Secretariat

Secretariat, the organ that administers and coordinates the activities of the United Nations. It is headed by the UN secretary-general. The Secretariat influences the work of the United Nations to a degree much greater than indicated in the UN Charter. This influence largely results from the fact that the Secretariat’s staff is composed of permanent expert officials, rather than political appointees of member nations. The staff is recruited on a merit basis, with regard to equitable geographic distribution, and its members are required to take an oath of loyalty to the United Nations and are not permitted to receive instructions from their home governments. The Secretariat’s personnel in effect constitute an international civil service. Among them are translators, clerks, technicians, administrators, project directors, and negotiators.

The secretary-general is elected by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, for a renewable five-year term. He must have the approval of all five permanent members of the Security Council to be selected to the post; because of this, secretaries-general have usually come from small, neutral countries. The secretary-general is the chief administrative officer at all meetings of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council, and he may carry out any functions that these organs entrust to him and his staff. He submits an annual report to the General Assembly on the work of the UN, and he may also bring to the Security Council’s attention any matter that he deems a threat to international peace and security. The secretary-general is the chief spokesman for the UN and is that body’s most visible and authoritative figure in the arena of world affairs. He has his headquarters at the UN building in New York City.