The nature, purpose, principles and institutions of the United Nations

The nature, purpose, principles and institutions of the United Nations

(1) The nature, purpose and principles of the United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization of sovereign States. The Charter of the United Nations, signed and entered into force on October 24, 1945 in San Francisco, California, united States, marked the official establishment of the United Nations. Before the Second World War, there was an international coalition of organizations similar to the United Nations, which can often be considered the predecessor of the United Nations. The United Nations is open to all "peace-loving nations" that accept the obligations of the Charter of the United Nations and fulfil them. In 2011, the number of UN members increased from 192 to 193.

The purposes of the United Nations are: 1. To maintain international peace and security and, to that end, to adopt effective collective means to prevent and eliminate threats to the peace, to put an end to acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to adjust or resolve, by peaceful means and in accordance with the principles of justice and international law, international disputes or situations which are capable of undermining the peace. Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples and adopt other appropriate means to enhance universal peace. (3) To promote and stimulate respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all human beings in the settlement of international problems of an economic, social, cultural and human welfare character, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. (4) To constitute a centre for the coordination of the actions of States in order to achieve the common objectives set out above.

The United Nations and its Member States shall be guided by the following principles: First, the Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of Member States. 2. Each Member shall, in good faith, fulfil its obligations under the present Charter in order to guarantee the rights and interests of all Member States arising from accession to the Organization. 3. Member States shall resolve their international disputes by peaceful means and avoid endangering international peace, security and justice. Each Member shall not use in its international relations any threat or force, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, against the territorial integrity or political independence of any Member State or State. 5. Member States shall do their utmost to assist the United Nations in actions taken under the provisions of this Charter, and member States shall not assist any State to prevent or implement actions which are in the process of being taken. 6. The Organization shall, to the extent necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security, ensure that non-Members of the United Nations implement the above principles. 7. The present Charter shall not be construed as authorizing the United Nations to intervene in an event which is essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, and does not require a Member To bring the matter to a settlement under this Charter, provided that this principle is without prejudice to the application of the means of implementation under Chapter VII.

2. Principal organs of the United Nations and their subsidiary bodies

　　The United Nations has six principal organs of the United Nations, including the General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Secretariat. The UN Human Rights Council is now a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly and is directly accountable to all UN Member States.

