Title: Function of UN and Their Organs

Author: Fatin Tiny Awang

College Of Law and International Studies
University Utara Malaysia
May 31 2016

Introduction

The United Nations (UN) is an organization of sovereign States, which voluntarily

join the UN to work for world peace. It formally came into being on 24 October 1945. At
that time, it had 51 countries as Members. Currently, 193 countries are UN members the most
recent to join was South Sudan in July 2011. The UN is a forum, a meeting place, for
virtually all nations of the world. It provides them with the mechanism to help find solutions
to disputes or problems, and to act on virtually any matter of concern to humanity. Though
sometimes described as a parliament of nations, the United Nations is neither a supra State or
a government of governments. It does not have an army nor does it impose taxes. It depends
on the political will of their members to have their decisions implemented and relies on
contributions of its members to carry out their activities. The United Nations plays a central
role in reducing international tensions, preventing conflicts and putting an end to fighting
already under way. It deals with our environment, outer space, and the sea bed. It has helped
wipe out many diseases and expand food production. It cares for and protects refugees,
expands literacy and responds quickly to natural disasters. It also protects and promotes
rights of individuals by setting a global standard for human rights.

The main organ of UN play their distinctive role in maintaining international peace
and security. Actually, the United Nations has four purposes which is to maintain
international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate in
solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights, and to be a centre
for harmonizing the actions of nations. The name of UN was suggested by United States
president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was first officially used in 1942, when representatives of
26 countries signed the Declaration by UN. As a tribute to President Roosevelt, who died a
few weeks before the signing of the Charter, all those present at the San Francisco
Conference agreed to adopt the name UN. The membership in the Organization, in
accordance with the Charter of the UN is open to all peace loving States that accept the
obligations contained in the UN Charter and in the judgment of the Organization, are able to
carry out these obligations. States are admitted to membership in the UN by decision of the
General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

MAIN ORGAN AND THEIR ROLE TO MAINTAINING PEACE AND SECURITY

The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main usually organ of the United Nations. It is consist of
all 193 Member States of UN, which is has one vote only without their size or influence. It
may discuss any matter arising under the UN Charter. In the General Assembly, two thirds
security will decided the decisions on international peace and security, admitting new
Member States and the budget of UN. In recent years, a special effort has been made to reach
decisions through consensus, rather than a formal vote. General Assembly resolutions are
only recommendations to the Member States, but besides they represent the majority of the
worlds view, they are carry heavy moral weight and often lead the countries to join
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international agreements like treaties, conventions, protocols and ultimately have a positive
influence in the world. The General Assembly membership will have their meeting in each
year on September, at the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General
Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend for it.
The Assemblys session lasts a year, starting in September the busy season, during
which time most resolutions are adopted, is from September to December. Special sessions
may be requested by the Assembly, at the request of the Security Council, or at the request of
a majority of UN Members. At the beginning of each regular session in September, the
Assembly holds a two week general debate at which time heads of State present their views
on a wide range of issues of concern to the international community, from war and terrorism
to disease and poverty. Each year, the General Assembly elects a president who presides over
these meetings as a neutral party that represents the United Nations. The work of the
Assembly is also carried out by six main committees that is the Human Rights Council, other
subsidiary bodies and the UN Secretariat. The six main committees of the General Assembly
are the first is Committee Disarmament and International Security, second is Economic and
Financial, third is Social, Humanitarian and Cultural, fourth is Special Political and
Decolonization, fifth is Administrative and Budgetary, and Sixth is Legal (United Nation).
The General Assembly play their role to maintaining peace and security. As above
discuss, they carry heavy work and will lead the countries to join the international agreements
which is treaties and conventions where both of it is a major sources in international law. It is
can be prove that the establishment of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(LOSC) 1982, International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL), UN Convention on Fish Stocks Agreement 1995, International Convention for
the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 and Treaty of Tordesilas 1494. All that agreements

is to maintaining peace and security in maritime border to avoid disputation among countries
with multilateral diplomatic efforts (Churchill, R.R &Lowe, A.V, 1999).

