1. UNITED
NATIONS

2. WHAT IS UNITED NATIONS?
• The United Nations (UN) is an Inter-governmental
organization that was tasked to maintain international
peace and security, develop friendly relations among
nations, achieve international co-operation and be a
center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

3. WHY DO WE HAVE THE UN?
• After World War I, the League of Nations was created to prevent
another world war.
• During World War II, the League of Nations was eliminated because
it failed to prevent another war.
• In 1945, with the end of WWII nearing, the United Nations was
created to replace the failed League of Nations.

4. HISTORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
• In 1945, San Francisco hosted the United Nations Conference
on International Organizations.
• There were 50 countries represented at the United Nations
Conference including: United States, France, United
Kingdom, Soviet Union (now Russia), and China.
• These five countries are known as the “Permanent Five”
members.

5. WHAT DOES THE UNITED NATIONS DO?
• The UN was created to maintain international peace and security.
• It also works to maintain friendly relationships between countries.
• Lastly, it works to promote economic development of all member
nations.

6. PRESENT DAY UNITED NATIONS
• Almost all countries in the world are members of
the UN.
• There are currently 193 member countries in the
UN.
• The headquarters of UN is in New York City.
• The current President of UN is António Guterres.

7. UN HEADQUARTERS

8. PRESIDENT OF UNITED NATIONS

9. MAIN ORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS
• The General Assembly – the ‘town meeting’ of the world.
• UN Security Council – maintains world peace (most powerful
branch)
• Economic and Social Council - works with the UN’s economic,
cultural, health and educational activities.
• Trusteeship Council - territories
• ICJ – International Court of Justice
• The Secretariat – administrative duties and can bring any
topic before the SC.

10. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative
organ of the UN. All 193 member states of the UN are represented in the General
Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.
• Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly
Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate,
which many heads of state attend and address.
• María Fernanda Espinosa is current UN General Assembly President.

11. UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

12. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

13. FUNCTIONS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative,
policymaking and representative organ of the UN.
• 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. Some Member States in arrear of
payment may be granted the right to vote.
• The Assembly has adopted its own rules of procedure and elects
its President and 21 Vice-Presidents for each session.

14. UN SECURITY COUNCIL
• The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security.
• It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the
United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council
decisions.
• The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the
peace or act of aggression.
• It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and
recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement.
• In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even
authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

15. UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING

16. UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
• Five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the
United States, and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General
Assembly (with end of term year):
1. Belgium (2020)
2. Côte d’Ivoire (2019)
3. Dominican Republic (2020)
4. Equatorial Guinea (2019)
5. Germany (2020)
6. Indonesia (2020)
7. Kuwait (2019)
8. Peru (2019)
9. Poland (2019)
10. South Africa (2020)

17. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC)
• ECOSOC, one of the six main organs of the United Nations established by the UN
Charter in 1946, is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy
dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as
well as for implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.
• ECOSOC serves as the central mechanism for the activities of the United Nations
system and its specialized agencies, and supervises the subsidiary and expert
bodies in the economic, social and environmental fields.

18. ECOSOC CHAMBER HALL

19. FUNCTIONS OF ECOSOC
ECOSOC engages a wide variety of stakeholders – policymakers, parliamentarians, academics, major
groups, foundations, business sector representatives and 3,200+ registered non-governmental
organizations.
The work of the Council is guided by an issue-based approach, and there is an annual theme
that accompanies each programmatic cycle, ensuring a sustained and focused discussion
among multiple stakeholders.
Example
Youth Forum, held annually since 2012, brings the voice of youth into the discussion of the
Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 development agenda.

20. TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
• It was established under Chapter XIII of the Charter to supervise the
administration of Trust Territories and to ensure that Governments responsible
for their administration took adequate steps to prepare them for the achievement
of the Charter goals.
• In 1994, the Security Council terminated the United Nations Trusteeship
Agreement for the last of the original 11 Territories on its agenda - the Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau), administered by the United States.

21. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United
Nations and began work in A
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes
submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions
referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine
years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is
assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English
and French.

22. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

23. THE SECRETARIAT
• The Secretariat, one of the main organs of the UN, is organized
along departmental lines, with each department or office having a
distinct area of action and responsibility. Offices and departments
coordinate with each other to ensure cohesion as they carry out the
day to day work of the Organization in offices and duty stations
around the world. At the head of the United Nations Secretariat is
the Secretary-General.

24. SOME OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS AT
HEADQUARTERS
• Executive Office of the Secretary-General
• Office of Internal Oversight Services
• Office of Legal Affairs
• Office for Disarmament Affairs
• Department of Peace Operations
• Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

25. SANCTIONS
• Sanctions are used to punish a country for violating international law. They can
be used to force a country to follow a law.
• “The Security Council can take action to maintain or restore international peace
and security under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Sanctions measures,
under Article 41, encompass a broad range of enforcement options that do not
involve the use of armed force. ” UN
• In order for sanctions to be used by the UN Security Council, ALL FIVE permanent
members must have a unanimous vote.

26. TYPES OF SANCTIONS
• Diplomatic Sanctions – removal of all political ties (like embassies)
• Economic Sanctions – ban on all trade with a country (except food)
• Military Sanctions – using a military to force compliance.

27. MILITARY SANCTIONS
• UN Peacekeepers
• A group of armed soldiers sent to a hostile area to
promote peace. They are not Combat Troops
• These soldiers maintain peace.
• They don’t go on combat missions.
• They are not an ‘army’
• UN Military Force
• An army made up of soldiers from more than one UN
country that can serve as combat troops.
• They are not very effective and are not used very often.

28. UN PEACEKEEPERS
They always wear blue berets or blue helmets to identify themselves.

29. UN SPECIALIZED AGENCIES
• They are international organizations that coordinate their work with the United
Nations through negotiated agreements.
• There are 15 Specialized agencies. They are:-
1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
2. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
3. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
4. International Labour Organization (ILO)
5. International Maritime Organization (IMO)
6. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
7. International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

30. CONT…
8. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
9. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
10. Universal Postal Union (UPU)
11.World Bank
12.World Health Organization (WHO)
13.World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
14.World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
15.World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

31. PERMANENT MEMBERS OF THE UN
• The permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council (also known as the Permanent Five, Big Five, or P5)
are the five states which the UN Charter of 1945 grants a
permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
• The UN has 5 permanent members . They are :-
1. China (formerly the Republic of China)
2. France
3. Russia (formerly the Soviet Union)
4. United Kingdom,
5. United States

32. VETO POWER
• The "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the permanent
members,
• This allows them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council
resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft.
• The veto does not apply to procedural votes, which is significant in that the
Security Council's permanent membership can vote against a "procedural" draft
resolution, without necessarily blocking its adoption by the Council.
• The veto is exercised when any permanent member—the so-called "P5"—casts a
"negative" vote on a "substantive" draft resolution. Abstention or absence from
the vote by a permanent member does not prevent a draft resolution from being
adopted

33. THANK YOU