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MAPPING THE MULTILATERAL SYSTEM

Founded in San Francisco and headquartered in New York City, the UN has been central to American foreign policy since 1945. Celebrating its 80th year in 2025, the UN was created following World War II to safeguard global peace and ensure the horrors of the Holocaust would never occur again.

While the world has changed significantly since the UN’s early days, the organization remains a force multiplier for the U.S. and a key platform for multilateral diplomacy to mitigate conflict and collectively address challenges that no country can resolve alone.

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UN STRUCTURE

The UN Charter that established the United Nations in 1945 created six principal organs. Today, five remain active. The Trusteeship Council, designed to oversee colonial territories during transition to self-governance or independence no longer operates. 

  • General Assembly

    The only universal institution in the world in which all 193 nations have an equal voice, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) makes critical decisions, including appointing the Secretary-General, electing members of the Security Council and approving the UN budget.

  • Security Council

    The Security Council is the UN’s premier decision-making body, of which the U.S. is a permanent member with veto power. They are responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

  • Secretariat

    The Secretariat is responsible for the daily operations of UN programs and agencies.

  • Economic and Social Council

    ECOSOC is the central UN forum for discussing and formulating policy recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, educational and health issues.

  • International Court of Justice

    As the UN’s judicial organ, the ICJ is tasked with settling legal disputes between states and giving advisory opinions on legal questions submitted by UN organs or agencies.

A majority of countries vote with the U.S. in the General Assembly 80% of the time.

UNSC

Security Council

The Security Council is the UN’s decision-making body conferred by the UN Charter with “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” The Council consists of 15 members – five permanent and ten rotating. The rotating members are elected to two-year terms by the UN General Assembly. The five permanent members (known as the P5) are the U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia. The President of the Security Council, a role that rotates monthly, oversees operations, manages workflow, chairs discussions and sets the agenda. Resolutions of the Council must receive affirmative votes from nine of the fifteen members and not receive a negative vote from any P5 state. As such, the P5 can unilaterally veto any substantive decisions. Since its establishment, the Council has served as a key forum for addressing international security challenges – from authorizing more than 70 peacekeeping missions to deepening international cooperation to achieve nuclear nonproliferation.​

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UNGA

Secretariat

Headquartered in New York City, the UN Secretariat is staffed by 35,000 personnel worldwide – including nearly 6,000 Americans – who carry out day-to-day operations of the UN. This includes implementing mandates adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council. Its annual budget of $3.7 billion is roughly equivalent to the state budget of New Hampshire.

Its wide-ranging responsibilities include mediating international disputes, assisting with implementation of Security Council sanctions, coordinating disaster relief across humanitarian agencies, promoting social and economic development and facilitating meetings among UN Member States.

The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General, selected every five years by the Security Council and approved by a majority vote of the General Assembly. Although there is no formal limit to the number of terms a Secretary-General serves, they customarily serve no more than two. The current Secretary-General, former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres, assumed office on January 1, 2017.

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General Assembly

General Assembly

Unlike the Security Council, the UN General Assembly (GA) has universal membership. All 193 UN Member States have a vote, and no country possesses veto power. Every year, Member States elect a president to govern the body for a one-year term.

While decisions are generally non-binding, GA resolutions carry important political and moral clout due to its unique universal membership, serving as a transparent and public marker of the views of the international community. Since 2022, for example, Member States have voted repeatedly to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for withdrawal of Russian troops. The body has also suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council and requested the creation of an international claims register to lay the groundwork for Russian reparations.

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PROGRAMS, FUNDS AND AGENCIES

The UN includes more than 30 affiliated organizations, programs, funds and specialized agencies, each with their own membership, leadership and budgetary processes. These entities work with and through the UN Secretariat to promote peace and prosperity. They also work closely with U.S. businesses, faith-based organizations and nonprofits to save lives and strengthen communities worldwide. 

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UN PROGRAMS SUPPORTING PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

UNESCO UNESCO

UNESCO

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization leads work on projects from Holocaust education and protection of journalists to setting guardrails on AI and promoting national treasures. In fact, the U.S. boasts 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that bring hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism revenue to economies and thousands of American jobs.

UNDP UNDP

UNDP

Regularly singled out by the U.S. Senate as uniquely impactful, the UN Development Programme has a project portfolio spanning 170 countries and leads the UN’s efforts on democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, the environment and HIV/AIDS. They also help facilitate elections in around 50 countries each year.

UNHCR

UNHCR

The UN Refugee Agency protects and safeguards the rights of refugees worldwide and helps facilitate resettlement or return home. For those unable to safely return to their home countries, UNHCR delivers lifesaving aid and promotes access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity. On the ground in 136 countries, UNHCR is helping tens of millions of people displaced by famine, armed conflict and persecution.

