The United Nations has six main organs — the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice — which together with related programs and offices operate worldwide. These major bodies are based at UN Headquarters in New York City.
The most important is the Security Council, which has primary responsibility under the Charter for the maintenance of world peace and security. It has 15 members — five permanent and ten non-permanent, each of which has one vote. When the Council is unable to reach agreement on a key issue, it can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force. The Council’s decisions must be endorsed by nine of the fifteen members, including all the permanent members, in order to be valid. The right of the permanent members to block resolutions is known as the veto power.
The United Nations is also concerned with issues that are largely outside the realm of national governments, such as global poverty and development, human rights, environmental protection, AIDS, crime prevention, war and terrorism. To that end, the Organization has numerous inter-governmental committees, commissions and other specialized agencies. Study of the United Nations has varied in scope and depth, reflecting theoretical approaches and incorporating contextual, historical, and legal perspectives. Almost 43,000 staff members — primarily professional civil servants — work as part of the United Nations system, answering only to the Secretariat and taking an oath not to seek or accept instructions from any government.
About the Author
