Topic > Description of the bodies of the United Nations

Index Bodies of the United Nations General Assembly The Security Council The Trusteeship Council The Economic and Social Council The International Court of Justice Bodies of the United Nations The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Trusteeship Council, The Economic and Social Council, The International Court of Justice, and The Secretariat. General Assembly The General Assembly is the principal deliberative, political and representative body of the United Nations. All 193 member states of the United Nations are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only United Nations body with universal representation. Every year in September, all members of the United Nations gather in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session and general debate, in which many heads of state participate and address. Decisions on important matters, such as those on peace and security, the admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Decisions on other questions are by simple majority. The General Assembly, each year, elects a President of the General Assembly for a one-year term. The Security Council The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter of the United Nations, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is made up of 15 members (5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. According to the Charter, all member states are obliged to respect the decisions of the Council. The Security Council takes the initiative to ascertain the existence of a threat to peace or an act of aggression. It invites the parties to the dispute to resolve it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council may resort to imposing sanctions or even authorizing the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security. The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates and changes every month. The Trusteeship Council The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, under Chapter XIII, to provide international oversight to 11 trust territories which had been placed under the administration of seven member States and to ensure that adequate measures were taken to prepare the territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all trust territories had achieved self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council suspended its activities on 1 November 1994. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to eliminate the requirement to meet annually and agreed to meet on occasions required by its decision or by the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or of the General Assembly or of the Security Council. The Economic and Social Council The Economic and Social Council is the main body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism for the activities of the United Nations system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies. It has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. It is the central platform of the United Nations for reflection, debate and.