LESSON 27 - THE SECRETARIAT

Hello, thank you for joining me on my YouTube channel. My name is Christiana Sagie. On this channel, I will be teaching about international law and these teachings will be in the form of short weekly lecture series. Over time, I will be surfacing varied concepts of international law. When and where applicable, these concepts will be analyzed and brought to you as it relates to current trends in international law as they arise. At the end of this lecture, you will find the transcript of the lecture in the link below. Also, for current trend and analysis in international law, you can subscribe to my blog. All the details you will find in the comment section below. For the 27th lecture in this lecture series, we'll be addressing another primary organ of the United Nations, established under Article 7 of the United Nations Charter, the Secretariat. In this lesson, we will speak to the function of the Secretariat as an organ of the UN, shed some light on how it organizes itself to perform its functions, as well as how it interfaces with other organs of the United Nations. So, what is the function of the Secretariat? Article 97 to 101 of the United Nations Charter provides a roadmap upon which activities of the Secretariat should be organized. Essentially, the Secretariat is that organ of the United Nations that carries out daily work as mandated by other major organs of the United Nations. The day-to-day work of the Secretariat allows for the other organs of the United Nations to function effectively. However you visualize the role of the Secretariat, always recall this. The Secretariat is the life wire of the United Nations. Think about the Secretariat as the veins of the United Nations, ensuring that all the other organs of the United Nations have the administrative tools they need to function, to survive, to fulfill their mandates. The UN Secretariat's main physical location is at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA. Though headquartered in New York, the United Nations maintains three other major offices in Geneva, Switzerland, Vienna, Austria, and Nairobi in Kenya. How does the Secretariat organize to perform its functions? To carry out its mandate of daily performing administrative and support roles to the other organs of the United Nations, and in the fulfillment of the UN Charter's mandate, the Secretariat organizes along departmental lines. Each department within the Secretariat further organizes differently in terms of the number and types of divisions within these departments. These departments and the divisions within them are each taxed with distinct areas of actions and responsibilities. Within the Secretariat, the following departments exist. The Executive Office of the Secretary General, Office of Internal Oversight Service, Office of Legal Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Global Communications, Department of Political and Peace Abusing Affairs, Department of Safety and Security, Department of Management Strategy, Policy, and Compliance, Office of Disarmament Affairs, Department of Peace Operations, Department of Operational Support, Internal Justice Bodies, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Office of Counterterrorism, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, Special Advisors, Representatives, and Envoys, and other offices. Why would we not be able to detail the distinct areas of action and responsibility within these different departments? I would like to highlight some departments and how they interact with the organs of the United Nations. We have detailed in Lessons 23, 24, 25, and 26. The Department of Political and Peace Abusing Affairs. The role of this department includes regular interfacing with the Security Council. Broadly speaking, the Department of Political and Peace Abusing Affairs provides staff support to the UN Security Council and two standing committees established by the General Assembly on the rights of the Palestinian people and decolonization. Secondly, the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. The mandate of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management is spelled out in Resolution 43, 222, which I have created a hyperlink to in the transcript below. Essentially, its area of responsibility includes members of this department working closely with the General Assembly on all matters pertaining to the organization of conferences at the United Nations. Through its General Assembly and ECOSOC Affairs Division, the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management also services the General Assembly, particularly the General First, Second, Third, and Fourth Committees and various subsidiary organs and processes of the Assembly. The ECOSOC, including its subsidiary bodies and the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, as well as United Nations conferences and their preparatory processes in conference management. Thirdly, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, also known as DESA or UNDESA. Through its 11 divisions, DESA upholds the development pillar of the United Nations. DESA also works closely with the General Assembly and ECOSOC to address international economic and social issues. Fourthly, the Office of Legal Affairs, also known as OLA. In a fundamental sense, the OLA functions as the lawyers of the United Nations, as would the in-house legal departments of any organization. The OLA organizes along seven divisions. Office of the Under-Secretary General, the Office of Legal Counsel, the General Legal Division, Codification Division, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, International Trade Law Division, and the Treaty Division. Each of these divisions is saddled with its distinct area of action and responsibility, but I would like to highlight how the OLA interacts with other organs of the United Nations. For example, the Office of Legal Counsel interacts significantly with the International Criminal Court. Specifically, the Office of Legal Counsel maintains liaison with the International Court of Justice. The Office of Legal Counsel also discharges the legal responsibilities of the UN Secretary General under the statute of the ICJ, such as with invitation for nomination for appointment of judges in Article 5 of the ICJ to mention a few. The Division for the Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, on its part, provides substantive service to the United Nations General Assembly on issues pertaining to the Law of the Sea. In terms of hierarchy, the United Nations Secretary General sits at the top of the Secretariat as the Chief Administrative Officer. Presently, the Secretary General of the United Nations is Antonio Guterres. According to Article 101.1 of the UN Charter, the Secretary General appoints staff of the Secretariat under regulations established by the General Assembly. The Secretary General basically heads the thousands of United Nations staff worldwide. In a nutshell, we have surfaced the role of the Secretariat as an organ of the United Nations. This would liken to the veins in the human body. In this way, we picture the Secretariat as constantly and continuously providing support to other organs of the United Nations to bolster their mandates. We have also highlighted some specific departments within the Secretariat and how they interact with other primary organs of the United Nations, specifically the General Assembly, Security Council, and ECOSOL, discussed in Lesson 23, 24, 25, and 26. So I want to say thank you so very much for joining in. Remember to like, share, subscribe, leave your comments in the comment section below, and hit the notification bell so that you're notified when there's a new video. We would also like to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter. Let us know the content you'd like to see. Thank you.