Page 569 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi. Its official languages are Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish. Presently, the United Nations consists
of 193 members and the Secretary-General is Antonio Guterres.

United Nations and its organs

The UN has six main organs:

1. The General Assembly

2. The Security Council

3. The Secretariat

4. The Trusteeship Council

5. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

6. The International Court of Justice

Except the International Court of Justice which is located in the Hague,
Netherlands, the other organs of the UN are located in New York.

Significance of UN Security Council

The UN Charter assigns to the Security Council primary responsibility for the

maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council
consists of 15 members, including the five permanent members plus 10 non-

permanent members. The five permanent members or P5 as they are called
are — United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

The non-permanent members are chosen to achieve equitable regional

representation, any country — even if it is not a member of the UN — may
bring a dispute to which it is a party to the attention of the Security Council.
When there is a complaint, the council first explores the possibility of a
peaceful resolution. International peacekeeping forces may be authorised to

keep warring parties apart pending further negotiations. If the council finds
that there is a real threat to the peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of

aggression, it may call upon UN members to apply diplomatic or economic