PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW ASSIGNMENT

UNITED NATIONS AND ITS ORGANS

Submitted By,
Amithab Sankar,
1477.
EVOLUTION OF UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that was tasked to maintain
international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve
international co-operation and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. The
headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and is subject to extraterritoriality.
Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is
financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives
include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering
humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development and upholding international law. The
UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful
intergovernmental organization in the world. In 24 October 1945, at the end of World War II,
the organization was established with the aim of preventing future war. At its founding, the
UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN is the successor of the ineffective
League of Nations.

On 25 April 1945, 50 governments met in San Francisco for a conference and started drafting
the UN Charter, which was adopted on 25 June 1945 in the San Francisco Opera House, and
signed on 26 June 1945 in the Herbst Theatre auditorium in the Veterans War Memorial
Building. This charter took effect on 24 October 1945, when the UN began operation. The
UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades during the Cold
War between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies. Its missions have
consisted primarily of unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops with primarily
monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles. The organization's membership grew
significantly following widespread decolonization which started in the 1960s. Since then, 80
former colonies had gained independence, including 11 trust territories, which were
monitored by the Trusteeship Council. By the 1970s its budget for economic and social
development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the
Cold War, the UN shifted and expanded its field operations, undertaking a wide variety of
complex tasks. The UN has six principal organs: the General Assembly; the Security Council,
the Economic and Social Council; the Trusteeship Council; the International Court of Justice;
and the UN Secretariat. The UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World
Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, and UNICEF. The UN's most
prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese politician and
diplomat António Guterres since 1 January 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be
granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UN's work.
The organization, its officers and its agencies have won many Nobel Peace Prizes.

Other evaluations of the UN's effectiveness have been mixed. Some commentators believe
the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others
have called the organization ineffective, biased, or corrupt.

 1941August: Signing of the Atlantic Charter by the US President Franklin D.

Roosevelt and British PM Winston S. Churchill

 1942 January: 26 Allied nations fighting against the Axis Powers meet in
Washington, D.C., to support the Atlantic Charter and sign the ‘Declaration by
United Nations’

 1943 December: Tehran Conference Declaration of the Three Powers (US, Britain
and Soviet Union)

 1945 February: Yalta Conference of the ‘Big Three’ (Roosevelt, Churchill and
Stalin) decides to organise a United Nations conference on the proposed world
organisation

 April-May: The 2-month long United Nations Conference on International

Organisation at San Francisco

 1945 June 26: Signing of the UN Charter by 50 nations (Poland signed on October
15; so the UN has 51 original founding members)

 1945 October 24: the UN was founded (hence October 24 is celebrated as UN

Day)

 1945 October 30: India joins the UN

ORGANS OF THE UN:

The main organs of the UN consists of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Ju stice, and the UN Secretariat. UN
General Assembly is the main decision-making and representative assembly and is
responsible for upholding the principles of the UN through its policies and recommendations.
It is composed of all member states, is headed by a president elected from the member states,
and meets from September to December each year.

The UN Security Council is another branch and is the most powerful. It can authorize the
deployment of UN member states' militaries, can mandate a cease-fire during conflicts and
can enforce penalties on countries if they do not comply with given mandates. It is composed
of five permanent members and 10 rotating members.

Next, the Economic and Social Council assists the General Assembly in promoting economic
and social development as well as the cooperation of member states. The next branch of the
UN is the International Court of Justice, located in The Hague, Netherlands. Finally, the
Secretariat is the branch headed by the Secretary-General. Its main responsibility is providing
studies, information, and other data when needed by other UN branches for their meetings.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

The Assembly is empowered to make recommendations to States on international issues

within its competence. When the General Assembly decides on important questions such as
those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, a two-thirds
majority of those present and voting is required. All other questions are decided by a majority
vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary matters,
resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on
any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under
consideration by the Security Council.

