Explain the composition and one function of any three organs of the United Nations. OR Name any three agencies

Question

Q. Explain the composition and one function of any three organs of the United Nations.

(OR)

Name any three agencies of the United Nations and explain one function of each.

CBSECBSE Class XII Board 2026Subjective· 6mImportance★★★★★

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Concept understanding — United Nations Structure

The United Nations Structure: A First Look

Imagine a village with many families. Some families are big, some small. Some have disputes over land, others share a well. To keep the village peaceful and help everyone thrive, the villagers create a village council — a place where representatives from each family can meet, discuss problems, and make decisions together.

The United Nations (UN) is exactly that, but for the entire world. It was founded in 1945 after two devastating world wars, with one core mission: to prevent another global war and promote peace, cooperation, and human dignity.

But how does an organisation of 193 countries actually work? It can't just be one big meeting — that would be chaos. So the UN is built like a tree with several branches, each with a specific job. These branches together form the UN Structure.

The Six Main Organs (The Branches)

The UN Charter (its founding rulebook) established six principal organs. Think of them as the six essential departments of the world's largest organisation.

1. The General Assembly (GA) — The Town Hall

This is where every member nation gets one vote. It's the most democratic part of the UN. They meet every year from September to December (and as needed) to discuss anything — climate change, poverty, conflicts, human rights.

Note

The GA can pass resolutions (recommendations), but they are not legally binding on member states. It's like a village meeting passing a suggestion — powerful morally, but not a law.

Key job: Approve the UN budget, elect non-permanent members of the Security Council, and appoint the Secretary-General (on recommendation of the Security Council).

2. The Security Council (UNSC) — The Emergency Response Team

This is the most powerful organ. It has 15 members:

5 permanent members (P5): USA, UK, France, Russia, China. Each has a veto power — they can block any resolution, even if all 14 others agree.
10 non-permanent members: Elected by the GA for 2-year terms.

Watch out

The veto power is controversial. It means one permanent member can stop the UN from taking action, even in a genocide or invasion. This is a major criticism of the UN's effectiveness.

Key job: Maintain international peace and security. It can impose sanctions, authorise military action, or send peacekeeping forces. Its resolutions are legally binding on all UN members.

3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) — The Development Engine

This organ coordinates the economic, social, and related work of the UN and its specialised agencies. It has 54 members elected by the GA for 3-year terms.

Key job: Fight poverty, improve health, promote education, protect the environment. It oversees bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO (education/culture), and UNICEF (children).

4. The Trusteeship Council — The (Now Dormant) Guardian

Originally set up to oversee trust territories (colonies transitioning to self-government). By 1994, the last trust territory (Palau) became independent. The Council now exists on paper but is inactive.

5. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) — The World Court

Located in The Hague, Netherlands. It has 15 judges elected by the GA and Security Council for 9-year terms. It settles legal disputes between countries (not individuals).

Important

Only states can bring cases to the ICJ. It cannot prosecute individuals — that's the job of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is a separate treaty-based body, not a UN organ.

Key job: Rule on disputes like border conflicts, treaty violations, or maritime rights. Its judgments are binding, but it has no army to enforce them.

6. The Secretariat — The Bureaucracy

This is the administrative backbone — the thousands of civil servants who run the UN day-to-day. Headed by the Secretary-General (currently António Guterres), who is the chief administrative officer. …

Part (a): The General Assembly (all 193 states) debates and budgets, the Security Council (5 permanent + 10 elected) maintains peace and security, and the ICJ (15 judges at The Hague) settles inter-state legal disputes.
Part (b): WHO coordinates global health, UNICEF aids children, and UNESCO advances education, science and culture and protects World Heritage Sites.

The United Nations, established in 1945, operates through six principal organs; three of the most important illustrate its structure. The General Assembly is the main deliberative body, and its composition reflects the principle of sovereign equality: every one of the 193 member states, large or small, holds exactly one vote, and it meets in regular annual session from September. Its central function is to serve as a global forum for debate on any issue within the Charter's scope and to approve the UN budget and admit new members.

The Security Council stands apart because its decisions are binding on all members. It comprises fifteen members — five permanent (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China) who hold the veto, and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Its essential function is the maintenance of international peace and security, which it pursues through investigation, sanctions, the authorisation of peacekeeping operations, and, in the last resort, the use of force.

The International Court of Justice, seated at The Hague, is the UN's principal judicial organ. It consists of fifteen judges elected jointly by the General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms, with no two judges from the same state. Its primary function is to settle legal disputes between states under international law, interpreting treaties and issuing binding judgments, and it also gives advisory opinions to authorised UN organs.

