Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The Economic and Social Council consists of 54 member countries elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms. The Council is concerned with financial and technical assistance to the less developed countries, the international protection of refugees and aid to the world's children.

ECOSOC coordinates many specialized agencies that provide a variety of social, economic and related services. The agencies operate independently but work with other programs in the UN. Those programs include the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO, and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

  

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established to oversee the transition of a handful of colonies to independence. The last of those colonies gained independence in 1994, making the Trusteeship Council obsolete.

 

International Court of Justice

Thе principal judicial organ of the United Nations is the International Court of Justice , also known as the World Court. It is the judicial arm of the UN. It sits at the Hague in the Netherlands. It is composed of fifteen judges who are elected by the Security Council and the General Assembly. A country is not required to participate in the court’s proceedings, but if it agrees to participate, it must abide the court’s decisions.

 

Secretariat

The administrative functions of the United Nations are carried out by the Secretariat. The Secretariat consists of some 6,000 members, 3,600 of whom are at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Secretary General who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council is at the head of the Secretariat.

 

Secretary General

The Secretary General is a powerful public figure who oversees the daily operations of the UN and plays a major role in setting the organization’s agenda in international security affairs. The Secretary General has the authority to serve as a neutral mediator in international conflicts and to bring hostile parties together to negotiate.

The Secretary General is formally chosen by the General Assembly, but he must first be nominated by the Security Council and win the consent of all five permanent members. The Secretary General serves a five-year term, which may be renewed. The Security Council can nominate a candidate from any country, but it’s an unwritten tradition that the position rotates geographically, with a secretary general chosen from a new region after every two terms. In 1997 the General Assembly created the post of deputy Secretary General to assist in the management of the Secretariat.

Past Secretaries General have come from various regions of the world, but it’s an unwritten rule that they never should come from one of the most powerful countries. This tradition is a response to concerns that a secretary general selected from such a country would not be perceived by other nations as objective and neutral. There is also a fear that such a selection would give the world’s most influential nations that much more power.

Agencies Related to the UN

Working in partnership with the UN in various economic, social, scientific and technical fields is a group of organizations related to the UN by special agreements. The agencies are:

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) —Международное агентство по атомной энергии (МАГАТЭ)

International Labour Organization (ILO) — Международная организация труда (МОТ)

Food and Agricultural Organization ( FAO ) — Организация по вопросам продовольствия и сельского хозяйства (ФАО)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) — Организация по вопросам образования, науки и культуры (ЮНЕСКО)

World Health Organization (WHO) — Всемир­ная организация здравоохранения (ВОЗ)

International Bank for Reconstruction and De­velopment (or World Bank) (BRD) — Международный банк реконструкции и развития (МБРР)

International Development Association (IDA) — Международная ассоциация развития (MAP)

International Finance Corporation (IFC) — Международная финансовая корпорация (МФК)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) — Между­народный валютный фонд (МВФ)

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — Международная организация гражданской авиации (ИКАО)

Universal Postal Union (UPU) — Всемирный почтовый союз (ВПС)

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — Международный союз электросвязи (МЭС)

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) — Международная метеорологическая организация (ВМО)

International Maritime Consultative Organiza­tion (IMCO) — Международная консультативная организация по морскому судоходству (ИМКО)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) – Организация Объединенных Наций по вопросам промышленного развития (ЮНИДО)

Scanning

1. Read the text and say whether these statements are true or false:

1. The General Assembly meets biannually in order to consider the world’s most pressing problems.

2. Special sessions are convoked by the Secretary Ge­neral at the request of the General Assembly or of a majority of the members of the UN.

3. Any of one of the permanent members of the Security Council can veto an important decision of the Council.

4. The right of individual or collective self-defense is not prohibited by membership in the UN, and if a member nation is attacked it may do what is necessary.

