About the Structure of the UN

Video Transcript

"Hello. My name is Arielle Reid, in Budapest, Hungary. And today, I will discuss the structure of the United Nations. Now the United Nations structure is often referred to as a system of organs rather than departments or ministries. Because together, these organs work independently, but in concert, to do the work that the UN does. When the UN charter was signed in San Fransisco in 1945, they conceived of six organs, though there are many, many subdivisions of the UN and it has expanded. But the six major organs of the UN are as follows: the General Assembly, which is the major deliberative body of the UN. And it is composed of all the member states of the UN. The Security Council, which is a 15-member council, with five permanent members. The Secretariat, which is the administrative body of the UN, and generally works closely with the Secretary General. The International Court of Justice, which can be seen as the Supreme Court of the UN. Members of the International Court of Justice don't deliberate and don't represent countries. They represent themselves as independent jurors. The Economic and Social Council, which deals with economic and social issues. The Trusteeship Council, which was suspended in 1994. Now given that there are very few countries that are under trusteeship, its suspension in 1994 hasn't been reactivated, though upon the request of the President, the trusteeship can be reactivated."