International Human Rights and the International Human Rights System A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions The ECOSOC has promoted NHRI engagement with the UN system, especially the principal human rights bodies, but it does not have any role in accrediting NHRIs, in supervising their involvement or in adopting rules of procedure to govern their participation. 6. UN SECRETARIAT56 The UN Charter provides for a secretariat to perform the substantive and administrative work of the organization. The UN Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, currently Ban Ki-moon from the Republic of Korea. He leads the 7,500 members of the staff, drawn from 170 countries. The UN Secretariat has its principal offices in New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi, as well as a number of regional offices; for example, the Asia Pacific regional office in Bangkok. The HCHR is the principal UN official with responsibility for human rights.57 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is located in Geneva and there is a small presence in New York. It now has staff placed in many regions and countries. The current High Commissioner is Ms Navanethemi Pillay from South Africa. The HCHR has promoted the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs in all countries, through the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section (NIRMS) in Geneva. Many other UN departments and offices have human rights responsibilities. The UN is committed to mainstreaming human rights throughout the work of all agencies, departments and offices. KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 4 • The UN system has three pillars: international peace, development and human rights. • The UN has a specialist council response for each of these three pillars: the Security Council for international peace; the Economic and Social Council for development; and the Human Rights Council for human rights. • The General Assembly is the UN’s principal political organ, consisting of all 193 UN Member States. • All these organs have responsibilities that include human rights, though the Human Rights Council is the principal body with specialist human rights responsibilities. • NHRIs have limited roles in UN organs except for the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council. 56 For information about the UN Secretariat see: www.un.org/en/mainbodies/secretariat/index.shtml. 57 For information about the OHCHR see: www.ohchr.org. 26 | Chapter 4: The United Nations charter-based system: An overview