Question

Explain the composition and one function of any three organs of the United Nations.

Hint:

To remember the P5 of the UN Security Council, use the acronym FREUC: France, Russia, England (UK), United States, and China. Remember that only these five states hold the critical, unilateral veto power that can block any substantive UNSC resolution.

Answer 1

Step 1: Detailed Overview of the United Nations Charter and Organizational Framework:
The United Nations (UN) was established on October 24, 1945, as the premier intergovernmental organization tasked with preventing global conflicts, fostering cooperative international relations, and coordinating multilateral responses to humanitarian and developmental crises. To achieve these expansive goals, Article 7 of the UN Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations. Each of these organs plays a structurally unique role in global governance. To provide a comprehensive analysis, the composition and functions of three core organs---the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the International Court of Justice---are detailed below.

Step 2: Analysis of Organ 1 --- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC):
• Composition: The UNSC represents the elite executive and security-enforcing wing of the UN. It is composed of exactly 15 members. This includes five permanent members (the P5: the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France, and the People's Republic of China), who possess the unilateral power to veto any substantive resolution. The remaining ten members are non-permanent and are elected by the General Assembly for staggered two-year terms, selected based on geographical distribution. Non-permanent members are not eligible for immediate re-election.
• Key Function: The primary responsibility of the Security Council, under Article 24 of the UN Charter, is the maintenance of international peace and security. Unlike other organs that can only make recommendations, the UNSC has the unique power to pass legally binding resolutions, authorize military interventions (under Chapter VII of the Charter), deploy UN Peacekeeping Forces, and impose sweeping economic sanctions or arms embargoes on hostile states.

Step 3: Analysis of Organ 2 --- The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):
• Composition: The UNGA functions as the democratic, plenary parliament of the global community. It is composed of all 193 member states of the United Nations. In this forum, the principle of sovereign equality is strictly maintained; every state, regardless of its population, geographic size, or economic power, has exactly one vote.
• Key Function: The UNGA is the principal deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. It has the mandate to debate and recommend actions on any issue falling under the scope of the UN Charter (such as disarmament, international law, and human rights). It holds the critical financial authority to review and approve the UN's annual budget, elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council, and formally appoints the UN Secretary-General upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

Step 4: Analysis of Organ 3 --- The International Court of Justice (ICJ):
• Composition: Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN. It is composed of 15 independent judges elected to nine-year terms of office. To ensure absolute neutrality, these judges are elected simultaneously but independently by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. No two judges may be nationals of the same state. Judges are eligible for re-election.
• Key Function: The ICJ has a dual jurisdiction. First, it exercises contentious jurisdiction to settle legal disputes submitted to it by sovereign states in accordance with international law. Only sovereign states, not individuals or organizations, can be parties to contentious cases, and its judgments are legally binding on the participating states. Second, it exercises advisory jurisdiction to give authoritative, non-binding advisory opinions on complex legal questions referred to it by the General Assembly, the Security Council, or other authorized UN agencies.