Principal organs of UN

The United Nations has six principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council,
the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice,
and the Secretariat.

General Assembly

The only body in which all UN members are represented, plays the primary role to discuss
issues and make recommendations, though it has no power to enforce its resolutions or to
compel state action. Other functions include admitting new members; selecting members of
the Economic and Social Council, the nonpermanent members of the Security Council, and
the Trusteeship Council; supervising the activities of the other UN organs, from which the
Assembly receives reports; and participating in the election of judges to the International
Court of Justice and the selection of the secretary-general. Decisions usually are reached by a
simple majority vote. On important questions, however—such as the admission of new
members, budgetary matters, and peace and security issues—a two-thirds majority is
required.

The Assembly convenes annually and in special sessions, electing a new president each year
from among five regional groups of states. At the beginning of each regular session, the
Assembly also holds a general debate, in which all members may participate and raise any
issue of international concern.

Security Council

The UN Charter assigns to the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security. The Security Council originally consisted of 11 members—
five permanent and six nonpermanent—elected by the General Assembly for two-year term..
Five of the 10 nonpermanent members are elected each year by the General Assembly for
two-year terms, and five retire each year. The presidency is held by each member in rotation
for a period of one month.

Each Security Council member is entitled to one vote. On all “procedural” matters—the
definition of which is sometimes in dispute—decisions by the council are made by
an affirmative vote of any nine of its members. Substantive matters, such as the investigation
of a dispute or the application of sanctions, also require nine affirmative votes, including
those of the five permanent members holding veto power. In practice, however, a permanent
member may abstain without impairing the validity of the decision. A vote on whether a
matter is procedural or substantive is itself a substantive question. Because the Security
Council is required to function continuously, each member is represented at all times at the
UN’s headquarters in New York City.

Economic and Social Council

Designed to be the UN’s main venue for the discussion of international economic and social
issues, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) directs and coordinates the economic,
social, humanitarian, and cultural activities of the UN and its specialized agencies. ECOSOC
is empowered to recommend international action on economic and social issues; promote
universal respect for human rights; and work for global cooperation on health, education, and
cultural and related areas. ECOSOC conducts studies; formulates resolutions,
recommendations, and conventions for consideration by the General Assembly; and
coordinates the activities of various UN programs and specialized agencies

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was designed to supervise the government of trust territories and to
lead them to self-government or independence. The trusteeship system, like
the mandate system under the League of Nations, was established on the premise that
colonial territories taken from countries defeated in war should not be annexed by the
victorious powers but should be administered by a trust country under international
supervision until their future status was determined. Unlike the mandate system, the
trusteeship system invited petitions from trust territories on their independence and required
periodic international missions to the territories. In 1945 only 12 League of
Nations mandates remained: Nauru, New Guinea, Ruanda-
Urundi, Togoland and Cameroon (French administered), Togoland and Cameroon (British
administered), the Pacific Islands (Carolines, Marshalls, and Marianas), Western Samoa,
South West Africa, Tanganyika, and Palestine. All these mandates became trust territories
except South West Africa (now Namibia), which South Africa refused to enter into the
trusteeship system.

UDHR

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted

by the United Nations General Assembly that stated the rights and freedoms of all human
beings. It was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third
session on 10 December 1948 at Paris, France.

The Declaration consists of 30 articles detailing an individual's "basic rights and fundamental
freedoms" and affirming their universal character as inherent, inalienable, and applicable to
all human beings. Adopted as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations", the UDHR commits nations to recognize all humans as being "born free and equal
in dignity and rights" regardless of "nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic
origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status". The Declaration is considered a
"milestone document" for its "universalist language", which makes no reference to a
particular culture, political system, or religion. It directly inspired the development
of international human rights law, and was the first step in the formulation of
the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966 and came into force in
1976.

Although not legally binding, the contents of the UDHR have been elaborated and
incorporated into subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, and
national constitutions and legal codes.

Nevertheless, the UDHR has influenced legal, political, and social developments on both the
global and national levels, with its significance partly evidenced by its 530 translations, the
most of any document in history.

Structure and content of UDHR

The Declaration consists of the following:

 The preamble sets out the historical and social causes that led to the necessity of
drafting the Declaration.
 Articles 1–2 establish the basic concepts of dignity, liberty, and equality.
 Articles 3–5 establish other individual rights, such as the right to life and the
prohibition of slavery and torture.
 Articles 6–11 refer to the fundamental legality of human rights with specific
remedies cited for their defence when violated.
 Articles 12–17 set forth the rights of the individual towards the community,
including freedom of movement and residence within each state, the right
of property and the right to a nationality.
 Articles 18–21 sanction the so-called "constitutional liberties" and spiritual,
public, and political freedoms, such as freedom of thought, opinion,
expression, religion and conscience, word, peaceful association of the individual,
and receiving and imparting information and ideas through any media.
 Articles 22–27 sanction an individual's economic, social and cultural rights,
including healthcare. It upholds an expansive right to an adequate standard of
living, and makes special mention of care given to those in motherhood or
childhood.
 Articles 28–30 establish the general means of exercising these rights, the areas in
which the rights of the individual cannot be applied, the duty of the individual to
society, and the prohibition of the use of rights in contravention of the purposes of
the United Nations Organization.