Major Achievements of UN

Check this IMPORTANT LINK to see what the UN has accomplished.  There may be problems, but there are indisputable achievements!

ICJ v. International Criminal Court (ICC)

ICJ...ICC...which one has jurisdiction?!  Simply stated, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) settles disputes between countries (i.e. Belgium vs. Switzerland) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) tries individuals for the gravest of human rights violations: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Whereas the ICJ was one of the original organs born in 1945 as successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice (under the LoN), the ICC came to fruition just on July 1, 2002.  Both are, however, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, but the ICC can try people anywhere.

From the ICJ web site regarding jurisdiction: "The Court has a dual jurisdiction : it decides, in accordance with international law, disputes of a legal nature that are submitted to it by States (jurisdiction in contentious cases); and it gives advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of the organs of the United Nations or specialized agencies authorized to make such a request (advisory jurisdiction)."

Article 93 of the UN Charter: "All Members of the United Nations are ipso facto parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice".
List of cases: http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2&lang=en

From the ICC web site regarding jurisdiction: "Pursuant to the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor can initiate an investigation on the basis of a referral from any State Party or from the United Nations Security Council. In addition, the Prosecutor can initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis of information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court received from individuals or organisations (“communications”)."

ICC Signatories with(green)/without(orange) ratification (from Wikipedia):

Cases:
Uganda (2004 - )
Democratic Republic of Congo (2004 - )
Central African Republic (2007 - )
Sudan (2005 - )
Kenya (2010 - )

Secretariat and the now defunct Trusteeship Council

Basic facts:
- Location : Main HQ in New York City, USA, staff around the world (40,000+)
- Leader: Secretary-General, currently Ban ki-Moon of South Korea, who is the face and "head" of the United Nations Organization
- The working force of the UN, international civil servants
- 15 judges from 15 different countries serving nine year terms
- Issues: conducts research, combines, analyzes and evaluates qualitative and quantitative data related to global issues, administer peacekeeping, liaison with governments for diplomatic endeavors
- Link: UN Secretariat site, http://www.un.org/en/mainbodies/secretariat/

What was the Trusteeship Council?
The UN Trusteeship Council was a permanent member that completed its mission in 1994 (with Palau's independence) and was charged with liberating former colonies and possessions.  It still exists, but isn't active.

Picture (from Wikipedia):

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Basic facts:
- Location : Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
- Main court for dispute settlement between countries (i.e. Honduras v. Nicaragua)
- 15 judges from 15 different countries serving nine year terms
- Issues: primary judicial organ of UN, dispute settlement, provide legal advisory on matters of international law, interpret UN-related legal issues
- See UN Charter, Article XIV for charged responsibilities and duties
- Link: Official ICJ site, http://www.icj-cij.org/homepage/index.php?p1=0&lang=en

Picture (from Wikipedia):

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Basic facts:
- Location: UN HQ in New York City, NY, USA
- Main forum for economic cooperation and social development
- 54 member-states from different geographical regions that serve for three years, one meeting for four weeks starting in July
- Main Tasks: economic and social cooperation and development (i.e. increasing standard of living as measured by various indices like the Human Development Index - HDI), protection of human rights, organizing, conducting and publicizing studies based on these topics from the field
- See UN Charter, Article IX for charged responsibilities and duties
- Link: United Nations ECOSOC site, http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/index.shtml

Picture (from Wikipedia):

Security Council (UNSC)

Basic facts:
- Location: UN HQ in New York City, NY, USA
- Primary forum for international peace and security, crisis situations
- Fifteen countries, five permanent with vetos (USA, UK, France, Russia, China), ten two-year non-permanent with no veto vote (currently Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda)
- Main Tasks: peacekeeping, "pressing" issues like violence and invasion, sanctions, military action
- See UN Charter, Article V for charged responsibilities and duties
- Link: United Nations Security Council site, http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/

Veto History (from Wikipedia):

Picture (from Wikipedia):

UNGA and UNSC Resolutions

UNGA Resolutions are target issues discussed and debated by this organ (see list here : http://www.un.org/documents/resga.htm).  They are voted upon by all 192 and require a simple majority to pass.  On issues of more considerable importance, the requirement for passage changes to a two-thirds majority.  General Assembly resolutions are non-binding (unless regarding the UN itself), but they do represent a strong message nevertheless.


UNSC Resolutions focus on issues of international peace and security (see list here : http://www.un.org/documents/scres.htm).  They are voted upon by all 15 members and, assuming one of the permanent five does not exercise its veto power, requires nine affirmative vote to pass.  Security Council resolutions are considered binding and can result in sanctions or worse if not followed.