an introductory dossier to the un

8/12/2019 An Introductory Dossier to the UN

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UN System

Since the moment of its inception, the United Nations devised a system of internal organizationto structure the functioning of the UN as a whole. It comprised a very comprehensive set of directorialmeasures that established a hierarchy within the various functioning bodies that composed the UN. Fothe proper development of every organ and to boost integration between all of them, the UN Charteris quite specific in defining the powers, functions and attributions of every UN organ, and setting thescenario for the efficient collaboration of them all.

This conglomerate of measurements to ensure the organic functionality of the UN with a focus onall its bodies is known as the UN System, for it acts as the link between the various organs that make upthe official structure of the UN.

It is fundamental for us to understand how the UN works and the proceedings that determine thedecisions and actions of its bodies to comprehend how the dynamics of the international communityfunction and how a country must assume specific policies devoted to garnering the support of one spe-cific link of the UN System and achieving expedite results in an international scope.

There is no exact formula to determine how any one body of the UN shall make its decisions, but thestructure of the UN System limits the scope of actions to be taken within the boundaries of a scale in thehierarchy of the UN, and it also restricts a bodys range of action by the establishment of very specificpowers and functions that legitimize certain actions and completely discredit the very consideration oother type of actions.

In order to garner a very specific understanding of the UN hierarchy, we will describe the basic organizational structure in which said hierarchy is displayed. After a general map of the UN, we will move onto analyzing the fundamental bodies that operate within the UN System and how their competenciesare determined, the type of actions they may or may not take, and what kind of policies they have beenknown to adopt.

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.


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General Structure of the UN


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As we can see in the structure above, the main organ that composes the United Nations System is

the United Nations itself, which is established by the UN Charter on its first Chapter, Articles 1-7. Article

1 of the UN Charter sets the objectives for the United Nations, which are as follows:

Maintain peace and international security

Enhance the bonds of friendship between nations

To boost international cooperation in the solution of problems of economical, social, cultural, politcal or humanitarian nature

Serve as a center of international convention to harmonize the efforts of the nations devoted to the

consecution of these common purposes

To carry out its activities, the United Nations as an entity is composed by a total of six main organs

and many subsidiary organs, specialized agencies and regional bodies that participate in the extension

of the authority of the UN, and develop the direct measures devoted to the consecution of its goals.

Each and every one of the six main organs detailed above fulfils a specific purpose in the interests ofthe international community, and the integrated functioning of the six is a vital factor in the successfu

execution of the UNs policies. For these reasons, the UN Charter defined every single organ at the time

of the inception of the UN (1945), and bestowed upon them a very specific set of powers and attribu-

tions designed so the authority of no organ would delegitimize the authority of another.

Following whats exposed in the UN Charter, we can proceed to describe the six main bodies or or-

gans of the UN as:

The General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly is the UNs main international forum, for it is the only organ inwhich all 193 UN member States are represented at the same time, effectively making the UN Genera

Assembly the largest forum of international opinion in the world, and uses this opportunity to create a

convention of world leaders that negotiate and deliberate to reach a conclusion on the matters that the

Assembly entertains. Such conclusions or decisions are known as General Assembly resolutions. It was

established in 1945 by the UN Charter, Chapter IV, Articles 9-22. The UNGAs functions and powers are

set out by the UN Charter, Chapter IV, Articles 10 through 17, and in synthesis, the General Assembly

has the attribution to:

Discuss the matters relating to the powers and attributions of every organ of the United Nations

(with a clear exception established in Article 12 regarding the Security Council)

Oversee the budget of the United Nations

Appoint the non-permanent members of the Security Council

Deliberate upon matters of international cooperation in the areas of peacekeeping and internation-

al security, including those relating to disarmament, and make recommendations to every single UN

member State and to the Security Council at the latters request


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The Fifth Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Affairs:The Fifth Committee is charged

with the responsibility of discussing the financial aspects of the functioning of the United Nations,

including budget and contributions. To achieve its purposes, the Committee has a very particular

agenda in which, in even-numbered years, it discusses the matters relating to the budget of the

United Nations; and in odd-numbered years, it devotes its deliberations to the Programme Plan

which is the instrument used by the UN to determine how to administrate its budget

The Sixth Committee for Legal Affairs:The Sixth Committee discusses items related to matters of

international law in an open forum in which the members States of the UNGA participate to deliveexpedite negotiations. Acting under this authority, the Legal Committee is the organ charged with

the redaction of international treaties and conventions as well as any other instrument of interna-

tional recommendation. In the international panorama.

The process to celebrate a treaty consists in three steps: a certain international organ with the com

petency to discuss a particular topic may consider the necessity of a treaty or convention regarding

one specific problem; to solve this, that organ must make the request to the Legal Committee that

the treaty or convention be celebrated, upon which the Committee will act by discussing it in open

forum and devising work groups dedicated to the drafting of any pertinent documents. After the in-

strument has been drafted and approved by the Committee, it is submitted to the General Assemblyin plenary session to be voted by the members of the international community in the authority of

the UNGA, after which it can be legally approved.

The Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is the organ with the competency to entertain all matters and

situations that may be considered a threat to international peace and security and act accordingly for

the elimination of such threat, and it is able to do so without depending on any other international entity

or without having to report to any other organ if it deems this imprudent. The Security Council was es-

tablished in 1945 by the UN Charter, Chapter V, Articles 23 through 32. The Security Council is an autono-mous organ that deliberates upon the matters charged under its authority and reaches solutions known

as Security Council resolutions. As an international consensus and as established by the UN Charter in

Article 25, all resolutions of the United Nations Security Council are mandatory to the full membership

of the UN. Should any member State fail to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council, the latte

may impose sanctions to the member State in aid of international peace and security.

The United Nations Security Council is composed by 15 member States, of which five are permanent

members and ten are non-permanent members. The five permanent members of the United Nations

Security Council (or P5, as they have come to be known colloquially) are the Peoples Republic of China

the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

and the United States of America. The non-permanent members are elected for a two-year membership

of the United Nations Security Council by the United Nations General Assembly, and they must represent

every regional block in the world.

One very particular trait which is shared by all five permanent members of the Security Council is

that any resolution to be approved must have the positive vote of the whole of them. In practical ap-

plication, this means that if any permanent member were to vote against a certain resolutions, said

resolution would be immediately dismissed without further consideration. This attribution of the five

permanent members is known as the veto power, and there are some very specific cases in history in

which it has been applied.


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The Secretariat

The UN Secretariat is the body if the UN responsible for procuring all the logistic necessities that oth-

er UN bodies may have, including studies, information and facilities. On a second scope, the Secretariat

is also charged with carrying out any logistic or organization task as requested by any of the other five

main bodies of the United Nations. The Secretariat is headed by the United Nations Secretary General

the maximum administrative officer of the UN, elected every five years by the General Assembly on the

recommendation of the Security Council. Currently, the Secretary General of the UN is Ban Ki-Moon from

the Republic of Korea.

To support himself on the exercise of his functions, the Secretary General is entitled to designate a

number of administrative civil international officers to aid him in his affairs, keeping the selection process

based on the evaluation or credentials and maintaining an even representation of every regional block

It is important to note that at all times; both the Secretary General and his officers will maintain a strictly

international condition and may only serve the United Nations. For practical purposes, this means that

they may establish no exclusive ties to any nation of the world. Acting under this, the Secretary Genera

and his officers will not request or receive any instructions from any government or any authority other

than the UN, and will refrain from engaging in any practice that could be considered incompatible with

their endowment as international officers answerable only to the UN.

The International Court of Justice

It is the main judicial organ of the United Nations, as established in 1945 by the UN Charter in Chap-

ter XIV, Articles 92 through 95. The International Court of Justice shall function in accordance with the

annexed Statute to the UN Charter, which is based on the Statute of the Permanent Court of Interna-

tional Justice. The International Court of Justice shall have the responsibility to entertain any cased sub-

mitted to it by member States and solve legal disputes between States. Also, it may offer advice to any

international entity that may request it.

By the Charter, in Articles 94, all member States have agreed to abide by the decisions of the Interna-

tional Court of Justice in any litigation in which it takes part. If any party in litigation is found in contempt

of the Courts decision, the opposing party may turn to the Security Council to request the execution of

the Courts ruling. The Security Council may, if necessary, issue recommendations or impose sanctions to

the incompliant party to enforce the upholding of the decision issued by this Court.

The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council is the sixth main body of the United Nations as established in the Charter in

Chapter XIII, Articles 86 through 91. The Trusteeship Councils mission is to ensure that the administra-

tion of all trust territories is being handled in a manner that it favors the interests of its people, as to avoid

any scenario where fundamental human, social, cultural and political rights are violated. As established

in the Charter in Articles 87 and 88, the functions and powers of the Trusteeship Council are:

Consider reports and briefs submitted to the Council by the administering authority

Accept petitions an examine them in consultation with the administering authority


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Provide for visits to the trust territories at times agreed upon with the administering authority

Take these and other actions in conformity with the terms of the trusteeship agreements

Seeing as the mission of the Trusteeship Council is to procure the fair administration of trust ter-

ritories and taking into consideration that most trust territories were former mandates of the League of

Nations or mandates established by the occupation of a territory taken from a nation in the aftermath

of world war II, it is safe to say that in the international panorama of the current day, trust territories are

non-existent. In fact, as of 1994, the last trust territory (Palau); was recognized as a State and admitted tothe United Nations. This situation has de facto rendered the Trusteeship Council without an object to its

mission, which has left it inactive.

Subsidiary organs to the UN General Assembly

They compose a wide set of limbs for the UNGA established by one of the latters resolutions, de-

signed to carry out a specific task in a permanent matter. The subsidiary organs form a contingent of

international actions that allows the UNGA to better fulfill its obligations. In the international panorama

of today, the most prominent subsidiary organs are:

United Nations Human Rights Council:Established by UNGAs resolution 60/251, is the governing

council in matters of human rights and acts as a deliberative and reporting organ in the UNs mission

for the consecution of global respect for human rights.

