Context: Recently, India has appointed diplomat T S Tirumurti, currently serving as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, as its Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
About Permanent Mission to the United Nations
- It is the diplomatic mission that every member state deputes to the UN.
- It is headed by a Permanent Representative who is also referred to as the UN ambassador.
- According to Article 1(7) of the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character, 1975 it is a mission of permanent character, representing the State, sent by a State member of an international organization to the organization.
- Other important Vienna Conventions are the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.
- According to the UN General Assembly resolution 257(III) of 3rd December, 1948, permanent missions assist in the realization of the purposes and principles of the UN.
- They keep the necessary liaison between the Member States and the Secretariat in periods between sessions of the different organs of the UN.
- UN Permanent Representatives are assigned to the UN headquarters in New York City, and at other offices in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi as well.
Indian Permanent Mission at the United Nations
- There are currently eight Indians in senior leadership positions at the UN at the levels of Under Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General.
- The first Indian delegates at the UN included statesman Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and freedom fighters Hansa Mehta, Lakshmi N. Menon and Vijayalakshmi Pandit
- Mehta and Pandit were among the 15 women members of the Indian Constituent Assembly.
- India was among the select members of the UN that signed the United Nations Declaration at Washington on 1st January, 1942.
- India also participated in the historic UN Conference of International Organization at San Francisco from 25th April to 26th June, 1945.
- As a founding member of the United Nations, India strongly supports the purposes and principles of the UN and has made significant contributions to implementing the goals of the Charter, and the evolution of the UN’s specialized programmes and agencies.
Principal Organs of the United Nations
| Name of the Organ |
Primary Function |
Primary Tasks of the Organ |
| UN General Assembly |
Deliberative assembly of all the UN member states
|
- May resolve non-compulsory recommendations to states or suggestions to the Security Council (UNSC);
- Decides on the admission of new members, following a proposal by the UNSC;
- Adopts the budget;
- Elects the non-permanent members of the UNSC; all members of ECOSOC; the UN Secretary-General (following his/her proposal by the UNSC); and the fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Each country has one vote.
|
UN Secretariat
|
Administrative organ of the UN |
- Supports the other UN bodies administratively (for example, in the organization of conferences, the writing of reports and studies and the preparation of the budget);
- Its chairperson – the UN Secretary-General – is elected by the General Assembly for a five-year mandate and is the UN’s foremost representative.
|
International Court of Justice
|
Universal court of international Law |
- Decides disputes between states that recognize its jurisdiction;
- Issues legal opinions;
- Renders judgment by relative majority. Its fifteen judges are elected by the UN General Assembly for nine-year terms.
|
UN Security Council
|
Arbiterates international security issues |
- Responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security;
- May adopt compulsory resolutions;
- Has fifteen members: five permanent members with veto power and ten elected members.
|
UN Economic and Social Council
|
For global economic and social affairs |
- Responsible for co-operation between states as regards economic and social matters;
- Co-ordinates co-operation between the UN’s numerous specialized agencies;
- Has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly to serve staggered three-year mandates.
|
UN Trusteeship Council
|
For administering trust territory (now disbanded) |
- Was originally designed to manage colonial possessions that were former League of Nations mandates
- Has been inactive since 1994, when Palau, the last trust territory, attained independence.
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