According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may:

 Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments
of Member States;

 Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other
United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security
Council, appoint the Secretary-General;

 Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for

maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament;
  Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a
dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, make
recommendations on it;

 Discuss, with the same exception, and make recommendations on any questions within
the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United
Nations;

 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, and international collaboration in the
economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields;

 Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair
friendly relations among countries;

 Consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs.

The Assembly may also take action in cases of a threat to the peace, breach of peace or act of
aggression, when the Security Council has failed to act owing to the negative vote of a
permanent member. In such instances, according to its “Uniting for peace” resolution of 3
November 1950, the Assembly may consider the matter immediately and recommend to its
Members collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.

SECURITY COUNCIL:

The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among countries. While
other organs of the UN can only make "recommendations" to member states, the Security
Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out,
under the terms of Charter Article 25. The decisions of the Council are known as United
Nations Security Council resolutions. The Security Council is made up of fifteen member
states, consisting of five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom,
and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the
General Assembly.

Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

1) to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes
of the United Nations 2)to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to
international friction 3)to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of
settlement 4)to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments 5)to
determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what
action should be taken6) to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures
not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression 7)to take military action against
an aggressor 8)to recommend the admission of new Members 9) to exercise the trusteeship
functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas"10) to recommend to the General
Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to
elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL:

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting
international economic and social co-operation and development. The Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, ten functional
commissions and five regional commissions, receives reports from nine UN funds and
programmes (see reverse) 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.

The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers
represented on ECOSOC. The council has one annual meeting in July, held in either New
York or Geneva. Viewed as separate from the specialized bodies it co-ordinates, ECOSOC's
functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making
recommendations.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE:

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its
seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). The Court’s 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.

Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to
the Permanent Court of International Justice. The ICJ is composed of 15 judges who serve 9-
year terms and are appointed by the General Assembly; every sitting judge must be from a
different nation.

SECRETARIAT:

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN

staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General
Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs. In other words, The UN Secretariat
is headed by the Secretary-General, assisted by the Deputy Secretary-General and a staff of
international civil servants worldwide. The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer
of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the
Security Council for a five-year, renewable term. The Secretary-General acts as the
de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN.UN staff members are recruited internationally
and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.

It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings. It also
carries out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic
and Social Council, and other UN bodies. The office has evolved into a dual role of an
administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes
between member states and finding consensus to global issues.

FUNCTIONS OF UN TODAY:

As it was in the past, the main function of the UN today is to maintain peace and security for
all of its member states. Though the UN does not maintain its own military, it does have
peacekeeping forces that are supplied by its member states. On approval of the UN Security
Council, these peacekeepers are, for example, sent to regions where armed conflict has
recently ended to discourage combatants from resuming fighting. In 1988, the peacekeeping
force won a Nobel Peace Prize for its actions. In addition to maintaining peace, the UN aims
to protect human rights and provide humanitarian assistance when needed. In 1948, the
General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard for its
human rights operations. The UN currently provides technical assistance in elections, helps to
improve judicial structures and draft constitutions trains human rights officials, and provides
food, drinking water, shelter, and other humanitarian services to peoples displaced by
famine,war, and natural disaster. Finally, the UN plays an integral part in social and
economic development through its UN Development Program. This is the largest source of
technical grant assistance in the world. In addition, the World Health Organization; UNAIDS;
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the UN Population Fund; and the
World Bank Group, to name a few, play an essential role in this aspect of the UN. The parent
organization also annually publishes the Human Development Index to rank countries in
terms of poverty, literacy, education, and life expectancy.

Millennium Development Goals:

At the turn of the century, the UN established what it called its Millennium Development
Goals. Most of its member states and various international organizations agreed to target
goals relating to reducing poverty and child mortality, fighting diseases and epidemics, and
developing a global partnership in terms of international development, by 2015. A report
issued as the deadline neared noted the progress that had been made, lauding efforts in
developing nations, and noted shortfalls as well that need continued focus: people still living
in poverty without access to services, gender inequality, the wealth gap, and climate change's
effects on the poorest people.