How does the UN work?

 A longer, more political article today...

 

Seventy eight years ago, an organisation was set up in New York called the United Nations. This occurred due to a little known event known as the Second World War, which caused many people to want to ensure such a war never happened again. The fact that a similar organisation - the League of Nations - had done a poor job at ensuring world peace almost certainly made the fifty countries that met at a conference San Francisco in April 1945 - those that were at war against Germany and Japan, plus Belarus, Ukraine (part of the Soviet Union yet also were represented separately at the UN) and Argentina, all came together to sign the UN Charter and agree upon a new International Court of Justice, which replaced the poorly named Permanent Court of International Justice. Poland signed the charter later that year, and the UN would become a thing on the 24th October 1945. The UN is currently comprised of 193 member states, along with the Holy See and Palestine as observer states.

The UN itself is comprised of many bodies and councils. But what are they and how do they work?

The UN Charter established five main bodies, which make up the UN System. They are:

• The General Assembly 

All member states of the UN participate in the General Assembly, voting on matters such as electing the Secretary General, who is the head of the UN, as well as issues raised in resolutions which are then voted on.

As a result, this body of the UN attempts to maintain peace (Ch 5, Ar 11 of the UN Charter, paraphrased), as well as furthering human rights as well as co-operation in political, economic, and legislative matters (Ch 5, Ar 13 paraphrased) which UN peacekeepers enforce.

There are six committees within the Assembly:

1. Disarmament and International Security - they try to resolve disputes and maintain world peace;
2. Economic and Financial - they discuss issues relating to global economic development;
3. Social, Humanitarian and Cultural - they discuss issues relating to people, their culture, and human rights;
4. Special Political and Decolonisation - they discuss issues relating to political matters, such as peacekeeping;
5. Administrative and Budgetary - how to run the UN;
6. Legal - law questions (quite obvious).
   

• The Security Council

There are five permanent members - the UK (which will have the presidency of the council from July 2023), France, the US, Russia (after the USSR collapsed) and China (after Taiwan - the Republic of China - was removed from this position in 1971). Perhaps controversially, these members have a veto when voting on resolutions. There are also ten other members from across the world on a temporary basis - who do not have a veto!

The Security Council discusses issues primarily on issues about world peace, and vote in resolutions which UN peacekeepers enforce. 

• Economic and Social Council

The General Assembly votes on fifty-four members to join the council, which votes on matters relating to social (health and education, for instance) and economic matters. Many agencies work with the council, such as the IMF and WHO, and the council itself organises forums and meetings to discuss matters with people

• International Court of Justice

Centred in The Hague, this court takes on legal matters relating to global issues. On the 13th July 2023, for example, they will made a decision on "the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast". There are fifteen judges elected on nine-year terms who make decisions on these matters.

• Secretariat

They do the administrative work of the UN, headed by the Secretary General. There are 43,000 members of the Secretariat globally, who are arranged along departmental lines - most operate in New York, but there are many present in areas such as Addis Ababa where the UN also operates.

There used to be a sixth operating body of the UN - the Trusteeship Council, which sought to help advance the lives of those living in Trust Territories under the International Trusteeship System (established in Ch 12 of the UN Charter) - but in 1994, it stopped operating after Palau, the last remaining Trust Territory, gained independence. There is also the UN Human Rights Office, which aims to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, established seventy-five years ago. Working with the High Commissioner of Human Rights, they work with governments and people to bring about greater equality for all and to promote human rights, as well as monitoring how these rights are upheld.

The UN also helps distribute aid through the Office for the Co-ordination of Human Affairs, which leads responses to emergencies such as natural disasters, and the Central Emergency Response Fund, where money is donated to aid countries, such as Pakistan in the aftermath of the flood that hit the country earlier in 2023. There are also Resident Coordinators and the Development Programme which assist with activities relating to natural disasters - the RC work within national areas. The UN Refugee Agency supports and protects refugees worldwide, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East helps Palestinians affected by the conflict between Israel and Palestine, UNICEF provides aid to and protecting vulnerable children, the UNFPA support "the health and protection needs" of women and girls, the World Food Programme provides relief to those who have limited access to food, and the WHO co-ordinate responses to disease outbreaks as well as those affected in conflicts due to their health.

There is so much more that I could write about, but I'd rather keep this article not too long, and I've had enough of writing anyways.

The UN Charter

The UN - in English, my main source for this blogpost.