Language Log: The Languages of the UN: "While we're on the subject of international languages, the choice of languages at the United Nations is interesting. The original official languages were English, Chinese, French, and Russian, not coincidentally the languages of the permanent members of the Security Council. The choice was largely political. English had perhaps the strongest case.
[...]
Although in theory all six languages have equal status, some languages are more equal than others. English, French and Spanish are the working languages of the General Assembly; English and French are the working languages of the Security Council. Public information is often not translated into Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese."
# May 6, 2004