UN4U: ECOSOC

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central body for coordinating the economic and social work of the United Nations and the UN family of organizations. It has 54 member nations elected from all regions. As much as 70 per cent of the work of the UN system is devoted to promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development. The Council recommends and directs activities aimed at promoting economic growth of developing countries, supporting human rights and fostering world cooperation to fight poverty and under-development.

经济及社会理事会（经社理事会）是协调联合国及联合国大家庭中各组织的经济和社会工作的主要机构。它由从各区域选出的54个理事国组成。联合国系统多达70％的工作都是为了促进较高的生活标准、充分就业以及经济和社会的进步。为推动发展中国家的经济增长、支持人权和开展国际合作以战胜贫穷和落后，理事会建议并指导开展各种活动。

To meet specific needs, the General Assembly has set up a number of specialized agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and programmes such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The work of these agencies and programmes is coordinated by ECOSOC.

联合国的创始人认识到，为了世界和平，必须促进经济、社会发展和国际合作。《宪章》赋予经济及社会理事会推动经济和社会进步、促进普遍尊重人权的任务。为满足一些特别需要，大会设立了一些专门机构，如联合国粮食及农业组织（粮农组织）、世界卫生组织（世卫组织）和联合国教育、科学及文化组织（教科文组织），并设立了一些方案机构，例如联合国开发计划署（开发署）、联合国儿童基金会（儿童基金会）和联合国难民事务高级专员办事处（难民署）。这些专门机构和方案机构的工作都由经社理事会协调。