Download - The united nations. revised 2007
THE UNITED NATIONS
Everything you might want to know….. and more!
What is the United Nations?
Organization of countries joined together to work for world peace
What are the aims of the United Nations?
Keep peace throughout the world
Develop friendly relations among nations
Work together to help poor people live better lives, remove poverty, disease and illiteracy and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms
Be a center for helping nations achieve these goals
How did the U.N. begin?
The League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations was created because people believed that a world organization of nations could keep the peace and prevent a repetition of the horrors of the 1914-18 war in Europe.
How did the U.N. begin?2
After W W II, it became obvious that the League couldn’t prevent war, so the League of Nations was abandoned…but most of its ideals and some of its structure were kept by the United Nations.
The ideals of peace and social/ economic progress remained the basic goals of the new world organization.
How did the U.N. begin?3
January 1, 1942
26 countries signed the United Nations Declaration
How did the U.N. begin?4
1945- Representatives of 50 countries met at the San Francisco Conference and drafted and adopted the United Nations Charter and laws of the International Court of Justice
When was the United Nations Officially Born?
October 24, 1945
We now celebrate United NationsDay on October 24 throughout
the world.
How many members are now in the United Nations?
192 MEMBERSMost Recently Admitted
Montenegro
Who can become a member of the UN?
All peace-loving nations accepting the aims and
rules of the Charter which express hope for world
peace and works toward that goal
What languages are used at the United Nations?
ArabicChineseEnglishFrenchRussianSpanish
Where is the U.N.’s Headquarters
•New York, United States
•Zoned “International” and has a separate flag, security officers, post office and special stamps
How many buildings are at the U.N.?
4 Buildings
•General Assembly Building•Secretariat •Conference Building•Dag Hammarskjold Library
How is the U.N. organized?
6 Main Organizations• General Assembly• Security Council• Economic and Social Council• Trusteeship Council• International Court of Justice• Secretariat
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
What is the General Assembly?
Main body of the UnitedNations where everyone meets together to discuss topics and vote
What does the General Assembly
do?
•Elects a president every year•Makes recommendations on any
subject not being dealt with by the Security Council
•Admits new members recommended by the Security Council
What does the General Assembly do?
• Appoints Secretary-General• Elects members of other organs• Decides how much money each
country should pay to run the U. N. and how the money is spent
• Adopts resolutions but cannot enforce them
How does the General Assembly work?
•Every nation has an equal vote regardless of size
•Voting requires a 2/3 majority
•Meets once a year - 3rd Tuesday of September
SECURITY COUNCIL
What is the Security Council ?
Guardian of world peace Deals with questions of
peace and security
Who are the members of the Security Council
15 members 5 permanent members
•China•France•Russian Federation•United Kingdom•United States
What does the Security Council do?
Investigates disputes Recommends settlement options Determines if there is a possible
threat to peace and security Calls on nations to impose
sanctions or other non violent means to prevent or stop war
How does the Security Council work?
•Does not hold regular meetings but can have called meetings at any time
•Any nation can bring a dispute •President takes turns a month at
a time based on the English alphabetical order of country
How does the Security Council work?
•Voting requires 9 out of 15
•If any of the 5 permanent members vote “no”, resolutions are vetoed
What powers does the Security Council have?
Take military action against an aggressor
Recommend new members for admission to the UN
Recommend the appointment of the Secretary General
ECOSOC
Economic and Social Council
What is ECOSOC?
Organ that deals with theneeds of all humans
What are the Economic Concerns of ECOSOC?
•Trade•Transport•Industrialization •Economic development
What are the Social Concerns of ECOSOC?
Population Children Housing Women’s rights Racial
discrimination
Narcotic drugs Crime Social welfare Youth Human
environment Food.
What does the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) do?
•Makes recommendations on how to improve•education•health conditions•respect for human rights and freedom of people everywhere
How does ECOSOC work?
•54 member countries, elected by the GA for 3 year terms
•Holds one meeting a year
•Votes are by majority
REGIONAL COMMISSIONS
Assists ECOSOC in helping people in specific parts of the world
What are the Regional Commissions of the ECOSOC?
Regional Economic/Social Commissions
• ECA - Africa• ECE - Europe• ECLAC - Latin America and the
Caribbean• ESCAP -Asia and Pacific• ESCWA - Western Asia
SECRETARIAT
What doest the Secretariat do?
Carries out the day-to day operations of the United Nations
What is the work of the Secretariat?
Administer peacekeeping operations
Mediate international disputes
Survey economic and social trends and problems
Prepare studies on human rights and sustainable development
Inform the media about the work of the United Nations
Organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern
Interpret speeches Translate documents into
the Organization's official languages.
How does the Secretariat work?
• 8900 employees in NY with other workers spread all over the world
• Workers include: economists, editors, librarians, translators and experts working “behind the scenes”
• Headed by the Secretary-General
Secretary-General
• Heads the Secretariat
• Appointed by GA for 5 years
• Same power as a head of a member country
• Brings to Security Council problems threatening world peace
Who is the Secretary General?
Ban Ki-Moon
What does the Secretary-General do?
•Propose issues to be discussed by the U.N
•“Referee” in disputes•Helps resolve issues without
going to Security Council or General Assembly
What does the Secretary-General do?
•Heads the staff of international civil servants
•Staff prepares background information on problems to assist in decision making
Past and Present Secretary-Generals
1946-52- Trygve Lie1953-61- Dag Hammarskjol1961-71- U Thant 1972-81 Kurt Waldheim1982-91-Javier Perez de Cuellar1992-1996-Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali 1997-2006-Kofi Annan2007- present - Ban Ki-moon
TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
What is the Trusteeship Council?
Supervises the social advancement of people who live in Trust Territories ( places where the people can’t choose their own governments and are under the protection of the UN)
Members are the 5 permanent members of the Security Council
Decisions made by simple majority
How did the Trusteeship Council work?
•Met once a year•Studied reports •Checked to see that territory is
being guided toward independence
•Looked into complaints from the Territory
•Sent representatives to determine help needed
What did the Trusteeship Council do?
•Watched over colonies (territory being ruled by country making decisions for them)
•Set up the Special Committee on Decolonization, leading to 60 colonies becoming independent
TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
The Trusteeship council is now defunct. All territories are
independent nations.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
What is the International Court of Justice?
•Main organization handing down legal judgments
•Has 15 judges, 9 must agree before a decision is made
•Housed in The Hague, Netherlands
•In permanent session
What does the International Court of Justice do?
•Countries (not individuals) take cases before the court
•When a case is tried, the country must agree to abide by the ruling
THE UNITED NATIONS
Working for peace among all nations