the united nations. revised 2007

THE UNITED NATIONS

Everything you might want to know….. and more!

What is the United Nations?

Organization of countries joined together to work for world peace

What are the aims of the United Nations?

Keep peace throughout the world

Develop friendly relations among nations

Work together to help poor people live better lives, remove poverty, disease and illiteracy and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms

Be a center for helping nations achieve these goals

How did the U.N. begin?

The League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations was created because people believed that a world organization of nations could keep the peace and prevent a repetition of the horrors of the 1914-18 war in Europe.

How did the U.N. begin?2

After W W II, it became obvious that the League couldn’t prevent war, so the League of Nations was abandoned…but most of its ideals and some of its structure were kept by the United Nations.

The ideals of peace and social/ economic progress remained the basic goals of the new world organization.

How did the U.N. begin?3

January 1, 1942

26 countries signed the United Nations Declaration

How did the U.N. begin?4

1945- Representatives of 50 countries met at the San Francisco Conference and drafted and adopted the United Nations Charter and laws of the International Court of Justice

When was the United Nations Officially Born?

October 24, 1945

We now celebrate United NationsDay on October 24 throughout

the world.

How many members are now in the United Nations?

192 MEMBERSMost Recently Admitted

Montenegro

Who can become a member of the UN?

All peace-loving nations accepting the aims and

rules of the Charter which express hope for world

peace and works toward that goal

What languages are used at the United Nations?

ArabicChineseEnglishFrenchRussianSpanish

Where is the U.N.’s Headquarters

•New York, United States

•Zoned “International” and has a separate flag, security officers, post office and special stamps

How many buildings are at the U.N.?

4 Buildings

•General Assembly Building•Secretariat •Conference Building•Dag Hammarskjold Library

How is the U.N. organized?

6 Main Organizations• General Assembly• Security Council• Economic and Social Council• Trusteeship Council• International Court of Justice• Secretariat

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

What is the General Assembly?

Main body of the UnitedNations where everyone meets together to discuss topics and vote

What does the General Assembly

do?

•Elects a president every year•Makes recommendations on any

subject not being dealt with by the Security Council

•Admits new members recommended by the Security Council

What does the General Assembly do?

• Appoints Secretary-General• Elects members of other organs• Decides how much money each

country should pay to run the U. N. and how the money is spent

• Adopts resolutions but cannot enforce them

How does the General Assembly work?

•Every nation has an equal vote regardless of size

•Voting requires a 2/3 majority

•Meets once a year - 3rd Tuesday of September

SECURITY COUNCIL

What is the Security Council ?

Guardian of world peace Deals with questions of

peace and security

Who are the members of the Security Council

15 members 5 permanent members

•China•France•Russian Federation•United Kingdom•United States

What does the Security Council do?

Investigates disputes Recommends settlement options Determines if there is a possible

threat to peace and security Calls on nations to impose

sanctions or other non violent means to prevent or stop war

How does the Security Council work?

•Does not hold regular meetings but can have called meetings at any time

•Any nation can bring a dispute •President takes turns a month at

a time based on the English alphabetical order of country

How does the Security Council work?

•Voting requires 9 out of 15

•If any of the 5 permanent members vote “no”, resolutions are vetoed

What powers does the Security Council have?

Take military action against an aggressor

Recommend new members for admission to the UN

Recommend the appointment of the Secretary General

ECOSOC

Economic and Social Council

What is ECOSOC?

Organ that deals with theneeds of all humans

What are the Economic Concerns of ECOSOC?

•Trade•Transport•Industrialization •Economic development

What are the Social Concerns of ECOSOC?

Population Children Housing Women’s rights Racial

discrimination

Narcotic drugs Crime Social welfare Youth Human

environment Food.

What does the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) do?

•Makes recommendations on how to improve•education•health conditions•respect for human rights and freedom of people everywhere

How does ECOSOC work?

•54 member countries, elected by the GA for 3 year terms

•Holds one meeting a year

•Votes are by majority

REGIONAL COMMISSIONS

Assists ECOSOC in helping people in specific parts of the world

What are the Regional Commissions of the ECOSOC?

Regional Economic/Social Commissions

• ECA - Africa• ECE - Europe• ECLAC - Latin America and the

Caribbean• ESCAP -Asia and Pacific• ESCWA - Western Asia

SECRETARIAT

What doest the Secretariat do?

Carries out the day-to day operations of the United Nations

What is the work of the Secretariat?

Administer peacekeeping operations

Mediate international disputes

Survey economic and social trends and problems

Prepare studies on human rights and sustainable development

Inform the media about the work of the United Nations

Organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern

Interpret speeches Translate documents into

the Organization's official languages.

How does the Secretariat work?

• 8900 employees in NY with other workers spread all over the world

• Workers include: economists, editors, librarians, translators and experts working “behind the scenes”

• Headed by the Secretary-General

Secretary-General

• Heads the Secretariat

• Appointed by GA for 5 years

• Same power as a head of a member country

• Brings to Security Council problems threatening world peace

Who is the Secretary General?

Ban Ki-Moon

What does the Secretary-General do?

•Propose issues to be discussed by the U.N

•“Referee” in disputes•Helps resolve issues without

going to Security Council or General Assembly

What does the Secretary-General do?

•Heads the staff of international civil servants

•Staff prepares background information on problems to assist in decision making

Past and Present Secretary-Generals

1946-52- Trygve Lie1953-61- Dag Hammarskjol1961-71- U Thant 1972-81 Kurt Waldheim1982-91-Javier Perez de Cuellar1992-1996-Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali 1997-2006-Kofi Annan2007- present - Ban Ki-moon

TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

What is the Trusteeship Council?

Supervises the social advancement of people who live in Trust Territories ( places where the people can’t choose their own governments and are under the protection of the UN)

Members are the 5 permanent members of the Security Council

Decisions made by simple majority

How did the Trusteeship Council work?

•Met once a year•Studied reports •Checked to see that territory is

being guided toward independence

•Looked into complaints from the Territory

•Sent representatives to determine help needed

What did the Trusteeship Council do?

•Watched over colonies (territory being ruled by country making decisions for them)

•Set up the Special Committee on Decolonization, leading to 60 colonies becoming independent

TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

The Trusteeship council is now defunct. All territories are

independent nations.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

What is the International Court of Justice?

•Main organization handing down legal judgments

•Has 15 judges, 9 must agree before a decision is made

•Housed in The Hague, Netherlands

•In permanent session

What does the International Court of Justice do?

•Countries (not individuals) take cases before the court

•When a case is tried, the country must agree to abide by the ruling

THE UNITED NATIONS

Working for peace among all nations