The United Nations system

International Relations · Institutions and the international economy. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

The United Nations was created at the end of the Second World War to keep peace, develop friendly relations among nations and promote cooperation and human rights. Its Charter was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945. There were 51 original members; today there are 193.

The Charter set up six principal organs. The most powerful is the Security Council, which has primary responsibility for international peace and security. Its decisions bind all members, and each of its five permanent members holds a veto on substantive matters.

Around these organs stand the specialised agencies, which are separate bodies linked to the UN, and peacekeeping missions, which use troops lent by member states.

Rules to remember

Six principal organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat.
Security Council: 15 members. Five permanent (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) and ten elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
Voting: a substantive decision needs nine votes in favour and no negative vote from a permanent member. An abstention is not a veto.
Chapter VI = pacific settlement of disputes. Chapter VII = enforcement action (sanctions, use of force). New members are admitted by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.
The International Court of Justice sits at The Hague and has 15 judges. The Secretary-General heads the Secretariat. The Trusteeship Council suspended its work in 1994.
Agencies: WHO (Geneva, health), ILO (Geneva, founded 1919, tripartite: governments, employers, workers), UNESCO (Paris, education, science, culture), FAO (Rome, food and agriculture).
Peacekeeping principles: consent of the parties, impartiality, force only in self-defence and defence of the mandate. The UN has no standing army.

Common mistake

Do not treat an abstention by a permanent member as a veto. Only a negative vote by a permanent member blocks a substantive resolution.

Worked example

A draft substantive resolution in the Security Council receives 12 votes in favour, 2 abstentions (one of them by a permanent member) and 1 vote against by a permanent member. Is it adopted?

Check the number first: 12 votes in favour is more than the nine required.
Check the permanent members: one abstained, which does not block the resolution.
Another permanent member voted against. A negative vote by a permanent member on a substantive matter is a veto.

Answer: No. The resolution is not adopted, because one permanent member cast a negative vote.

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