Guides: United Nations: About the UN

UN Structure

The UN is composed of six main bodies:

The General Assembly - the UN's main body for discussion and deliberation. Each member state has 1 vote in the GA (assuming their contributions are paid up!). The GA has six committees, organized by topic, and meets annually.
The Security Council - a group of member states responsible for international peace and security. UN sanctions, peacekeeping, and military action is supervised by the SC. The SC has 5 permanent and 10 rotating members.
Economic and Social Council - ECOSOC sets UN development goals and crafts UN policy on economic, social, and environmental topics. ECOSOC has 54 members, allocated according to geography.
The UN Secretariat - The Secretariat, led by the UN Secretary-General, is the executive office of the UN and administers its work.
The International Court of Justice - The ICJ decides questions of international law and adjucates disputes between member states. The Court has 15 judges, elected to nine-year terms, and sits in The Hague.
The Trusteeship Council - oversees UN trust territories and prepares them for self-government. (The UN has not administered any territories since 1994.)

United Nations This link opens in a new window
un.org -- the official UN website.
Access provided to sections for Conferences & Events, General Information, UN Documents (fulltext), Publications & Sales, Databases, UN News (including the UN Journal, Daily Highlights & Press Releases), UN Around the World, and What's New.

UN Charter
The "constitution" of the United Nations, originally signed in 1945.
UN Org Chart
The United Nations principal governing bodies and committees, displayed as a PDF chart.
UN Emblem and Flag
Looking for a picture of the UN symbol or blue flag? Here is the official source, from the UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
Journal of the United Nations
The Journal of the United Nations, also called the "Daily Journal," lists upcoming meetings (often with agendas) and other UN business. Past issues from 2003 are available on the Journal's website; for older issues consult ODS.
UN Flagship Publications
A handy collection of the major reports put out by UN agencies. Includes basic statistics on the UN.

Dag Hammarskjöld Library - The official UN library, located in New York. Check out their FAQ.
United Nations Information Centre - at 18th and K Streets NW. The UNIC distributes information about the UN and provides assistance to UN officials who are in Washington. The Centre also has a library with copies of UN records.

A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations by Helmut Volger (Editor)
Call Number: KZ4968 .L4913 2010
ISBN: 9004180044
Publication Date: 2009-12-07

The UN was preceded by the League of Nations (1920-1946). Information about the League:

League of Nations Official Journal (from HeinOnline)
League of Nations News (1925-1931; from HeinOnline)
League of Nations Photo Archive (from Indiana University)
League of Nations Statistical and Disarmament Documents (from Northwestern University). 260 digitized League documents.
League of Nations Treaties (from UN Treaty Collection)

Lauinger also has an extensive set of League documents in microfilm.