UN System

Since the moment of its inception, the United Nations devised a system of internal organization
to structure the functioning of the UN as a whole. It comprised a very comprehensive set of directorial
measures that established a hierarchy within the various functioning bodies that composed the UN. For
the proper development of every organ and to boost integration between all of them, the UN Charter
is quite specifc in defning the powers, functions and attributions of every UN organ, and setting the
scenario for the efcient collaboration of them all.
This conglomerate of measurements to ensure the organic functionality of the UN with a focus on
all its bodies is known as the UN System, for it acts as the link between the various organs that make up
the ofcial structure of the UN.
It is fundamental for us to understand how the UN works and the proceedings that determine the
decisions and actions of its bodies to comprehend how the dynamics of the international community
function and how a country must assume specifc policies devoted to garnering the support of one spe-
cifc link of the UN System and achieving expedite results in an international scope.
There is no exact formula to determine how any one body of the UN shall make its decisions, but the
structure of the UN System limits the scope of actions to be taken within the boundaries of a scale in the
hierarchy of the UN, and it also restricts a bodys range of action by the establishment of very specifc
powers and functions that legitimize certain actions and completely discredit the very consideration of
other type of actions.
In order to garner a very specifc understanding of the UN hierarchy, we will describe the basic orga-
nizational structure in which said hierarchy is displayed. After a general map of the UN, we will move on
to analyzing the fundamental bodies that operate within the UN System and how their competencies
are determined, the type of actions they may or may not take, and what kind of policies they have been
known to adopt.
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
General Structure of the UN
As we can see in the structure above, the main organ that composes the United Nations System is
the United Nations itself, which is established by the UN Charter on its frst Chapter, Articles 1-7. Article
1 of the UN Charter sets the objectives for the United Nations, which are as follows:
Maintain peace and international security
Enhance the bonds of friendship between nations
To boost international cooperation in the solution of problems of economical, social, cultural, politi
cal or humanitarian nature
Serve as a center of international convention to harmonize the eforts of the nations devoted to the
consecution of these common purposes
To carry out its activities, the United Nations as an entity is composed by a total of six main organs
and many subsidiary organs, specialized agencies and regional bodies that participate in the extension
of the authority of the UN, and develop the direct measures devoted to the consecution of its goals.
Each and every one of the six main organs detailed above fulfls a specifc purpose in the interests of
the international community, and the integrated functioning of the six is a vital factor in the successful
execution of the UNs policies. For these reasons, the UN Charter defned every single organ at the time
of the inception of the UN (1945), and bestowed upon them a very specifc set of powers and attribu-
tions designed so the authority of no organ would delegitimize the authority of another.
Following whats exposed in the UN Charter, we can proceed to describe the six main bodies or or-
gans of the UN as:
The General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly is the UNs main international forum, for it is the only organ in
which all 193 UN member States are represented at the same time, efectively making the UN General
Assembly the largest forum of international opinion in the world, and uses this opportunity to create a
convention of world leaders that negotiate and deliberate to reach a conclusion on the matters that the
Assembly entertains. Such conclusions or decisions are known as General Assembly resolutions. It was
established in 1945 by the UN Charter, Chapter IV, Articles 9-22. The UNGAs functions and powers are
set out by the UN Charter, Chapter IV, Articles 10 through 17, and in synthesis, the General Assembly
has the attribution to:
Discuss the matters relating to the powers and attributions of every organ of the United Nations
(with a clear exception established in Article 12 regarding the Security Council)
Oversee the budget of the United Nations
Appoint the non-permanent members of the Security Council
Deliberate upon matters of international cooperation in the areas of peacekeeping and internation-
al security, including those relating to disarmament, and make recommendations to every single UN
member State and to the Security Council at the latters request
Deliberate upon matters of international security and peacekeeping submitted to the Assemblys
