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United Nations Secretariat

United Nations Secretariat

1 3.9
The office that does the daily work of the United Nations
  • noun
  • /juːˈnaɪtɪd ˈneɪʃənz ˌsɛkrəˈtɛrɪət/
: Secretaría de las Naciones Unidas
  • The United Nations Secretariat plays a crucial role in international diplomacy.

Examples

  • The United Nations Secretariat is responsible for organizing international conferences and maintaining official records.

  • The United Nations Secretariat manages the administrative tasks of the organization on a daily basis.

  • Decisions made by the General Assembly are implemented by the United Nations Secretariat.

  • Many international civil servants are employed by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

  • Did you know that the United Nations Secretariat is based in New York?

  • The United Nations Secretariat is located in New York City and coordinates the global efforts of the UN's various agencies.

  • Staff members in the United Nations Secretariat work tirelessly to implement the decisions made by member states.

Synonyms

secretariat
vsUnited Nations Secretariat
  • Formal
9 6.8

An office that manages records, letters, and emails for a large organization

is broader, covering overall daily administration and operational work for the whole organization
secretariate
vsUnited Nations Secretariat
  • Formal
1 8.6

An office that keeps records and does everyday office tasks for an organization

is broader, taking responsibility for all daily operations of the organization

Surface Forms

Morphology

united + nation + secretariat

The phrase is directly compositional: 'United Nations' specifies the organization and 'secretariat' denotes an administrative department, so the combined meaning 'the administrative department of the United Nations' is transparently derived from the parts. This structure is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Secrétariat des Nations Unies) and thus a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

The name United Nations Secretariat comes from the old use of secretariat meaning an office of secretaries, people who keep records and do the everyday tasks for leaders or groups. So, the United Nations Secretariat is the UN office that handles the 'day-to-day work' and helps the whole organization run.