The General Assembly of the United Nations (the General Assembly for short) is the chief deliberative, supervisory and review body of the United Nations, composed of all Member States. As of September 2011, the UN General Assembly has 193 Member States. In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly shall have the right to discuss any issue or matter within the scope of the Charter of the United Nations and to make recommendations to Member States and to the Council, except in respect of disputes under consideration by the Council, without the request of the Council. The General Assembly accepts and considers the reports of the Council and other United Nations bodies, discusses and decides on the budget of the United Nations and the assessed contributions of Member States, elects the non-permanent members of the Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, elects the judges of the International Court of Justice and approves the admission of new Member States and the appointment of the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Council. 　　The General Assembly holds one regular session per year. It usually opens on the third Tuesday of September and usually lasts until mid-to-late December. The General Assembly is divided into two phases, the first half of which is the stage of the general debate and the second half of which is the stage of the Assembly's consideration of the topics on the agenda. The General Assembly may decide to adjourn its session provisionally and to resume it at any time during the session, but it must close before the opening of the next regular session. The general debate of the General Assembly is scheduled for 9 working days uninterrupted from Tuesday, the second week after the opening of the General Assembly. At the opening of each session of the General Assembly, foreign ministers or other ministerial-level officials are sent to lead delegations, and a number of heads of State or Government also address the meeting. In addition to formal meetings, diplomats from various countries also carried out frequent diplomatic activities. Many important issues are often tacitly agreed upon in such diplomatic contexts. The General Assembly may convene a special session of the General Assembly within 15 days and an emergency special session within 24 hours, at the request of the Council or a majority of the Member States or upon the consent of any Member State. The matters considered by the General Assembly are so extensive that any question within the framework of the Maintenance of International Peace and Security and the Charter of the United Nations can be discussed, and its deliberative decisions can only be made to Member States or the Council and have no power to compel any Government to take any action. The voting principle of the General Assembly is that each Member State has the right to vote in the Assembly, but decisions on important issues are adopted by a 2/3 majority of the Member States present and voting; Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are not legally binding. The plenary meetings of the General Assembly shall be presided over by the President (or Vice-President) of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly shall have 1 President and 21 Vice-Presidents, who shall be elected by the Plenary. The 5 permanent members of the Council are ex officio Vice-Chairmen, and the remaining Vice-Chairmen are elected on a regional basis, namely, 6 in Africa, 5 in Asia, 1 in Eastern Europe, 3 in Latin America and 2 in Western Europe and other States. The number of Vice-Chairmen in the region to which the President of the General Assembly belongs has been reduced by 1. The President of the United Nations General Assembly shall be elected by the five regions in turn and elected by the General Assembly. The General Assembly has 6 Main Committees, each composed of all Member States, which is responsible for discussing and making recommendations on the topics allocated by the Assembly to the Committee. The recommendations of the Committees were adopted by a simple majority vote and then submitted to the plenary of the General Assembly for decision. 　　The General Assembly also has a General Committee and a Credentials Committee. The General Committee, composed of the Presidents, Vice-Presidents and the Chairmen of the six Committees, is responsible for reporting on the adoption of agenda items, the allocation of topics and the organization of the session for decision by the plenary of the Assembly. The Credentials Committee, composed of nine Member States appointed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the President of the previous session of the General Assembly, is responsible for examining the credentials of representatives to the Conference. The General Assembly has two other standing committees: the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Committee on Contributions. The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, composed of 16 persons appointed by the General Assembly, is responsible for the professional review of the Programme Budget of the United Nations and assists the Fifth Committee, which is composed of 18 experts appointed by the Assembly to advise the Assembly on the apportionment of the contributions of the United Nations among Member States. 　　Although the resolution of the General Assembly differs from the resolution of the Security Council in that it is only a recommendation and is not binding, it represents to a certain extent the will of the majority of the international community and has moral strength.

The United Nations Security Council (UN Security Council) is one of the 6 principal organs of the UN. It is composed of 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members including China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are a total of 15 members. 　　The number of non-permanent members elected by the United Nations General Assembly began in 1965 to 10, with seats distributed geographically, namely 2 in Asia, 3 in Africa, 2 in Latin America, 1 in Eastern Europe, and 2 in Western Europe and other States. Non-permanent members serve a term of two years, which is elected 5 times a year and cannot be re-elected. According to the principle of geographical distribution, each of the five newly elected Member States should include 3 States from Asia and Africa, one Eastern European State and one Latin American or Caribbean State. Each member has 1 vote, and procedural issues require at least 9 votes to be adopted. The permanent members all have veto power over substantive issues and cannot be adopted by 1 vote against it. Non-permanent members have no veto. 　　In accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council has the responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and is the only United Nations organ with the authority to act. The Council has the power to investigate any situation which gives rise to international disputes or frictions and may propose ways or means of settling such disputes. Member States or non-members of the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly or the Secretary-General of the United Nations may bring to the attention of the Council issues of international peace and security. The Council has the power to determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or aggression and may propose or take decisions on the adoption of coercive measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.

　　The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established under the Charter of the United Nations, is the principal body coordinating the economic, social and related work of the 14 United Nations specialized agencies, 10 functional commissions and 5 regional commissions. Ecosocial Council also has jurisdiction over 11 funds and programmes. The Council provides a central forum for the discussion of international economic and social issues and for the formulation of policy recommendations on such issues for Member States and the United Nations system as a whole. It is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, universal employment and economic and social progress, addressing international economic, social and health issues, promoting international cultural and educational cooperation, and advocating universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. It authorizes the undertaking or initiation of studies and reports on these issues. It also mandates to help prepare and organize major international conferences in the economic, social and related fields and to coordinate the follow-up to those conferences. The Council has a broader mandate covering more than seventy per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire United Nations system. The ECOSOC is composed of 54 members and elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term.

