The United Nations System: Procedures and Practice

The Credentials Committee: a General Assembly body, not a Security Council one

The UN Credentials Committee examines the credentials of member states' representatives and reports its findings to the General Assembly, whose approval finalises which delegation is recognised as a country's legitimate representative at the UN. Two precise facts distinguish the real mechanism from plausible-sounding wrong answers: it is a committee of the General Assembly, not of the Security Council, and it does not sit in continuous, year-round session; it convenes as needed, generally around each regular General Assembly session, to examine credentials for that session specifically.

Observer status: for non-member states and organisations alike

The General Assembly's practice of granting observer status is broader than many aspirants assume, and all three of its real features are worth holding onto together, since a well-set question tests all three at once. A state that is not a UN member can be granted observer status, the Holy See and the State of Palestine being the standard real examples. Inter-governmental and regional organisations can also be granted observer status, letting them participate in UN proceedings and discussions without a vote. And an entity holding Permanent Observer status may maintain a standing mission at UN Headquarters in New York, functioning in practice much like a diplomatic mission, even without full UN membership or a vote in the General Assembly.

UN International Years: a real, ongoing naming practice

The UN General Assembly periodically designates a coming year around a specific theme, an "International Year of X," to focus global attention and coordinated action on that theme. As of the most recent designations, 2025 is the International Year of Peace and Trust, 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, 2027 the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism, and 2029 the International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence. Since the UN adds new designations regularly, treat any specific year-to-theme pairing as a snapshot worth rechecking against the current list rather than a fixed fact to memorise once and never revisit, the same caution that applies to BRICS's own growing membership list.

The Global Compact for Migration: adopted widely, but neither universal nor binding

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), adopted in 2018, is a case where every plausible-sounding claim about its authority turns out to be an overreach, and knowing precisely where it falls short is the entire exam point. It was not adopted by consensus of every UN member state without exception, several countries, including the United States, opted out or abstained. It is not a legally binding treaty; it is explicitly framed as a non-binding, cooperative framework that countries commit to politically rather than legally. And its scope is limited to international, cross-border migration; it does not extend to internal, within-country migration or displacement, which remains outside its remit entirely. A single confident-sounding claim about the GCM's universality, bindingness, or scope is worth treating with default scepticism until checked against these three specific limits.

Quick revision points

• Credentials Committee: a General Assembly committee (not Security Council), reports on member states' representative credentials, does not sit year-round, convenes around each Assembly session.
• Observer status: available to non-member states (Holy See, State of Palestine) and to inter-governmental organisations alike; a Permanent Observer may maintain a mission at UN Headquarters.
• UN International Years: 2025 Peace and Trust, 2026 Woman Farmer, 2027 Sustainable and Resilient Tourism, 2029 Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence. Treat as a list worth rechecking, since new designations are added regularly.
• Global Compact for Migration (2018): not adopted by every member state (the US and others opted out), not legally binding, and covers only international migration, not internal/within-country displacement.