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  • In 2015, the United Nations turned 70. Since World War II, the UN has existed to foster

  • communication between its member states to achieve global goals, which would be impossible

  • individually. But how do they do this?

  • How exactly does the UN work?

  • Well, the UN is divided into six main parts. The first is the General Assembly, which includes

  • nearly all internationally recognized countries, making up 193 member states. The Assembly

  • meets annually in September, and debates issues on security and diplomacy. In 2015 the major

  • topic was climate change, and helping developing countries face the threat of global warming.

  • Within the General Assembly, resolutions relating to defense, as well as administrative issues

  • like new membership and budget, require a two-thirds vote. Most other issues only need

  • a majority. Every country, regardless of size, gets a single vote. However, there are two

  • states in the UN which are not actual members. The Vatican, whose government is called The

  • Holy See, and Palestine. These are called permanent non-member observer states, and

  • while they cannot vote, they are allowed to take part in debates.

  • The second arm of the UN is the Security Council. It exists to prevent conflict on a large scale,

  • promoting peace through diplomacy or sanctions. It only has five permanent members: Russia,

  • France, China, the UK and the US, which were the winning powers in WWII. The permanent

  • members have veto power, and their use has been incredibly controversial. The US, for

  • example, has vetoed dozens of resolutions against Israel for their actions in the Middle

  • East.

  • There are ten more members representing Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Western

  • Europe. Those ten are elected on a rolling basis every two years to make sure the major

  • world regions have representation. The security council's resolutions are carried out by

  • the UN's peacekeeping force, which boasts about 100,000 soldiers.

  • One of the most important parts of the UN is the Economic and Social Council, which

  • works to improve standards of living and support human rights. Most of what the UN actually

  • does is centered around helping developing countries. The council works with specialized

  • agencies like the World Health Organization and the High Commission for Refugees to make

  • that happen.

  • The judicial arm of the UN is the International Court of Justice. This is where international

  • law violations are debated and prosecuted. Although countries with significant power

  • can often refuse to comply with the decision.

  • The fifth arm of the UN is actually not operational. The Trusteeship Council was created in the

  • 1940s to help developing territories and dependencies become independent countries. After helping

  • more than 70 countries gain independence, the council was suspended in 1994.

  • And finally, the Secretariat is essentially the internal, administrative workings of the

  • UN. They're the ones who compile reports, communicate between the different councils,

  • and are headed by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

  • Although the UN exists to promote global cooperation, many have criticized the greater influence

  • of the five permanent security council members. Still, the UN has seen incredible advances

  • in hunger, poverty, child mortality, health care, drugs, women's rights, and other global

  • improvement areas. Without communication and cooperation, the world would be considerably

  • worse.

  • Want to get a deep dive into why the UN Security Council has 5 permanent members?

  • Check out Seeker Daily's video to find out more. Thanks for watching!

  • Be sure to subscribe for more TestTube News. We'll see you next time.

In 2015, the United Nations turned 70. Since World War II, the UN has existed to foster

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