The Security Council

The Security Council has a primary responsibility under the UN Charter to maintain
international peace and security. The Security Council are different with the General
Assembly because it does not hold regular meetings and can be held at any time whenever
international peace is threatened. In fact, it meets almost every day. The member States of
UN are obligated to carry out the decisions, which are legally binding. When a threat to peace
is brought before the Council, it usually first asks the parties to reach agreement by peaceful
means. If fighting breaks out, however, the Council tries to secure a ceasefire through
negotiation, the establishment of sanctions, or by authorizing the use of force, carried out by
willing Member States. The Council may also decide establish peacekeeping operations to
promote lasting peace.
The Council has 15 members, including 5 permanent members which is China,
France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the end of
World War II, these five countries played key roles in the establishment of the United
Nations. The creators of the UN Charter conceived that they would continue to play
important roles in the maintenance of international peace and security. The other 10 rotating
members are elected by the General Assembly on the basis of geographical representation for
two-year terms. To pass a resolution in the Security Council, 9 out of the 15 members of the
Council must vote yes, but if any of the 5 permanent members votes no, it refers to the
veto and the resolution will not pass. The Council also makes recommendations to the
General Assembly on the appointment of a new Secretary General and on the admission of
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new members to the UN. Many countries want to expand the membership of the Council to
include new permanent and non-permanent members. These proposals are currently being
discussed by the Member States of the United Nations.
The Security Council has the functions and power under UN Charter. Their function
to maintaining peace and security which are to maintain international peace and security
accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations, to investigate any dispute
or situation which might lead to international friction, to recommend methods of adjusting
such disputes or the terms of settlement, to formulate plans for the establishment of a system
to regulate armaments, to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression
and to recommend what action should be taken, to call on Members to apply economic
sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression, to
take military action against an aggressor, to recommend the admission of new Members, to
exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas", to recommend to
the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the
Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice (United Nation).
For example is in the cases of MH17 that was shot down in Ukraine several months
ago. Malaysia presented draft UN Security Council resolution on International Tribunal in
MH17 Case. To maintaining peace and security the embroiled country, there have conducting
investigation in MH17 case requested the UN Security Council to establish international
tribunal for punishment those responsible for the disaster. The idea of creating this tribunal
belongs to the Netherlands. Ukraine supported this initiative. Representatives of Russia
repeatedly expressed against this idea (Ukraine under attack, 2015).

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central body for coordinating the
work of social and economic UN and the UN System. The Council has 54 members elected
for the same geographical representation and serve a term of three years. Voting in the
Council is by simple majority, with each member having one vote. About 70 percent of the
work of the United Nations system devoted to promoting higher standards of living, full
employment, and conditions of progress and economic and social development. The Council
advised of the activities aimed at promoting economic growth of Nations, supporting human
rights and fostering world cooperation to fight eradicate poverty.
To meet special requirements, the General Assembly has been established some
Agency designated such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), and programs such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN children
Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). All
of it works in agency program and coordinated by ECOSOC.
Under the UN charter, ECOSOC play their distinctive role in maintaining peace and
security. Their role and powers of the Economic and Social Council are to make or initiate
studies and reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural, health and other
related matters and may also make recommendations with respect to such matters to the
General Assembly that has stipulated in article 62.1 UN Charter. Their role is including the
promotion of the higher standards of living promotion of the full employment and economic
and social progress, advanced solutions to the international economic, related problem of
social and health, encouragement of the international cultural and educational cooperation, to
make recommendations which promote respect and observance of human rights and

fundamental freedoms in article 62.2, prepare drafts of conventions for submission to the
General Assembly regarding the matters of the competence in article 62.3, to hold Annual
Ministerial Review (AMR) and Development Cooperation Forum (DCF).

The Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was assigned under the UN Charter to supervise the
administration of 11 Trust Territories former colonies or dependent territories which were
placed under the International Trusteeship System. The system was created at the end of the
World War II to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of those dependent.
Since the creation of the Trusteeship Council, more than 70 colonial Territories
including all 11 Trust Territories, have achieve independence with the help of the United
Nations. Trusteeship Council shall consist of pain Permanent Security Council members
which is China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States. Each
member having one vote, and decisions generated by the majority Easy.
Based on the article 87 UN Charter, the trusteeship council play their role to consider
reports submitted by the administering authority, accept petitions and examine them in
consultation with the administering authority, provide for periodic visits to the respective
trust territories at times agreed upon with the administering authority, and take these and
other actions in conformity with the terms of the trusteeship agreements (United Nation).

