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[Music]
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everyone's heard of the united nations
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but many don't know how it actually
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works and facilitates international
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diplomacy
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so in this video we'll briefly explain
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the history of how and why the un was
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created the principal organs that make
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up the international body and how they
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function day to day
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and if you're interested in more topics
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about international law and diplomacy
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then let us know in the comments down
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below and be sure to subscribe to the
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channel so you never miss an upload
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going forward
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so following world war one countries
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wanted to avoid a repeat of the horrific
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global conflict and their leaders formed
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the league of nations dedicated to
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preventing the outbreak of further wars
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as would become catastrophically obvious
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mere decades later the league wasn't fit
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for purpose largely because the united
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states refused to join instead
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preferring the isolationism advocated by
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the framers
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however the us didn't really account for
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the effects its new status as a major
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power would have on global order if it
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remained isolated
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the weakened league of nations was
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wholly ineffective in its task of
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preventing another large-scale conflict
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once again the world was rocked by world
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war this time with even more disastrous
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consequences
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during the final months of the war
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states came together to create an
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international organization more
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effective at preventing conflict and the
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united nations was born
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on the 24th of october 1945 the united
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nations came into existence following
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the ratification of the un charter by
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the five main allies the united states
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the united kingdom france the soviet
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union and china as well as a majority of
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other signatories
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on january the 10th 1946 the general
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assembly met for the first time in
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methodist central hall in westminster
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and the security council met for the
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first time a week later
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a week after that the general assembly
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adopted the first u.n resolution
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establishment of a commission to deal
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with the problems raised by the
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discovery of atomic energy
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this committee is composed of the
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members of the security council and when
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it's not on the council canada we
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mentioned the general assembly and the
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security council but what exactly are
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they
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the un has six principal organs that
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oversee the organization's main
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functions the general assembly the
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security council the economic and social
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council the international court of
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justice the secretariat and the
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trusteeship council
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each principal organ is located at the
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un headquarters in new york with the
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exception of the icj which is located at
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the hague in the netherlands
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the general assembly serves at the
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largest body of the un featuring
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representation from each of the member
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states
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the assembly is the un's primary
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deliberative body and the forum before
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which we see most of the highest profile
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diplomacy take place as the yearly
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session features not only ambassadors
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but plenty of heads of state
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the general assembly primarily deals
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with questions of international peace
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admission of member states and the un
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budget all of which require a two-thirds
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majority vote while less important votes
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pass by a simple majority
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the assembly is led by a president
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elected for a one-year term
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the presidency offers a chance for
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ambassadors from smaller states to lead
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the world as few states who have boasted
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a president of the general assembly can
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be classified as major powers the
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closest candidate for that honor being
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canada in 1952
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instead of being dominated by these
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major powers the presidency frequently
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features states like mexico afghanistan
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liberius and lucia and currently the
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maldives
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the next is the security council the
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council is tasked with maintaining
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international peace and security and has
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succeeded at least to the degree that
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recent wars generally have been
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contained to the region not global scale
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the council's membership is limited to
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15 states at any given time with 10
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seats rotating and five permanent seats
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awarded to the five main allies the
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united states united kingdom france the
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russian federation and the people's
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republic of china the 10 rotating
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members of the council are elected for
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two-year terms
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india ireland kenya mexico and norway
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will rotate out later this year while
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albania brazil gabon ghana and the
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united arab emirates will rotate next
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year the permanent members ironically
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have gone through a few changes
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themselves
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initially the soviet union held a
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permanent seat but the seat passed to
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the russian federation following the
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soviet fall the people's republic of
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china's seat initially was held by the
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republic of china which still survives
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as taiwan however following mao zedong's
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overthrow of xiang kai-shek's national