　　The United Nations Trusteeship Council is composed of five permanent members of the Security Council, namely, the People's Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. With the independence of Palau, the last United Nations Trust Territory, the Council officially ceased to function on 1 November 1994. The Council amended its rules of procedure by abolishing the requirement to meet annually and agreed to hold meetings as necessary at the decision of the Council or the President of the Council, or at the request of a majority of the members of the Council or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

　　The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, was established under the Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945, to achieve one of the main purposes of the United Nations: "to adjust or settle by peaceful means and in accordance with the principles of justice and international law, an international dispute or situation which is capable of undermining the peace". 　　The Court operates in accordance with the Statute of the International Court of Justice and its own Rules. The Statute is part of the Charter. The International Court of Justice began its work in 1946, replacing the Permanent Court of International Justice established in 1920 under the auspices of the League of Nations. 　　The International Court of Justice is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands. Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice is the only one based outside New York. 　　The International Court of Justice has a dual role: to settle legal disputes submitted to it by States in accordance with international law and to provide advisory opinions on legal issues submitted by duly recognized organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations. 　　The International Court of Justice is composed of fifteen judges, assisted by the Registry of its administrative organs. The official languages of the Court of Justice are English and French.

　　The United Nations Secretariat is the administrative secretarial body of United Nations agencies. The President of the United Nations appoints the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General is the Administrator of the United Nations and holds significant international political responsibilities. The Secretary-General is recommended by the Un General Assembly and the Security Council for a five-year term. The Secretary-General appears in international affairs as a representative of the United Nations, represents the United Nations in liaison with Member States and other international organizations, and can represent the United Nations in understanding and mediation in areas where international conflicts and disputes arise. 　　The Secretariat is composed of the Secretary-General and United Nations staff, whose responsibilities are to serve the United Nations and its subordinate agencies and to implement the programmes and policies developed by those bodies. The Secretary-General is the administrator of the United Nations, and the current Executive Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon, a Korean.

United Nations Human Rights Council. On 15 March 2006, the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by 170 votes in favour, 4 against and 3 abstentions, to establish a 47-seat Human Rights Council to replace the Commission on Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The resolution stipulates that the Human Rights Council is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, and that the Status of the Council will be reviewed by the General Assembly after 5 years. The 47 seats on the Human Rights Council are distributed on the basis of equitable geographical principles. Among them, Asia and Africa each accounted for 13 seats, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 8 seats, Western Europe (including developed countries in North America and Oceania) and Eastern Europe accounted for 7 and 6 seats each. The headquarters of the Human Rights Council is also located in Geneva, Switzerland. 　　The resolution also stipulates that the members of the Human Rights Council are selected by secret ballot of the General Assembly and that candidates must receive a majority of the support of all members of the General Assembly (i.e., at least 96 votes) to be elected. In electing the members of the Council, the General Assembly should take into account the contributions of candidate States in the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary commitments in those areas. If the number of candidates in the same region supported by a majority of the General Assembly exceeds the total number of seats in that region, seats will be allocated according to the number of votes received. The term of office of the members of the Board of Directors is 3 years, and the new term of office must be sought after 2 consecutive terms of 1 year. The General Assembly re-elects about one-third of its members each year. With the consent of two thirds of its member States, the General Assembly may suspend membership of the Human Rights Council in Countries that have committed serious violations of human rights.

