1

Role of United Nations

Maintain International Peace and Security

The United Nations came into being in 1945, following the devastation of the
Second World War, with one central mission: the maintenance of international
peace and security. The UN does this by working to prevent conflict; helping
parties in conflict make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow
peace to hold and flourish. These activities often overlap and should reinforce one
another, to be effective. The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility
for international peace and security. The General Assembly and the Secretary-
General play major, important, and complementary roles, along with other UN
offices and bodies.

UNIFIL
A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain on a regular patrol in the vicinity of Al
Wazzani, south-eastern Lebanon as the sun sets in the horizon. Since 1948, more
than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers. In places like
Lebanon, peacekeepers protect civilians against violent attacks and support the
delivery of crucial humanitarian assistance.
Security Council
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the
peace or an act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by
peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement.
Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement
measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures
range from economic sanctions to international military action. The Council also
establishes UN Peacekeeping Operations and Special Political Missions.

General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative
organ of the UN. Through regular meetings, the General Assembly provides a
forum for Member States to express their views to the entire membership and find
 2

consensus on difficult issues. It makes recommendations in the form of General

Assembly Resolutions. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace
and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-
thirds majority, but other questions are decided by simple majority.

How does the UN maintain international peace and security?

Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation
The most effective way to diminish human suffering and the massive economic
costs of conflicts and their aftermath is to prevent conflicts in the first place. The
United Nations plays an important role in conflict prevention, using diplomacy,
good offices and mediation. Among the tools the Organization uses to bring peace
are special envoys and political missions in the field.

Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN
to assist host countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace. Today's
multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain
peace and security, but also to facilitate political processes, protect civilians, assist
in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants;
support constitutional processes and the organization of elections, protect and
promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law and extending
legitimate state authority. Peacekeeping operations get their mandates from the UN
Security Council; their troops and police are contributed by Members States; and
they are managed by the Department of Peace Operations and supported by the
Department of Operational Support at the UN Headquarters in New York. There
are 14 UN peacekeeping operations currently deployed and there have been a total
of 71 deployed since 1948. In 2019, the Secretary-General launched the Action for
Peacekeeping Initiative (A4P) to renew mutual political commitment to
peacekeeping operations.

Peace building
 3

United Nations peace building activities are aimed at assisting countries emerging
from conflict, reducing the risk of relapsing into conflict and at laying the
foundation for sustainable peace and development. The UN peace building
architecture comprises the Peace building Commission, the Peace building Fund
and the Peace building Support Office. The Peace building Support Office assists
and supports the Peace building Commission with strategic advice and policy
guidance, administers the Peace building Fund and serves the Secretary-General in
coordinating United Nations agencies in their peace building efforts.

Countering Terrorism
The United Nations is being increasingly called upon to coordinate the global fight
against terrorism. Eighteen universal instruments against international terrorism
have been elaborated within the framework of the United Nations system relating
to specific terrorist activities. In September 2006, UN Member States adopted the
United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. This was the first time that
Member States agreed to a common strategic and operational framework against
terrorism.

Disarmament
The General Assembly and other bodies of the United Nations, supported by the
Office for Disarmament Affairs, work to advance international peace and security
through the pursuit of the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of
mass destruction and the regulation of conventional arms.
Protect Human Rights
The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN's founding Charter,
making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding
principle of the Organization. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
brought human rights into the realm of international law. Since then, the
Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal instruments and
on-the-ground activities.
 4

How does the UN promote and protect human rights?

High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has lead
responsibility in the UN system for the promotion and protection of human rights.
The office supports the human rights components of peacekeeping missions in
several countries, and has many country and regional offices and centres. The High
Commissioner for Human Rights regularly comments on human rights situations in
the world and has the authority to investigate situations and issue reports on them.

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council, established in 2006, replaced the 60-year-old UN
Commission on Human Rights as the key independent UN intergovernmental body
responsible for human rights.

Human Rights Treaty Bodies

The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor
implementation of the core international human rights treaties

Special Procedures
The special procedures of the Human Rights Council are prominent, independent
experts working on a voluntary basis, who examine, monitor, publicly report and
advice on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective.

UNDG-HRM
The UN Development Group’s Human Rights Mainstreaming Mechanism
(UNDG-HRM) advances human rights mainstreaming efforts within the UN
development system.

Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect

 5

The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide acts as a catalyst to raise

awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where
there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action; the
Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect leads the conceptual, political,
institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect.

What legal instruments help the UN protect human rights?

The International Bill of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was the first legal document
protecting universal human rights. Together with the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the three instruments form the so-called International Bill of
Human Rights. A series of international human rights treaties and other
instruments adopted since 1945 have expanded the body of international human
rights law.

