The United Nations' system is based on five principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, theEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice.[11] A sixth principal organ, the Trusteeship Council, suspended operations in 1994, upon the independence of Palau, the last remaining UN trustee territory.[12]
Four of the five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City.[13] TheInternational Court of Justice is located in The Hague, while other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva,[14] Vienna,[15] and Nairobi.[16] Other UN institutions are located throughout the world.
The six official languages of the United Nations, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.[2]
The organization has six principal organs: The General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); Prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), The World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea since 2007. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UN's work.
Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations
No. Acronyms Logo Agency Headquarters Head Established in
1 FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
Rome, Italy
José Graziano da Silva1945
2 IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna, Austria
Yukiya Amano1957
3 ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
Montreal, Canada
Raymond Benjamin1947
4 IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
Rome, Italy
Kanayo F. Nwanze1977
5 ILO
International Labour Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Guy Ryder1946 (1919)
6 IMO
International Maritime Organization
London, United Kingdom
Koji Sekimizu1948
7 IMF International Monetary Fund
Washington, D.C., USA
Christine Lagarde1945 (1944)
8 ITU
International Telecommunication Union
Geneva, Switzerland
Hamadoun Touré1947 (1865)
9 UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Paris, France
Irina Bokova1946
10 UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Vienna, Austria
Kandeh Yumkella1967
11 UNWTO
World Tourism Organization
Madrid, Spain
Taleb Rifai1974
12 UPU
Universal Postal Union
Bern, Switzerland
Édouard Dayan1947 (1874)
13 WB World Bank Group
Washington, D.C., USA
Jim Yong Kim1945 (1944)
14 WFP
World Food Programme
Rome, Italy
Ertharin Cousin1963
15 WHO
World Health Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Margaret Chan1948
16 WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Francis Gurry1974
17 WMO
World Meteorological Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
David Grimes /
Michel Jarraud1950 (1873)
Flag | Emblem |
- theSecurity Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security);
- the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development);
- theSecretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN);
- the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ);
- The United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive).
Headquarters | International territory in New York City, U.S. | |
Official languages | ||
---|---|---|
Membership | 193 member states 2 observer states | |
Leaders | ||
- | Secretary-General | |
- | Deputy Secretary-General | |
- | General Assembly President | |
- | Security Council President | |
Establishment | ||
- | United Nations Charter signed | 26 June 1945 |
- | Entry into force of Charter | 24 October 1945 |
General Assembly
Main article: United Nations General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative assembly of the United Nations. Composed of all United Nations member states, the assembly meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the member states.
Security Council
Main article: United Nations Security Council
The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among countries.
Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings.
Secretary-General
The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN. The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon, who took over from Kofi Annan in 2007 and has been elected for a second term to conclude at the end of 2016.[21]
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, in the Netherlands, is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice.
Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all of which are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term.
Headquartered at Geneva:
- ECE – Economic Commission for Europe
- IBE – International Bureau of Education
- ICC – International Computing Centre
- ILO – International Labour Organization
- ITC – International Trade Centre
- ITU – International Telecommunication Union
- JIU – Joint Inspection Unit
- OCHA – Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- UNAIDS – Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
- UNHCHR – Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- UNHCR – Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- UNCC – United Nations Compensation Commission
- UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- UNIDIR – United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
- UNITAR – United Nations Institute for Training and Research
- NGLS – United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
- UNOPS – United Nations Office for Project Services
- UNOSDP – United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace
- UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund
- UNRWA – United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near-East
- UNRISD – United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
- CEB – United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
- UNV – United Nations Volunteers Programme
- WHO – World Health Organization
- WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization
- WMO – World Meteorological Organization
Presence at Geneva:
- IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (Headquarters are in Vienna)
- UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme (Headquarters are in Nairobi)
- UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Headquarters are in Paris)
- UNIDO – United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Headquarters are in Vienna)
- WFP – WFP Geneva Liaison Office (headquarters are in Rome)
Principal organs of the United Nations [7]
UN General Assembly - Deliberative assembly of all UN member states (each country has one vote) - | UN Secretariat - Administrative organ of the UN - its chairman is the UN Secretary General - | International Court of Justice - Universal court for international law (based in The Hague) - | ||||
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UN Security Council - For international security issues - | UN Economic and Social Council - For global economical and social affairs - | UN Trusteeship Council - Was administering trust territories (currently not active) - | ||||
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