3. Other united Nations agencies

The United Nations has also established a wide variety of councils, commissions or other bodies as required. The main ones are: International Labour Organization (1946), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1946), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1946), World Health Organization (1948), World Bank (1946), International Monetary Fund (1947), International Civil Aviation Organization (1947), International Maritime Organization, International Telecommunication Union (1947), Universal Postal Union (1978), World Meteorological Organization (1951), World Intellectual Property Organization (1951) 1974); International Atomic Energy Agency (1957).

The International Labour Organization is a specialized Agency of the United Nations dealing with labour-related issues in accordance with international labour standards. In 1919, the International Labour Organization was established as a subsidiary body of the League of Nations. On 14 December 1946, it became a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization's purposes are to promote full employment and higher living standards, to promote cooperation between labour and management, to expand social security measures, to protect the lives and health of workers, and to advocate for the adoption of labour legislation to improve the labour situation and thus achieve lasting world peace and social justice. The organization implements the principle of "tripartite mechanism", that is, the delegation of each member state is composed of 2 governments, 1 representative of workers and employers, and all three parties participate in various meetings and bodies and vote independently. The International Labour Conference is the highest machinery body and meets once a year; The main activities are working on international labour legislation, the development of conventions and recommendations, and technical assistance and technical cooperation. The Declaration on the Aims and Purposes of the International Labour Organization (the "Declaration of Philadelphia Declaration"),adopted by the 26th International Labor Conference in Philadelphia, United States in 1944, reaffirmed the basic principles of the International Labour Organization, including: 1. Workers are not commodities; The Declaration of Philadelphia made it clear that the creation of conditions for the achievement of conditions of material welfare and spiritual development of all humankind, without distinction as to race, creed or sex, under conditions of freedom, dignity, economic security and equal opportunity, should be the central objective of national and international policy. The International Labour Organization has an obligation to examine and consider all international economic and fiscal policies and measures in accordance with this objective. One of the functions already played by the ILO was to establish international standards of labour conditions, which became the basis for trade unions and other movements in individual countries. As of July 2009 it has 183 members.

The Food and Agriculture Organization preceded the United Nations itself. In 1943, at the initiative of then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, representatives of 45 countries held the Allied Food and Agriculture Conference in Hot Springs, Virginia, from May 18 to June 3. The Conference decided to establish a permanent international organization for food and agriculture and drafted the Statute of the Food and Agriculture Organization. On October 16, 1945, the 1st Congress of the Food and Agriculture Organization was held in Quebec City, Canada, and 42 countries became founding members. In December 1946 it officially became a specialized agency of the United Nations. The supreme authority of the organization is the General Assembly, which meets every two years. The permanent body is the Council, which elects the independent chairman and members of the Council by the General Assembly. The executive body of the organization is the Secretariat and its executive head is the Director-General. The Secretariat consists of the Office of the Director-General and 7 Departments of Economic and Technical Affairs. FAO's main functions are: (1) to collect, collate, analyse and disseminate information on the production and trade of world food and agriculture; (2) to provide technical assistance to member states, mobilize international investment and implement agricultural development projects of international development and financial institutions; (3) to provide advisory services to member countries on food and agriculture policies and programmes; (4) to discuss major issues in the international field of food and agriculture, to formulate relevant international codes of conduct and regulations, to negotiate international standards and agreements in the field of food and agriculture, and to strengthen consultation and cooperation among member states. It can be said that FAO is a clearing house, a development agency, an advisory body, an international forum and a centre for the development of international standards for food and agriculture. At the end of 1985, there were 158 Member States.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is an international organization for discussions on educational, scientific and cultural issues among Governments, with its principal organs consisting mainly of the General Assembly, the Executive Board and the Secretariat. The General Assembly is the supreme body, composed of representatives of Member States, and generally meets once a year to decide on policies and plans, adopt the budget, elect the members of the Executive Board, appoint the Executive Head, the Director-General, and make recommendations to Member States on education, science and culture. The Executive Board oversees the implementation of the organization's plans and meets at least twice a year. The term of office of the Members is 4 years and the term of office of the Director General is 6 years and may be re-elected. The Secretariat is the day-to-day working body, divided into departments that carry out operational activities in the fields of education, natural sciences, social sciences, culture and exchange, or administrative and programmatic work, headed by an Assistant Director-General. As of 1 November 2011, UNESCO has 195 member states.

