The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations is a member of the General Assembly. States are admitted to membership in the UN by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is a symbol of the Organization’s ideals and a spokesman for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable. The Secretariat, one of the main organs of the UN, is organized along departmental lines, with each department or office having a distinct area of action and responsibility. The UN system, also known unofficially as the “UN family”, is made up of the UN itself and many affiliated programmes, funds, and specialized agencies, all with their own membership, leadership, and budget. The programmes and funds are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions. Text taken from UN.org.
The resources below are collated by the E-International Relations team.
Getting Started with the United Nations
Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice
How does the UN work? Introduction video by RMIT University (video below)
United Nations System – Organizational Map
United Nations System (Strengths and Weaknesses) – Interview with Alistair Edgar (video below)
Pillars of the United Nations
United Nations Security Council (video below)
Behind the Scenes of the United Nations Assembly (video below)
International Law and the United Nations
Introduction to the International Court of Justice (video below)
The International Court of Justice (website)
Introduction to the International Criminal Court (video below)
The International Criminal Court (website)
Stabilisation Tools
United Nations Peacekeeping Animation – Security and Rule of Law in the Field (video below)
The United Nations Sanctions Committee
One United Nations, Many Organisations
Funds, Programmes, Specialized Agencies and Others
UN Web TV – Archived and Live broadcasts of UN meetings and events
