1. ECOSOC
BR. SARATH
Marian college, kuttikanam, sarathcthomas@gmail.com

2. INTRODUCTION
• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is an organ of
special significance in the UN structure, particularly in
economic, social, cultural, educational, health and human
rights matters.
• It consists of 54 members who meet twice a year. ECOSOC
carries out its functions in the form of numerous
committees and commissions (i.e. Commission on Human
Rights, the Sub-Commission for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights) and specialized agencies (i.e.
International Labor Organization [ILO], World Health
Organization [WHO]).

3. I. The United Nations - its purposes, functions, structure
• The purposes and principles of the United Nations are set forth in the United
Nations Charter which came into force on October 24, 1945. One of the aims of the
Charter is:
• "...To achieve international co-operation in solving international
problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character,
and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion...."
• The Charter of the United Nations also provides for the 6 principle organs of the
United Nations:
• 1. General Assembly
• 2. Security Council
• 3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
• 4. Trusteeship Council
• 5. International Court of Justice
• 6. Secretariat

4. General Overview
4

5. TASKS AND FUNCTIONS OF ECOSOC
• promotion of higher standards of living, full employment,
economic and social progress
• solutions to international economic, social and health problems
• international cultural and educational cooperation
• encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms
• consults with academics, business sector representatives and
more than 2100 registered non-governmental organizations
• Examples: Millennium Development Goals, ICT Task Force [Information and
communication Technologies], African Development, Poverty eradication and
sustainable development

6.  coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized agencies,
10 functional commissions and five regional
commissions
 receives reports from 11 UN funds and programmes
 issues policy recommendations to UN Bodies and
Member States
 is controlled by the General Assembly
 serves as coordinating mechanism
 does not hold executive authority
 The ECOSOC is the central forum for discussing
economic and social issues within the UN

7. CHAMBER DESIGN- SOME HISTORY
The Economic and Social Council Chamber in
the United Nations Conference Building was a gift
from Sweden.
It was conceived by Swedish architect Sven
Markelius, one of the 11 architects in the
international team that designed the UN
headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine trees was
used in the delegates' area for the railings and doors.

8. The pipes and ducts in the ceiling above the public gallery
were deliberately left exposed; the architect believed that
anything useful could be left uncovered.
The "unfinished" ceiling is a symbolic reminder that the
economic and social work of the United Nations is never
finished; there will always be something more which can
be done to improve living conditions for the world's
people.

9. ECOSOC MEMBERS
The Council's 54 member Governments are elected by
the General Assembly for overlapping three-year
terms. Seats on the Council are allotted based on
geographical representation with fourteen allocated
to African States, eleven to Asian States, six to Eastern
European States, ten to Latin American and Caribbean
States, and thirteen to Western European and other
States.

10. STRUCTURE OF ECOSOC

12. Full list of members of the Economic and Social Council for
2014 and the expiration date of membership
Albania 2015
Antigua and Barbuda 2016
Austria 2014
Bangladesh 2016
Belarus 2014
Benin 2015
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 2015
Botswana 2016
Brazil 2014
Burkina Faso 2014
Canada 2015
China 2016
Colombia 2015
Congo 2016
Croatia 2015
Cuba 2014
Democratic Republic of the Congo 2016

13. Denmark 2016
Dominican Republic 2014
El Salvador 2014
Ethiopia 2014
France 2014
Georgia 2016
Germany 2014
Greece 2014
Guatemala 2016
Haiti 2015
India 2014
Indonesia 2014
Italy 2015
Japan 2014
Kazakhstan 2016
Kuwait 2015
Kyrgyzstan 2015
Lesotho 2014
Libya 2014
Mauritius 2015
Nepal 2015

14. San Marino 2015
Serbia 2016
South Africa 2015
Sudan 2015
Sweden 2016
Togo 2016
Tunisia 2015
Turkmenistan 2015
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
2016
United States of America 2015

15. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
 Regional Commissions
• Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
• Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
• Economic Commission for Europe(ECE)
• Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
• Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
 Standing Committees
• Committee for Programme and Coordination
• Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
• Committee on Negotiations with Intergovernmental Agencies

16. Governmental Experts
• Committee of Experts on the
Transport of Dangerous Goods and
on the Globally Harmonized System
of Classification and Labelling of
Chemicals
• United Nations Group of Experts on
Geographical Names
Independent Experts
• Committee for Development Policy
• United Nations Committee of
Experts on Public Administration
• Ad Hoc Group of Experts on
International Cooperation in Tax
Matters
• Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
• Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues
Special Bodies
• International Narcotics Control
Board
• Board of Trustees of the
International Research and Training
Institute for the Advancement of

17. CONCLUSION
it provided a lot of humanitarian and out standing services
to the world. But there are also so many crictisms against
ecosoc.
• huge number of institutions and organs within the
ECOSOC  overlapping responsibilities, hard to
manage/ coordinate
• the structure of the ECOSOC does not support
coordinating function
• very bureaucratic  inefficacious

18. MY REFERENCES
www.un.org/en/ecosoc
www.internetsociety.org
www.ngocongo.org
www. csonet.org
(ACCESSED ON 13-06-14)