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Understanding How the United Nations Works

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For beginners: how the United Nations works, what its Charter allows, which bodies decide what, and why the Security Council veto matters.

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The core idea is that the UN is not a world government. It is an organization of member states, and its powers come from a treaty those states accepted, the UN Charter. The Charter was signed in San Francisco in 1945, and the UN officially came into being on October 24, 1945.

That is why the General Assembly, where every member state has one vote, mainly discusses issues and makes recommendations. The Security Council is different: under Article 25 of the Charter, members agree to accept and carry out its decisions.

For example, suppose 14 of the Council’s 15 members vote yes on a substantive resolution and one permanent member, such as France, votes no. The resolution fails. Article 27 requires nine yes votes including the concurring votes of the five permanent members, so one permanent member’s no is a veto. In practice, a permanent member that abstains does not block it.

“Understanding How the United Nations Works” is a 4-lesson course at Conversation level, created with soclever, a personal AI teacher. Each lesson takes a few minutes and ends with a check-in question; finish the curriculum and you can take a certificate test to earn a diploma. Try the first lesson without an account — or make your own course on any topic. Shared by @jjea.

What you'll learn

  1. What the United Nations Is. The United Nations (UN) is an organization of countries. Its members are states that agree to work together on peace, human rights, and cooperation. It is not a world government.
  2. Main UN Bodies and Their Roles. The Charter of the United Nations sets up six principal organs. An organ is a main body with its own job.
  3. Security Council Voting and the Veto. The Security Council is the principal organ of the UN charged with keeping international peace and security. It has 15 members. Each member has one vote.
  4. Chapter VII Power and Legitimacy. Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations lets the Security Council act when it finds a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of aggression.

Questions this course answers

What is the United Nations?

The United Nations is an organization of countries that are states that agree to work together on peace, human rights, and cooperation.

What does the General Assembly do?

The General Assembly debates global issues and passes resolutions, which are formal statements of opinion.

How many members does the Security Council have?

The Security Council has fifteen members, with five being permanent.

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