What are the United Nations?

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Organization 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 a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October.


Organisation Chart of the UN System

> http://www.un.org/aboutun/chart.html

The Charter is the constituting instrument of the United Nations, setting out the rights and obligations of Member States, and establishing the Organization's organs and procedures.

Purposes of the United Nations

The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these ends.

The United Nations family

The United Nations family of organizations is made up of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations programmes and funds -- such as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) -- and the specialized agencies. The programmes, funds and agencies have their own governing bodies and budgets, and set their own standards and guidelines. Together, they provide technical assistance and other forms of practical help in virtually all areas of economic and social endeavour.

The United Nations structure

According to their organisational chart, the United Nations are formed by:

Main organs:

- General Assembly (http://www.un.org/ga/56/)
- Security Council (http://www.un.org/Docs/scinfo.htm)
- Economic and Social Council (http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc)
- Trusteeship Council (http://www.un.org/documents/tc.htm)
- International Court or Justice (http://www.icj-cij.org)
- Secretariat (http://www.un.org/documents/st.htm)

Specialised Agencies:

What is the UNESCO?

UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Its constitution was adopted by the London Conference in November 1945, and entered into effect on the 4th of November 1946 when 20 states had deposited instruments of acceptance.

It currently has 188 Member States (annex 1) and 6 Associate Members (annex 2).

The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.

To fulfill its mandate, UNESCO performs five principal functions :

· Prospective Studies : what forms of education, science, culture and communication for tomorrow's world?
· The advancement, transfer and sharing of knowledge : relying primarily on research, training and teaching activities.
· Standard-setting action : the preparation and adoption of international instruments and statutory recommendations.
· Expertise : provided to Member States for their development policies and projects in the form of "technical co-operation".
· Exchange of specialized information.

UNESCO structure

Three bodies comprise UNESCO :

- The GENERAL CONFERENCE (http://www.unesco.org/confgen/index.shtml) of Member States, UNESCO's supreme governing body, meets, in general, every two years. Following the principle of one vote per country, the General Conference approves the Organization's Programme and Budget.

- The EXECUTIVE BOARD (http://www.unesco.org/exboard/index.shtml) , composed of 58 representatives of Member States, meets generally twice a year. Acting as a kind of administrative council, it prepares the work of the General Conference and is responsible for effective execution of conference decisions.

- The SECRETARIAT is the Organization's executive branch. Under the authority of the Director-General, elected for a 6-year term, the staff implement the programme adopted by Member States.

UNESCO programmes

> http://www.unesco.org/general/eng/programmes/index.shtml

In order to achieve its main objective to contribute to world peace and security through education, science, culture and communication, the UNESCO develops programmes in its different fields of action:

The Youth Coordination Unit

> http://www.unesco.org/youth

UCJ or Youth Coordination Unit is a small unit within UNESCO's Headquarters (Paris, France) which is part of the Bureau for Strategic Planning (BSP). BSP's principal task is to prepare the Organization's Medium-Term Strategy. Furthermore, BSP has responsibility for the development, mainstreaming and coordination of UNESCO's strategies and programmes pertaining to women, youth and least developed countries and to build appropriate partnerships.

UCJ is working with four permanent staff members, of which Mrs. Maria-Helena Henriques Mueller is the head. There are however throughout the year various interns, young people from around the world, who join us for a period of one to three months. In this way, the UCJ is contributing to one of UNESCO's goals, which is the participation of youth in its programmes and projects.

The Youth Coordination Unit is, since 1998, in charge of giving impulsion and coherence to UNESCO's action with and for Youth and benefits from direct communication with youth through a wide network of associations and Youth NGO's, its active participation in numerous youth events, and "Internal Priority Youth Committee", composed of UNESCO staff under age 31.

According to the United Nations, Youth is constituted by people aged between 15 and 25 years old. The UCJ works with and for young people in this age group.