The World Health Organization (WHO or WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations and the largest international public health organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of the World Health Organization is to enable people all over the world to attain the highest possible level of health. The organization defines health as "the perfect state in physical, mental, and social life." The main functions of the World Health Organization include: promoting the prevention and control of epidemic and endemic diseases; providing and improving teaching and training in public health, disease medical treatment and related matters; and promoting the establishment of international standards for biological products. As of May 2005, the WHO organization has a total of 193 member states. The current Director General is Margaret Chan, a Native of Hong Kong.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of works of human intelligence. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO is one of the 16 specialized agencies in the UN system of organizations. It administers 24 international treaties dealing with all aspects of IP protection (16 on industrial property, 7 on copyright, plus the convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization). As of June 15, 2007, there were 184 Member States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the international intergovernmental scientific and technological cooperation organization in the field of atomic energy, which is also responsible for regional atomic safety and measurement inspections, and is the body for scientific and technological cooperation in the field of atomic energy by governments around the world. In December 1954, the Ninth United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of an international body dedicated to the peaceful uses of atomic energy. After two years of preparation, the Statute Conference, attended by 82 States, adopted the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 26 October 1956. On 29 July 1957, the Statute entered into force. In October of the same year, the institution held its first plenary meeting and announced the official establishment of the institution. Any State, whether or not a Member of the United Nations or a member of a specialized agency of the United Nations, may become a member of that body upon its recommendation by the Council of the Agency and with the approval of its membership by the General Assembly, by depositing its instrument of acceptance of the Statute of that Body. As of December 2009, the Agency had 151 Member States.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was formally established in March 1946. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations on 15 November 1947 and had its operational independence. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the organization is to promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent body that provides a means of consultation and collaboration on international monetary issues; to promote and maintain the employment, development of productive resources and high levels of real income in member states as the primary objectives of economic policy through the expansion and balanced development of international trade; Eliminate exchange controls that impede world trade, provide members with temporary general funding, subject to appropriate guarantees, so that they can use this opportunity to correct balance-of-payments imbalances without taking measures that jeopardize national or international prosperity, and shorten the duration and extent of imbalances in member countries, in accordance with these objectives. The organization is funded by the shares subscribed by its members. Members enjoy the right to withdraw funds, i.e. to borrow foreign currency in proportion to a certain percentage of the share paid. In 1969, a monetary (book-keeping) unit of "special drawing rights" was created as a complement to the means of international circulation to alleviate the international income deficits of some members. Members are obliged to provide economic information and to be subject to the supervision of the organization in the areas of foreign exchange policy and administration.

The World Bank, founded on December 27, 1945, opened in June 1946. All countries participating in the World Bank must first and foremost be a member of the International Monetary Fund. The detailed background of the establishment is referred to the Chapter on the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank Group is currently comprised of five member institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Centre for settlement of investment disputes. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The U.S. Federal Monetary Reserve, promoted by international bankers, is also here. The World Bank[1] refers only to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The "World Bank Group" includes IBRD, IDA, and three other institutions, namely the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the International Centre for settlement of investment disputes. Each of the five institutions focuses on different areas of development, but all use their respective comparative advantages to work together to achieve their common ultimate goal, namely poverty alleviation. Today, the World Bank is primarily targeting developing countries, helping them build educational, agricultural, and industrial facilities. It provides concessional loans to member countries, while the World Bank makes certain demands on recipient countries, such as reducing corruption or building democracy.

(The author of this article, Wang Zhenyue, was the director of the teaching and research office of the Party School of the Jiamusi Municipal Party Committee and a professor of economics.) Published on 2012, March, 12. Internet.)