1. Role of the United Nations

2. How does the UN work?
 The UN is broken down
into several groups.
 Each group has its own
responsibilities to keep
the UN running
smoothly as a whole
organization.
 There are currently 193
countries that are
members of the United
Nations.

3. General Assembly
 The General Assembly has
representatives in it from all
of the member countries.
 They discuss issues and draft
resolutions (documents
suggesting actions for the UN
and participating countries to
take).
 The General Assembly also
includes various councils,
panels, and working groups
that focus on current world
issues.

4. Security Council
The Security Council votes on resolutions created by the
General Assembly and decides whether or not to put an
action/resolution into place.
Each member of the Security Council gets one vote.
 Five permanent members: US, Britain, France, Russia,
and China. If any of these members vote against a measure
it is vetoed.
 Ten non-permanent members: Azerbaijan, Columbia,
Germany, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Portugal, South
Africa, and Togo.
 Non-permanent members are selected from the General
Assembly and serve a 2 year term on the Security Council.

5. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
 This group focuses on issues
that impact the world and
various countries
economically and socially
(this can be anything from
drug trafficking, to rain
forest destruction).
 There are many specialized
committees within this
council.
 Each member of this council
has one vote, a simple
majority is needed to pass a
resolution.

6. International Court of Justice
 The court is located in the
Netherlands and has 15
justices. It’s purpose is to
settle disputes between
nations. It also advises
UN committees regarding
international law.
 The court can only reside
over states that are
willing to participate in
the legal proceedings.

8. What steps can the UN take?
 The General Assembly can pass a resolution which
can be voted on by the Security Council to address
a specific problem.
 The ECOSOC committee can also draft resolutions.
 Cases can be tried in the International Court of
Justice.
 Sanctions can be put into place.
 UN Peacekeepers can be sent in to protect a group
of people or a government.

9. Peace Keeping Operations
 115 countries have
contributed police/military
to the UN peace keeping
organization.
 Peace keeping operations
do not use violence, but do
use the presence of military
to protect people or
government processes.
 Peace keepers will not enter
a country unless they have
permission to do so.

10. Guiding Questions for the Reading
 What are two types of conflicts that the UN can help
to prevent?
 How has the world changed since World War II?
 What kind of problems can be caused by illiteracy?
 What kind of problems can be caused by natural
resources?
 How does the UN feel about nuclear weapons? What
is their goal for the proliferation of nuclear weapons?