United Nations
The United Nations was founded by 51 countries on October 24, 1945. It is an international organization that is committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing good relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights. There are 192 member states that belong to the United Nations and, as of June 30, 2009, about 40,000 secretariat staff members. The official languages of the UN are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The Trusteeship Council was suspended in 1994, but meets when needed. Currently there are 16 peacekeeping operations.
The General Assembly is the policymaking and representative branch of the United Nations. It consists of all 192 member states. General Assembly plays a significant role in the process of standard-setting and the arrangement of international law. They meet in regular sessions from September to December every year and also when needed. Some things the General Assembly do are discuss the principles of cooperating and maintaining international peace and security, discuss questions related to international peace and security, discuss questions within the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any area of the United Nations, and much more.
The Security Council’s primary responsibility is to maintain international peace and security. When a dispute turns into fighting, the Security Council’s first concern is to bring it to an end as soon as possible. The functions of the Security Council are to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international trouble, recommend methods of adjusting disputes, determine the existence of a threat to the peace and recommend what action should be taken, take military action against an aggressor, recommend the admission of new members, and much more. A representative of each of its members must be present at all times at the United Nations Headquarters.
The Economic and Social Council is the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues. They are responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress, identifying solutions to international economic, social, and health problems, make international cultural and educational cooperation less difficult, and encourage universal respect for human rights and freedoms. The current president of ECOSOC is His Excellency Hamidon Ali.
The International Court of Justice is the main judicial section of the UN. The role of the International Court of Justice is to settle legal disputes submitted to it by member states and to give opinions on legal questions referred to it. The seat is located at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, and is the only section of the UN not located in New York. The Court is made up of 15 judges who are elected for nine-year terms by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. Its official languages are English and French.
The Secretariat carries out the diverse day-to-day work. It services the other principle sections of the UN and manages the programs and policies made by them. The duties of the Secretariat are extremely varied. Included in their many responsibilities, they also inform the world’s communications media about the work of the United Nations, organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern, and interpret speeches and translate documents into the official languages of the UN.
I really enjoyed doing some research on the United Nations. I think they’re a very good thing to be a part of. If I was ever given the opportunity to work with the UN, I would love to do Secretariat work. I think it would be fun to have many varied responsibilities and organize the different worldwide conferences. Although that will probably never happen, I’m still going to daydream about it. One thing that I didn’t know is that almost all the branches are in New York! Is that suppose to be common knowledge and I’m just out of the loop? A question I have is this – Are all Secretariat staff members required to know all the official languages of the United Nations? I looked up the question on Bing and Ask but could not find an answer. I could see where they would have to because of their position, but then again they would have native speakers too. Overall, I really enjoyed the research on the United Nations and will probably look up more information on my own time.
Comments
Well done!!