This post gives you an outline of the major functions of The Secretariat of the United Nations or UN.
But before we jump to the functions of the the Secretariat of the United Nations, I want to give you some other key points about the United Nations secretariat.
Let’s begin with an introduction regarding the status and composition of the membership of the UN secretariat. You will also discover the headquarters of the United Nations.
Status, Membership and Headquarters
STATUS: The UN Secretariat is the administrative body of the United Nations.
MEMBERSHIP: (i) Staff are from all member countries.
(ii) It is headed by the Secretary-General who serves a renewable term of four (4) years.
HEADQUARTERS: New York US.
Functions
Below are the major functions of the Secretariat of the United Nations Organization
- Supply of vital information about the activities of the United Nations to all member countries
2. Provision of Secretarial services for all United Nations meetings. These includes meetings of the Security Council and the annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly.
3. Preparation of annual reports on the activities of the organs and specialized agencies. Some of the specialized agencies of the UN are the Food and Agricultural Organization, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.
4. Preparation of the United Nations annual budget. The secretariat then presents the budget to the General Assembly for approval.
5. Implementation of United Nations policies and programs. These policies relate to global issues such as climate change, migration, disease and poverty.
6. Organization of international conferences to address problems of global concern e.g. Covid-19 pandemic, HIV/AIDS, poverty, environment etc.
7. Recommendations to the Security Council measures needed to forestall any breach of peace in any part of the world.
Final thoughts
You may also like the functions of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Read the helpful notes on the concept of sovereignty.
Did you find this information helpful? Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. Thank you!
Ralph Nyadzi is the Director of Studies at Cegast Academy. He is a qualified English tutor with decades of experience behind him. Since 2001, he has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature and related subjects. He combines his expertise with a passion for lifelong learning to guide learners from varying backgrounds to achieve their educational goals. Ralph shares lessons from his blogging journey on BloggingtotheMax. He lives with River, his pet cat, in the Central Region of Ghana.