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2026Set 59/2/11 markMCQ
$Q. Given below are two statements : Statement I : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees those financial institutions and regulations that act at the international level. Statement II : All the 189 members of IMF organization have equal say. In the light of above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below : (A) Both statement I and statement II are true. (B) Both statement I and statement II are false. (C) Statement I is true, but statement II is false. (D) Statement I is false, but statement II is true.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

The IMF oversees international financial stability, but voting power is weighted by financial contributions, not equal for all members.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference to promote global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, and reduce poverty. It acts as a lender of last resort for countries facing balance-of-payments crises, and it monitors the economic policies of its member nations. Statement I is therefore accurate: the IMF does oversee financial institutions and regulations at the international level, though its primary focus is on exchange rates, monetary policy, and financial stability rather than all international financial regulations.

Statement II, however, is incorrect. The IMF does not operate on a one-member-one-vote principle like the United Nations General Assembly. Instead, voting power is determined by a quota system based on each member country's relative size in the world economy. The largest economies — the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and China — hold the most votes. For instance, the United States alone has over 16% of the total voting power, enough to block major decisions that require an 85% supermajority. Smaller developing countries have far less say, which has been a long-standing criticism of the institution.

Note

The IMF has 190 member countries as of 2024, not 189 as stated in the question. The number changes when new members join or when countries like Cuba or North Korea remain outside the system. …

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CBSE 2025Set 59/4/11 markMCQ
$Q. Choose the country which is not a permanent member of the UN Security Council. (A) China (B) Russia (C) Japan (D) United Kingdom$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Japan is not a permanent member of the UN Security Council; the five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the most powerful organ of the United Nations, charged with maintaining international peace and security. Its structure reflects the post-World War II balance of power, with five permanent members — often called the P5 — who hold veto power over any substantive resolution. These five are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Japan, despite being a major economic power and a significant contributor to the UN budget, is not a permanent member. It has been a non-permanent member many times, serving two-year elected terms, but it does not have a permanent seat or veto power. The question tests your knowledge of this basic fact about the UNSC's composition. …
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CBSE 2025Set 59/6/11 markMCQ
$Q. Which of the following is not considered as an agency of the UNO ? (A) World Health Organisation (WHO) (B) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (C) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (D) World Trade Organisation (WTO)$
›Reveal solutionSolution

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not an agency of the United Nations Organisation (UNO); it is a separate, independent international body.

The United Nations Organisation is a vast system, and it is easy to confuse the many international bodies that work alongside it. To answer this question correctly, you need to understand the difference between a specialised agency of the UN and an independent international organisation that simply cooperates with the UN.

The UN Charter created a family of specialised agencies — autonomous organisations that work with the UN through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). These agencies have their own membership, budgets, and governing bodies, but they are formally brought into the UN system by a special agreement. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) are classic examples of such specialised agencies. They report to the UN, coordinate their work with it, and are considered integral parts of the UN system.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a different case. It is not a specialised agency but a programme or subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly. It was created by the Assembly itself to carry out a specific mandate — protecting refugees. So while it is not an "agency" in the technical sense of the word used in the UN Charter, it is undeniably a part of the UNO's own structure. It is an arm of the UN, not a separate treaty-based organisation.

Now consider the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO was established in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It is a completely separate, treaty-based organisation with its own membership, its own dispute settlement system, and its own governing structure. It is not a specialised agency of the UN, nor is it a programme or fund created by the UN. …
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CBSE 2023Set 59/1/11 markMCQ
$Q. Which one of the following organisations works to prevent international conflicts ?$
(a) United Nations Human Rights Commission
(b) United Nations Security Council
(c) ASEAN
(d) Amnesty International
›Reveal solutionSolution

The United Nations Security Council is the international body specifically charged with maintaining peace and preventing conflicts between nations.

The question asks which organisation has the primary mandate to prevent international conflicts. To answer this, we need to understand what each body actually does.

The United Nations was created in 1945 with peace and security at the heart of its mission. Within the UN system, different organs handle different aspects of international cooperation. The Security Council stands apart because it alone carries the responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. This is not just one function among many—it is the core purpose for which the Security Council exists.

When a conflict threatens to break out or escalates between nations, the Security Council can take action. It investigates disputes, recommends methods of settlement, and crucially, can authorise sanctions or even military intervention to restore peace. It has the power to make binding decisions that member states are obligated to follow. This enforcement capacity distinguishes it from advisory or advocacy bodies. …
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Q.Explain the composition and one function of any three organs of the United Nations.