consideration by any member State of the United Nations or the Security Council, and make recom-
mendations to every UN member State and to the Security Council (respecting the dispositions set
forth by Article 12)
Bring the attention of the Security Council to any situation that, at the Assemblys consideration,
may present a threat to international peace and security
Entertain the details of the Security Councils activities in the process of peacekeeping and interna-
tional security regarding any specifc situation by receiving briefs from the Secretary General under
the Security Councils authorization
Dictate its own set of rules and guidelines and elect its Chairman for each session period
Hold extraordinary sessions summoned by the Secretary General at the Security Council or the ma-
jority of member States request
Establish whatever subsidiary organs the Assembly deems necessary for the fulfllment of its goals
Regarding whats exposed in the very fnal point of the UNGAs powers and functions, it seems only
logic that the Assembly has established a total of six permanent committees dedicated to one specifc
area of the UNGAs range of work, with the objective of maximizing the result through the delegation of
attributions. Each one of the permanent committees possesses its own range of powers and functions,
however, it is worthy of annotation to state that none of the permanent committees are contemplated
in the UN Charter, as they were created by the General Assembly acting in full exercise of its powers and
the parameters for their functioning are established in the resolutions that saw their birth. The current
permanent committees of the United Nations General Assembly are:
The First Committee for Disarmament and International Security (DISEC): The First Committee
is the branch of the UNGA that entertains matters relating to the successful application of disarma-
ment operations in aid of international peace and security.
The Second Committee for Economic and Financial Afairs (ECOFIN): The Second Committee
deals with issues relating to economic growth and development, helping establish the macroeco-
nomic policies (such as trade policies) that shape the international economic panorama. A very spe-
cifc particularity of ECOFIN is that it also entertains the matter of the sovereignty of the Palestinian
people of the Occupied Palestinian Territory over their natural resources.
The Third Committee for Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Afairs (SOCHUM): The Third Com-
mittee is the competent branch of the UNGA to deliberate upon matters of social condition, cultural
identity and the preservation of human rights afecting people all over the world. It entertains spe-
cifc cases and is perfectly able to establish any necessary means to obtain information on any case
that may attract its attention
The Fourth Committee for Special Political and Decolonization Afairs (SPECPOL): It is one of
the committees with the widest range of competencies for it can entertain matters relating to any
case that may be considered of special politics; which may include but are not limited to: all mat-
ters related to decolonization, the Palestinian question and human rights, peacekeeping, mine ac-
tion, outer space, public information and the University of Peace
The Fifth Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Afairs: The Fifth Committee is charged
with the responsibility of discussing the fnancial aspects of the functioning of the United Nations,
including budget and contributions. To achieve its purposes, the Committee has a very particular
agenda in which, in even-numbered years, it discusses the matters relating to the budget of the
United Nations; and in odd-numbered years, it devotes its deliberations to the Programme Plan,
which is the instrument used by the UN to determine how to administrate its budget
The Sixth Committee for Legal Afairs: The Sixth Committee discusses items related to matters of
international law in an open forum in which the members States of the UNGA participate to deliver
expedite negotiations. Acting under this authority, the Legal Committee is the organ charged with
the redaction of international treaties and conventions as well as any other instrument of interna-
tional recommendation. In the international panorama.
The process to celebrate a treaty consists in three steps: a certain international organ with the com-
petency to discuss a particular topic may consider the necessity of a treaty or convention regarding
one specifc problem; to solve this, that organ must make the request to the Legal Committee that
the treaty or convention be celebrated, upon which the Committee will act by discussing it in open
forum and devising work groups dedicated to the drafting of any pertinent documents. After the in-
strument has been drafted and approved by the Committee, it is submitted to the General Assembly
in plenary session to be voted by the members of the international community in the authority of
the UNGA, after which it can be legally approved.
The Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is the organ with the competency to entertain all matters and
situations that may be considered a threat to international peace and security and act accordingly for
the elimination of such threat, and it is able to do so without depending on any other international entity
or without having to report to any other organ if it deems this imprudent. The Security Council was es-
tablished in 1945 by the UN Charter, Chapter V, Articles 23 through 32. The Security Council is an autono-
mous organ that deliberates upon the matters charged under its authority and reaches solutions known
as Security Council resolutions. As an international consensus and as established by the UN Charter in
Article 25, all resolutions of the United Nations Security Council are mandatory to the full membership
of the UN. Should any member State fail to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council, the latter
may impose sanctions to the member State in aid of international peace and security.
The United Nations Security Council is composed by 15 member States, of which fve are permanent
members and ten are non-permanent members. The fve permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council (or P5, as they have come to be known colloquially) are the Peoples Republic of China,
the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and the United States of America. The non-permanent members are elected for a two-year membership
of the United Nations Security Council by the United Nations General Assembly, and they must represent
every regional block in the world.
One very particular trait which is shared by all fve permanent members of the Security Council is
that any resolution to be approved must have the positive vote of the whole of them. In practical ap-
plication, this means that if any permanent member were to vote against a certain resolutions, said
resolution would be immediately dismissed without further consideration. This attribution of the fve
permanent members is known as the veto power, and there are some very specifc cases in history in
which it has been applied.
Maintain peace and security and represent every member of the international community
Impose sanctions of various natures upon governments who are deemed incompliant with Security
Council resolutions and therefore hinder international eforts for peace and security
Order the establishment of peacekeeping operations
Authorize international military initiatives
Present annual reports to the General Assembly to debrief the international community of the reso-
lutions reached, and if deemed necessary, present extraordinary reports
Devise a series of schemes devoted to the establishment of an armament regulation systems to be
presented to the member States*
*The development of such schemes was to be done with the support of the Military Staf Committee, which was ren-
dered dormant during the Cold War.
The Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coordinates the economic and social work of many UN
specialized agencies, their functional commissions and regional commissions. It is in charge of develop-
ing the strategies that will allow its subsidiary organs and commissions to carry out the functions de-
voted to the consecution of a favorable economic and social condition of the international panorama. It
serves as a forum in which all economic and social issues in the international community are resourced
and policies are designed, after which recommendations are issued to the member States and the Unit-
ed Nations System. It was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, Chapter X, Articles 61 through 85.

The powers and functions of the Economic and Social Council are detailed in the UN Charter in Ar-
ticles 62 through 66, and are as follows:
Assist the Security Council in any manner the latter requests
Promote or initiate studies and reports concerning international afairs of economic, social, cultural,
educational, health-related and other similar natures, and produce recommendations on such mat-
ters to the General Assembly, member States, specialized agencies and subsidiary organs
Draft treaty bills on matters within its competencies and submit them to the General Assembly
Summon international summits on matters related to its competencies
Devise the way in which its specialized agencies and subsidiary organisms integrate with the UN
Submit recommendations and holding consultations with the specialized agencies and subsidiary
organs to coordinate their activities
Obtain periodic reports from the specialized agencies and subsidiary organs to supervise the devel-
opment of the recommendations made to the latter. The ECOSOC will also be able to communicate
its considerations on said reports to the General Assembly
The Secretariat

The UN Secretariat is the body if the UN responsible for procuring all the logistic necessities that oth-
er UN bodies may have, including studies, information and facilities. On a second scope, the Secretariat
is also charged with carrying out any logistic or organization task as requested by any of the other fve
main bodies of the United Nations. The Secretariat is headed by the United Nations Secretary General,
the maximum administrative ofcer of the UN, elected every fve years by the General Assembly on the
recommendation of the Security Council. Currently, the Secretary General of the UN is Ban Ki-Moon from
the Republic of Korea.

To support himself on the exercise of his functions, the Secretary General is entitled to designate a
number of administrative civil international ofcers to aid him in his afairs, keeping the selection process
based on the evaluation or credentials and maintaining an even representation of every regional block.
