Chapter Two: United Nations

1- What is United Nations?

The United Nations is an international organization formed after World War II

in 1945 to promote international peace, security, and cooperation under the terms of
the Charter of the United Nations. Originally signed by 51 founding countries, there
are currently 193 Member States of the UN. The predecessor organization to the UN
is The League of Nations established in 1919 by the Covenant of the League of
Nations.

2- UN Purposes:

Article 1 of the UN charter states the purposes of the United Nations, which are
as follows:

• 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 purposes.

3- UN Principles:

To fulfil the purposes stated in Article 1, the UN and all its member states
should act in accordance with the following principles:

• It is based on the sovereign equality of all its members;

• All members should fulfil in good faith their Charter obligations;
• They should settle their international disputes by peaceful means and without
endangering international peace and security and justice;
• They should refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state;
• They should 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.

4- United Nations Organs:

According to the United Nations charter, the principal organs of the United
Nations are: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council,
Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and Secretariat:
a) General Assembly:

The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative

organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General
Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

b) Security Council:

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the
maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent
and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all
Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions. The Security
Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of
aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and
recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement.
c) Economic and Social Council:
The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy
review, policy dialogue, and recommendations on economic, social, and
environmental issues, as well as the implementation of internationally agreed
development goals.
d) Trusteeship Council:
The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under
Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had
been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that
adequate steps were taken to prepare the territories for self-government and
independence.
e) 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). It is the only one
of the six principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York (United
States of America). 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.
f) 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.
The Secretary-General is the chief administrative officer of the organization,
appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council
for a five-year, renewable term.
* UN Specialized Agencies:

In the United Nations system, there are currently 15 specialized agencies . Each of
these agencies is a legally independent intergovernmental organization with its own
constitution, rules, membership, organs, and financial resources, they are as follows:
 U.N. Specialized Agencies Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
 International Labor Organization (ILO)
 International Maritime Organization (IMO)
 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
 U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
 U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
 U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
 Universal Postal Union (UPU)
 World Bank Group (WBG)
 World Health Organization (WHO)
 World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO)
 World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

General
Assembly

International
Security
Court of
Council
Justice

Principal
Organs
Trasteeship
of UN
Secretariat
Council

Economic
and Social
Council