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 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.

Decisions criteria

2/3rd majority - on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters,
Simple majority - Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.

The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office.
Make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council.

Security Council

It’s a political council
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security.
It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. [US, UK, France, Russia, China]< /span>

Each member has one vote (both permanent and non-permanent)
Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members
Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members;

Concurrent vote gives the Right to veto for permanent five

The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis:

Two for the Latin American and Caribbean States;
Two for Western European and other States.
One for Eastern European States;
Five for African and Asian States;

Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Security Council decisions.
Mandate

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.
The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates, and changes, every month.

Daily programme of work of the Security Council
Subsidiary organs of the Security Council

UN Charter clearly states that any attack on another country needs Security Council approval unless it is an act in self-defense.
UN Peace keeping missions - blue helmets
There was a growing demand to reform UNSC

Economic and Social Council ECOSOC

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, humanitarian, cultural as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.
It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies.

It is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innov tive thinking on sustainable development.

Structure

It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
Membership is based on geographical representation. Specific quotas fixed for Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America etc
Elected by UNGA for a term of 3 years
Four UNSC members US, UK, Russia and France- are reelected continuously, because they provide majority of the funding to ECOSOC. [NOTE Not China every time]
Presidency changes annually.

Decisions by simple majority
Recently, India was re-elected to ECOSOC for a term of three years
Functional Commissions

UNFF United Nations Forum on Forests
UN Statistical Commission
UN Commission on the Status of Women
United Nations Human Rights Council

Regional Commissions

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

[maintains UN Road Safety Trust Fund]
UNECE includes 56-member States in Europe, North America and Asia
Its major aim is to promote pan-European economic integration.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ESCAP

NOTE: Regional groupings are also 5 but different Regional Groups

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence.

In Suspension Mode now

By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence.

The Trusteeship Council suspended operation in 1994.

Agreed to meet as occasion required -- by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)

It 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 April 1946.
The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
UNGA and UNSC elects judges of ICJ (ICJ has sitting judges, ICC has sitting judges, PCA has no sitting judges, )
Mandate

The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, egal disputes submitted to it by States [Note only States not individuals. However states on behalf of individuals can raise if it is important to the state]
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.
Its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned.

ICJ rulings are final and binding, but countries have occasionally flouted them, and the court has no formal mechanism to enforce them.

Jurisdiction:

As stated in the UN Charter, all 193 UN members are automatically parties to the Court’s statute.
Non-UN members may also become parties to the Court’s statute.
Once a state is a party to the Court’s statute, it is entitled to participate in cases before the Court.
However, being a party to the statute does not automatically give the Court jurisdiction over disputes involving those parties

The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the two types of ICJ cases: contentious issues and advisory opinions.
Contentious issues

ICJ produces a binding ruling between states that agree to submit to the ruling of the court. (prior binding approval)
Only states may be parties in contentious cases.
Individuals, corporations, parts of a federal state, NGOs, UN organs and self-determination groups are excluded from direct participation

Jan 2020, ICJ orders Myanmar to protect Rohingya

Case was raised by Gambia

Secretariat

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs.

The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer of the Organization, [New secretary general - Antonio Guterres from Jan 2017]

Appointment

Appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term.
Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

UN staff members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.

United Nations System