Global Dynamics of National Security: Alliances and Resources - United Nations (un)

The United Nations (UN) is one of the leading players in the international arena and deals with a host of subjects, ranging from human rights to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) nonproliferation. The multinational organization can trace its roots back to the days immediately following World War II. At a 1945 conference in Yalta in the Crimea (then part of the Soviet Union), the leaders of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union decided that the UN was to be an international entity, with five permanent powers with veto authority in its Security Council: China, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Creation of the UN was finalized at the San Francisco conference that same year, when the charter of the organization was signed and ratified by several countries. The UN charter sets forth the organization's rights and obligations and establishes its procedures. According to the UN Web site (http://www.un.org), the primary functions of the UN "are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these ends."

The two-year 2004–05 proposed budget for the UN is $2.9 billion, or about $1.45 billion per year, which is raised primarily by contributions of member countries. Each individual contribution is determined by the capability of a country, measured through its gross national product. In addition to membership fees, countries are also assessed for the costs of peacekeeping operations. All told, the UN system spends some $12 billion a year, including operating expenses, the costs of UN peacekeeping operations, and all of the organization's programs, funds, and specialized agencies. In addition, through the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN loans out billions of dollars each year to help developing countries.

According to its various functions, the UN is divided into six principal organs:

1. The General Assembly is the legislative arm of the UN and is broken down into six committees: Disarmament and International Security; Economic and Financial; Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues; Special Political and Decolonization; Administrative and Budgetary; and Legal Matters.
2. The Security Council has fifteen members: ten elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms and five permanent members. Each member of the Security Council has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters require at least nine of the fifteen members voting in favor; substantive issues require nine positive votes, including one from each of the permanent members. There are two standing committees in the Security Council: one dealing with rules and procedures and another with admission of new members. Ad hoc committees are established as needed, as well as working groups on various issues.
3. The Economic and Social Council is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, employment, and economic and social progress around the world. It facilitates cultural and educational cooperation, deals with social and health problems, and encourages respect for global human rights and fundamental freedoms. The council coordinates the work of fourteen specialized UN agencies, ten functional commissions, and five regional commissions.
4. The Trusteeship Council was established to supervise and administer trust territories. These were territories that were formerly part of Western colonial empires, that the UN wished to aid in their development toward full and effective self-governance. The council suspended its operations as of November 1994, with the independence of Palau, the last remaining UN trust territory.
5. The International Court of Justice, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is the principal judicial organ of the UN. The court is charged with settling legal disputes submitted to it by state parties, as well as giving advisory opinions on questions referred to it by international entities. It is composed of fifteen judges, elected to nine-year terms by the General Assembly and the Security Council.
6. The Secretariat is composed of an international staff carrying out the day-to-day maintenance work of the organization. It is headed by the secretary-general, who is appointed by the General Assembly for a five year term.