United Nations organs

See:
? Charter of the United Nations
? UN: Purposes, principles and membership
?United Nations organs
? UN Pacific settlement of disputes
? UN: International cooperation and the ESC
? UN International Court of Justice
? United Nations Secretariat
? Other provisions

CHAPTER III
ORGANS
Article 7
1. There are established as the principal organs of the United Nations:
a General Assembly
a Security Council
an Economic and Social Council
a Trusteeship Council
an International Court of Justice
and a Secretariat.
2. Such subsidiary organs as may be found necessary may be established in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 8
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to
participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.
CHAPTER IV
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
COMPOSITION
Article 9
1. The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the United Nations.
2. Each Member shall have not more than five representatives in the General Assembly.

FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 10
The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any organs provided for in the present Charter, and, except as provided in Article 12, may make recommendations to the Members of the United Nations or to the Security Council or to both on any such questions or matters.
Article 11
1. The General Assembly may consider the general principles of co-operation in the
maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing
disarmament and the regulation of armaments, and may make recommendations with
regard to such principles to the Members or to the Security Council or to both.
2. The General Assembly may discuss any questions relating to the maintenance of
international peace and security brought before it by any Member of the United Nations,
or by the Security Council, or by a state which is not a Member of the United Nations in
accordance with Article 35, paragraph 2, and, except as provided in Article 12, may
make recommendations with regard to any such questions to the state or states
concerned or to the Security Council or to both. Any such question on which action is
necessary shall be referred to the Security Council by the General Assembly either
before or after discussion.
3. The General Assembly may call the attention of the Security Council to situations
which are likely to endanger international peace and security.
4. The powers of the General Assembly set forth in this Article shall not limit the general
scope of Article 10.
Article 12
1. While the Security Council is exercising in respect of any dispute or situation the
functions assigned to it in the present Charter, the General Assembly shall not make
any recommendation with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security
Council so requests.
2. The Secretary-General, with the consent of the Security Council, shall notify the
General Assembly at each session of any matters relative to the maintenance of
international peace and security which are being dealt with by the Security Council and
shall similarly notify the General Assembly, or the Members of the United Nations if the
General Assembly is not in session, immediately the Security Council ceases to deal
with such matters.
Article 13
1. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the
purpose of:
a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the
progressive development of international law and its Codification ;
b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational,
and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
2. The further responsibilities, functions and powers of the General Assembly with
respect to matters mentioned in paragraph 1 (b) above are set forth in Chapters IX and
X.
Article 14
Subject to the provisions of Article 12, the General Assembly may recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation, regardless of origin, which it deems likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among nations, including situations resulting from a violation of the provisions of the present Charter setting forth the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. The General Assembly shall receive and consider annual and special reports from the Security Council; these reports shall include an account of the measures that the
Security Council has decided upon or taken to maintain international peace and
security.
2. The General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from the other organs of the United Nations.
Article 16
The General Assembly shall perform such functions with respect to the international
trusteeship system as are assigned to it under Chapters XII and XIII, including the approval of the trusteeship agreements for areas not designated as strategic.
Article 17
1. The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization.
2. The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the General Assembly.
3. The General Assembly shall consider and approve any financial and budgetary
arrangements with specialized agencies referred to in Article 57 and shall examine the
administrative budgets of such specialized agencies with a view to making
recommendations to the agencies concerned.
VOTING
Article 18
1. Each member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a twothirds
majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall include:
recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security,
the election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the election of the
members of the Economic and Social Council, the election of members of the
Trusteeship Council in accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article 86, the admission of
new Members to the United Nations, the suspension of the rights and privileges of
membership, the expulsion of Members, questions relating to the operation of the
trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.
2. Decisions on other questions, including the determination of additional categories of
questions to be decided by a two-thirds majority, shall be made by a majority of the
members present and voting.
Article 19
A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years.
The General Assembly may, nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member.

PROCEDURE
Article 20
The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and in such special sessions as occasion may require. Special sessions shall be convoked by the Secretary-General at the request of the Security Council or of a majority of the Members of the United Nations.
Article 21
The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall elect its President for each session.
Article 22
The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
CHAPTER V
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
COMPOSITION

Article 23
1. The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The
Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall be
permanent members of the Security Council. The General Assembly shall elect ten
other Members of the United Nations to be non-permanent members of the Security
Council, due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of
Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security
and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical
distribution.
2. The non-permanent members of the Security Council shall be elected for a term of two years. In the first election of the non-permanent members after the increase of the
membership of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen, two of the four additional
members shall be chosen for a term of one year. A retiring member shall not be eligible
for immediate re-election.
3. Each member of the Security Council shall have one representative.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 24
1. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, its Members
confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this
responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf.
2. In discharging these duties the Security Council shall act in accordance with the
Purposes and Principles of the United Nations. The specific powers granted to the
Security Council for the discharge of these duties are laid down in Chapters VI, VII, VIII,
and XII.
3. The Security Council shall submit annual and, when necessary, special reports to the
General Assembly for its consideration.
Article 25
The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 26
In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources, the Security Council shall be responsible for formulating, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee referred to in Article 47, plans to be submitted to the Members of the United Nations for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments.

VOTING
Article 27
1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an
affirmative vote of nine members.
3. 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;
provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a
party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 28
1. The Security Council shall be so organized as to be able to function continuously. Each member of the Security Council shall for this purpose be represented at all times at the seat of the Organization.
2. The Security Council shall hold periodic meetings at which each of its members may, if it so desires, be represented by a member of the government or by some other
specially designated representative.
3. The Security Council may hold meetings at such places other than the seat of the
Organization as in its judgment will best facilitate its work.
Article 29
The Security Council may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
Article 30
The Security Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
Article 31
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council may
participate, without vote, in the discussion of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the latter considers that the interests of that Member are specially affected.
Article 32
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council or any state which is not a Member of the United Nations, if it is a party to a dispute under consideration by the Security Council, shall be invited to participate, without vote, in the discussion relating to the dispute. The Security Council shall lay down such conditions as it deems just for the participation of a state which is not a Member of the United Nations.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Charter of the United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child 7, Other provisions, UN International Court of Justice, UN International Trusteeship system, UN Pacific settlement of disputes, UN: International cooperation and the ESC, UN: Purposes, principles and membership, United Nations Secretariat.