United Nations

Organization (UNO)
 Conti…
• The United Nations (UN) is a Global
organization tasked with maintaining
international peace and security
while fostering friendly relations
among nations. It is the largest, most
recognized and most powerful
intergovernmental organization in the
world.
 Conti…
• The UN was formed following the devastating
World War II, with the aim of preventing
future global-scale conflicts.
• It was a successor to the ineffective League of
Nations.
• The representatives of 50 governments met in
San Francisco on 25 April 1945, to draft what
would become the UN Charter.
• The Charter was adopted on 25 June 1945 and
came into effect on 24 October 1945.
Purposes/Aims of the United Nations
• Due to its unique international character, and the powers
vested in its founding Charter, the Organization can take
action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum
for its Member States to express their views.
• The UN has 4 main purposes
1. To keep peace throughout the world;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations;
3. To help nations work together to improve the lives of the
poor, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to
encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms;
4. To be a Centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to
achieve these goals.
 Structure and Organization of the United Nations

• 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
– The Secretariat.
• The United Nations family, however, is much larger,
encompassing 15 agencies and several programmes
and bodies.
General Assembly
 General Assembly

• The General Assembly is the main deliberative

organ of the UN and is composed of
representatives of all Member States.
• The work of the United Nations year-round
derives largely from the mandates given by the
General Assembly.
• Comprising all Member States of the United
Nations, it provides a unique forum for
multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of
international issues covered by the Charter.
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• The Assembly meets in regular session
intensively from September to December
each year, and thereafter as required.
• 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. Each country has one
vote.
Security Council
 Security Council

• The Security Council has primary

responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the
maintenance of international peace and security.
• The Council is composed of five permanent
members - China, France, Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the
United States - and ten non-permanent
members.
• The non-permanent members are elected by the
General Assembly for two-year terms.
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• Each Council member has one vote. Decisions
on procedural matters are made by an
affirmative vote of at least nine of the 15
members.
• Decisions on substantive matters require nine
votes, including the concurring votes of all
five permanent members.
• This rule is often referred to as the “Veto”
Power. A reform of the Security Council,
including its membership, is under
consideration.
Economic and Social Council
 Economic and Social Council

• The Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC) is the principal organ to
coordinate the economic, social and
related work of the United Nations
and the specialized agencies and
institutions.
• Voting in the Council is by simple
majority; each member has one vote.
International Court of Justice
Conti…
 International Court of Justice
• The International Court of Justice,
located at the Hague in the Netherlands,
is the principal judicial organ of the
United Nations.
• It settles legal disputes between States
and gives advisory opinions to the UN
and its specialized agencies.
• Its Statute is an integral part of the United
Nations Charter.
Trusteeship Council
Conti…
 Trusteeship Council

• The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945

by the UN Charter to provide international
supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under
the administration of 7 Member States, and
ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare
the Territories for self-government and
independence.
• By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-
government or independence. Its work completed,
the Council has amended its rules of procedure to
meet as and where occasion may require.
UN Secretariat
UN Secretariat
 UN Secretariat
Administrative organ of the UN
• Supports the other UN bodies
administratively (for example, in the
organization of conferences, the writing
of reports and studies the preparation of
the budget);
• Its chairperson, the UN Secretary-
General, is elected by the General
Assembly for a five-year mandate and is
the UN’s foremost representative.
 The Work of the UN Today
• The work of the United Nations reaches
every corner of the globe. Although best
known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding,
conflict prevention and humanitarian
assistance, there are many other ways the
United Nations and its System
(specialized agencies, funds and
programmes) affect our lives and make
the world a better place.
 Conti…
• The Organization works on a broad range of
fundamental issues, from Sustainable
Development, Environment and Refugees
Protection, Disaster Relief, Counter Terrorism,
Disarmament and Non-proliferation, to
Promoting Democracy, Human Rights, Gender
Equality and the advancement of Women,
Governance, Economic and Social Development
and International Health, Clearing Landmines,
expanding Food Production, and more, in order to
achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer
world for this and future generations.
 United Nations Specialized Agencies
Agency Acronym Headquarters Founding
Year
Food and Agriculture FAO Rome, Italy 1945
Organization
International ITU Geneva, 1865
Telecommunication Switzerland (Joined UN
Union in 1947)
International Fund for IFAD Rome, Italy 1977
Agricultural
Development
International Labour ILO Geneva, 1946
Organization Switzerland
International Maritime IMO London, 1948
Organization United
Kingdom
International Monetary IMF Washington, 1945
Fund United States
United Nations UNESCO Paris, France 1946
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural
Organization
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World Health Organization WHO Geneva, 1948
Switzerland
United Nations Industrial UNIDO Vienna, 1966
Development Organization Austria
International Civil Aviation ICAO Montreal, 1944
Organization Canada
World Intellectual Property WIPO Geneva, 1967
Organisation Switzerland
International Fund for IFAD Rome, Italy 1977
Agricultural Development
Universal Postal Union UPU Bern, 1874
Switzerland
International Telecommunication ITU Geneva, 1865
Union Switzerland
 Important Agencies & Programs under the UN System

Agency Acronym HQ Founding

Year
United Nations UNEP Nairobi, 1972
Environment Programme Kenya
United Nations Children’s UNICEF New York, 1946
Fund USA
United Nations Population UNFPA New York, 1967
Fund USA
United Nations High UNHCR Geneva, 1950
Commissioner for Refugees Switzerland
United Nations Office on UNODC Vienna, 1997
Drugs and Crime Austria
United Nations UNICRI Turin, Italy 1968
Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute
United Nations Office for UNDRR Geneva, 1999
Disaster Risk Reduction Switzerland
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United Nations Development UNDP New York, 1965

