The United Nations section can teach you all about the history of the United Nations and the key dates and major conflicts that have contributed to its development. Take a guided tour of the system and committees that make up this organization and look ahead to see what's in store for it in the future.
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"United Nations Introduction",2,0,0,0
This section of \IWebster's World Encyclopedia\i provides in-depth information on the United Nations including many of its principal organizations and programs.
It is broken down into the following parts:
\JGuided Tour of the UN System\j
\JGrounds for hope\j
\JKey Dates in UN History\j
\JMajor Conflicts\j
\JHow the UN has Performed\j
\JUNESCO World Heritage List\j
\JLooking Ahead\j
\JTaking Action Introduction\j
\BFor information on the United Nations Charter, go to \JUnited Nations (UN)\j and click on the More Information button.\b
Click on the entry of your choice to move to that part.
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"Guided Tour of the UN System",3,0,0,0
The next 35 pages covers the beginnings of the UN, looks at its Principal Organs, and briefly describes major Programs and Organizations.
The Charter of the United Nations Organization (UNO) was drafted between 25 April and 26 June 1945 at a Conference bringing together the nations which had officially taken up arms against the Axis powers prior to 1 March 1945. They set out to create an instrument capable of preserving the newly won peace and of managing it by perpetuating the Alliance which, in spite of differences, had held together throughout the Second World War.
Ratified by most of the signatory countries on 24 October 1945 (a date celebrated each year as United Nations day), the Charter reflected the determination of those countries to strive for the preservation of peace in order to ensure respect for human rights, "social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom". For this purpose, it offered the nations a framework for international co-operation that was unprecedented in human history.
The United Nations Organization, whose Headquarters is in New York (U.S.A.) is open to all states which request to join it, accept the obligations of its Charter and have the determination and the means to fulfil them.
Pursuant to the terms of its Charter, the United Nations Organization has six principal organs, which are empowered to establish subsidiary bodies to assist them in their functions and to conclude co-operation agreements with existing or new international institutions which, after signing the Protocol, acquire the status of specialized agencies.
\BPrincipal Organs\b
The General Assembly, whose first session was convened in London (United Kingdom) from 10 January to 14 February 1946, is composed of representatives of all the Member States of the Organization. It is the main deliberative organ, and decisions are taken in it by a simple majority (with a two-thirds majority being required for major questions), each member having one vote, without distinction as to its size or wealth. The General Assembly decides on the admission of new Members on the recommendation of the Security Council. The number of Member States rose from 76 in 1955 to 100 in 1960, 127 in 1970, 154 in 1980 to 185 at the present time.
The General Assembly meets in annual sessions. In principle, the regular session is convened for the third Tuesday in September and continues until mid-December. However, the General Assembly may be convened in special sessions at a different date and at a place other than New York.
During a regular session, the General Assembly examines the agenda items in plenary meeting and in committees. In addition to the Special Political and Decolonization Committees, there are currently five other Main Committees responsible respectively for disarmament and international security; economic and financial matters; social, humanitarian and cultural matters; administrative and budgetary matters; and legal matters.
The General Assembly approves the budget, examines reports from other United Nations organs, elects the members of these organs if need be, appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council, and discusses any question or issue within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations. It is not, however, authorized to adopt resolutions on points being discussed by the Security Council.
The decisions of the Assembly have no legally binding force, but they carry the weight of world opinion on major international issues, as well as the moral authority of the world community. The work of the United Nations derives largely from the will of the majority of the Member States as expressed in the resolutions of the General Assembly.
The Security Council, which was established on 12 January 1946, is composed of 15 members, including five permanent members designated by the Charter (China, \JFrance\j, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and ten members elected by the General Assembly in a rotation of five for a two-year term.
The keystone of the Organization, the Security Council, is so organized as to be able to function continuously and it may meet elsewhere than at Headquarters if it considers this advisable. The sole organ with the power of coercion, it decides on enforcement measures, economic sanctions and the intervention of armed forces placed at its disposal by the Member States, and has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The Security Council is the only organ of the United Nations where the principle of equality of the states is replaced by the rule of "great power unanimity" (often referred to as the "veto" power), whereby the negative vote of only one of the five permanent members of the Council is sufficient to block a decision that has received the assent of the fourteen other members, except in regard to procedural questions.
The Economic and Social Council, established on 13 January 1946, has 54 members elected for three years (with an annual rotation of 18 members), who meet once a year for five weeks. Its competence extends to all areas of economic and social co-operation. Its year-round work is carried out in its subsidiary bodies, which include the following:
(i) Nine commissions and technical committees which are responsible in particular for questions relating to statistics, population and development, social development, human rights, the status of women, narcotic drugs, science and technology, sustainable development, and crime prevention and criminal justice;
(ii) Five regional commissions, the main instruments of decentralization of United Nations action in the economic and social fields, with offices at Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) for Africa; Santiago (Chile) for Latin America and the Caribbean; \JBangkok\j (Thailand) for Eastern Asia and the Pacific; Geneva (Switzerland) for Europe; and \JAmman\j (Jordan) for Western Asia;
(iii) Seven standing committees, working groups and expert bodies; for program and co-ordination, natural resources, negotiations with non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental agencies, development planning, international co-operation in tax matters, transport of dangerous goods, and questions of UN administration and public finance.
It is through the Economic and Social Council that the United Nations specialized agencies co-ordinate their economic and social work.
The Trusteeship Council, which now comes under the responsibility of the Security Council, was assigned the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories and of promoting their advancement towards independence. It has now achieved its objectives and the last of the territories under the Trusteeship system, the Palau Islands, were admitted to the United Nations in 1994. The other territories, which were mainly in Africa and the Pacific, acceded to independence either as separate states or by joining neighbouring independent countries.
The International Court of Justice, whose seat is at The Hague (Netherlands), was established on 6 February 1946. It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and its Statute is an integral part of the Charter. The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for a term of nine years. They are chosen by the General Assembly and the Security Council on the basis of their qualifications, and not of their nationality -- although no two Judges can be nationals of the same state. They may not engage in any other occupation during their term of office.
The Court adjudicates legal disputes between States submitting their case to it. Its rulings are binding on the parties having accepted its \Jjurisdiction\j. It also gives advisory opinions on legal questions to the General Assembly, the Security Council and other organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations.
Seat:
Peace Palace
2517 KJ The Hague
Netherlands
Telephone: (31-70) 302 23 23
Telefax: (31-70) 364 99 28
Telex: 32 323 ICJ NL
Cable: INTERCOURT THE HAGUE
The Secretariat services the other organs of the United Nations and administers the programs and policies laid down by them. It analyzes worldwide economic and social trends and problems, prepares studies, organizes conferences, monitors the extent to which the decisions of UN bodies are carried out, translates documents and conducts information programs on the Organization's activities. Under Article 100 of the Charter the staff of the Secretariat undertake neither to seek nor to receive instructions from any government or any authority external to the Organization.
The Secretary-General, the Organization's highest official, is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a term of five years. In addition to his administrative functions (he appoints the staff, attends sessions of various United Nations bodies, prepares the budget and submits it for approval), he is empowered to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, threatens international peace and security. United Nations bodies entrust him more and more frequently with a wide range of political, diplomatic or conciliation missions. Each year, he issues a report on the activities of the Organization and its prospects for the coming year.
\I\BReprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995\b\i
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"INSTRAW",4,0,0,0
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
Headquarters:
Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson 102-A
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
Telephone: (809) 685-2111
Telefax: (809) 685-2117
Acting Director: Martha Duenas-Loza
The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, which commenced activities in 1979, is an emanation of the World Conference of the International Women's Year (1975).
INSTRAW is an autonomous body within the United Nations system, whose main objective is to contribute, through research, training and information, to the \Jintegration\j of women in the economic and social development process and to their participation in all levels of political life.
Over the past five years, INSTRAW has engaged in a wide range of activities on women's work in the informal sector, their role in the media, the place they occupy in credit, sanitation and water supply programs, and the harnessing of new and renewable energy sources. Its program of work for the 1994-1995 biennium is centred on four main themes: the improvement of women's status; statistics and indicators concerning women; women, the environment and sustainable development; and communication for development.
The Institute does not receive annual subsidies under the contributions to the United Nations regular budget, and it depends entirely on voluntary contributions from UN Member States, governmental and non-governmental organizations, foundations, and private and other sources.
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"UNCHS",5,0,0,0
United Nations Centre For Human Settlements - Habitat (UNCHS)
Headquarters:
PO Box 30030, \JNairobi\j, \JKenya\j
Telephone: (254-2) 621 234
Telefax: (254-2) 624 266 / 624 267
Telex: 22996 unhab ke
Cable: UNHABITAT \JNAIROBI\j
Assistant Secretary-General: Wally N'Dow
Established in 1978, UNCHS is the focal point in the UN system for matters concerning human settlements. The secretariat of the UN Commission on Human Settlements, it acts to improve shelter for the poor globally via programs of research, training, technical co-operation and information targeted primarily at low-income groups in developing countries. UNCHS is providing the secretariat for the Habitat II Conference, which will take place in 1996, and co-ordinates the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, launched in 1989, which emphasizes an approach whereby governments furnish a legal, institutional and regulatory environment that encourages people to provide and improve their own shelter.
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"UNCTAD",6,0,0,0
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Headquarters:
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 907 12 34
Telefax: (41-22) 907 00 57
Telex: 4122962
Cable: UNATIONS, GENEVE
Secretary-General: Rubens Ricupero
Established as a permanent organ in 1964, UNCTAD is the principal agency of the General Assembly in the field of trade and development. It currently has 188 member countries. Its mandate is to promote international trade, particularly that of the developing countries, with a view to accelerating their economic development. Its functions include policy analysis, intergovernmental deliberations, consensus-building, negotiation, monitoring, implementation and follow-up and technical co-operation.
UNCTAD has played a leading role in mobilizing support for the least developed countries and providing the organizational framework and support for the two United Nations Conferences on the Least Developed Countries held in Paris in 1981 and 1990.
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"UNDCP",7,0,0,0
United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP)
Headquarters:
Vienna International Centre
PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna
Austria
Telephone: (43-1) 21345
Telefax: (43-1) 2307002
Executive Director: Giorgio Giacomelli
A worldwide centre of expertise and information on drug abuse control, UNDCP was established in 1990 to integrate the functions of three former drug-related units: The Division of Narcotic Drugs, the secretariat of the International \JNarcotics\j Control Board and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control.
