United Nations Secretariat

The United Nations Secretariat is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, and other U.N. bodies. The United Nations Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the "highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis.

The Charter provides that the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member country is enjoined to respect the international character of the Secretariat and not seek to influence its staff. The Secretary General alone is responsible for staff selection.

The Secretary General's duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences, gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area include the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.

Table of contents

1 Organization 2 Secretaries General 3 See also 4 References

Organization

• OSG - Office of the Secretary-General
• OIOS - Office of Internal Oversight Services
• OLA - Office of Legal Affairs
• DPA - Department of Political Affairs
• DDA - Department for Disarmament Affairs
• DPKO - Department of Peacekeeping Operations
• OCHA - Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• DESA - Department of Economic and Social Affairs
• DGACM - Department of General Assembly and Conference Management
• DPI - Department of Public Information
• DM - Department of Management
• OIP - Office of the Iraq Programme
• UNSECOORD - Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator
• OHRLLS - Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
• ODC - Office on Drugs and Crime
• UNOG - UN Office at Geneva
• UNOV - UN Office at Vienna
• UNON - UN Office at Nairobi

• Trygve Lie, Norway (1945-1953)
• Dag Hammarskjöld, Sweden (1953-1961)
• U Thant, Burma (1961-1971)
• Kurt Waldheim, Austria (1972-1981)
• Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peru (1982-1991)
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egypt (1992-1996)
• Kofi Annan, Ghana (1997- 2006)

• UN General Assembly
• UN Security Council
• UN Economic and Social Council
• UN Trusteeship Council
• International Court of Justice

• United States Department of State