It is important to note that at all times; both the Secretary General and his ofcers will maintain a strictly
international condition and may only serve the United Nations. For practical purposes, this means that
they may establish no exclusive ties to any nation of the world. Acting under this, the Secretary General
and his ofcers will not request or receive any instructions from any government or any authority other
than the UN, and will refrain from engaging in any practice that could be considered incompatible with
their endowment as international ofcers answerable only to the UN.
The International Court of Justice
It is the main judicial organ of the United Nations, as established in 1945 by the UN Charter in Chap-
ter XIV, Articles 92 through 95. The International Court of Justice shall function in accordance with the
annexed Statute to the UN Charter, which is based on the Statute of the Permanent Court of Interna-
tional Justice. The International Court of Justice shall have the responsibility to entertain any cased sub-
mitted to it by member States and solve legal disputes between States. Also, it may ofer advice to any
international entity that may request it.
By the Charter, in Articles 94, all member States have agreed to abide by the decisions of the Interna-
tional Court of Justice in any litigation in which it takes part. If any party in litigation is found in contempt
of the Courts decision, the opposing party may turn to the Security Council to request the execution of
the Courts ruling. The Security Council may, if necessary, issue recommendations or impose sanctions to
the incompliant party to enforce the upholding of the decision issued by this Court.
The Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council is the sixth main body of the United Nations as established in the Charter in
Chapter XIII, Articles 86 through 91. The Trusteeship Councils mission is to ensure that the administra-
tion of all trust territories is being handled in a manner that it favors the interests of its people, as to avoid
any scenario where fundamental human, social, cultural and political rights are violated. As established
in the Charter in Articles 87 and 88, the functions and powers of the Trusteeship Council are:
Consider reports and briefs submitted to the Council by the administering authority
Accept petitions an examine them in consultation with the administering authority
Provide for visits to the trust territories at times agreed upon with the administering authority
Take these and other actions in conformity with the terms of the trusteeship agreements

Seeing as the mission of the Trusteeship Council is to procure the fair administration of trust ter-
ritories and taking into consideration that most trust territories were former mandates of the League of
Nations or mandates established by the occupation of a territory taken from a nation in the aftermath
of world war II, it is safe to say that in the international panorama of the current day, trust territories are
non-existent. In fact, as of 1994, the last trust territory (Palau); was recognized as a State and admitted to
the United Nations. This situation has de facto rendered the Trusteeship Council without an object to its
mission, which has left it inactive.
Subsidiary organs to the UN General Assembly
They compose a wide set of limbs for the UNGA established by one of the latters resolutions, de-
signed to carry out a specifc task in a permanent matter. The subsidiary organs form a contingent of
international actions that allows the UNGA to better fulfll its obligations. In the international panorama
of today, the most prominent subsidiary organs are:
United Nations Human Rights Council: Established by UNGAs resolution 60/251, is the governing
council in matters of human rights and acts as a deliberative and reporting organ in the UNs mission
for the consecution of global respect for human rights.
Disarmament Commission: Established by UNGAs resolution 502 and S-10/2, charged with the re-
sponsibility of aiding the First Committee of the UNGA for Disarmament Afairs in the process of mak-
ing policies devoted to disarmament and issuing recommendations to member States.
Executive Board of the United Nations Childrens Fund: This organ acts only as the UNs adminis-
trative entity for UNICEF, established through UNGAs resolution 57 (I) and 48/162. It is one of three ex-
ecutive boards that operate within the UN System from the position of a subsidiary organ to the UN.
Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme: The administrative entity for
the UNDP, established through the resolution 2029 (XX) and 48/162.
Executive Board of the World Food Programme: The Executive Board for the WFP maintains the
sole discretion over the administration of the funds and activities of the Programme, as well as the at-
tribution to establish missions to certain member States that may be deemed particularly vulnerable.
