Whereas
the other principal organs of the United Nations - with the exception of
the International Court
of Justice -
are
made up of the governments of the member states who are bound by
instruction, the UN’s own workforce is employed in the Secretariat.
The
Secretariat is the central administrative organ of the world organisation.
It consists of the Secretary-General, who is elected on the recommendation
of the Security
Council by the General
Assembly ffor a
five year renewable period, and a hierarchically structured administrative
apparatus consisting of branches or divisions (offices) and departments
(main sections). The office of Deputy Secretary-General was introduced in
1998.
The UN
is headquartered in New York and has external offices in Geneva, Vienna
and Nairobi. In 2000, the Secretariat employed a workforce of 8,900 from
170 states. The employees of the UN take an oath of allegiance to the
world organisation and are not permitted to seek or receive instructions
from any Government or outside authority.
The
Tasks of the Secretariat
"Classical
administrative tasks and those of a political type are included among the
tasks of the Secretary-General in consort with the Secretariat. He
coordinates the work of the Secretariat and that of the other principal
organs with exception of the ICJ, and is responsible for the drawing up of
the budget and ... financial administration, registers and publishes the
international agreements put forward by the UN member states... and
represents the organisation of the whole in the international sphere and
in relation to the member states.
According
to Article 99, his originary political duties include bringing to the
attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may
threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."
[taken from: Sven Gareis/Johannes Varwick, Die Vereinten Nationen. Aufgaben, Instrumente und Reformen;
Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung Schriftenreihe Band 403, Bonn 2003, P.
57-58]
This
places him in a difficult "field of tension between his various roles
as top administrative officer and facilitator or catalyst in international
politics" (Gareis/Varwick). Former Secretary General Kurt Waldheim
spoke the frequently quoted words that task of the Secretary General is
the "most difficult job in the world". Trygve Lie, the first
Secretary-General, even spoke of an "impossible task". |
The
Secretary-Generals of the UN
|
 |
Trygve Lie
(Norway)
1946-1952
|
|
 |
Dag Hammarskjöld
(Sweden)
1953-1961
|
|
 |
Sithu 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)
since 1997
|
|
|
