue of equitable representation and expansion of membership.
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PRINCIPAL OFFICES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
New York
UN (Headquarters)
OHRLLS
Montreal
UNDP
ICAO
UNFPA
Paris
The Hague
Vienna
Rome
UNESCO
ICJ
IAEA
UNIDO
UNODC
FAO
IFAD
WFP
London
Bern
IMO
UPU
Beirut
ESCWA
UNICEF
Tokyo
UNU
Madrid
WTO ( Tourism )
Washington
Santo Domingo
Bangkok
INSTRAW
ESCAP
IMF
World Bank Group
Geneva
Santiago
ECLAC
Map No. 4218(E)
April 2004
UNITED NATIONS
ECE
ILO
ITU
OHCHR
UNCTAD
UNHCR
WHO
WIPO
WMO
WTO (Trade)
Nairobi
UNEP
UN-HABITAT
Addis Ababa
Gaza / Amman
ECA
UNRWA
Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Cartographic Section
• conducts inspections of programmes and organizational units;
• investigates reports of mismanagement and misconduct;
• provides consulting services to programme managers to assist them in increasing effectiveness;
• monitors the implementation of recommendations emanating from audits,
evaluations, inspections and investigations.
OIOS covers the Secretariat and major peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, and provides assistance to various operational funds and programmes. It has a
staff of about 172 and an annual budget of approximately $20 million. Since 1994,
the Office has exposed waste and fraud in the Organization totalling $250 million.
The Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services is appointed by the
Secretary-General and approved by the General Assembly for one five-year term
without possibility of renewal.
Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)
(http://untreaty.un.org/ola-internet/olahome.html)
Under-Secretary-General
The Legal Counsel
Mr. Nicolas Michel (Switzerland)
(as of 16 August 2004)
The Office of Legal Affairs is the central legal service of the Organization. It provides legal advice to the Secretary-General, Secretariat departments and offices,
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