The United Nations

   
-------UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ----------------------------

   The Secretariat, an international staff working at the United
   Nations Headquarters in New York and all over the world, carries
   out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services
   the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers
   the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the
   Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the
   recommendation of the Security Council for a five- year, renewable
   term.

   The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the
   problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from
   administering peace-keeping operations to mediating international
   disputes. Secretariat staff also survey economic and social trends
   and problems; prepare studies on subjects such as human rights and
   sustainable development; organize international conferences on
   issues of world-wide concern; monitor the extent to which the
   decisions of United Nations bodies are being carried out;
   interpret speeches and translate documents into the Organization's
   official languages; and conduct information programmes to acquaint
   the world's communications media with the work of the United
   Nations.

   More than 25,000 men and women from some 160 countries make up the
   Secretariat staff. As international civil servants, they and the
   Secretary-General answer to the United Nations alone for their
   activities, and take an oath not to seek or receive instructions
   from any Government or outside authority. Under Article 100 of the
   Charter, each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively
   international character of the responsibilities of the
   Secretary-General and the staff and to refrain from seeking to
   influence them improperly in the discharge of their duties.