It is responsible for co-ordinating all United Nations drug control activities, promoting the implementation of the relevant treaties and providing leadership in international drug control. UNDCP endeavours to reduce demand for illicit drugs, suppress illicit traffic and free farmers from their economic dependence on illicit narcotic crops by proposing other sources of income and helping to improve their living standards. UNDCP also covers areas such as legal assistance, research, treatment and social reintegration of drug addicts, and generates public awareness of the harmful effects of drug abuse.
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"UNDP",8,0,0,0
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Headquarters:
One United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
U.S.A.
Telephone: (1-212) 906 50 00
Telefax: (1-212) 826 20 57
Telex: 125 980; 236 286; 422 862
Cable: UNDEVPRO NEWYORK
Administrator: James Gustave Speth
Established on 1 January 1966 through the merger of the Expended Program of Technical Assistance and the United Nations Special Fund, UNDP is the world's largest multilateral source of grant funding for development co-operation. It is headed by an Administrator, who is responsible to a 36 member Executive Board representing all major regions and today works with 175 developing countries and territories through 136 offices. In each developing country it plays the chief co-ordinating role for operational development activities undertaken by the whole UN system.
UNDP works with governments, international agencies and organizations of civil society to build capacities for sustainable human development combining economic growth with a concern for people's well-being and respect for the future of the planet. It provides experts, consultants, fellowships and equipment for programs on poverty elimination, the creation of jobs and other means of sustainable livelihood; advancement of women; and protection and regeneration of the environment.
Attention is also given to good governance, science and technology, technical co-operation among developing countries, combating \JHIV\j and AIDS, and development in the wake of man-made and natural disasters.
#
"UNEP",9,0,0,0
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
Headquarters:
PO Box 30552, \JNairobi\j,
Kenya
Telephone: (254-2) 62 12 34
Telefax:(254-2) 22 68 90
Telex: 22069 UNEP KE
E-mail: ipaunep@gn.apc.org
Executive Director: Elizabeth Dowdeswell
The United Nations Environment Program, which was established in December 1972, is headed by a Governing Council composed of 58 elected Member States which generally meets every two years and reports to the General Assembly. The Environment Fund, UNEP's financial component, is a voluntary fund administered by the secretariat.
UNEP's primary role is to encourage partnership in caring for the environment, by helping nations and peoples to improve their quality of life, without compromising that of future generations, through the sustainable management and use of natural resources. It concentrates on issues such as atmosphere and climate change, deforestation and \Jdesertification\j, \Jpollution\j, and the health of the oceans. Its co-ordinating role was reinforced by Agenda 21, the global plan of action adopted in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
More generally, UNEP is concerned with promoting international co-operation, the development of international environmental law, and the improvement and use of environmental economic instruments and tools. It monitors and assesses environmental data, transmits information to governments and UN bodies, raises public awareness of environmental issues, encourages the exchange of information and provides governments with technical, legal and institutional advice.
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"UNFPA",10,0,0,0
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Headquarters:
220 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017-5880
U.S.A.
Telephone: (1-212) 297 5011
Telefax: (1-212) 370 0201
Telex: 7607883
Executive Director: Nafis Sadik
Operational since 1969, the UN Population Fund is the largest multilateral source of assistance to population programs in developing countries. Its resources consist of voluntary contributions from governments.
UNFPA's major functions are to build up the capacity of governments to respond to population and reproductive health needs, including family planning; to promote awareness of population factors (population growth, fertility, mortality, age structure, migration, etc.); to help developing countries, at their request, to deal with their population problems; to co-ordinate projects supported by the Fund and provide financial assistance for their implementation.
Special attention is also given to educational activities, research on demographic and socio-economic relationships, programs to improve the situation of women, AIDS control and prevention.
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"UNHCR",11,0,0,0
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Headquarters:
Mail address:
Case postale 2500
CH-1211 Geneva 2 depot
Switzerland
Street address:
Centre William-Rappard
154 rue de \JLausanne\j
CH-1202 Geneva 21
Switzerland
Telephone: (41-22) 739 81 11
Telefax: (41-22) 731 95 46
Telex: 415740 HCR CH
Cable HICOMREF GENEVE
High Commissioner: Ms. Sadako Ogata
Since it came into being on 1 January 1951, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been responsible for protecting refugees whose legal status is defined in two international instruments: the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The High Commissioner is elected by the UN General Assembly and is advised by an Executive Committee established by the Economic and Social Council.
Keeping watch over such matters as protection from enforced repatriation, unlawful expulsions and detention, UNHCR also defends refugees' rights to employment, education, public assistance, access to the courts, freedom of movement, artistic and literary rights and industrial property. Entirely dependent on voluntary contributions from governments and private sources, UNHCR helps to provide material assistance to enable refugees to achieve permanent solutions to their problems, by facilitating their settlement in the country of asylum, their voluntary repatriation or their \Jintegration\j into a new national community.
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"United Nations Children's Fund",12,0,0,0
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Headquarters:
Three United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
U.S.A.
Telephone (1-212) 326 7000
Telefax: (1-212) 888 7465
Telex: 760 7848
Executive Director: Carol Bellamy
UNICEF (1) was established as a temporary body in December 1946 by the General Assembly to provide emergency assistance to children in war-ravaged countries of Europe. In 1953, it was placed on a permanent footing and its mandate was broadened to help children in developing countries.
UNICEF promotes the survival, protection and development of children and their mothers in such fields as health, \Jnutrition\j, education, water and sanitation, and provides relief and rehabilitation assistance in emergencies (vaccines, basic medicines, medical equipment and food supplements). One of its most important public health achievements has been in \Jimmunization\j. In what has been called "the largest single collaborative peace-time effort in world history", the Universal Child \JImmunization\j (UCI) program launched by \JUNICEF\j and the World Health Organization in 1984 successfully vaccinated 80 per cent of the world's children by 1990 against six major childhood killer diseases (measles, \Jpoliomyelitis\j, tuberculosis, \Jdiphtheria\j, whooping cough and tetanus), thus saving the lives of some 9 to 10 million children in the developing world.
UNICEF also supports the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which entered into force as international law on 2 September 1990. As of mid-August 1995, the Convention had been ratified by 177 countries.
Supported by 38 National Committees, mostly in industrialized countries, \JUNICEF\j co-operates in programs in 144 countries. It depends mainly on voluntary contributions from governmental and non-governmental sources. Total expenditure for 1994 amounted to $999 million.
\I(1). Originally, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. The Fund was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.\i
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"UNIFEM",13,0,0,0
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Headquarters:
304 East 45th Street, 6th floor
New York, NY 10017
U.S.A.
Telephone: (1-212) 906 6400
Telefax: (1-212) 906 6705
Director: Noeleen Heyzer
In 1984 the General Assembly decided that the activities of the Voluntary Fund for the UN Decade for Women should be continued by the establishment of a separate entity, UNIFEM, in autonomous association with the UN Development Program (UNDP).
UNIFEM seeks to improve the lives of women in developing countries, to promote the involvement of women in the decision-making process of mainstream development programs, and their achievement of equal status through economic and social development. UNIFEM considers that the best approach is to strengthen organizations created and managed by women themselves by providing direct technical and financial support. UNIFEM focuses its efforts in three main fields: agriculture and food security, trade and industry, and national planning. The Fund also seeks to provide women with access to credit, training, science and technology, information and other tools of development, and encourages links and partnership between women at grassroots level and national and international institutions.
UNIFEM's working budget (some $14 million in 1993) comes mainly from voluntary contributions from UN Member States and from the Fund's National Committees (1); the remainder comes from private individuals (organizations, foundations, business and private individuals).
\I(1). There are currently 16 UNIFEM National Committees in \JAustralia\j, \JBelgium\j, Canada, Denmark, \JFinland\j, \JFrance\j, \JGermany\j, \JIceland\j, \JJapan\j, New Zealand, \JNorway\j, \JPhilippines\j, Sweden, Switzerland/Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.\i
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"UNITAR",14,0,0,0
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Headquarters:
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Telephone: (41-22) 798 58 50
Telefax: (41-22) 733 13 83
Telex: 412 962 UNO CH
Cable: UNATIONS GENEVE
Acting Executive Director: Marcel A. Boisard
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research, established in 1963, has functioned since 1965 as an autonomous institution within the framework of the UN. It provides training to persons, particularly from developing countries, for assignments with the UN or its specialized agencies and for assignments in their national services which are connected with the work of the UN, the organizations related to it, or other institutions operating in related fields. By the end of June 1995, more than 23,500 participants from some 180 nations had taken part in courses, seminars or workshops organized by UNITAR. Presently, UNITAR is designing and organizing some seventy different training programs per year, for the benefit of approximately 3,000 participants on five continents.
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"UNRWA",15,0,0,0
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Headquarters:
Vienna International Centre
Wagramerstrasse 5, PO Box 700
1400 Vienna
Austria
Telephone (43-1) 21 3450
Telefax: (43-1) 213 45 58 79
Telex: 135310 UNRWA A
Cable: UNRWA VIENNA
Commissioner-General: Ilter Turkmen
UNRWA was created on 8 December 1949 to provide aid for Palestine refugees following the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, and began operations in May 1950. Representatives of the ten nations which are members of UNRWA's Advisory Committee meet annually to review the Commissioner-General's Annual Report to the General Assembly.
The functions of UNRWA are to provide essential education, health, relief and social services directly to the Palestine refugees. It runs (with technical assistance from \JUNESCO\j for education and from WHO for health) over 600 elementary and preparatory schools, several vocational and technical training centres and teacher training programs, some 120 health units, as well as community-based rehabilitation centres, women's program centres, etc. It also awards scholarships, provides grants and loans for income-generating projects and emergency relief assistance for improvements in health clinics, schools and other facilities and for job creation programs.
UNRWA depends almost entirely on voluntary contributions for both its regular and emergency operations.
#
"UNU",16,0,0,0
United Nations University (UNU).
Headquarters:
53-70 Jingumae 5-chrome, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150
Japan
Telephone: (81-3) 3499 2811
Telefax: (81-3) 3499 2828
Telex: J25 442
Cable: UNATUNIV \JTOKYO\j
E-mail: MBOX@HQ.UNU.EDU
Rector: Heitor Gurgulino de Souza
Created in 1973 and operational in September 1975, the United Nations University is an autonomous body functioning under the joint auspices of the United Nations and \JUNESCO\j. Headed by a Council comprising 28 members who are appointed for six years in their personal capacity and not as representatives of their countries, plus four permanent members (1), it works through a worldwide network of university institutions. In addition to the central co-ordination and planning body, the University has five research and training centres and programs (2), each specializing in a particular field, which co-ordinate the activities in which the higher educational establishments of many countries are participating. It is also associated with a large number of universities and national research centres, most of them situated in the developing countries, which are the focal points of its world network. This decentralized structure, with its different component parts in constant interaction, confers on UNU an almost in-built flexibility in the interdisciplinary approach to the problems of the modern world.
