The General Assembly

United Nations

The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international coopera­tion and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world be­longs to the UN: membership totals 191 countries.

¹ http://www.un.org.

² Туткин, Л. С. Человечество на рубеже веков: показатели социально-экономиче­
ского развития стран мира. М.: Логос, 2003. С. 190.

³ Там же. С. 191.

40 Глава 2. Международные экономические организации в системе ООН

When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Char­ter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and secu­rity; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

The United Nations is not a world government and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve interna­tional conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States — large and small, rich and poor, with differ­ing'political views and social systems — have a voice and a vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them — the Gen­eral Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat — are based at UN Head­quarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is lo­cated at The Hague in the Netherlands.

All UN Member States are represented in the General Assembly — a «parliament of nations» which meets to consider the world's most press­ing problems. Each Member State has one vote. Decisions on such key is­sues as international peace and security, admitting new members and the UN budget are decided by two-thirds majority. Other matters are decided by simple majority. In recent years, a special effort has been made to reach decisions through consensus, rather than by taking a formal vote.

At its 2001/2002 session, the Assembly is considering more than 180 different topics, including globalization, AIDS, conflict in Africa, protection of the environment and consolidation of new democracies. The Assembly cannot force action by any State, but its recommendations are an important indication of world opinion and represent the moral au­thority of the community of nations.

The Assembly holds its annual regular session from September to December. When necessary, it may resume its session or hold a special or emergency session on subjects of particular concern. When the Assembly is not meeting, its work is carried out by its six main committees, other, subsidiary bodies and the UN Secretariat.

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