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government the united nations eventually
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expelled the republic of china on
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october the 25th 1971
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and taiwan has since lost even its
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observer status
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although the general assembly relies on
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the good faith of member states to carry
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out its resolutions the security
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council's resolutions are binding on all
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member states these resolutions include
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mandating peaceful resolutions to
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disputes imposing sanctions
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participating in a multinational
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peacekeeping force and authorising to
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use force when a breach of the peace has
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occurred or is imminent
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however the five permanent members each
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have a veto over any proposal before the
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council so matters affecting any of the
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five generally are usually doomed to
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fail leaving affected states to resort
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to customary international law to solve
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their disputes
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moving to more peaceful matters we come
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to the economic and social council the
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council has jurisdiction over matters of
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economy social welfare environment and
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international development the council
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has 54 members elected by the general
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assembly for three years with 18 seats
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up each year
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the council currently has 30 subsidiary
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bodies ranging from regional commissions
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to bodies concerning criminal justice
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women's rights geographical names and
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economic social and cultural rights next
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comes the international court of justice
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more commonly known as the icj or the
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hague the icj serves as the un's main
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judicial body and rules on matters of
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international law and issues advisory
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opinions the court is composed of 15
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judges
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all of whom must be nominated by the
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permanent council of arbitration then
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win elections before both the general
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assembly and the security council the
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judges must be from different states and
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may not hold political administrative or
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professional office during their nine
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year terms
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although the court frequently convenes
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in its entirety it may form chambers of
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three judges to deal with particular
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categories of cases and decisions by the
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chambers carry the weight of the full
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court notably the court cannot compel a
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state to appear before it instead it
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must rely on the state's consent this
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may be achieved by the parties to a
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dispute meeting one of three criteria
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submitting a special agreement to the
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court being state parties to a treaty
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that provides the court with
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jurisdiction over the dispute or having
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all made declarations of their consent
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to the court's jurisdiction under the
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icj statute
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continuing our tour of the un we come
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next to the secretariat
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this body is the boots on the ground
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organ of the un led by the secretary
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general and responsible for the un's
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day-to-day business
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the secretary general is nominated by
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the security council and elected by the
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general assembly for a renewable
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five-year term
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they're assisted by thousands of un
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staff members who carry out un missions
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throughout the world
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when you see un personnel working out in
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the field on development or relief
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missions this is typically the body
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overseeing their efforts on a day-to-day
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basis
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the final principal organ of the un is
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the trusteeship council the council was
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established in 1945 to provide
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supervision for 11 un trust territories
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under the supervision of seven member
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states
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the purpose of the council was to guide
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the territories under trusteeship
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towards being able to stand on their own
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as states in their own right the
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council's rules initially required it to
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me annually but the council amended its
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rules to require meetings only when
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required shortly before suspending
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operations in 1994 when all the trust
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territories had attained self-government
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or independence
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the council remains inactive but when it
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is active it's composed of the five
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permanent members of the security
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council
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however despite the council's inactive
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status it continues to elect a president
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and vice president so that it may be
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ready for action if called upon
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the return to the trusteeship council
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may be on the horizon however as there
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have been calls to redefine the scope of
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the council's duties to include
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environmental stewardship though no
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decision has been taken to this point
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so that's the un and its principal
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organs in a nutshell if you enjoy this
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video let us know your thoughts in the
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comments down below you can also talk to
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us on twitter and on our discord server
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to discuss all things un thank you for
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watching and we'll see you next time
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description
Trusteeship Council
○ Established in _________.
○ They supervise the ______ UN trust territories.
○ They guide the territories towards standing on their own as _________ in
their own right.
○ The council has been inactive since _________, but when it is active it is
composed of the ______ permanent members of the security council.
○ It continues to elect a _______________ and ___________________ so
that way it is ready for action if needed.
Trusteeship Council
○ Established in 1945.
○ They supervise the 11 UN trust territories.
○ They guide the territories towards standing on their own as states in their own right.
○ The council has been inactive since 1994, but when it is active it is composed of the five permanent members of the security council.
○ It continues to elect a president and vice president so that way it is ready for action if needed.