\I(1). The Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General of \JUNESCO\j, the Director-General of UNITAR and the \JRector\j of UNU.
(2). The World Institute for Development Economics Research, \JHelsinki\j (Finland); the Institute for New Technologies, Maastricht (Netherlands); the International Institute for Software Technology, \JMacao\j; the Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Accra (Ghana) and \JLusaka\j (Zambia); and the Program for Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean, \JCaracas\j (Venezuela).\i
#
"WFP",17,0,0,0
World Food Program (WFP)
Headquarters:
426 Via Cristoforo Colombo
00145 \JRome\j
Italy
Telephone: (39-6) 522821
Fax: (39-6) 5960 2348/5960 2111/5228 2840
Cable: WORLDFOOD, \JROME\j
Telex: 626675 WFPI
E-Mail: Postmaster@wfp.org
Executive Director: Catherine Bertini
The only multilateral food aid organization of the UN system, WFP was established on a 3-year experimental basis in 1961 jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the General Assembly. In 1965, the Program was extended "for as long as multilateral food aid is found feasible and desirable".
WFP provides food aid to developing countries both to promote development and to help alleviate emergencies. In 1994, 44 per cent of WFP beneficiaries (25 million people) were victims of wars, ethnic conflicts and civil strife in 41 countries. Another 13 per cent (7.5 million people) were afflicted by droughts and other natural disasters in 8 countries. Some 60 per cent of the beneficiaries of WFP development aid obtain family rations by participating in labour-intensive programs to construct \Jinfrastructure\j and create assets essential for their longer-term advancement.
WFP is funded through voluntary contributions from UN and FAO member countries and intergovernmental bodies. It currently has 225 on-going development projects in 83 countries and some 50 relief operations in 41 countries.
#
"UNCTAD/GATT (ITC)",18,0,0,0
International Trade Centre - UNCTAD/GATT (ITC)
Headquarters:
Postal address: Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, \JSwitzerland\j
Street location:
54-56, rue de Montbrillant, Geneva
Telephone: (41-22) 730 01 11
Telefax: (41-22) 733 4439
Telex: 414 119 ITC CH
Cable: INTRADCEN, GENEVE
Executive Director: J. Denis Belisle
Created in 1964 by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT -- 1), ITC has since 1968 been operated jointed by \JGATT\j and the UN, the latter acting through the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It is the focal point of the UN system for technical co-operation with developing countries in trade promotion. As an executing agency of the UN Development Program (UNDP), ITC is directly responsible for implementing UNDP-financed projects in developing countries related to trade promotion.
ITC's regular budget is funded in equal parts by the United Nations and \JGATT\j. Financing for ITC's technical co-operation activities in developing countries comes from UNDP and other international organizations, and from voluntary contributions from individual developed and developing countries.
\I(1). See entry on the World Trade Organization (WTO).\i
#
"ILO",19,0,0,0
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Headquarters:
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22 - \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 799 61 11
Telefax: (41-22) 798 86 85
Cable: INTERLAB GENEVE
Telex: 415647
Number of member countries: 171
Director-General: Michel Hansenne
Origin: The ILO was established on 28 June 1919 (its Constitution having become operative on 11 April) by the Treaty of Versailles (France) as an autonomous body associated with the League of Nations. On 14 December 1946, it became a specialized agency associated with the United Nations.
Administration: The International Labour Conference, a world parliament on labour issues, meets once a year and is attended by delegations from all the member countries. Each delegation is composed of two government delegates, one delegate representing workers and one representing employers. The Governing Body, ILO's executive organ, comprises 28 government delegates (including 10 permanent delegates, the others being elected for a term of 3 years), 14 employer delegates and 14 worker delegates. The International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the ILO.
Objectives: To promote social justice and raise living and working standards throughout the world.
Functions: Adopting international labour standards (in the form of conventions and recommendations). Every state ratifying a convention undertakes thereby to apply it and accepts de facto the principle of international monitoring. Recommendations, which are not subject to ratification, provide guidance for national legislation and practice. Since it was founded, ILO has adopted 174 conventions and 181 recommendations constituting the International Labour Code in such areas as the fundamental rights of working people (freedom of association, prohibition of forced labour, elimination of discrimination), wages, hours and conditions of work, public employment services, social services, welfare protection schemes, job relations, protection of mothers and children, migrants and certain categories of workers, and labour inspection.
Activities: Activities connected with the setting and monitoring of standards draw on work done in connection with research and publications and on the organization of technical meetings (1). In addition, a wide-ranging technical co-operation program is carried out in liaison with other United Nations organs. Through a policy of active partnership, ILO provides Member States with expertise and advice in all its fields of competence, such as employment policy, vocational training, management techniques, occupational safety and health, improvement of social security systems, sectoral activities, co-operatives and the strengthening of employers' and workers' organizations (2).
Observations: With a view to strengthening the effectiveness of its legal arsenal against child labour (several conventions on which were adopted between 1919 and 1973), in 1992-1993 ILO launched an International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). This Program is already operational in some ten countries and is making rapid strides.
\I(1). Additional research and training facilities are offered by the International Institute for Labour Studies at ILO Headquarters in Geneva and by the International Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training (125 Corso Unita d'Italia, 10127 Turin, Italy).
(2). ILO was awarded the 1969 Nobel Peace Prize.\i
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"UN Food and Agriculture Organization",20,0,0,0
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Headquarters:
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
1-00100 \JRome\j - \JItaly\j
Telephone: (39-6) 52251
Telefax: (39-6) 5225 3152
Cable: FOODAGRI \JROME\j
Telex: 610181 FAOI
E-mail: telexroom@fao.org
Director-General: Jacques Diouf
Number of member countries: 169, plus the European Union and one associate member (Puerto Rico)
Origin: Founded in Quebec on 16 October (1) 1945, in succession to the International Institute of Agriculture (an intergovernmental organization founded in June 1905).
Administration: The General Conference, composed of the representatives of the Member States, meets in odd-numbered years to determine the policy of the Organization, define its work program and adopt its budget. The Council, composed of 49 members elected by the General Conference in accordance with a precise geographical breakdown (2), serves as the governing body between sessions of the Conference.
Objectives: To raise levels of \Jnutrition\j and standards of living; improve the production and marketing of all food and agricultural products from farms, forests and fisheries; promote rural development; and eliminate hunger from the world.
Functions: Encouraging investment in agriculture, stock raising, soil and water management and \Jaquaculture\j; promoting the transfer of technology and the development of agricultural research in developing countries; encouraging the conservation of natural resources; combating animal diseases; and through its Global Information and Early Warning System, helping countries to prepare for emergency food situations and providing relief when necessary.
Activities: As the lead agency for rural development in the United Nations system, FAO manages the World Food Program (WFP) in collaboration with the UN, as well as special programs for the prevention of food crises and the improvement of seed production and distribution. On request, it provides countries with technical assistance in all its fields of competence. FAO collects, analyses and distributes information, advises governments on planning policy and acts as an international forum for discussing issues connected with food and agriculture.
\I(1). Since 1981, this date has been observed annually as World Food Day.
(2). Africa-12; Asia and the Far East-9; Europe-10; Latin America and the Caribbean-9; Near East-6; North America-2; and South-West Pacific-1.\i
#
"United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization",21,0,0,0
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Headquarters:
7, place de Fontenoy
F-75352 Paris 07-SP-France
Telephone: (33-1) 45 68 10 00
Telefax: (33-1) 45 67 16 90
Cable: \JUNESCO\j PARIS
Telex: 270602 F, 204461 F
Press (Telefax): (33-1) 44 49 06 92
Number of member countries: 184
Director-General: Federico Mayor
Origin: Established on 4 November 1946, one year after the drafting of its Constitution in London (United Kingdom), \JUNESCO\j replaced the International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation (1) (which had been founded on 9 August 1925).
Administration: \JUNESCO\j's General Conference, composed of representatives of all the Member States, meets biennially to decide on the Organization's policy, program and budget. The Executive Board, consisting of 51 members elected by the General Conference, is responsible for supervising the execution of the programs adopted. The staff of the Secretariat, in which more than 130 nationalities are represented, is divided between Headquarters in Paris (France) and fifty field units in all the world regions. Each member country has a National Commission for \JUNESCO\j, which is an organ for liaison, information, consultation and execution.
Objectives: To contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting intellectual co-operation among nations through education, science, culture and communication.
Functions and activities: Education: combating \Jilliteracy\j, fostering the development of basic education for all and of higher education; helping to train teachers and local administrators; promoting the construction and equipment of schools; and correcting the imbalance in the worldwide distribution of scientific and technological expertise.
Natural sciences: furthering international co-operation concerning the \Jbiosphere\j, \Jgeology\j, \Joceanography\j and hydrology; altering public opinion to threats to the environment; contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between science and culture.
Social and human sciences: strengthening teaching and research in these fields; promoting human rights and democracy; combating all forms of discrimination; encouraging action to solve problems connected with the status of women, youth, urbanization and the development of the least developed countries.
Culture: highlighting the cultural dimension of development; safeguarding the world's natural and cultural heritage; preserving cultural identities and traditions; encouraging creation and creativity; promoting books and reading and the plastic and performing arts; protecting copyright.
Communication, information and informatics: promoting the free flow of ideas by word and image; working for the freedom of the press; contributing to the strengthening of communication capacities in the developing countries and the application of new technologies in this field; encouraging the modernization of libraries, \Jarchives\j and information and documentation services; providing training for specialists.
\I(1). See the introduction to the "Archives" feature in the \JUNESCO\j Courier (September 1993). \i
#
"ICAO",22,0,0,0
International Civil \JAviation\j Organization (ICAO)
Headquarters:
PO Box 400, 1000 Sherbrooke Street West
Suite 652, Montreal, PQ, Quebec, H3A 2R2 - Canada
Telephone: (1-514) 285 82 19
Telefax: (1-514) 288 47 72
Cable: ICAO MONTREAL
Telex: 05-24513
Number of member countries: 183
President of the Council: Assad Kotaite
Secretary-General: Philippe Rochat
Origin: The International Civil \JAviation\j Organization (ICAO) was founded with the signing of the Convention on International Civil \JAviation\j in \JChicago\j (U.S.A.) on 7 December 1944. The Convention entered into force on 4 April 1947 after its ratification by 26 States. ICAO became a specialized agency in October 1947.
Administration: ICAO is administered by an Assembly comprising representatives of all its member countries, and by a Council composed of the representatives of 33 countries elected by the Assembly for a term of three years. The Assembly meets at least once every three years to decide on the Organization's policy. The Council is the executive body which applies the directives of the Assembly and administers the Organization's finances; it may act as a tribunal for the settlement of any dispute relating to international civil \Javiation\j.