Programme USA
United Nations University UNU Tokyo, Japan 1972
United Nations Conference on UNCTAD Geneva, 1964
Trade and Development Switzerland
International Atomic Energy IAEA Vienna, 1957
Agency Austria
United Nations Human UN- Nairobi, Kenya 1978
Settlement Programme Habitat
Joint United Nations UNAIDS Geneva, 1994
Programme on HIV/AIDS Switzerland
World Food Programme WFP Rome, Italy 1961
Office of the High OHCHR Geneva, 1993
Commissioner for Human Switzerland
Rights
UN Peace Keeping Force
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 UN Peacekeeping
• UN Peacekeeping is made up of more than
72,000 field personnel, with 121 countries
contributing troops, police, and civilian
personnel, including several dozen
peacekeepers from the U.S.
• UN Peacekeeping helps countries to deploy
troops and police from around the world,
integrating them with civilian peacekeepers
to address a range of mandates set by the
UN Security Council and General Assembly.
UN Humanitarian Intervention
Conti…
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Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
 Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
• The Responsibility to Protect
populations from genocide, war
crimes, crimes against humanity
and ethnic cleansing has emerged as
an important global principle since
the adoption of the UN World
Summit Outcome Document in 2005.
The Role & Contribution of UN in IR &
The World
Peace and Security:
 Maintaining Peace and Security
 Preventing Nuclear Proliferation
 Supporting Disarmament
– The Chemical Weapons Convention-1997 has been
ratified by 190 States,
– The Mine-Ban Convention-1997 by 162,
– The Arms Trade Treaty-2014 by 69.
 Preventing genocide
 Uniting for Peace Resolution
 Economic Development
• Promoting Development
• Millennium Development Goals
The UN Development Programme (UNDP)
supports more than 4,800 projects to reduce
poverty, promote good governance, address
crises and preserve the environment.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in
more than 150 countries, primarily on child
protection, immunization, girls' education and
emergency aid.
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• The UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) helps
developing countries make the most
of their trade opportunities.
• The World Bank provides developing
countries with loans and grants, and
has supported more than 12,000
projects in more than 170 countries
since 1947.
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• Alleviating Rural Poverty:
• Focusing on African Development:
• Promoting Women's Well-being: UN
dedicated to gender equality and the
empowerment of women.
• Fighting Hunger:to modernize and
improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries
practices in ways that conserve natural
resources and improve nutrition.
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• Commitment in Support of
Children: UNICEF has pioneered to
provide vaccines and other aid
desperately needed by children
caught in armed conflict.
• Tourism: promotion of responsible,
sustainable and universally accessible
tourism.
• Global Code of Ethics for Tourism
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• Global Think Tank: the forefront of
research that seeks solutions to global
problems.
• The UN Population Division
• The UN Statistics Division is the hub
of the global statistical system,
compiling and disseminating global
economic, demographic, social, gender,
environment and energy statistics.
 Conti…
• The United Nations Development
Programme’s annual Human
Development Report
• Human Development Index.
• World Economic and Social Survey,
• The Word Bank’s World Development
Report,
• The IMF's World Economic Outlook
other studies help policymakers to make
informed decisions.
 Social Development
• Preserving Historic, Cultural,
Architectural and Natural Sites:
• The UNESCO has helped 137
countries to protect ancient
monuments and historic, cultural and
natural sites and more than 1,000
such sites have been designated as
having exceptional universal value -
as World Heritage Sites.
 Conti…
Taking the lead on global issues:
• The first United Nations conference on the
environment (Stockholm, 1972
• The first world conference on women (Mexico City,
1985)
• The first international conference on human rights
(Teheran, 1968),
• The first world population conference (Bucharest,
1974)
• The first world climate conference (Geneva, 1979).
• Those events brought together experts and
policymakers, as well as activists, from around the
world, prompting sustained global action.
 Human Rights
• UN General Assembly adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
• UN human rights bodies have focused world
attention on cases of torture, disappearance,
arbitrary detention and other violations.
• Fostering and promoting Democracy:
• recently, the UN has provided crucial
assistance in elections in Afghanistan,
Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Sudan.
 Environment
• Climate change
• Protecting the Ozone Layer
• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the
Ozone Layer-1985.
• The Montreal Protocol-1987
• Kigali amendment (to the Montreal Protocol)-
2016
• Banning Toxic Chemicals: The Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants-
2001
 International Law
• Prosecuting War Criminals
• Helping to Resolve Major International
Disputes
• Stability and Order in the World’s Oceans
• Combating International Crime: The UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• UN Convention against Corruption-2005
and the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime-2003.
• UN conventions on Drug control:
 Humanitarian Affairs
• Assisting refugees
• Aiding Palestinian Refugees
• Reducing the Effects of Natural Disasters
• The World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) has helped to spare millions of people
from the calamitous effects of natural and
man-made disasters.
• Providing Food to the Neediest: The World
Food Programme (WFP)
 Health
• Promoting Reproductive and Maternal Health
• Responding to HIV/AIDS
• Wiping Out Polio
• Eradicating Smallpox
• Fighting Tropical Diseases
• Guinea-worm disease
• Sleeping sickness
• Halting the Spread of Epidemics and pandemics
• Ebola, yellow fever, cholera and influenza,
including avian influenza.
 Conti…
• Genocide in Rwanda and
Srebrenica
• Rape and child sex abuse in the
Congo
• Spreading cholera in Haiti
• Iraq oil for food programme
• Israel-Palestine conflict