The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 192 countries.
When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations. The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them — the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat — are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at the Hague in the Netherlands.
In addition, a number of UN Agencies, Programmes and Funds work to improve the economic and social condition of people around the world. They report to the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council. The IMF, the World Bank and 12 other independent organizations known as "specialized agencies" are linked to the UN through cooperative agreements. These agencies are autonomous bodies created by intergovernmental agreement. All these organizations have their own governing bodies, budgets and secretariats. Together with the United Nations, they are known as the UN family, or the UN system.
In Kyrgyzstan, as well as in other countries, UN Agencies, Programmes and Funds that have formal resident representation are named Resident. Those which support the country through programme activities, but do not have resident representation are named Non-Resident.
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