OCHA OCHA

OCHA

The Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is the UN’s first responder to bring together the numerous international and local agencies in the aftermath of disaster to provide immediate humanitarian assistance worldwide. For just one example, OCHA responded within 16 minutes of a 2024 flood alert in Bangladesh and cut response costs by 50%, helping half a million people protect their homes before waters rose.

COP

UNFCC

In 1992, the United Nations Earth Summit led to the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce emissions and tackle the climate crisis. All signatories meet annually at the Conference of Parties (COP) for a status update. U.S. President George H.W. Bush signed the treaty in 1992, which the Senate unanimously ratified.

UNICEF UNICEF

UNICEF

The UN Children’s Fund provides humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers, working to increase the number of girls enrolled in school and provide clean water, sanitation, educational support and nutritional assistance to children in disaster zones and conflict regions around the world. Each year, UNICEF procures vaccines that reach 45% of the world’s children, saving the lives of 2.5 million children.

WFP WFP

WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency dedicated to ending hunger and delivering food assistance in emergencies. Each year, WFP provides food and cash assistance to more than 150 million people in 120 countries. Led by an American since 1992, the agency has purchased more than five million metric tons of food from American farmers and food producers worth more than $2.6 billion in the last five years.

WHO who

WHO

With a presence in 194 countries – including research partnerships with more than 70 U.S. institutions – the World Health Organization is the world’s only multilateral, international public health agency. WHO coordinates its entire global public health mandate with a budget of $3.3 billion a year. For every dollar the U.S. gives WHO, it receives $0.46 back to the economy in procurement contracts.

UNFPA UNFPA

UNFPA

The UN Population Fund the largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programs in the world, helping women, men and young people plan their families, go through pregnancy and childbirth safely and avoid sexually transmitted infections. UNFPA also combats violence against women and child marriage.

UNEP UNEP

UNEP

The UN Environmental Programme coordinates environmental activities, developing international environmental conventions, assessing global trends, encouraging civil sector partnerships and strengthening institutions. UNEP covers issues like plastic pollution in the ocean, the transboundary movement of toxic chemicals and environmental conservation guidance.

IOM IOM

IOM

The International Organization for Migration supports migrants worldwide, working with host governments to provide resources to displaced populations and promote safe, legal paths to immigration. In some politically unstable regions of the Western Hemisphere, UN agencies like IOM are the only operating agencies on the ground, producing political and humanitarian dividends that states cannot achieve on their own. IOM support, for example, has given four million Venezuelans legal immigration status to remain in South America and the Caribbean.

UNODC

UNODC

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is a leader in the global fight against illicit drugs, organized crime, corruption and terrorism. Collaborating closely with the U.S. government on key bipartisan issues, UNODC works to prevent and stop human trafficking and the trafficking of wildlife and other illicit goods, combat illegal fentanyl flows and provide global monitoring and technical assistance to nations strengthening domestic law enforcement capacity.

In 2024, American NGOs received $90M from funds managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for crisis response.

TECHNICAL AGENCIES

Dozens of technical agencies help keep American businesses working, transport moving and people connecting. Here are just a few we rely on every day.

  • International Telecommunication Union

    ITU is the UN agency responsible for managing equal access to the spectrum networks that allow data to travel across 194 Member States, including the U.S. Working to develop and encourage widespread use of common technical standards for telecommunications increases global interconnectivity, enabling American technology to seamlessly integrate with the rest of the world.

  • UN Office for Outer Space Affairs

    UNOOSA promotes international cooperation in space exploration and technological development. Maintaining a central register of objects launched into outer space, the agency helps states prevent and manage disasters and supports policies that ensure the sustainable and peaceful use of the skies. Ensuring international cooperation in space is critical for American national security and economic interests.

  • International Maritime Organization

    IMO is dedicated to developing and maintaining comprehensive international shipping regulations and maritime security, working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and agencies like the EPA, State Department and NOAA. Maritime transport supports over 30 million American jobs and accounts for 95% of cargo entering the U.S., making IMO an essential partner.

  • International Atomic Energy Agency

    IAEA helps verify Member State compliance with multilateral nuclear non-proliferation treaties and conducts nuclear safety and research activities. In recent years, the agency has played a critical role in monitoring Iran’s nuclear program and maintaining security at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.

  • Universal Postal Union

    UPU is the principal forum for cooperation regarding postal services, keeping Americans in touch from Boise to Bali. By setting postal standards and promoting affordable services worldwide, the agency facilitates truly global trade and communication.

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