The United Nations

Lecture 12, Oct 1, 2025

The “Legislature”

• The Security council

• The general assembly

The “Executive”

• The secretary-general and aganecies

The “Judiciary”

• The International court of Justice

The UN

• Established in 1945 with 51 original members

• Currently 193 member countries

• 2 observers

• Headquarter in NYC

• 6 official languages

• Staff around 44,000

  • Annual budget of 3.59 billion in 2024

The Security Council

• Responsible for maintaining the International peace and security

• Decision ruke:

  • Procedural matters: 9 votes

  • Substantive resolutions: 9 votes including all p-5 countries

• 5 permanent members

• 10 non-permanent members (2 year terms)

  • African group - 3 members

  • Asia-Pacific group- 2 members

  • Easter-European group- 1 member

  • Latin American and Caribbean group- 2 members

  • Western European and other groups: 2 members

The General assembly

• The principle of sovereign equality applies

• Unlike SC resolution, GA resolutions are not legally binding

• 2/3 majority rule in substantive issues

• Main roles include budget and elections, sustainable economic, growth, human rights protection, and international security, ect. 

The International court of Justice

15 judges with 9 years term

• p-5 privileges

  • one judge from each p-5 country

  • Veto to the ICJ ruling

Jurisdiction

United Nations peacekeeping

A way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace

• Observation missions

• Inter-positional misions

• Multidimensional missions

• Peace enforcement mission 

• Currently 11 missions in operation.

UN Budget and Finance

• Main contributors

• Rekated to UN reform plans g-4

• Relations between the US and the UN

The UN during the Cold War

• Cold war conflict rendered the UN Security Council Ineffective

• De-colonization increased UN memberships from 51 states in 1945 to about 150 by mid-1970s

• Increased focus on North-South Issued and Economic Development

• Growing US Disenchantment with UN as developing countries hostile to US objectives Dominated the general assembly.

The UN after the Cold War till now

• Period of initial optimism

  • Potentially greater uN role in security issues

  • Increase in UN sponsored security activities

• Period of Uncertainty though

  • Can the UN be effective

  • How to reform?