Investigate the role of the United Nations in promoting world order, including the General Assembly, Security Council, and specialised agencies

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to know how the UN promotes world order: which organs do what, what powers they have, what the UN has achieved, and where it falls short. Expect a 25-mark extended response in Section III (Options).

The answer

Establishment

The United Nations was established by the Charter of the United Nations 1945, signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and entering into force on 24 October 1945. The UN succeeded the League of Nations, which had failed to prevent the Second World War. As at 2026, the UN has 193 member states.

The UN's purposes (article 1 of the Charter) include the maintenance of international peace and security, the development of friendly relations between nations, international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems, and being a centre for harmonising the actions of nations.

The six principal organs

Article 7 of the Charter establishes six principal organs.

1. General Assembly (GA)

All 193 members. Each state has one vote. Decisions on important questions require a two-thirds majority (article 18). The GA's resolutions are recommendations, not binding orders. The GA adopts the regular budget, elects non-permanent members of the Security Council, and adopts declarations (e.g. the UDHR 1948).

2. Security Council (SC)

15 members: 5 permanent (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China) and 10 elected by the GA for two-year terms. Has primary responsibility for international peace and security under article 24. May authorise sanctions (article 41) and use of force (article 42) under Chapter VII. Decisions on substantive matters require 9 affirmative votes including all 5 permanent members concurring (article 27); this is the "veto".

3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

54 members. Coordinates economic, social, humanitarian and cultural activities. Oversees the specialised agencies.

4. Trusteeship Council

Suspended operation in 1994 when Palau (the last UN Trust Territory) achieved independence.

5. International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The principal judicial organ. Hears disputes between states.

6. Secretariat

Headed by the Secretary-General (since 1 January 2017, Antonio Guterres of Portugal).

Specialised agencies

The UN system includes 15 specialised agencies, each established by treaty and linked to the UN through agreements with ECOSOC. Key examples:

• International Labour Organization (ILO) (founded 1919; UN agency since 1946) - labour rights.
• World Health Organization (WHO) (1948) - public health.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (1945).
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) (1944) - global financial stability.
• World Bank (1944) - development lending.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (1945).
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1957) - nuclear non-proliferation, an autonomous body reporting to the GA.

UN Programmes and Funds

• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (1946).
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (1950).
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (1965).
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (1997).
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (1993).

Peacekeeping operations

The Security Council authorises peacekeeping operations under articles 40-42. As at 2026, there are around a dozen active operations (e.g. MINUSCA in the Central African Republic, MONUSCO in the DRC, UNFICYP in Cyprus, UNDOF on the Golan Heights). Peacekeepers are contributed by member states under separate UN command. Australia has contributed to over 50 peacekeeping missions since 1947.

The Security Council and the veto

The veto under article 27 has been used routinely by the permanent five throughout the UN's history. Recent examples:

• Russia vetoed multiple draft resolutions on Syria from 2011 onwards;
• Russia vetoed the draft resolution on Ukraine on 25 February 2022 (Russia is the subject of the resolution and chaired the meeting);
• the US vetoed draft resolutions on the Gaza conflict in 2023 and 2024.

The Uniting for Peace resolution (UN General Assembly Resolution 377A(V), 1950) allows the GA to consider matters where the SC is deadlocked. It was used after the Russian veto on Ukraine to convene an Emergency Special Session of the GA, which passed Resolution ES-11/1 condemning the invasion on 2 March 2022 (141 in favour, 5 against, 35 abstentions).

Effectiveness of the UN

Strengths.

• Universality: 193 member states.
• Forum for diplomacy and norm-setting; the UDHR 1948 and the 1966 Covenants are UN products.
• Active peacekeeping in around a dozen theatres.
• Specialised agencies coordinate global responses to health (WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic), refugees (UNHCR for over 100 million displaced people), and development.

Weaknesses.

• The Security Council veto routinely paralyses response to crises involving the permanent five.
• No standing army; peacekeepers depend on contributing states.
• Funding is uneven; the US is the largest contributor and has at times withheld dues.
• Reform of the Security Council (proposals to expand permanent membership to include India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, or African states) has been deadlocked since the 1990s.