Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Photographs
- List of Abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Setting the Stage: The Creation of the UN and Expectations for the Role of the UN Secretary-General
- 2 Establishing Precedents: The Iranian Crisis, UN Membership and the Greek Civil War, 1946
- 3 Urging Forceful Action: ‘The Palestine Problem’ and Management of Regional Conflicts, 1947–49
- 4 Building Bridges: The Cold War from Berlin to Korea, 1947–50
- 5 Advocating Global Interests: Trygve Lie’s Peace Plan, 1950
- 6 Administering the International: The International Civil Service and the UN Secretariat, 1946–53
- Conclusion
- Appendix UN Charter, Chapter XV: The Secretariat
- Notes
- References
- Index
6 - Administering the International: The International Civil Service and the UN Secretariat, 1946–53
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2024
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Photographs
- List of Abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Setting the Stage: The Creation of the UN and Expectations for the Role of the UN Secretary-General
- 2 Establishing Precedents: The Iranian Crisis, UN Membership and the Greek Civil War, 1946
- 3 Urging Forceful Action: ‘The Palestine Problem’ and Management of Regional Conflicts, 1947–49
- 4 Building Bridges: The Cold War from Berlin to Korea, 1947–50
- 5 Advocating Global Interests: Trygve Lie’s Peace Plan, 1950
- 6 Administering the International: The International Civil Service and the UN Secretariat, 1946–53
- Conclusion
- Appendix UN Charter, Chapter XV: The Secretariat
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
The degree in which the objects of the Charter can be realized will be largely determined by the manner in which the Secretariat performs its task. The Secretariat cannot successfully perform its task unless it enjoys the confidence of all the Members of the United Nations … appropriate methods of recruitment should be established in order that a staff may be assembled which is characterized by the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity.
Report of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations (December 1945)Introduction
Issues of peace and security, so-called ‘high-politics’, frequently take centre stage in debates on the UN. This book has been no exception, as the previous chapters all focused on the repeating cycles of high-level political crises, and Lie’s attempts to deal with these as secretary-general. Lie chose to focus most of his attention and energy on the political role of the UN secretary-general and the questions of peace and security discussed by the Security Council. Yet, to understand the process by which the UN Charter was transformed from paper to practice, the establishment of the UN Secretariat itself is also of crucial importance. As the previous chapters showed, in these early years after an organization has been established, while the rules are still fluid, individuals working in the organization have wide room for manoeuvre and can influence the establishment of precedents for the future. It therefore matters also what kind of organizational structures are set up and which formal and informal rules develop for the secretariat itself.
This chapter examines the initial establishment of the UN Secretariat, focused particularly on the norms associated with the International Civil Service (ICS). The ICS is both an empirical and a normative concept. As an empirical concept it refers simply to the staff working for international organizations. The term as such was first adopted by the League of Nations and later continued in the UN system. But with the designation of staff as ICS in purely descriptive terms, there also follows certain normative expectations. The ICS offers an ideal vision for how staff should act and who they should be.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- In the BeginningSecretary-General Trygve Lie and the Establishment of the United Nations, pp. 106 - 130Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2023