Disarmament Commission:Established by UNGAs resolution 502 and S-10/2, charged with the re-

sponsibility of aiding the First Committee of the UNGA for Disarmament Affairs in the process of mak-

ing policies devoted to disarmament and issuing recommendations to member States.

Executive Board of the United Nations Childrens Fund:This organ acts only as the UNs adminis

trative entity for UNICEF, established through UNGAs resolution 57 (I) and 48/162. It is one of three ex-

ecutive boards that operate within the UN System from the position of a subsidiary organ to the UN.

Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme:The administrative entity for

the UNDP, established through the resolution 2029 (XX) and 48/162.

Executive Board of the World Food Programme:The Executive Board for the WFP maintains the

sole discretion over the administration of the funds and activities of the Programme, as well as the at-

tribution to establish missions to certain member States that may be deemed particularly vulnerable

United Nations Funds and Programmes

These function as target-specific bodies created with the purpose of carrying out activities devoted

to no more than one objective, generally under times of international crisis or when a dire situations

presents itself in the area regarding its competencies. Of the many funds and programmes of the United

Nation, the ones currently carrying out the most number of missions are:

United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR): As its name suggests, UNHCR was

created with the mission of aiding the people who, under the Convention Relating to the Status of

Refugees, are afforded the classification of refugee. While repatriation is the main goal of UNHCR, it

carries out many operations to provide a dignified life condition to people who have been forced to

flee their homeland.


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United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF):The United Nations Childrens Fund was first devised as

a strategy to aid the dire status of children who were orphaned or otherwise devastated during the

aftermath of world war II under the name of United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund

(UNICEF, in abbreviation). Later, its competencies were extended, and UNICEF is now a full UN pro-

gram acting on behalf of children. Still, it maintains the same name it was given when it was con-

ceived as an emergency strategy.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Devoted to the task of achieving a level of de-

velopment suitable to the requirements of the standard for an acceptable quality of life. For this rea-son, it assesses the member States on policies dedicated to development in its different branches.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):The UNODC works as a limb to achieve the

diffusion of policies that seek to end very specific illnesses in the international panorama (like human

trade, for example). It conducts a series of campaigns of cooperation with member States to eradicate

crime and drug related operations and is currently carrying out large campaigns in Central America

South America and Europe.

World Food Programme:The WFP is the main organization within the UN System dealing with ali-

mentary problems and the largest organization dealing with hunger worldwide. It is a strategy de-vised to provide food for specific sectors of population of the world that may be deemed unable to

produce food for themselves, as a way of achieving the level of humanitarian aid compatible to the

fulfillment of the United Nations goals.

United Nations Specialized Agencies

Specialized agencies are international organizations that work towards one specific field that is nec-

essary for the consecution of the objectives of the United Nations. In their respective fields, specialized

agencies represent the universal authority, often assessing the work of the United Nations main bodies

towards the goals that relate to their area of work and being the international entity to which States turn

when they require assistance in a specific area.

Specialized agencies are completely autonomous. Nonetheless, they report to the United Nations in

the form of briefs that are submitted on a specific time basis and that details the activities being carried

out. Despite this, specialized agencies are the international forum in which the matters related to thei

field of work are to be discussed, and where States and experts will convene on devising policies that

give solutions to the problems faced by their field. Specialized agencies are among the most prominent

organs within the UN System for they are separated from the United Nations and follow particular crite-

ria, not to mention the fact that the whole of the international community (the United Nations included)

looks upon them to be the voice of expertise in the affairs related to their competencies. To illustrate this

it is fitting to list some prominent specialized agencies.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): This is the universa

authority on matters related to science, education and culture. It serves as a forum in which humanity

uses its knowledge and preserves it, and oversees the advance of science as mankinds way of dis-

covering the world, education as a fundamental pillar for the development of the human race and of

culture as the expression of the human essence.

World Health Organization (WHO): In matters of public health, the universal authority is the WHO

In its forum, the Health Ministers from all member States convene to discuss topics of international

interest regarding public health and devise policies and strategies to deal with crisis situations and to


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strengthen the healthcare system of every member State to achieve a universal condition of wellbe-

ing.

World Bank Group: Economic policy recommendations, measure programs, financial assessment of

member States, international cooperation for economic development, all fall within the competency

of the World Bank Group, which is an entity comprised by many financial bodies that, through collec-

tive work, represent the universal authority on financial affairs. Its recommendations and programs

are executed by most of the States to which they are issued, and the results of its activities have

proved to be very favorable.

As well as the ones listed above, many other specialized agencies exist to carry out tasks too specific

to be contemplated by the United Nations as a whole, and the integration of the work of such agencies

is vital for the international community and its efforts to create an efficient network of organizational

support devoted to the consecution of the United Nations objectives and, more recently, the millennium

development goals.

The building of the World Bank Group

an introductory dossier to the un

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