Objectives: To ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil \Javiation\j; to encourage the design and operation of \Jaircraft\j and the development of airways, airports and air navigation facilities for peaceful purposes.
Functions and activities: Setting international standards governing practices for the design and performance of \Jaircraft\j, the qualification and performance of airline pilots, flight crews, air traffic controllers, and ground and maintenance crews, security requirements and procedures at international airports, and the interdiction of illicit drug transportation by air; formulating flight rules and aeronautical charts used for international navigation; helping developing countries to establish or improve their air transport systems and train their personnel. The harmonization of international \Jaircraft\j telecommunications systems -- radio frequencies and security procedures -- is also ICAO's responsibility.
#
"UN WHO",23,0,0,0
World Health Organization (WHO)
Headquarters:
20, avenue Appia
CH-1211 Geneva 27 - \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 791 21 11
Telefax: (41-22) 791 07 46
Cable: UNISANTE GENEVE
Telex: 845415416 OMS CH
Number of member countries: 190
Director-General: Hiroshi Nakajima
Origin: Came into being on 7 April 1948, after its Constitution had been ratified by 26 United Nations Member States (1).
Administration: The World Health Assembly, comprising representatives of all the Member States, meets each year to review the Organization's work and decide on its policy, program and budget. The Executive Board has 32 members, who are appointed for three years and do not sit as government representatives. The six regional offices in \JCopenhagen\j (Denmark), Washington (U.S.A.), \JBrazzaville\j (Congo), Manila (Philippines), Delhi (India) and Alexandria (Egypt) form an integral part of the Organization.
Objective: To ensure that all peoples attain the highest possible level of health.
Functions: Promoting good \Jnutrition\j and food supply (in collaboration with FAO); taking steps to ensure the provision of safe water and sanitation and, where necessary, supplying suitable equipment (in collaboration with UNDP); working to promote maternal and child health (including family planning) and \Jimmunization\j against major infectious diseases (in collaboration with UNICEF); activities related to health education, and the training of medical personnel (in collaboration with UNESCO); encouraging work on the prevention and eradication of diseases; and catering for pharmaceutical needs. Encouraging and co-ordinating research in a wide range of health-related fields, particularly in combating tropical diseases and AIDS.
Observations: According to its World Health Report 1995, WHO's goals are to eradicate polio, eliminate \Jmeasles\j and neonatal tetanus by the end of the century, and ensure that there are no new leprosy cases or infections of guinea worm. Other goals include reducing maternal mortality to half of its 1993 toll of 500,000 deaths and lowering infant mortality to no more than 50 per 1,000 live births.
\I(1). 7 April has been proclaimed World Health Day.\i
#
"World Bank Group",24,0,0,0
Headquarters:
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433 -- U.S.A.
Telephone: (1-202) 477 1234
Telefax: (1-202) 477 6391
Cable: INTBAFRAD WASHINGTON
President: James D Wolfensohn
Number of member countries: 178
Origin; The World Bank is composed of four institutions: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD or the Bank), which was established in 1945, a year after its Articles of Agreement had been drawn up by a United Nations monetary and financial conference attended by 44 Governments at Bretton Woods (U.S.A.); the International Finance Corporation (IFC), created in 1956; the International Development Association (IDA), created in 1960; and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), created in 1988.
Administration: All powers in the Bank are vested in the Board of Governors, composed of one Governor and one alternate from each Member State. The President of the World Bank is ex officio President of the four institutions.
The Development Committee is a forum bringing together the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss international economic co-operation. The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is managed by a Board composed of one representative of each Member State and chaired by the President of the Bank.
Objectives: To improve living standards in developing countries by granting them financial resources provided by the industrialized countries.
#
"IBRD",25,0,0,0
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
Number of member countries: 178
Functions: Assisting in the reconstruction and development of territories of its members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purposes (agriculture, energy, education, health, family planning, roads, telecommunications); promoting private foreign investment on reasonable terms; contributing to the long-term development of international trade.
Activities: In addition to granting loans, IBRD provides a wide range of technical assistance services. The Bank's capital is subscribed by the Member States. However, it finances its lending activities primarily from its own borrowings in world markets, as well as from retained earnings and repayments on its loans.
Observations: In accordance with its Statutes, IBRD can only make loans for productive purposes; each loan must be guaranteed by the Government concerned and, except in special circumstances, must be for specific projects. IBRD's lending decisions are supposed to be based only on economic considerations, but since 1980 it has also supported programs for the readjustment of economic policies and institutional reform.
#
"IFC",26,0,0,0
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Number of member countries: 162
Functions: Helping to finance private enterprise without guarantee of repayment by the government concerned; bringing together investment opportunities and stimulating the flow of private capital, domestic and foreign, into productive investment in member countries.
Activities: Invests primarily in manufacturing, but also in mining and energy, tourism and agriculture.
Observations: While closely associated with the World Bank, the IFC is a separate legal entity and has its own resources, which chiefly come from the subscriptions of its member countries and from accumulated profits.
#
"IDA",27,0,0,0
The International Development Association (IDA)
Number of member countries: 157
Functions: Providing the poor countries with loans on much more flexible terms than IBRD.
Activities: Grants credits over a period of 50 years, usually interest-free. Repayment of principal does not begin until after a 10-year grace period.
Observations: IDA's resources come from the net earnings of the World Bank, capital subscribed in convertible currencies by its members, and contributions from its richer members. In order to borrow from IDA, a country must meet four criteria: it must be below the "poverty line"; it must have sufficient economic, financial and political stability to warrant long-term development lending; it must have serious balance-of-payments problems; and it must have a genuine commitment to development as reflected in its policies.
#
"MIGA",28,0,0,0
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
Number of member countries: 128
Functions: Facilitating the flow of private investment for productive purposes by offering investors insurance against long-term (up to 20 years) political and non-commercial risks, such as currency non-convertibility, expropriation, war and civil disturbance and by providing advisory and consultative services.
#
"IMF",29,0,0,0
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Headquarters:
700 19th Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20431 -- U.S.A.
Telephone: (1-202) 623 7000
Telefax: (1-202) 623 4661
Cable: INTERFUND WASHINGTON
Telex: 248331 INF UR
Managing Director: Michel Camdessus
Number of member countries: 179
Origin: Established on 27 December 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods Agreements (U.S.A., July 1944 -- see entry on the World Bank).
Administration: The Board of Governors, composed of one representative and one alternate for each member country, meets annually; it decides quotas and the conditions of accession to the Fund. The Executive Board is responsible for the conduct of the day-to-day business of IMF. It is composed of 24 members (5 of them appointed by the member countries having the largest quotas (1) and 19 elected (2)
by the others) and is chaired by the Managing Director, who is elected by the Board.
Objectives: To exercise surveillance over the economic policies of its member countries; foster monetary co-operation, exchange-rate stability and the balanced growth of international trade; administer a code of conduct regarding exchange-rate policies; promote a multilateral payments settlement system; provide member countries with the financial resources necessary to help them correct their payments imbalances without jeopardizing national prosperity; foster their mutual collaboration; and provide technical assistance as required.
Functions and activities: The IMF has the power to allocate international reserve assets in the form of SDRs (3). It also provides financial support on concessional terms for low-income member countries under the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF). The resources which the IMF can lend come mainly from the quotas of the member countries, in other words from their subscriptions to the Fund's capital (4). Each country pays a contribution corresponding to its economic size (5). The IMF is authorized to raise loans from official lenders in order to supplement its resources. It may also draw on a line of credit of SDR18.5 billion (US$27 billion) which has been opened by various countries under the "General Arrangements to Borrow" (GAB).
Observations: The IMF's lending policy is guided by the following principles: any member country borrowing a given currency is expected to return it as soon as its payments problems have been solved, so as not to limit other members' access to the same currency; before taking a loan, the country must demonstrate how it intends to solve its payments problems, so that it can repay the Fund within a repayment period of three to five years (but which may, if necessary, be up to ten years).
\I(1). \JFrance\j, \JGermany\j, \JJapan\j, the United Kingdom and the United States.
(2). Elections are held every two years.
(3). Special Drawing Rights. The SDR is the IMF's unit of account. As of 17 August 1995, SDR1.00 was equal to US$1.48233.
(4). As of 30 June 1995, the total volume of Fund credit outstanding amounted to SDR37.0 billion (US$54.8 billion).
(5). As of 31 August 1995, the IMF's quotas stood at SDR144.9 billion (US$214.7 billion).\i
#
"UPU",30,0,0,0
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
Headquarters:
Weltpoststrasse 4
CH-3000 BERNE 15 -- \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-31) 350 31 11
Telefax: (41-31) 350 31 10
Cable: UPU BERNE
Telex: 912761 UPU CH
Number of member countries: 189
Director-General: Thomas Leavey
Origin: UPU was established by the Berne Treaty (9 October 1874), which came into force on 1 July 1875 (1). It became a specialized agency of the United Nations on 1 July 1948.
Administration: The Universal Postal Congress, UPU's supreme body, is composed of representatives of all UPU member countries. It meets every five years to review the Universal Postal Convention, define UPU's general policy, adopt its operating budget and assign tasks to its different organs. The Council of Administration (41 members elected by the Congress) ensures that the policy laid down by the Congress is applied. The Postal Operations Council (40 members elected by the Congress) deals with the operational and commercial aspects of postal services. The International Bureau is the Union's permanent secretariat. The Director-General is elected by the Congress.
Objectives: To develop communication between peoples by the efficient operation of postal services; contribute to international collaboration in this field; provide technical assistance requested by member countries. The member countries form a single postal territory; freedom of transit is guaranteed throughout the Union's territory.
Functions: Fixing rates, maximum and minimum weight and size limits and the conditions of acceptance of letter-post items; prescribing the methods for calculating the collecting transit charges; establishing regulations for objects whose transport requires special precautions, such as infectious and radioactive substances.
Activities: UPU engages in technical co-operation projects relating to planning, organization, management, security, marketing, training, financial services and new technologies. Assistance to developing countries takes the form of training or further training fellowships, the secondment of experts or consultants, and the supply of equipment.
Observations: A country that is not a member of the United Nations may become a member of UPU if its application is approved by at least two-thirds of UPU's member countries.
\I(1). 1 January 1876 in France\i
#
"ITU",31,0,0,0
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Headquarters:
Place des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 20 -- \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 730 51 11
Telefax: (41-22) 733 72 56
Cable: BURINTERNA \JGENEVA\j
Telex: 421000 UIT CH
E-mail: X 400: C=CH; ADMD=ARCOM; PRMD=ITU;
S=ITUMAIL
Internet: ITUMAIL@ITU.CH
Number of member countries: 184
Secretary-General: Pekka J. Tarjanne
Origin: ITU was founded in Paris (France) in May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations in October 1947.
Administration: The Plenipotentiary Conference, which meets every four years, lays down ITU's basic policy; it alone is empowered to revise ITU's Convention. The Administrative Council, composed of 46 members elected by the Conference, co-ordinates the work of the General Secretariat, the Radiocommunication Sector, the Telecommunication Standardization Sector and the Telecommunication Development Sector.
Objectives: To maintain and extend international co-operation between all the Union's members for the improvement of rational use of telecommunication systems.
Functions: Promoting the creation, development and efficient operation of technical facilities, with a view to improving the efficiency of telecommunication services, increasing their usefulness and making them generally available to the public; encouraging international co-operation to provide the developing countries with the technical assistance they request; extending new telecommunication technologies to all the countries of the world and co-ordinating the harmonization of national services.
Activities: ITU lays down the rules applicable to the allocation and registration of radio frequencies throughout the world and to the assignation of the orbital positions of geostationary satellites, in order to avoid interference between radio stations of different countries. It encourages agreement between its members on rates that are as low as possible. In collaboration with the international funding and development agencies, ITU endeavours to promote the setting up of preferential lines of credit, so that telecommunication services can be extended to the most isolated regions of countries.
#
"WMO",32,0,0,0
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Headquarters:
41, avenue Guiseppe-Motta, Case postale 5
CH-1211 Geneva 20 -- \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 730 81 11
Telefax: (41-22) 734 23 26
Cable: METEOMOND \JGENEVA\j
Telex: 414198 OMM CH
Number of member countries: 178
Secretary-General: G.O.P. Obasi
Origin: As the successor (1) to the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) founded in 1873, WMO became a specialized agency of the United Nations on 20 December 1951.
Administration: The World Meteorological Congress, the supreme body of WMO, meets every four years to determine general policy, programs and budget. The Executive Council, composed of 36 directors of national meteorological services, meets once a year, Six Regional Associations (2) are fora for members of WMO and are responsible for supervising the implementation of the resolutions of the Congress and the Executive Council. Eight technical commissions are responsible for studying various branches of \Jmeteorology\j and operational hydrology.
Objectives: To facilitate worldwide co-operation in \Jmeteorology\j, climatology, operational hydrology and other related disciplines.
Functions: Promoting the establishment and maintenance of meteorological centres and systems for making and exchanging information; promoting standardization and uniform publication of meteorological observations and statistics; furthering the application of \Jmeteorology\j to \Javiation\j, shipping, water resources, agriculture and other human activities; and encouraging research and professional training.
Activities: WMO's main programs are the World Weather Watch (WWW); the World Climate Program (WCP); the Atmospheric Research and Environment Program; the Application of \JMeteorology\j Program; the Hydrology and Water Resources Program; the Education and Training Program; and the Technical Co-operation Program.
Observations: The World Weather Watch, WMO's basic operational program, consists of global observation, telecommunication and data processing systems. The Global Ozone Observing System -- coming under the Global Atmosphere Watch (3) and the World Climate Program serve in particular to ensure the early detection of any atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, changes in the ozone layer, acid and toxic rain, and tropical cyclones.
(1). Although WMO was established by Convention in October 1947, it did not become operational until 23 March 1951, and IMO continued to function on an interim basis in the intervening period.
(2). Africa, Asia, South America, North and Central America, Europe and South-West Pacific.
(3). The Global Atmosphere Watch is one of the four components of the Atmospheric Research and Environment Program.
#
"IMO",33,0,0,0
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Headquarters:
4 Albert Embankment,
London SE1 7SR -- United Kingdom
Telephone: (44-171) 735 7611
Telefax: (44-171) 587 3210
Cable: INTERMAR LONDON SE
Telex: 23588
Number of member countries: 152 + 2 associate members
Secretary-General: William A. O'Neill
Origin: The Convention establishing IMO (formerly called the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization - IMCO -- 1), which was drafted in Geneva (Switzerland) on 6 March 1948, came into force on 17 March 1958, after it had been ratified by 21 states, including seven with at least 1 million gross tons of shipping each. IMO was recognized as a specialized agency of the United Nations in January 1959.
Administration: The Assembly, consisting of representatives of all Member States, lays down IMO's policy and priorities. Every two years it elects a 32-member Council, which is the governing body between the Assembly's biennial sessions. Four principal committees (on legal matters, marine safety, marine environment protection and technical co-operation) submit reports or recommendations to the Assembly through the Council.
Objectives: To assist in the development of shipping services and the expansion of maritime trade; to encourage the elimination of restrictive practices by shipping companies.
Functions and activities: Sets standards, by drawing up convention's and adopting recommendations aimed at improving maritime safety, preventing marine \Jpollution\j by ships, and training maritime personnel; promotes the adoption of international agreements.
Observations: IMO provides a forum for member governments and interested organizations to exchange views on technical, administrative and legal problems.
\I(1). IMCO became IMO on 22 May 1982, following the entry into force of the amendments to the Convention establishing it.\i
#
"WIPO",34,0,0,0
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Headquarters:
34, chemin des Colombettes
CH-1211 Geneva 20 -- \JSwitzerland\j
Telephone: (41-22) 730 91 11
Telefax: (41-22) 733 54 28
Cable: OMPI GENEVE
Telex: 412912 OMPI CH
Number of member countries: 155
Director-General: Arpad Bogsch
Origin: The Convention establishing WIPO, which was signed on 14 July, 1967, came into force on 26 April 1970. WIPO became a specialized agency of the United Nations in December 1974. Its origins go back to the 1883 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (the Paris Union) and the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (The Berne Union), whose two Secretariats merged in 1893.
Administration: WIPO has three governing bodies: the Conference of representatives of all WIPO Member States; the General Assembly composed of those member States which are also members of the Paris or Berne Unions (these bodies meet in biennial sessions to adopt the program and budget, and define the Organization's policy); and the Co-ordination Committee, which consists of states elected from among the Member States of WIPO and the Paris and Berne Unions and meets once a year. The Secretariat of WIPO is the International Bureau.
Objectives: To maintain and increase protection of intellectual property throughout the world by encouraging co-operation between states, and by promoting industrial and cultural development, creative activity and the transfer of industrial technologies to the developing countries.
Functions and activities: Setting international norms and standards in the field of intellectual property (industrial, literary and artistic); encouraging the conclusion of new international treaties; promoting wider acceptance of existing treaties and their revision; assisting in the development of national legislation; providing legal technical assistance to developing countries; facilitating the protection of patents and trademarks among the Member States of the Unions (1); and to disseminate information relating to intellectual property.
\I(1). The Trademark Law Treaty was adopted in 1994. This Treaty considerably simplifies registration procedure.\i
#
"IFAD",35,0,0,0
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Headquarters:
Via del Serafico 107,
1 00142 \JRome\j -- \JItaly\j
Telephone: (39-6) 54591
Telefax: (39-6) 504 3463
Cable: IFAD \JROME\j
Telex: 620330
President: Fawzi H. Al-Sultan
Number of member countries: 158
Origin: The Agreement establishing the Fund was adopted by a United Nations conference held in \JRome\j in June 1976 and came into force on 30 November 1977.
Administration: The Governing Council comprises representatives of all the Member States, who are divided into three categories, each with the same voting power: developed countries (members of OECD -- 1), key contributor member countries (members of OPEC -- 2) and other developing countries, which are mainly the beneficiaries. Each category has equal representation on the Governing Council and the Executive Board, which is responsible for supervising the Fund's operations.
Objectives: To mobilize resources for improved food production and better \Jnutrition\j among low income groups in developing countries.
Functions and activities: Fostering the development of the poorest rural communities; helping to increase food production; improving local prospects for employment and \Jnutrition\j; designing and financing projects, with or without the participation of other institutions such as the World Bank and the regional development banks (the African, Asian, Inter-American and Islamic Development Banks).
Observations: IFAD pays special attention to grass-roots development in rural areas through an innovative approach to problems and the preservation of natural resources. For every dollar contributed in support of its projects, it has mobilized two dollars from other external donors. By the end of 1994, it had invested almost $44.5 billion in nearly 400 projects in 102 developing countries. When they have been completed, they are expected to benefit some 230 million people.
\I(1). Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
(2). Organization of \JPetroleum\j Exporting Countries.\i
#
"UNIDO",36,0,0,0
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Headquarters:
Vienna International Centre,
Wagramerstrasse 5,
PO Box 300, A-1400 Vienna - \JAustria\j
Telephone: (43-1) 211310
Telefax:(43-1) 232156
Cable: UNIDO VIENNA
Telex: 135612
Number of member countries: 166
Director-General: Mauricio de Maria y Campos
Origin: Created by the General Assembly of the United Nations in November 1966 as an autonomous organ within the UN Secretariat, UNIDO was transformed into a specialized agency after the adoption of its Constitution in 1979. It became fully autonomous on 1 January 1986, after its Constitution had been ratified.
Administration: UNIDO's principal organs are the General Conference, which meets every two years to determine the Organization's policy, approve its budget and adopt conventions and agreements; the Industrial Development Board, composed of 53 members elected by the General Conference, which meets annually to review the Organization's work; and the Program and Budget Committee whose 27 members are elected for two years.
Objectives: As the United Nations system's central co-ordinating body for the industrialization of the developing countries, UNIDO is a forum for contacts, consultations and negotiations.
Functions and activities: Encouraging investments and technology transfers into and between developing countries; providing technical assistance for industrial development purposes; helping countries to obtain fair and equitable external financing; organizing training programs; facilitating the planning of regional industrial development; and analyzing, publishing and standardizing industrial statistics.
#
"WTO",37,0,0,0
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Headquarters:
Centre William Rappard,
154, rue de \JLausanne\j
CH-1211 Geneva 21 -- \JSwitzerland\j.
Telephone: (41-22) 739 51 11
Telefax: (41-22) 731 42 06
Telex: 412 324 OMC/WTO CH
Number of countries when launched (1): 79
Current number: 105
Director-General: Renato Ruggiero
Origin: The World Trade Organization was established on 1 January, 1995, replacing \JGATT\j (The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade -- 2) upon completion of the Uruguay Round negotiations (3). Whereas \JGATT\j was a multilateral treaty applying on a provisional basis, WTO has the legal personality of a fully-fledged international organization, like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. Like \JGATT\j, however, it does not have the official status of a specialized agency of the United Nations, although links have been established with it.
Objectives: To increase production, trade and investment; further the active participation of the developing countries in world trade.
Functions: Administering and implementing the whole range of multilateral trade agreements which together form the Organization's structure; furthering international trade negotiations; endeavouring to settle trade disputes; overseeing national trade policies; co-operating with the other international institutions which participate in the formulation of world economic policy.
Activities: The new multilateral trade system -- which is subtended by a number of fundamental principles aimed in particular at ensuring the security and predictability of trade in goods and services -- covers a volume of trade amounting to a value of close on $6,000 billion.
Unlike \JGATT\j, WTO rules will cover commercial activities such as trade in services, intellectual property and investment. In \JGATT\j's traditional sphere of activity, the rules on international competition have been spelt out much more clearly, and tariff barriers to trade will be significantly lowered, by an average of 40 per cent over a six-year period. \JGATT\j's conciliation system, which enabled it to settle disputes between its members in all its areas of activity, has been considerably strengthened. Technical co-operation in favour of the developing countries has also been improved.
\I(1). These are member countries of \JGATT\j which have completed their legislative ratification procedures. Their number is expected to increase to 150 by the end of 1995. \JGATT\j currently has 125 members.
(2). \JGATT\j came into force on 1 January 1948.
(3) In order to make for a smooth transition between \JGATT\j and WTO and enable the largest possible number of countries to complete their ratification procedures, \JGATT\j will continue to function in parallel with WTO until 31 December 1995.\i
#
"IAEA",38,0,0,0
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Headquarters:
Vienna International Centre
Wagramerstrasse 5, PO Box 100
A-1400 Vienna -- \JAustria\j
Telephone: (43-1) 2060-0
Telefax: (43-1) 2060-7
Cable: INATOM VIENNA
Telex: 112645 ATOM A
Director-General: Hans Blix
Number of member countries: 122
Origin: IAEA commenced its activities in Vienna (Austria) in July 1957. In November of the same year, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved an agreement governing relations between IAEA and the United Nations. IAEA is an independent intergovernmental organization created under the aegis of the UN. Although it does not have the official status of a UN specialized agency, it submits an annual report to the General Assembly and, if necessary, to the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
Administration: The General Conference, composed of all the Member States, meets annually to adopt the Agency's policy, budget and programs. These are implemented by the Board of Governors, which is composed of 35 members (22 of whom are elected for two years by the General Conference and 13 are appointed for one year by the Board).
Objectives: To seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world.
Functions: Ensuring that nuclear materials and equipment intended for peaceful use are not diverted to military purposes; setting standards for nuclear safety and environmental protection; serving as an intermediary between Member States; facilitating the transfer of technology, and providing advisers, equipment and training services for the developing countries; managing an international nuclear information system.
Activities: IAEA manages, jointly with \JUNESCO\j, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (1) and also maintains three laboratories (2) for studies in basic nuclear physics applications and practical uses in chemistry, physics, industrial hydrology and \Joceanography\j.
Observations: Various types of safeguard agreements can be concluded with IAEA. In accordance with the terms of the agreements concluded in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), non nuclear-weapon states are required to submit their entire nuclear-fuel-cycle activities to IAEA safe-guards.
\I(1). International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Box 586, strada Costiera 11, Miramare, Trieste (Italy).
Reprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995\i
#
"Grounds for hope",39,0,0,0
This page includes a message of hope for the future, written by UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
The world in which we have to carry out our work is radically different from that envisaged by the founding fathers of the United Nations Charter fifty years ago. But it is also very different from the world glimpsed after the fall of the Berlin Wall by those who predicted the coming of a new international political order.
The United Nations today has to try to instil order in an international society that is simultaneously becoming both more globalized and more fragmented. The history that is being made before our eyes - with its characteristic blend of stop-go and repetition - is confronting the United Nations with the emergence of a global society and a return to various kinds of \Jnationalism\j. The United Nations is thus being called upon both to resolve the conflicts flaring up all over the globe and to keep pace with the major changes taking place in the world.
In a supplement to my Agenda for Peace* I have tried to draw conclusions from United Nations action to halt the armed conflicts and confrontations that jeopardize international security. In the past five years, the United Nations has undertaken more peace-keeping operations than in the previous forty. The fact is that the very nature of the conflicts that beset the world has profoundly changed. We are now having to contend with instances of secession, partition, ethnic confrontation and tribal rivalry. What is more, UN forces now have mandates that go well beyond the traditional idea of peace-keeping. Operations can at present encompass election supervision, humanitarian aid, the reconstruction of roads and bridges, mine-clearance, the dis-arming of militias, the repatriation of displaced persons, the reintegration of combatants into civilian life, the protection of human rights, the promotion of democracy and many other activities besides.
We must remember all this at a time when there is a tendency to dwell more often on the Organization's failures than on its successes. But if the United Nations is to play its role fully as a servant of peace, it is more than ever necessary for the Security Council and the Member States to define and implement effective and consistent policies.
Emphasis must also be placed on the role played by the Organization in the world's economic and social development, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of its activity.
From the Earth Summit in Rio to the \JCairo\j International Conference on Population and Development, from the \JCopenhagen\j World Summit for Social Development to the \JBeijing\j Conference on Women, the UN Seeks to rally governments and public opinion around the major issues of the coming century.
We are all aware that the basic problems facing humanity are increasingly transnational in nature.
However, the global society in which we now live is fraught with many dangers, including that of destroying traditional bonds of solidarity or marginalizing countries or even whole regions of the earth, and hence of further widening the gap between rich and poor.
We know only too well that this situation is not without risks. Wars, exclusion, and ethnic and religious antagonisms always prosper in such a climate. Irrational and fanatical thinking is always prompt to propose fallacious solutions to people who have lost their bearings.
We should therefore take advantage of this celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations to join together in thinking about a new blueprint for living in society and to offer solid grounds for hope to states and nations, to men and women the world over.
*In his Agenda for Peace (United Nations, New York, 1992) written at the request of the Security Council, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali proposes a series of measures for reinforcing the UN's capabilities in preventive diplomacy, peace-making and peace-keeping and for increasing its effectiveness within the framework of the Charger's provisions.
\IReprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.\i
#
"Key Dates in UN History",40,0,0,0
This part covers a brief history of the United Nations through key date information. It includes the 1919 creation of the League of Nations, moves to the 1945 drafting of the UN Charter, and then covers year-by-year major events to the present.
The different years covered include:
\JUN Key Dates 1919-1959\j
\JUN Key Dates 1960-1975\j
\JUN Key Dates 1976-1995\j
Click on the entry of your choice to move to that part.
This information was reprinted from the \IUNESCO Courier\i magazine, of October, 1995.
#
"UN Key Dates 1919-1959",41,0,0,0
\B1919\b
28 June: Signature of the Treaty of Versailles and creation of the League of Nations.
\B1945\b
25 April-26 June: Representatives of 51 states meeting in San Francisco (USA) draft the Charter of the United Nations, which is signed on 26 June. The convening powers of the San Francisco Conference are China, the United States and the United Kingdom. Invited to the Conference are those powers which have fought against the Axis under the name of "United Nations" or those which "declared war on the common enemy before 1 March 1945".
24 October: The Charter, ratified by China, \JFrance\j, the United Kingdom, the United States and the U.S.S.R. (the five future permanent members of the Security Council), and by the majority of the other signatory countries, comes into effect.
\B1946\b
10 January - 2 February: The first session of the General Assembly is held on 10 January in London; the Security Council is constituted on 12 January; the Economic and Social Council on 13 January; and the International Court of Justice on 6 February. Mr Trygve Lie, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, is appointed Secretary-General on 2 February.
4 February: \JSyria\j and \JLebanon\j request the Security Council to ensure the immediate withdrawal of French and British troops, who leave the following summer.
12 December: The General Assembly condemns the Franco regime and asks Member States to break off relations with \JSpain\j.
14 December: New York (USA) is chosen as Headquarters of the Organization.
\B1947\b
20 October: The General Assembly approves the official emblem adopted in 1946 as the United Nations flag.
29 November: The General Assembly endorses the plan to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, as recommended by the UN Special Committee in August. The plan is rejected in December at the Arab Summit in \JCairo\j.
\B1948\b
14 May: The state of Israel is proclaimed. Arab forces intervene. The Security Council orders a truce.
In the Security Council, the Soviet Union vetoes discussion of the February "Prague coup", which has led to the establishment of the communist regime in \JCzechoslovakia\j.
17 September: Count Folke Bernadotte, appointed as UN Mediator in Palestine on 14 May, is assassinated in \JJerusalem\j.
10 December: Meeting in Paris, the General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
\B1949\b
January: The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and \JPakistan\j (UNMOGIP) starts operating in Kashmir following the cease-fire decreed on 25 December.
28 January: The Security Council adopts resolution 67 concerning the cease-fire in the conflict between the Netherlands and \JIndonesia\j and creates a good offices commission. UN mediation aids \JIndonesia\j's accession to independence on 27 December, except for the territory of West Irian (West New Guinea), which is later to become a bone of contention.
4 May: The Soviet blockade of Berlin, begun on 23 June 1948 by Stalin, comes to an end.
December: \JJerusalem\j is placed under international status seven months after Israel's admission to the United Nations on 11 May.
\B1950\b
7 July: Following the invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces on 25 June, the Security Council establishes an international force under unified command in South Korea.
21 October: The General Assembly condemns the invasion of \JTibet\j by China.
3 November: The General Assembly adopts the Acheson resolution whereby, in the event of there being a veto in the Security Council, a majority of Member States can call for the convening of an emergency special session of the Assembly. The Assembly can then take decisions in the place of the Security Council by a two-thirds majority.
\B1952\b
4 February: After the arrest by the French of Habib Bourguiba (who later negotiates the independence of \JTunisia\j and becomes the country's President in 1957), 15 countries bring the Tunisian question before the United Nations. In October, the General Assembly takes up the cases of \JTunisia\j and Morocco and in December places its trust in \JFrance\j to resolve the problems involved.
10 November: Boycotted by the Soviet Union since the beginning of the Korean conflict, Secretary-General Trygve Lie resigns.
\B1953\b
United Nations Conference on opium and adoption of the International Protocol on Drug Control.
27 March: Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish Minister of State, becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations.
\B1954\b
September: Renewed tension between the Netherlands and \JIndonesia\j over the territory of West New Guinea (West Irian), which ends in its being placed under United Nations authority from October 1962 to May 1963.
\B1955\b
August: Fifteen American airmen shot down over Chinese territory in 1952, and subsequently judged and sentenced on spying charges, are freed following negotiations conducted by UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold.
The First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders meets in Geneva (Switzerland).
\B1956\b
4 November: Deployment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in \JSinai\j, bringing temporarily to an end the conflict between Israel and \JEgypt\j triggered off by the \Jnationalization\j of the Suez Canal on 26 July of the same year.
27 October: The Soviet Union uses its veto to prevent action by the Security Council following Soviet intervention in \JHungary\j on 22 October. The General Assembly calls for the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
\B1958\b
First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, in Geneva (Switzerland).
22 May: Following the nationalist uprising against President Camille Chamoun, \JLebanon\j goes before the Security Council and claims that the insurrection is supported by \JSyria\j. In June, the Security Council creates the United Nations Observation Group in \JLebanon\j (UNOGIL). This crisis is resolved after a United Nations special representative is sent to Jordan and President Chamoun foregoes claims to a second term in office.
18 September: Nikita Khrushchev puts a general disarmament plan before the United Nations.
\B1959\b
Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
12 November: The General Assembly calls on \JFrance\j not to carry out nuclear tests in the Sahara. The first test takes place on 13 February 1960.
#
"UN Key Dates 1960-1975",42,0,0,0
\B1960\b
July: At the request of the \JCongo\j (now Zaire), the Security Council sets up a military and civilian assistance operation - the United Nations Operation in the \JCongo\j (ONUC)--which comes to an end in June 1964.
December: Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
\B1961\b
18 September: Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold is killed in an air crash on his way to \JNdola\j (Northern Rhodesia - now Zambia) in connection with the settlement of the conflict in the \JCongo\j.
3 November: Sithu U Thant, of \JBurma\j (now Myanmar), becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations.
December: The Indian army invades and occupies the Portuguese enclave of \JGoa\j. The Security Council can take no action owing to the imposition of the Soviet veto.
\B1962\b
The United States and the Soviet Union jointly chair the Committee of 18 on Disarmament.
23 October: Meeting of the Security Council to discuss the installation of Soviet missiles in \JCuba\j, denounced by the United States.
\B1963\b
The Security Council decrees a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa.
March: Creation of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
18 June: The Security Council condemns \Japartheid\j in South Africa.
\B1965\b
September: Resumption of hostilities between India and \JPakistan\j over.
11 November: The United Kingdom alerts the Security Council following the declaration of independence of Rhodesia (which becomes the independent state of Zimbabwe in 1979) by the country's Prime Minister, Ian Smith, who sets up a white minority government.
24 November: Sanctions against \JPortugal\j because of its colonial policy in Africa.
\B1966\b
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space. The States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place any nuclear or other weapon in orbit.
27 October: The General Assembly revokes South Africa's mandate over \JNamibia\j.
16 December: The Security Council imposes mandatory sanctions against Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
\B1967\b
Treaty of Tlatelolco (Mexico) for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The General Assembly entrusts the direct administration of \JNamibia\j to the Trusteeship Council.
April: "Quiet diplomacy" mission to Asia by United Nations Secretary-General Sithu U Thant, aimed at putting an end to the war in Viet Nam. Peace talks commence a year later in Paris (France).
18 May: UNEF withdraws from \JSinai\j at \JEgypt\j's request. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes the Gulf of \JAqaba\j and imposes a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat.
12 July: The General Assembly annuls the reunification of \JJerusalem\j decided on by Israel following the Six-Day War (5-10 June).
22 November: The Security Council demands the withdrawal of armed forces from the occupied territories of the Middle East.
\B1968\b
1 July: Signature of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which comes into force on 5 March 1970.
20 August: Warsaw Pact forces invade \JCzechoslovakia\j and put an end to the attempted liberalization of the regime (the "Prague Spring"). The Soviet Union vetoes the question in the Security Council.
\B1969\b
4 January: The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (adopted in 1965) comes into force.
The General Assembly adopts the Declaration on Social Progress and Development.
18 January: Conference on Viet Nam, in Paris (France); start of peace talks.
\B1970\b
9-17 July: World Youth Assembly.
\B1971\b
The International Court of Justice declares illegal the continued presence of South Africa in \JNamibia\j.
January: The United Nations Volunteers commence activities.
25 October: The People's Republic of China is recognized by the General Assembly as the sole representative of China in the United Nations.
22 December: Kurt Waldheim (Austria) becomes the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations.
\B1972\b
Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Bacteriological Weapons.
5 June: United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, in Stockholm (Sweden).
\B1973\b
The General Assembly adopts the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of \JApartheid\j (which comes into effect on 18 July 1976).
24 October: The Security Council creates a new United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) in the Middle East.
\B1974\b
South Africa is stripped of its right to sit in the United Nations. Liberation movements recognized by the Organisation of African Unity obtain observer status at the United Nations.
First World Population Conference, in \JBucharest\j (Romania). A second Conference is held in Mexico City (Mexico) in 1984, and a third in \JCairo\j (Egypt) in 1994.
18 January: Under UN auspices, \JEgypt\j and Israel sign a cease-fire and disengagement agreement (the so-called "kilometre 101" agreement).
May: Creation of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to supervise the disengagement of Israeli forces on the Golan Heights in \JSyria\j.
July: The strength of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), stationed in the country since March 1964, is doubled following the coup d'etat in which the government of Mgr Makarios III is over-thrown.
November: The World Food Conference is held in \JRome\j (Italy). The World Food Council is created in December.
22 November: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is accorded observer status at the United Nations.
\B1975\b
Creation of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
19 June - 2 July: The World Conference of the International Women's Year, meeting in Mexico City, adopts the Declaration on the Equality of Women and their Contributions to Development and Peace. Conferences on women are held subsequently in \JCopenhagen\j (Denmark) in 1980, \JNairobi\j (Kenya) in 1985 and \JBeijing\j (China) in 1995.
#
"UN Key Dates 1976-1995",43,0,0,0
\B1976\b
The Security Council condemns the actions of South Africa on several occasions.
The UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat) is held in Vancouver (Canada). A second such Conference (Habitat II) is scheduled for 1996.
\B1977\b
United Nations Water Conference, in Mar del Plata (Argentina).
\B1978\b
First special session of the General Assembly on Disarmament. Two others are held in 1982 and 1988.
19 March: The Security Council demands the withdrawal of the Israeli army from \JLebanon\j. Creation of the United Nations Interim Force in \JLebanon\j (UNIFIL). A cease-fire is decreed on 22 March.
\B1979\b
9 November: The Security Council requests - without success - the liberation of the staff of the United States embassy in Teheran (Iran), taken hostage by Iranian students on 4 November. The hostages are freed on 20 January 1981.
27 December: The Soviet army enters \JAfghanistan\j. The Soviet veto in the Security Council prevents the adoption of a resolution on the question.
\B1980\b
11 January: The General Assembly requests - without success - the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops from \JAfghanistan\j.
September: The conflict between \JIran\j and \JIraq\j flares up again. The Security Council asks the two countries to settle their dispute through mediation or conciliation.
\B1981\b
International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade
Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons.
United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, in \JNairobi\j (Kenya).
1 September: First United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, in Paris (France).
10 December: Javier Perez de Cuellar becomes the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations.
\B1982\b
International Year for Mobilization of Sanctions Against South Africa.
World Assembly on Ageing, in Vienna (Austria).
3 April: The Security Council calls for the withdrawal of Argentine troops occupying the Falkland Islands.
1 May: Start of the conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina. The United States and the United Kingdom veto the call for a cease-fire. The Argentine troops surrender on 14 June. On 14 November, the General Assembly calls for a peaceful solution.
June: UNIFIL is unable to counter the "Peace in Galilee" operation launched by the Israeli army in \JLebanon\j. The Security Council demands that Israeli troops be withdrawn. The United States vetoes the French plan for making West \JBeirut\j a neutral zone. A multinational force evacuates the Palestinians from \JBeirut\j.
10 December: Signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, at Montego Bay (Jamaica).
\B1983\b
United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons
Second Decade to Combat \JRacism\j and Racial Discrimination
19 May: The Security Council requests the Contadora Group (Mexico, \JColombia\j, Panama and Venezuela) to find a peaceful solution to the problems of \JNicaragua\j and El Salvador.
August-September: International Conference on the Question of Palestine, in Geneva (Switzerland).
25 October: The USA vetoes a resolution condemning its military intervention on the island of \JGrenada\j.
\B1984\b
The Security Council rejects the South African Constitution.
\B1985\b
Transport and Communications Decade for Asia and the Pacific
Treaty of Rarotonga on the South Pacific Nuclear-Free zone.
March: International Conference on the Emergency Situation in Africa, in Geneva (Switzerland).
March: The Security Council condemns the \JPretoria\j regime (South Africa).
\B1986\b
22 March: The Security Council condemns \JIraq\j for using chemical weapons.
9 July: \JFrance\j and New Zealand accept the UN Secretary-General's mediation in the Rainbow Warrior incident.
\B1988\b
World Decade for Cultural Development
April: After six years' negotiations, a peace agreement is signed in Geneva between the governments of \JAfghanistan\j and \JPakistan\j. Creation in May of the United Nations Good Offices Mission in \JAfghanistan\j and \JPakistan\j (UNGOMAP), which functions until March 1990.
20 August: The cease-fire between \JIraq\j and \JIran\j comes into force after acceptance by the two parties of resolution 598 (20 July 1987).
\B1990\b
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Third Disarmament Decade
United Nations Decade of International Law
International Decade for the Eradication of \JColonialism\j
September: World Summit for Children in New York (USA)
20 September: The Security Council adopts resolution 668 setting out the broad lines of the \JCambodia\j settlement.
\B1991\b
Fourth United Nations Development Decade
Second Transport and Communications Decade in Africa
United Nations Decade against Drug Abuse
16 January: The Security Council authorizes Operation "Desert Storm" against \JIraq\j.
June: Dispatch of the United Nations Observer Mission in Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR), which ends in September 1994.
July: Dispatch of the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL).
25 September: Embargo on arms sales to the former Yugoslavia.
23 October: Signature of the \JCambodia\j Agreements.
\B1992\b
International Space Year
Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) becomes the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations.
16 January: A Peace Agreement signed in Mexico City puts an end to 12 years of fighting in El Salvador. The Security Council broadens the mandate of ONUSAL.
March: Deployment in the former Yugoslavia of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), created on 21 February.
April: Launching of the United Nations Operation in \JSomalia\j (UNOSOM I) which comes to an end in April 1993.
3 - 14 June: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the "Earth Summit"), in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
9 December: Operation "Restore Hope", designed to protect humanitarian activities in \JSomalia\j, is carried out by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF.
\B1993\b
Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa
International Year for the World's Indigenous People
13 - 15 January: The Convention banning chemical weapons is signed in Paris (France).
