United Nations Key Facts

United Nations (UN) → Key Facts

  • Secretary General UNO is Antonio Guterres of Portugal since January 1, 2017. The Secretary General is elected for a period of 5 years
  • UNO was founded on October 24, 1945
  • The motto of UNO is “It’s your world!”
  • The Headquarter of UNO is in New York, USA with other main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna.
  • The UN General Assembly adopts the budget
  • The UN General Assembly, on proposal of the Security Council, elects the UN Secretary General, decides on the admission of new members, elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council, all members of Economic and Social Council, and the 15 judges of the International Court of Justice
  • The UN Security Council is the most powerful organ, and is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security
  • UN Security Council has a total of 15 members: 5 permanent and 10 elected members
  • The 5 permanent members of UN Security Council are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries hold veto power
  • The 10 non-permanent members of UN Security Council are elected by the UN General Assembly for a period of 2 years. Currently the non-permanent members are: Bolivia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay.
  • UN Secretariat headed by Secretary General, supports the other UN bodies administratively
  • UN Economic and Social Council is responsible for cooperation between states on economic and social fields
  • The International Court of Justice has 15 judges elected for a period of 9 years. The ICJ is located in The Hague, Holland

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