DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION The United Nations Today asdf United Nations New York, 2008 Note: Every effort is made to keep basic information current up to the date of publication, including responsible officials, contact information, treaty ratifications, etc. All other data is current as of July 2007, unless stated otherwise. Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information Printed by the Publishing Section/DGACM United Nations Headquarters New York, NY 10017 www.un.org ISBN 978-92-1-101160-9 United Nations Publication Sales No. E.08.I.6 Copyright © 2008 United Nations iii Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. Accordingly, our respective Governments … have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations Chapter 1: The United Nations Organization v CONTENTS United Nations websites . xii List of acronyms . .xiv Foreword by the Secretary-General . xvii PART ONE Chapter 1: The United Nations Organization . 1 United Nations Charter . 3 Purposes and principles . 5 Membership . 5 Official languages . 5 Structure of the Organization . 6 General Assembly . 6 Security Council . 8 Economic and Social Council . 10 Trusteeship Council . 12 International Court of Justice . 12 Secretariat . 13 Secretary-General . 14 Budget of the United Nations . 18 The United Nations family of organizations . 22 United Nations Secretariat . 22 Regional commissions . 35 International tribunals . 37 United Nations programmes and other bodies . 38 Specialized agencies and other organizations . 52 PART TWO Chapter 2: International Peace and Security . 69 The Security Council. 73 The General Assembly . 74 Conflict prevention . 75 Peacemaking. 75 Peacekeeping . 77 Enforcement. 82 Sanctions . 82 Authorizing military action . 83 Peacebuilding . 84 vi The UN Today Electoral assistance. 84 Building peace through development . 86 United Nations action for peace. 86-131 Africa . 86 Southern Africa . 86 Great Lakes region of Africa . 89 West Africa . 94 East Africa . 100 The Americas . 106 Asia and the Pacific . 109 The Middle East . 109 Afghanistan . 114 Iraq . 117 India-Pakistan . 121 Tajikistan . 122 Cambodia . 123 Myanmar . 123 Nepal . 124 Bougainville / Papua New Guinea . 126 Timor-Leste . 126 Europe . 127 Cyprus . 127 Georgia . 128 The Balkans . 129 Disarmament . 131 Disarmament machinery . 134 Weapons of mass destruction. 134 Conventional weapons, confidence-building and transparency . 138 Peaceful uses of outer space . 142 Latest developments . 146 Chapter 3: Economic and Social Development . 147 Coordinating development activities . 151 Economic development . 152 Official development assistance. 152 Promoting development worldwide . 154 Lending for development . 156 Lending for stability . 159 Investment and development. 160 Trade and development . 161 vii Agricultural development . 164 Industrial development. 166 Labour . 167 International aviation . 169 International shipping . 170 Telecommunications . 171 International postal service. 172 Intellectual property . 173 Global statistics . 175 Public administration . 175 Science and technology for development . 176 Social development . 176 Progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals . 178 Reducing poverty . 181 Fighting hunger . 181 Health . 185 Human settlements . 189 Education . 191 Research and training . 193 Population and development . 195 Gender equality and empowerment of women . 197 Promoting the rights of the child. 198 Social integration . 201 Families. 202 Youth . 202 Older persons. 203 Indigenous issues . 204 Persons with disabilities . 205 Uncivil society: crime, illicit drugs and terrorism. 206 Science, culture and communication . 210 Sustainable development . 214 Agenda 21 . 215 World Summit on Sustainable Development . 216 Financing sustainable development. 217 Action for the environment . 218 Climate change and global warming . 220 Small islands . 224 Sustainable forest management. 225 Desertification . 226 Biodiversity, pollution and overfishing . 227 Protecting the marine environment. 228 Weather, climate and water. 229 Natural resources and energy. 231 Nuclear safety . 234 viii The UN Today Chapter 4: Human Rights . 237 Human rights instruments . 239 International Bill of Human Rights . 240 Economic, social and cultural rights . 240 Civil and political rights . 242 Other conventions . 242 Other standards . 245 Human rights machinery. 246 Human Rights Council . 246 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights . ..