ORG/1460
2 March 2006

Membership of Principal United Nations Organs in 2006

General Assembly

The General Assembly is made up of 191 Member States.  The States and the dates on which they became Members are listed in Press Release ORG/1360 issued 4 October 2002.

Security Council

The Security Council has 15 members.  The United Nations Charter designates five States as permanent members and the General Assembly elects 10 other members for two-year terms.  The term of office for each non-permanent member of the Council ends on 31 December of the year indicated in parentheses next to its name.

The five permanent members of the Security Council are China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.

The 10 non-permanent members of the Council in 2006 are Argentina (2006), Congo (2007), Denmark (2006), Ghana (2007), Greece (2006), Japan (2006), Peru (2007), Qatar (2007), Slovak Republic (2007) and the United Republic of Tanzania (2006).

Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council has 54 members, elected for three-year terms by the General Assembly.  The term of office for each member expires on 31 December of the year indicated in parentheses next to its name.  In 2006, the Council is composed of the following:

Albania (2007), Angola (2008), Armenia (2006), Austria (2008), Australia (2007), Bangladesh (2006), Belgium (2006), Belize (2006), Benin (2008), Brazil (2007), Canada (2006), Chad (2007), China (2007), Colombia (2006), Costa Rica (2007), Cuba (2008), Czech Republic (2008), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2007), Denmark (2007), France (2008), Germany (2008), Guinea (2007), Guinea Bissau (2008), Guyana (2008), Haiti (2008), Iceland (2007), India (2007), Indonesia (2006), Italy (2006), Japan (2008), Lithuania (2007), Madagascar (2008), Mauritania (2008), Mauritius (2006), Mexico (2007), Namibia (2006), Nigeria (2006), Pakistan (2007), Panama (2006), Paraguay (2008), Poland (2006), Republic of Korea (2006), Russian Federation (2007), Saudi Arabia (2008), South Africa (2007), Spain (2008), Sri Lanka (2008), Thailand (2007), Tunisia (2006), Turkey (2008), United Arab Emirates (2006), United Kingdom (2007), United Republic of Tanzania (2006), United States (2006).

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council is made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.  With the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations Trust Territory, the Council formally suspended operations on 1 November 1994.  The Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as the occasion required, by its decision or the decision of its President or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice has 15 Judges, elected by both the General Assembly and the Security Council for nine-year terms.  The current composition of the Court, with terms expiring on 5 February of the year in parentheses, is as follows: 

Ronny Abraham (France) (2009); Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan) (2009); Mohamed Bennouna (Morocco) (2015); Thomas Buergenthal (United States) (2015); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom) (2009); Shi Jiuyong (China)(2012); Kenneth Keith (New Zealand)(2015); Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone) (2012); Hisashi Owada (Japan) (2012); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela) (2009); Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar) (2009); Bernardo Sepulveda Amor (Mexico) (2015); Bruno Simma (Germany) (2012); Leonid Skotnikov (Russian Federation) (2015); and Peter Tomka (Slovakia) (2012).

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