The united nations purposes and principles

The United Nations has been aptly described as a Standing Diplomatic Conference: it is a worldwide association of states which, on signing the Charter of the United Nations, subscribe to its purposes and agree to act in accordance with its principles; these are:

Purposes

I To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

II To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;

III To achieve international cooperation in solving international prob­lems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

IV To be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attain­ment of these common ends.

Principles

I The United Nations is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members.

II All members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and bene­fits resulting from membership, shall fulfil in good faith the obliga­tions assumed by them in accordance with the Charter.

III All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

IV All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

V All members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking a preventive or enforcement action.

VI The United Nations shall ensure that states which are not members of the Organisation act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.

VII Nothing contained in the Charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under the Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under chapter VII.

THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER

The Charter is divided into 111 articles grouped in nineteen chapters:

I	Purposes and Principles	(articles 1and 2)
II	Membership	(articles 3-6)
III	Organs	(articles 7 and 8)
IV	The general Assembly
	Composition	(article 9)
	Functions and powers	(articles 10-17)
	Voting	(articles 18 and 19)
	Procedure	(articles 20-22)
V	The Security Council
	Composition	(article 23)
	Functions and powers	(articles 24-26)
	Voting	(article 27)
	Procedure	(articles 28-32)
VI	Pacific Settlement of disputes	(articles 33-38)
VII	Action with respect to threats to
	the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression	(articles 39-51)
VIII	Regional arrangements	(articles 52-54)
IX	International economic and
	Social cooperation	(articles 55-60)
X	The Economic and Social Council
	Composition	(article 60)
	Functions and powers	(articles 62-66)
	Voting	(article 67)
	Procedure	(articles 68-72)
XI	Declaration regarding
	non-self-governing territories	(articles 73 and 74)
XII	International Trusteeship system	(articles 75-85)
XIII	The Trusteeship Council
	Composition	(article 86)
	Functions and powers	(articles 87 and 88)
	Voting	(article 89)
	Procedure	(articles 90 and 91)
XIV	The International Court of Justice	(articles 92-96)
XV	The Secretariat	(articles 97-101)
XVI	Miscellaneous provisions	(articles 102-105)
XVII	Transitional security arrangements	(articles 106 and 107)
XVIII	Amendments	(articles 108 and 109)
XIX	Ratification and signature	(articles 110 and 111)

Membership of the United Nations consists of the 'original mem­bers' (those states which signed the Washington Declaration in 1942 or took part in the United Nations Conference on International Organisa­tion in San Francisco in 1945, and signed and ratified the Charter in accordance with the prescribed procedure); and those states subsequently accepted as members in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.

Membership is further open to all other 'peace-loving' states which accept the obligations contained in the Charter and, in the judgement of the United Nations, are able and willing to carry them out. The admis­sion of new members is dependent on the approval of the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

A member which has persistently violated the principles of the Char­ter may be expelled from the United Nations by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council; or may have its rights and privileges of membership suspended by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the United Nations by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council; or may have its rights and privileges of membership suspended by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council if it has been the object of preventive or enforcement action taken by the Security Council. These rights and privileges, however, may be restored by the Security Council.

Each state is entitled to one vote in the General Assembly and in its dependent committees and councils.

Provision is made in chapter XVIII for amendments to the Charter, and these come into force when they have been (a) adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly, and (b) ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes by two-thirds of the members of the Security Council. The procedure is the same if a General Conference of the members of the United Nations is convened in terms of article 109 for the purpose of reviewing the Charter, except that the requirement for the initial vote (prior to ratification) is a two-thirds majority of those present at the Conference.

The official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The United Nations, in terms of its Charier, is based on six principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Just­ice, and the Secretariat. Generally speaking the Assembly and Security Council are the political and legislative bodies, ECOSOC and the Trustee­ship Council are specialist bodies dependent on the General Assembly, and the International Court of Justice is an independent body.

The reform of the administration and decision-making process of the United Nations is currently under consideration, and is centred on the composition of the Security Council and the creation of a Development Operations Group, amalgamating such related organisations as UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF.