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What is the United Nations?

The United Nations was formed on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 192 countries.

When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations.

According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes:

to maintain international peace and security;
to develop friendly relations among nations;
to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;
and to be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations.

The United Nations is not a world government and it does not make laws . It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us.

At the UN, all the Member States - large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems - have a voice and a vote in this process. Although some voices are invariably louder, and more listened to, than others.

What does it do?

The United Nations aims to help solve problems that challenge humanity, and so its diverse range of organisations do many different things. You can see a map of all the separate UN bodies here. The UN and its family of organisations work to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment, fight disease and reduce poverty.

UN agencies define the standards for safe and efficient air travel and help improve telecommunications and enhance consumer protection. The United Nations leads the international campaigns against drug trafficking and terrorism. Throughout the world, the UN and its agencies assist refugees, set up programmes to clear landmines, help expand food production and lead the fight against AIDS.

What work does it do on human rights?

Through UN efforts, governments have concluded many multilateral agreements to make the world a safer, healthier place with greater opportunity and justice for all. It has produced a large body of international law, including human rights law, for example the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1948, sets out basic rights and freedoms to which all women and men are entitled — among them the right to life, liberty and nationality; to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to work and to be educated; the right to food and housing; and the right to take part in government.

These rights are legally binding by virtue of two International Covenants, to which most States are parties. One Covenant deals with economic, social and cultural rights and the other with civil and political rights. Together with the Declaration, they constitute the International Bill of Human Rights.

The Declaration laid the groundwork for some 80 other Conventions and declarations on human rights, including the two International Covenants;

With its standards-setting work nearly complete, the UN is shifting the emphasis of its human rights efforts to the implementation of human rights laws. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, who coordinates UN human rights activities, works with governments to improve their observance of human rights, seeks to prevent violations, and works closely with the UN human rights mechanisms.

The UN Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body, holds public meetings to review the human rights performance of States, to adopt new standards and to promote human rights around the world. The Council also appoints independent experts — "special rapporteurs" — to report on specific human rights abuses or to examine the human rights situation in specific countries.

A number of UN peacekeeping operations have a human rights component. In all, UN human rights field activities are currently being carried out in 30 countries or territories. They help strengthen national capacities in human rights legislation, administration and education; investigate reported violations; and assist governments in taking corrective measures when needed.

Promoting respect for human rights is increasingly central to UN development assistance. In particular, the right to development is seen as part of a dynamic process which integrates civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, and by which the well-being of all individuals in a society is improved. Key to the enjoyment of the right to development is the eradication of poverty, a major UN goal.

Massive violations of humanitarian law during the fighting in the former Yugoslavia led the Security Council in 1993 to establish an international tribunal to try persons accused of war crimes in that conflict. In 1994, the Council set up a second tribunal to hear cases involving accusations of genocide in Rwanda. The tribunals have found several defendants guilty and sentenced them to prison. The Rwanda Tribunal in 1998 handed down the first-ever verdict by an international court on the crime of genocide, as well as the first-ever sentence for that crime.

A key United Nations goal — an international mechanism to impose accountability in the face of mass violations of human rights — was realised in 1998 when governments agreed to establish an International Criminal Court. The Court provides a means for punishing perpetrators of genocide and other crimes against humanity.

The UN has also contributed to the elaboration of conventions relating to international humanitarian law, such as the 1948 Convention on Genocide and the 1980 Inhumane Weapons Convention (concerning weapons which are excessively injurious or have indiscriminate effects).

Through humanitarian, peace and development work, the UN either directly or indirectly helps to protect people’s rights.

What work does it do on child rights?

1. Treaty Bodies: the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

As part of its work on human rights, the field of child rights is becoming an increasingly integral element of the organisation’s work following the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of Independent Experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties (i.e by those who ratified it).

It also monitors implementation of two Optional Protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Once a year, at its September session, the Committee holds a Day of General Discussion (DGD) on a provision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to issue more detailed recommendations to governments.

See also: Treaty Bodies of the UN

2. The UN General Assembly

Also once a year, the CRC Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, hears a statement from the CRC Chair and the GA adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child. Read the 2006 CRC Report to the GA and the 2006 GA Resolution on the Rights of the Child.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict reports to the General Assembly once a year. More here.

The United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children has been a global effort to paint a detailed picture of the nature, extent and causes of violence against children, and to propose clear recommendations for action to prevent and respond to it. Read more about it on CRIN’s Civil Society Gateway to the Study

3. The UN Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council was created in March 2006, replacing the Commission on Human Rights. Traditionally, the rights of the child constituted item 13 on the agenda of the Commission on the Human Rights, although they were sometimes discussed under other agenda items. An "Omnibus Resolution" on the rights of the child was adopted every year by the Commission to include the different resolutions on children, such as those on children living and working on the street, sexual exploitation of children and children affected by armed conflict.

More information about the Commission on Human Rights and child rights

The Human Rights Council also has responsibility for overseeing the work of the Special Procedures (e.g. Special Rapporteur, Independent Experts, Working Groups). Thematic mandates related to child rights include:

How is it structured?

The make-up of the United Nations is complicated, and can seem quite daunting.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat - are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague in the Netherlands.

The United Nations aims to help solve problems that challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organisations, known together as the UN system, which are related to, or managed by, the six main organs mentioned above.

For example, the Human Rights Council is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly.

Other affiliated organisations include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

You can see a map of the UN system, which will make this all a lot clearer, here

How is it governed?

Representatives of each member country meet in the General Assembly, this is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each country has a single vote. Decisions that are voted for become resolutions. The Assembly's decisions are not laws. Governments follow resolutions because they represent the world's opinion on major international issues.

The 15 members of the UN Security Council try to keep the world a peaceful and secure place. They vote on the best ways to prevent countries fighting. There are two groups of members: five permanent members (France, UK, Russia, China, United States) and ten temporary members (These members are voted for every two years by the rest of the UN). Each of the five permanent members can stop the UN from making decisions they may not agree with. This is called the power of veto.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.

It is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. With its broad mandate the Council takes over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system.

The role of the International Court of Justice is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions. The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.

The Secretariat carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the UN. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five- year, renewable term.

The Trusteeship Council was established to help ensure that States unable to govern themselves were administered in the best interests of the inhabitants and of international peace and security. The trust territories - many of the m territories taken from nations defeated at the end of World War II - have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries. Council operations have thus been suspended.

Further information

A to Z of child rights

International mechanisms for children's rights - INDEX

Child rights complaints mechanisms

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