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Part 2 The United Nations: What it is, 5 The Economic and Social Council

Dame Rosalyn Higgins DBE QC, Philippa Webb, Dapo Akande, Sandesh Sivakumaran, James Sloan

From: Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations

Rosalyn Higgins, Philippa Webb, Dapo Akande, Sandesh Sivakumaran, James Sloan

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 31 March 2023

Subject(s):
Sustainable development — International organizations

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the UN’s six principal organs. More than any other principal organ, it has been the object of relentless criticism and attempts at reform. Among the impediments to its successful functioning have been its size (considered by some to be too large and by others not to be large enough); its ambiguous relationship with the General Assembly (including an overlapping of subject areas); and the fact that, as regards its activities in relation to economics, it operates in the shadow of the powerful institutions created at Bretton Woods and certain aspects of its social activities are dealt with by other international organizations or specialized agencies. This chapter discusses the ECOSOC’s membership, procedure, and voting; functions; meetings and programme of work; relationships with the other principal organs; areas of competence; and reform.

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