The UNITED NATIONS

SYSTEM
The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the
representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not
represented at the Conference, signed it later and became
one of the original 51 Member States.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24

October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China,
France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United
States and by a majority of other signatories.

United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

 UN facts
192 member states
Un headquarters is situated in New York
The US has always been by far the largest single
contributor to the UN budget.
In June 2004 the US owed the UN just over $1
billion – almost half the total $2.5 billion owed to
the UN by its members.
The budget for the UN's main operations is $2.5
billion a year.
In theory, any member state that owes more than
its two previous years’ assessments cannot vote
in the General Assembly.
The UN Secretariat worldwide employs some
15,000 people from 170 different countries
Six official languages are used at the UN: Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
The current secretary general is Ban Ki-moon of
South Korea.
 Aims /Objectives of the UN

To keep peace throughout the world.

To develop friendly relations between nations.
To work together to help people live better lives, to
eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the
world, to stop environmental destruction and to
encourage respect for each other's rights and
freedoms.
To be a centre for helping nations achieve these
aims.
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 Principles of the UN
All Member States have sovereign equality.
All Member States must obey the Charter.
Countries must try to settle their differences by
peaceful means.
Countries must avoid using force or threatening
to use force.
The UN may not interfere in the domestic affairs
of any country.
Countries should try to assist the United Nations.
The Principal organs of the UN
General Assembly
Security Council
Economic and Social Council
International Court of Justice
Secretariat
Trusteeship Council
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Initiates studies or make
recommendations for the promotion and
protection of human rights
Issues Declarations which, though not
legally binding but have moral force being
an indicia of a global opinion
Provide logistical support to states
Receive reports from treaty monitoring
bodies and Economic and Social council
It occupies the central position as the chief
deliberative, policy-making and
representative organ of the United
Nations.
A forum for multilateral discussion on
international issues between 192
Members of the United Nations
It plays a significant role in the process of
standard-setting and the codification of
international law.
The Assembly meets in regular session
intensively from September to December
each year, and thereafter as required.
 INTERNATIONAL COURTS
1. International Court of Justice – original
world court established by the UN
Charter
2. International Criminal Court –
established by a separate statute in 2002
 The International Court of
Justice – (ICJ)
The International Court of
Justice (ICJ) is the principal
judicial organ of the United
Nations (UN).
It was established in June
1945 by the Charter of the
United Nations and began
work in April 1946.
The seat of the Court is at
the Peace Palace in The
Hague (Netherlands).
The Court’s role is to settle, in
accordance with international law, legal
disputes submitted to it by States and to
give advisory opinions on legal questions
referred to it by authorized United
Nations organs and specialized
agencies.
The Court is composed of 15 judges,
who are elected for terms of office of
nine years by the United Nations General
Assembly and the Security Council.
Its official languages are English and
French.
The International Criminal Court
(ICC) and other International
Criminal Tribunals

international criminal court whose

jurisdiction is only to complement national
courts
exercises jurisdiction only when national
courts are unwilling or unable to carry the
investigation
 The Security Council
5 permanent members: China, France,
Russia, UK and the United States
10 rotating members
Responsible for the maintenance of
international peace and security.
tasked to maintain international peace and
security
has the power to set up ad hoc tribunals (
e.g. Rwanda and Yugoslavia)
Where international peace and security is
threatened or violated, the Security council
can take enforcement
Has the power to impose sanctions to
violators of international legal obligations
 The Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC)
Has 54 member elected by the General
assembly with a three year term
Initiate studies and reports concerning
economic, social, cultural, health, educational
and other related matters
Accepts reports from treaty monitoring bodies
then to the General Assembly
Works thru sub-organs (commissions) one of
which is the Human Rights Commission
 Human Rights Council
formerly Human Rights Commission or
Commission on Human Right which was
established in 1947 with the goal of
establishing the UDHR
subsidiary of the General Assembly
based in Geneva
 Key Functions of Human
Rights Council
Promote Human Rights Educaiton
Serve as forum for dialogue
Make recommendations to GA
Promote the full implementation of HR
obligations by member states
Undertake universal periodic review
Assume the role of Commission of HR
Submit annual reports to the GA
Supervisory Mechanisms under
the United Nations System
 There are two distinctive types of
supervisory measures
1. Charter Based Mechanism
2. Treaty Based Mechanism
Charter-Based Procedure for the
Protection of HUMAN RIGHTS

“COUNTRY PROCEDURE”
- CHR appoints Special Rapprteurs,
special representatives, experts, working
groups, and other envoys competent to
study human rights violations in specific
countries
“THEMATIC PROCEDURE
- CHR appoints Special
Rapporteurs, special
representatives, experts, working
groups and other envoys who
study particular HR violations
around the world
 DUTIES OF SPECIAL
RAPPORTEURS et. al.,
Undertake fact finding missions
Report annually to the HR Council
Present reports or recommendations to
the HR Council
Reports are authoritative sources of
information
ADVANTAGES OF CHARTER-
BASED MECHANISM
They allow action regardless of whether a State
is a party to an international human rights treaty
or not, as they are based on the general human
rights obligations of all UN Member States;
They generally do not require the exhaustion of
domestic remedies
Because of the strong political pressure attached
to the mechanism they may be persuasive
 TREATY BASED PROCEDURES
May be divided into four (4) main groups

Reporting Procedures
Inter-State Complaint Procedures
Individual Complaint Procedures
Inquiry Procedures and On-site Visits
REPORTING PROCEDURES

All UN HR treaties include a system of

periodic reporting where state parties are
obliged to report periodically to a
supervisory body on domestic
implementation of the treaty in question
 STAGES OF REPORTING
PROCEDURES
1. The Submission of the State’s Report – Each
state party to a UN HR instrument must
prepare its national report following the
respective guidelines and must submit it for
examination within a given timeframe;
2. List of Issues – Prior to committee session, a
few members of the committee meet to identify
in advance the questions that will constitute
the principal focus of discussion with State
representatives during the constructive
dialogue;
(cont. of stages)

3. The Constructive Dialogue – States

are encouraged to a present at the
meeting when their reports are
examined;
4. The Concluding Observation – The
final phase of the examination of a
state report is the drafting and
adoption of the Committee’s
Concluding Obervation.
 INTER-STATE COMPLAINT
PROCEDURES
Some HR instruments allow state parties to
initiate a procedure against another state party
that is considered not to be fulfilling its
obligations under rights instruments.
In most cases, such a complaint may only be
submitted if both the claimant and the defendant
states have recognized the competence of the
supervisory body to receive this type of
complaint
 INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINTS
PROCDURES
This mechanism is included in some HR treaties
of their optional protocols and allows individuals
under the jurisdiction of the state to bring a
complaint to the supervisory body claiming that
their rights under the relevant treaty have been
violated
Determine whether the state has ratified the
treaty in question
Ascertain if supervisory body can receive
individual complaints and
Ascertain if state has attached a reservation to
the right in question
 INQUIRY PROCEDURES AND
ON-SITE VISITS

- Some UN HR Treaties allow supervisory

body to investigate situations that appear
to constitute a consistent pattern of gross
and systematic violation of HR;
- Based on complaints or on initiative
 CONCERNS AND
SHORTCOMINGS RE: TREATY
BASED MECHNISM
Large backlog and delay in review of
country reports
Inconsistencies in the approach of
different committees
Heavy reporting requirements of states
No monetary compensation on the part of
member states in making the reports