The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UNs main judicial organ which is
located in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ is established in 1945, also known as World
Court assumed its functions in 1946. The ICJ is handle the cases such as dispute resolution
illegal and not between the individual countries, according to International Law Act. If the
State were not want to take part in the proceedings, it is unnecessary to do so, unless required
by special treaty provisions. Once a State accepts the Court's jurisdiction, it must comply
with its decision.
Since 1946, the International Court of Justice has resolved over 150 cases and issued
numerous judgments on international disputes brought to it by states involving economic
rights, environmental protection, rights of passage, the non-use of force, non-interference in
the internal affairs of states, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, the right of asylum and
nationality. It also issued an advisory opinion in response to requests by various organizations
of the UN. The judgments handed by ICJ are final and without appeal. ICJ was chaired by the
15 judges elected for nine years, which is each of them from a different country, both by the
General Assembly and the Security Council. No two judges can be from the same country.
The elections are held every three years for one-third of the seats, and retiring judges may be
re-elected. Members of the Court do not represent their governments but are independent
magistrates. It takes a majority of the nine justices to decide. The chair International Court of
Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands. Court offices occupy the Peace Palace, which was
constructed by the Carnegie Foundation, a private non-profit organization, to serve as the
headquarters of the Permanent Court of International Justice, the predecessor of this court.
The UN makes an annual contribution to the foundation for use of the building.

The ICJ is a final decision for any dispute and it is fair without grumbling. That is
because all the decision that making by ICJ is to maintaining peace and security the region of
the countries. For example is in the cases of Pedra Branca disputes among Malaysia and
Singapore. Both of them are claim that Pedra Branca is under their sovereignty and they bring
out this cases to ICJ. As a peaceful way and maintaining peace security, the decision that
making by ICJ stipulated that the Singapore has sovereignty over the Pedra Branca based on
the research. Even though it is near the Malaysia and originally within the territory of the
Johor Sultanate which was founded in 1528, but based on history Malaysian are never
manage that island and the Singapore is the only one who do that. So as a result, ICJ decide
that Pedra Branca is under Singapore (Chung, E, 2013). When the ICJ decide that, they
should obey to it.
The Secretariat
The secretariat are composed of staff sick International Working at UN Headquarters
in New York, as well as UN offices in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi and other locations. It
consists of departments and offices with a total staff of 16,000 drawn from most Member
States. They carry out the day to day work of the Organization. The secretariat duties are as
varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering
peacekeeping operations, mediating international disputes, surveying social and economic
trends, laying the ground work for international agreements to organizing international
conferences.
The Secretariat is responsible for providing services to the organs of the United
Nations and administers the programs and policies laid down by them. The Secretariat headed
by the Secretary General, who is appointed by the General Assembly upon the
recommendation of the Security Council for a period of 5 years and are responsible for

implementing decisions taken by the various organs of the UN five organization. As the chief
administrative officer of the Organization, the Secretary General directs the work of staff
known as international civil servants. Unlike diplomats, they represent a particular country
and the interests, international civil servants work for all 193 Member States and take their
orders not from governments, but from the Secretary General. They are independent from
political and other forms of interference and place the interests of the Organization above
their own. The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any
matter which, in his opinion, may threaten international peace and security. They can use
their good offices to prevent conflicts or promote peaceful settlements of disputes between
countries. The Secretary General may also act on his own initiative to deal with humanitarian
or other problems of special importance (United Nation).

Conclusion
In a nutshells, the UN organ play the important role to maintaining peace and security.
Since today their role never change and they resolve many cases to build the peace and
maintain the security in the world. The six main organ of the UN has their distinctive role but
to the same goal. To strengthen the role of the United Nations, it is essential to ensure that all
member states of the UN the right to equal participation in international affairs and the rights
and interests of the developing countries should be safeguarded.

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