THE UNITED NATIONS

THE UNITED NATIONS

Establishment: October 24, 1945 Secretary General: Ban-Ki Moon, inaugurated on January 1st, 2007 Member States: 192 countries

Areas of Work: Peace and Security, Development, Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs, and International law. Areas of Cooperation with the OAS: human rights, democracy strengthening, integral development, public health, security, drugs, gender issues and education. Headquarters: 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 Website:

BACKGROUND

The United Nations is a multilateral organization of universal membership established following World War II on October 24th, 1945 by 51 countries as part of the Bretton Woods Agreements. Currently, the United Nations has a membership of 192 countries.

The objectives of the United Nations, as set forth in its founding Charter (1945), are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these ends

The United Nations conducts work in the following areas:

? Peace and Security ? Development ? Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs ? International law

The United Nations is funded by its member states. Countries are assessed an amount to pay biennially to certain budgets while other contributions to the UN system are considered voluntary. The quota for each Member State is determined by the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly every third year. Assessments are based on each member's ability to pay, taking into account factors such as national income, population and level of debt. The top nine contributors to the UN as of June 2009 provide 75% of the entire UN regular budget and are the following: United States (22%); Japan (16.6%); Germany (8.6%); United Kingdom (6.6%); France (6.3%); Italy (5%); Canada (3%); Spain (3%); and the People's Republic of China (2.7%).

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The Secretary-General of the United Nations is elected for a five-year, renewable term by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council.

SECRETARY GENERAL

Mr. Ban-Ki Moon took office has Secretary-General of the United Nations on January first, 2007. Then, he was unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly on 21 June 2011 for another five year term, that will to come to an end on 31 december 2016. Prior to being appointed Secretary-General, Mr. BanKi Moon was the Minister of Foreign Affaires and Trade from the Republic of Korea government. He holds 37 years of service with the Ministry, which led him to be posted in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna. Threw out his career at the Ministry he occupied various portofolios, including Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, Chief National Security Adviser to the President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of American Affairs.

Mr. Ban-Ki Moon has been involved with the United Nations since 1975, when he served in the Foreign Ministry's United Nations Division. Then, Mr. Ban-Ki Moon became Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization and Chef de Cabinet during the Republic of Korea's 2001-2002 presidency of the UN General Assembly. Also, Mr. Ban was implicated in issues regarding the inter-Korean relations.

Mr. Ban-Ki Moon obtained a bachelor's degree in international relations from Seoul National University in 1970. He went then received a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in 1985.

NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE OAS

In an ever-growing and complex globalized world, international relations encompass not only States but also several regional organizations such as the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of American States, or the League of Arab States. In this context, the United Nations strives to maintain effective cooperation with regional and international organizations on a wide range of subjects, such as regional security, regional cooperation and dialogue, promotion of peace and democracy. It is widely acknowledged that the United Nations and regional organizations have incomparable and complementary capacities in the prevention of armed conflict if aptly coordinated.

The relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations is recognized in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter as well as in several resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. For instance, on January 28, 1993 the Security Council called upon regional organizations ?based on Chapter VIII of the UN Charter- to examine "ways and means to strengthen their functions to maintain international peace and security within their areas of competence, paying due regard to the characteristics of their respective regions."

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Article 1 of the OAS Charter states that "within the United Nations, the Organization of American States is a regional agency".

GOVERNING BODIES

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is composed of all 193 Members of the United Nations and it is the central deliberative and representative organ of the Organization. The General Assembly has the mandate to vote policies within the Charter's framework and it offers the opportunity for all States to express their views and opinions on various international issues. The Assembly is required, accordingly to the Charter, to meet in regular session from September to December of each year and subsequently if necessary.

The General Assembly`s responsibilities and duties include:

? Considering and making recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament

? Discussing any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council

? Discussing and making recommendations on any questions within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations

? Initiating studies and making recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and international collaboration in the economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational and health fields

? Making recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among nations

? Considering and approving the United Nations budget ? Electing the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other

United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.

Security Council

The Security Council has a foremost responsibility within the UN Charter's framework. It is important to point out that the members of the Council must always have a representative at the UN Headquarters in order for this body to be able to function at all times.

The structure of the UN enables the Security Council to undertake the following actions1:

? Maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations

? Investigate any dispute or situation which mightlead to international friction ? Recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement ? Formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments

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? Determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken

? Call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression

? Take military action against an aggressor

67TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

On June 8th 2012, the United Nations General Assembly elected Serbia's Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, as the President of the 67th session of the Assembly, which opened on September 18, 2012, focused on adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means.

Priorities for the session include giving the General Assembly a more prominent role in discussions on global economic governance, devising sustainable development goals, incorporating civil society representatives in the deliberations of the Assembly and enhancing the role of the UN-backed Alliance of Civilizations and strengthening cooperation between the Alliance and the Assembly.

COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

The Organization of the American States and the United Nations adopted a Cooperation Agreement on April 17th, 1995, which includes commitments for the two organizations to work together on matters of common interest such as human rights, fundamental freedoms, security and peace, and economic, social and cultural development.

COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN OAS AND UNITED NATIONS2

Over the past decade, we have signed more than 20 cooperation agreement with the different agencies of the United Nations, among them, the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNWOMEN), United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research (UNICRI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

MAIN AREAS OF COOPERATION

The United Nations, like to the OAS, aims to promote human rights, democracy and fundamental freedoms as well as to maintain friendly relations among its members and promote social progress and better living standards. The following is an illustrative ?but not comprehensive- overview of current and recent instances of cooperation between the OAS and the agencies of the United Nations System.

On June 4, 2013, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jos? Miguel Insulza, met with the President of the 46th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), Vuk Jeremic, with whom he spoke about the role of international agencies in promoting sustainable development.

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At the meeting, which took place during the 43 OAS General Assembly, in Antigua, Guatemala, Secretary General Insulza thanked former minister Jeremic for the commitment he had shown toward supporting the activities of the OAS through his uninterrupted attendance at the last seven meetings of the hemispheric body.

In turn, the Serbian diplomat extended an invitation for Secretary General Insulza "to provide a Latin American perspective" during the debate on sustainable development that is to take place at the UN General Assembly in New York City next September. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia also used the occasion to reiterate his country's interest in forging ties with the countries of the Americas through the OAS.

Democracy Strengthening

? Electoral Cooperation and Observation

The project entitled "Methodology to Monitor the Role of the Media in Electoral Processes", which received funding from the United Nations Democracy Fund, is intended to systematize and standardize the OAS election observation procedures so as to better ensure their objectivity.

Furthermore, the OAS works frequently with the UN Electoral Assistance Division to coordinate specific matters prior to the deployment of electoral observation missions.

? Haiti

The task of supporting Haiti has provided ample opportunities for the OAS to cooperate with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the joint International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) supporting the efforts to strengthen Haiti's institutional capacity.

Further areas of recent cooperation include stabilization efforts as well as efforts in the areas of electoral observation, civil registry, e-Government, enhanced transparency in governance and public administration, as well as other areas of economic and social development

? Mediation and Conflict Management

In cooperation with the UN Department of Political Affairs' Mediation Support Unit (MSU), the OAS developed a work plan in 2011 to increase the latter's institutional capacity in areas pertaining to mediation, allowing it to provide more comprehensive support to its Member States. Other instances of recent cooperation between the OAS and the MSU include the development and implementation of training sessions in mediation for officials from OAS Member States.

Following the aforementioned capacity-building cooperation activities, in 2012 the OAS developed its own mediation tools, which included a roster of experts, and briefing packages for representatives of the OAS General Secretariat in its Member States.

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