Democracy
Democracy, based on the rule of law, is ultimately a means to achieve international
peace and security, economic and social progress and development, and respect for
human rights – the three pillars of the United Nations mission as set forth in the
UN Charter. At the 2005 World Summit, all the world’s governments reaffirmed
“that democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to
determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full
participation in all aspects of their lives” and stressed “that democracy,
development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms are
interdependent and mutually reinforcing”. Democratic principles are woven
throughout the normative fabric of the United Nations. The 2009 Guidance Note
on Democracy of the Secretary-General sets out the United Nations framework for
democracy based on universal principles, norms and standards and commits the
Organization to principled, coherent and consistent action in support of democracy.

What other UN offices and bodies are responsible for protecting human rights?
 6

Security Council
The UN Security Council, at times, deals with grave human rights violations, often
in conflict areas. The UN Charter gives the Security Council the authority to
investigate and mediate, dispatch a mission, appoint special envoys, or request the
Secretary-General to use his good offices. The Security Council may issue a
ceasefire directive, dispatch military observers or a peacekeeping force. If this
does not work, the Security Council can opt for enforcement measures, such as
economic sanctions, arms embargos, financial penalties and restrictions, travel
bans, the severance of diplomatic relations, a blockade, or even collective military
action.

Third Committee of the General Assembly

The General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)
examines a range of issues, including human rights questions. The Committee also
discusses questions relating to the advancement of women, the protection of
children, indigenous issues, and the treatment of refugees, the promotion of
fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination,
and the right to self-determination. The Committee also addresses important social
development questions.

Various Other UN Bodies

Different intergovernmental bodies and interdepartmental mechanisms based at the
United Nations headquarters in New York, as well as the United Nations
Secretary-General, address a range of human rights issues. The General Assembly,
the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and their subsidiary organs make
policy decisions and recommendations to Member States, the United Nations
system and other actors. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (UNPFII), an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, has a
mandate to discuss indigenous issues, including human rights. The Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights interacts with and provides advice and
support on human rights issues to these bodies and mechanisms. The Office also
works to mainstream human rights in all areas of work of the Organization,
including development, peace and security, peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs.
 7

Human rights issues are also addressed in the context of the post-conflict UN peace
building support activities

Secretary-General
The Secretary-General appoints special representatives, who advocate against
major human rights violations:
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children

The ‘Human Rights Up Front’ Initiative is an initiative by the UN Secretary-

General to ensure the UN system takes early and effective action, as mandated by
the Charter and UN resolutions, to prevent or respond to serious and large-scale
violations of human rights or international humanitarian law. The initiative
underlines a shared responsibility among the various UN entities to work together
to address such violations. HRuF seeks to achieve this by effecting change at three
levels: cultural, operational and political. These changes are gradually
transforming the way the UN understands its responsibilities and implements them.
The initiative has been progressively rolled-out since late 2013. Through various
presentations, letters and policy documents, the Secretary-General and Deputy
Secretary-General have presented HRuF to the General Assembly and to staff and
UN system leaders.

On 19 January 2018, Secretary-General António Guterres established the

International Commission of Inquiry envisioned by the Agreement on Peace and
Reconciliation in Mali. He appointed Lena Sundh (Sweden), Vinod Boolell
(Mauritius) and Simon Munzu (Cameroon) to serve as Commissioners and selected
Ms. Sundh as Chair. Established at the request of the signatory parties to the
Agreement, the Commission of Inquiry will advance national reconciliation and
support the Malian authorities’ efforts in the fight against impunity. The
Commissioners, who are serving in their personal capacities, will investigate
serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in
 8

Mali since January 2012 and submit a report to the Secretary General on 22
October 2019.

The Highest Aspiration: A Call to Action for Human Rights

On 24 February 2020, Secretary-General António Guterres launched a Call to
Action for Human Rights. “Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies
grow in freedom,” he told Member States on the opening day of the UN Human
Rights Council’s 43rd session in Geneva, as he detailed a seven-point blueprint for
positive change. Echoing the call for change, High Commissioner for Human
Rights Michelle Bachelet said that although threats to human rights, development
and peace were on the rise, so were the practical, actionable solutions to these
issues.

UN Peace Operations
Many United Nations peacekeeping operations and political and peace building
missions also include the human rights-related mandates aimed at contributing to
the protection and promotion of human rights through both immediate and long-
term action; empowering the population to assert and claim their human rights; and
enabling State and other national institutions to implement their human rights
obligations and uphold the rule of law. Human rights teams on the ground work in
close cooperation and coordination with other civilian and uniformed components
of peace operations, in particular, in relation to the protection of civilians;
addressing conflict-related sexual violence and violations against children; and
strengthening respect for human rights and the rule of law through legal and
judicial reform, security sector reform and prison system reform.

Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global
intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the
advancement of women. UN Women, established in 2010, serves as its
Secretariat.
 9

Source-https://www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do

Contd----