5. The Economic and Social Council consists of 34 member countries elected by the General Assembly for five-year terms.

6. Thе principal judicial organ of the United Nations is the Secretariat, known  as the judicial arm of the UN.

7. The Secretary General who is appointed by the Security Council on the recommendation of the General Assembly is at the head of the International Court of Justice.

8. According to the UN Charter the position of Secretary General rotates geographically, with a secretary general chosen from a new region after every two terms.

2. Read the text again and answer the following questions using the active vocabulary:

1. What is the composition of the General Assembly?

2. How many votes is each UN member-country entitled to?

3. What matters may be brought before the General Assembly?

4. What are the functions of the General Assembly and how does it take its decisions?

5. In what cases may the General Assembly be convened within 24 hours in an emergency special session?

6. How many members does the Security Council consist of?

7. What countries have permanent seats in the Security Council and why?

8. Who are the remaining 10 members of the Security Council elected by?

9. What is the primary responsibility of the Security Council?

10. How does the Security Council function?

11. Who can participate in the discussions of the Security Council’s sittings?

12. In what way can the Security Council enforce its decisions?

13. In what cases can the Security Council furnish armed forces?

14. What are the functions of the Economic and Social Council?

15. Why doesn’t the Trusteeship Council function today?

16. What is the principal judicial organ of the UN? Where does it sit?

17. Who are its members elected by?

18. What organ carries out the administrative functions of the UN?

19. Who is at the head of the Secretariat?

20. What agencies work in partnership with the UN? Give some examples.

21. What authority does the Secretary General have in the UN?

22. Who is the Secretary General chosen by?

23. Can the Security Council nominate a candidate to the post of Secretary General from any country?

24. What post was created by the General Assembly in 1997?

25. Why shouldn’t the Secretary General come from any of the most powerful countries?

 

3.Give as much information as possible concerning the following notions:

the General Assembly

the Security Council

the Economic and Social Council

the World Health Organization

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

the International Court of Justice

the Secretariat

the Secretary General

4. Prepare the summary of the text in 20-25 sentences. Use the active vocabulary from the Word Study section.

Word Study

1. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

General Assembly, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Security Council,

Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice,

most pressing problems, an emergency special session, within the scope of the charter,

lack of unanimity, the bulk of the world’s military might, a party to a dispute,

severance of diplomatic relations, to furnish armed forces, obsolete, hostile parties,

consent.

 

2. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases from the text:

страны-члены ООН, иметь право на что-либо, повестка дня, нарушение мира,

постоянное место (в Совете Безопасности ООН), непрерывно осуществлять функции (действовать), заниматься, интересоваться чем-либо, основной правовой орган, организации, связанные с ООН, работать в партнерстве.

3. Use the lexical units from the exercises above in the sentences of your own.

 

4. Give the definitions of the following words and phrases from the text and use them in the sentences of your own:

1. to be composed of

2. to convoke

3. to carry out (decisions)

4. to handle a dispute

5. to enforce

6. to call on

7. to encourage

8. to oversee

9. to abide (the court’s decisions)

10. to bring smb. together

 

5. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using active vocabulary:

1. Каждая страна может послать на заседание сессии Генеральной Ассамблеи ООН не более 5 представителей.

2. Чрезвычайные сессии ООН могут быть созваны Генеральным секретарем ООН по просьбе Совета Безопасности или по решению большинства членов Генеральной Ассамблеи.

3. Совет Безопасности ООН работает на постоянной основе с обязательным присутствием всех его членов на всех заседаниях.

4. В случае, если страна-член ООН подверглась нападению, она может предпринимать необходимые действия, уведомив об этом Совет Безопасности.

5. Генеральная Ассамблея ООН дает рекомендации странам-членам ООН и другим организациям ООН с целью укрепления международного сотрудничества в политических, экономических, социальных и других областях.

6. Генеральный секретарь ООН, назначаемый Генеральной Ассамблеей ООН по рекомендации Совета Безопасности, возглавляет Секретариат ООН.

 

Translation

Translate the following text from English into Russian using a dictionary: