UN Charter, Chapter II, Articles 3-6 concern Membership in the UN. Only states can be members of the United Nations.
Membership in different organs of the UN varies.
Membership of the principal organs is determined by the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice:
In accordance with the Charter, the General Assembly (Article 22), Security Council (Article 29) and the Economic and Social Council (Article 68) may establish subsidiary organs.The decision to establish a subsidiary organ (also called the mandate) usually includes:
Websites, research guides, and FAQs with more information.
Chinese: 联合国会员国
English: UN Membership
French: Les membres de l'Organisation des Nations Unies
Russian: Членство в Организации Объединенных Наций
Spanish: Miembros de la ONU
In the context of the Charter, membership and participation in the UN are different.
UN Charter, Chapter II, Articles 3-6 concern Membership in the UN. Only states can be members of the United Nations.
Membership in different organs of the UN varies.
Articles 31-32 of the Charter concern participation in the Security Council by states.
Articles 69-71 of the Charter concern participation in the Economic and Social Council by states, specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations.
In addition, the General Assembly has an established practice of granting observer status to non-member states and intergovernmental organizations, see decision 49/426 in A/49/49 (Vol. I), page 341. Entities with observer status receive "a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly" (A/INF/73/5).
To research these matters further, consult secondary sources about the organ or the article of the Charter. For example, the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council has a section on the Council's role in membership as well as section on participation in the Council.
Regional groups in the UN are groups of states that, among other discussions, coordinate nomination of candidates for election to various bodies.The major regional groups are the Group of African States, the Group of Asian States, the Group of Eastern European States, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Group of Western European and Other States.
The Journal of the United Nations announces the monthly chairs of the regional groups, as well as a wealth of other information.