United Nations Funds and Programmes
These function as target-specifc bodies created with the purpose of carrying out activities devoted
to no more than one objective, generally under times of international crisis or when a dire situations
presents itself in the area regarding its competencies. Of the many funds and programmes of the United
Nation, the ones currently carrying out the most number of missions are:
United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR): As its name suggests, UNHCR was
created with the mission of aiding the people who, under the Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, are aforded the classifcation of refugee. While repatriation is the main goal of UNHCR, it
carries out many operations to provide a dignifed life condition to people who have been forced to
fee their homeland.
United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF): The United Nations Childrens Fund was frst devised as
a strategy to aid the dire status of children who were orphaned or otherwise devastated during the
aftermath of world war II under the name of United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund
(UNICEF, in abbreviation). Later, its competencies were extended, and UNICEF is now a full UN pro-
gram acting on behalf of children. Still, it maintains the same name it was given when it was con-
ceived as an emergency strategy.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Devoted to the task of achieving a level of de-
velopment suitable to the requirements of the standard for an acceptable quality of life. For this rea-
son, it assesses the member States on policies dedicated to development in its diferent branches.
United Nations Ofce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): The UNODC works as a limb to achieve the
difusion of policies that seek to end very specifc illnesses in the international panorama (like human
trade, for example). It conducts a series of campaigns of cooperation with member States to eradicate
crime and drug related operations and is currently carrying out large campaigns in Central America,
South America and Europe.
World Food Programme: The WFP is the main organization within the UN System dealing with ali-
mentary problems and the largest organization dealing with hunger worldwide. It is a strategy de-
vised to provide food for specifc sectors of population of the world that may be deemed unable to
produce food for themselves, as a way of achieving the level of humanitarian aid compatible to the
fulfllment of the United Nations goals.
United Nations Specialized Agencies
Specialized agencies are international organizations that work towards one specifc feld that is nec-
essary for the consecution of the objectives of the United Nations. In their respective felds, specialized
agencies represent the universal authority, often assessing the work of the United Nations main bodies
towards the goals that relate to their area of work and being the international entity to which States turn
when they require assistance in a specifc area.
Specialized agencies are completely autonomous. Nonetheless, they report to the United Nations in
the form of briefs that are submitted on a specifc time basis and that details the activities being carried
out. Despite this, specialized agencies are the international forum in which the matters related to their
feld of work are to be discussed, and where States and experts will convene on devising policies that
give solutions to the problems faced by their feld. Specialized agencies are among the most prominent
organs within the UN System for they are separated from the United Nations and follow particular crite-
ria, not to mention the fact that the whole of the international community (the United Nations included)
looks upon them to be the voice of expertise in the afairs related to their competencies. To illustrate this,
it is ftting to list some prominent specialized agencies.
United Nations Educational, Scientifc and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): This is the universal
authority on matters related to science, education and culture. It serves as a forum in which humanity
uses its knowledge and preserves it, and oversees the advance of science as mankinds way of dis-
covering the world, education as a fundamental pillar for the development of the human race and of
culture as the expression of the human essence.
World Health Organization (WHO): In matters of public health, the universal authority is the WHO.
In its forum, the Health Ministers from all member States convene to discuss topics of international
interest regarding public health and devise policies and strategies to deal with crisis situations and to
strengthen the healthcare system of every member State to achieve a universal condition of wellbe-
ing.

World Bank Group: Economic policy recommendations, measure programs, fnancial assessment of
member States, international cooperation for economic development, all fall within the competency
of the World Bank Group, which is an entity comprised by many fnancial bodies that, through collec-
tive work, represent the universal authority on fnancial afairs. Its recommendations and programs
are executed by most of the States to which they are issued, and the results of its activities have
proved to be very favorable.
As well as the ones listed above, many other specialized agencies exist to carry out tasks too specifc
to be contemplated by the United Nations as a whole, and the integration of the work of such agencies
is vital for the international community and its eforts to create an efcient network of organizational
support devoted to the consecution of the United Nations objectives and, more recently, the millennium
development goals.
The building of the World Bank Group