May: United Nations Operation in \JSomalia\j II (UNOSOM II), which comes to an end in March 1995.
14 - 25 June: The World Conference on Human Rights convened by the United Nations in Vienna (Austria) adopts the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action.
September: Dispatch of the United Nations Mission in \JHaiti\j (UNMIH).
\B1994\b
International Year of the Family
22 June: The Security Council authorizes "Operation Turquoise" in \JRwanda\j.
September: The Security Council authorizes the landing of American forces in \JHaiti\j in order to secure the return of President Aristide.
5 - 13 September: World Population Conference, in \JCairo\j (Egypt).
1 December: World Conference on AIDS, in Paris (France).
\B1995\b
United Nations Year for Tolerance
February: United Nations \JAngola\j Verification Mission III (UNAVEM III).
6 - 12 March: World Summit for Social Development, \JCopenhagen\j (Denmark).
March: Termination of UNOSOM II: the last troops of the UN contingent leave \JSomalia\j.
April: Success of the United Nations mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL). UN troops withdraw in May.
\I\BReprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.\i\b
#
"Major Conflicts",44,0,0,0
In its 50 plus year history, the United Nations has been involved in major contributions to world peace, assisting wherever possible in the resolving of major confrontations.
This part looks at twelve of the major conflicts and how the United Nations worked to resolve the different conflicts. These conflicts include:
\JUN Conflict Arab-Israeli Wars\j
\JUN Conflict Berlin Blockade\j
\JUN Conflict Cambodia\j
\JUN Conflict Crisis in the Congo\j
\JUN Conflict Cuban Missile Crisis\j
\JUN Conflict Gulf War\j
\JUN Conflict in Former Yugoslavia\j
\JUN Conflict India and Pakistan\j
\JUN Conflict Iran-Iraq War\j
\JUN Conflict Korean War\j
\JUN Conflict Rwanda\j
\JUN Conflict Somalia\j
Click on the entry of your choice to move to that part. You may also search alphabetically through the Article icon in the Search box, or search by word through the Word icon in the Search box.
This information was reprinted from the \IUNESCO Courier\i magazine, October, 1995.
#
"UN Conflict Berlin Blockade",45,0,0,0
In 1948, the city of Berlin was divided into two zones: West Berlin under British, French and American occupation, and East Berlin under Soviet occupation. In a bid to curb \Jinflation\j, on 18 June the United States, \JFrance\j and the United Kingdom introduced a monetary reform which was meant to include West Berlin. On 23 June, Stalin intervened and barred all land and river access to the city from the western sectors.
The Western powers mounted an emergency airlift, which kept the city supplied for almost one year. In September, they brought the issue before the Security Council. The Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, organized consultations which reached a successful conclusion on 4 May 1949 and led to the lifting of the blockade.
#
"UN Conflict Korean War",46,0,0,0
The origins of the partition of Korea date back to the end of the Second World War. In 1948, in spite of United Nations efforts to establish a united Korean State, the country was split in two. The same year, the General Assembly created the United Nations Commission on Korea, which was replaced in 1950 by the United Nations Commission for the Reunification and Rehabilitation of Korea.
On 25 June 1950, the Korean War broke out. On 7 July, the Security Council created an international force under unified command. Contingents from 16 countries joined the military forces of South Korea.
The Soviet Union, having refrained from occupying its seat on the Security Council for six months considered that the Council's decision was illegal because it had been taken in its absence, but this had no effect. (The Soviet Union had temporarily withdrawn from the Council protesting at the fact that China was represented by the delegates of Chiang Kai-shek.)
On 1 August, the Soviet Union decided to return to the Council and vetoed all the draft resolutions put to it.
On 3 November, Dean Acheson, the American Secretary of State, secured the adoption of a resolution authorizing the General Assembly to deal with matters blocked by a veto in the Security Council and, in case of need, to allow the use of force by a two-thirds majority vote.
In the same month, volunteers from the People's Republic of China joined in the war alongside North Korea. The Council requested the withdrawal of the Chinese troops, only to be faced with the Soviet veto. In response, the Assembly formed a group to examine the conditions for a cease-fire.
On 18 May 1951, the General Assembly decided to impose an embargo on China. On 30 June, North Korea accepted an armistice offer. A preliminary agreement was reached in February 1952. On 27 July 1953, at Panmunjom, the United Nations command signed an armistice agreement, thus bringing the Korean War to an end.
A joint communiquΘ issued by the two governments on 4 July 1972 announced that their common aim was to promote national unity and to seek reunification by peaceful means.
In 1991, the two counties were simultaneously admitted to the United Nations.
#
"UN Conflict Arab-Israeli Wars",47,0,0,0
The question of Palestine is at the origin of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. In 1947, when the General Assembly had to decide on its future, this territory administered by the United Kingdom had a population of about two million inhabitants (composed of two-thirds \JArabs\j and one-third Jews).
On 29 November, the General Assembly adopted a partition plan providing for the creation of an Arab state and a Jewish state, with \JJerusalem\j coming under an international regime administered by the United Nations. In December, this plan was rejected by the Arab Summit meeting held in \JCairo\j.
On 14 May 1948, the United Kingdom relinquished its mandate over Palestine. The state of Israel was proclaimed. On the following day, the Palestinians, together with the armies of \JSyria\j, \JLebanon\j, \JEgypt\j and Jordan, opened hostilities against the new state. In 1949, these four countries and Israel signed armistice agreements. The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) assisted the parties in complying with the provisions of these agreements.
However, border incidents continued.
Following the \Jnationalization\j of the Suez Canal announced by \JEgypt\j on 26 July 1956, Israeli forces invaded \JSinai\j, while British and French troops landed at Suez at the end of October.
On 4 November, the General Assembly, meeting in special session, called for a cease-fire and created the first peace-keeping force, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), which supervised the progressive withdrawal of the Israeli, British and French troops, patrolled the demarcation line between \JEgypt\j and Israel, and brought relative quiet to the area.
UNEF was withdrawn at \JEgypt\j's request on 16 May 1967. On 5 June, war broke out again between Israel on the one hand, and \JEgypt\j, Jordan and \JSyria\j on the other. The Security Council called four times for a cease-fire, which was eventually concluded on 11 June. At that date, Israel occupied \JSinai\j, the Gaza strip, the West Bank of the Jordan, including East \JJerusalem\j, and part of the Syrian Golan Heights. The Security Council sent observers to monitor the cease-fire.
On 22 November 1967, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 242, which laid down the general principles for a peaceful and lasting settlement; the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the most recent conflict; the termination of all claims or states of belligerency; respect for and recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area; the guarantee of free navigation through international waterways in the area; and the establishment of demilitarized zones.
Between 1967 and 1973, the Secretary-General's representative, Gunnar Jarring, had talks with the countries concerned (with the exception of \JSyria\j, which did not accept resolution 242), but without reaching a successful outcome. On 6 October 1973, hostilities resumed.
On 24 October, the Security Council created the second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II). The deployment of 7,000 men from twelve countries brought the October war to an end.
The ensuing withdrawal of forces took place under United Nations supervision.
#
"UN Conflict Crisis in the Congo",48,0,0,0
In 1960, shortly after the \JCongo\j gained independence, inter-ethnic disorders broke out and \JBelgium\j, the former colonial power, sent troops to the country.
On 11 July 1960, Moise Tshombe, a political leader in \JKatanga\j province, announced the secession of \JKatanga\j. On 12 July, Congolese leaders Joseph Kasuvubu and Patrice Lumumba requested UN military assistance. In less than 48 hours, contingents provided by more than 30 countries started to arrive in the country, along with UN civilian experts, whose task it was to help maintain public services. On 25 July, Belgian troops withdrew from the entire territory except for \JKatanga\j.
On 17 January 1961, Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. One month later, the Security Council authorized the use of force to prevent civil war in \JCongo\j. UN forces took control of the territory between Kabalo and Albertville. The secessionist forces, led by foreign mercenaries, clashed with the United Nations forces. On 17 September, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold, was killed in a plane crash on his way to \JNdola\j to meet Tshombe.
Initially responsible for ensuring the withdrawal of Belgian troops from the \JCongo\j, the United Nations Operation in the \JCongo\j (ONUC) became an operation to maintain the country's territorial integrity and political independence. It prevented civil war and ensured the evacuation of all foreign military and paramilitary forces, and of all mercenaries.
By the time it ended in June 1964, this operation - one of the largest in the history of the United Nations - was responsible for implementing a vast long-term program of technical assistance, employing some 2,000 experts at its height in 1963-64.
#
"UN Conflict Cuban Missile Crisis",49,0,0,0
With the coming to power of Fidel Castro, relations between \JCuba\j and the United States deteriorated. In April 1969, Cuban exiles armed by the United States landed at the Bay of Pigs. Their plan to trigger off a popular uprising came to nothing. In the face of continuing American hostility, \JCuba\j appealed to the Soviet Union for assistance.
On 18 October, 1962, the Americans detected work being carried out on the installation of Soviet rockets capable of reaching American territory. Four days later, U.S. President John F Kennedy imposed a complete blockade of the island and sent out naval patrols. Soviet and American warships encircled \JCuba\j. A conflict between the two great powers was only one step away.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Sithu U Thant, then intervened personally, sending messages to President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita S. Krushchev, and holding separate meetings with representatives of the two parties. The Soviets agreed to withdraw the missiles and the United States confirmed its undertaking to withdraw its missiles from Turkey.
#
"UN Conflict Iran-Iraq War",50,0,0,0
After the conflict of the 1970s, when the United Nations contributed effectively to the conclusion of an agreement between \JIran\j and \JIraq\j, hostilities flared up again in September 1980. On 28 September, the Security Council gave urgent attention to the matter and requested the two parties to settle their dispute through mediation or conciliation.
Between 1980 and 1986, the Security Council adopted seven resolutions and dispatched several missions to \JBaghdad\j and Teheran. UN experts confirmed that chemical weapons were being used, and this was condemned by the Security Council and the Secretary-General.
On 20 July, 1987, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 598 which, a year later, was to become the framework for reaching a cease-fire agreement.
The Secretary-General engaged in intense diplomatic activity and established direct contacts between the two governments. Discussions under the auspices of the United Nations continued after the signature of the armistice. The United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG) supervised and verified the withdrawal of troops to the internationally recognized boundaries. Its mandate was terminated in 1991.
#
"UN Conflict Cambodia",51,0,0,0
In 1989, the five permanent members of the Security Council embarked on a series of discussions and in November 1990 prepared a document setting out the mandate of a future United Nations Transitional Authority in \JCambodia\j.
In June 1991, the Cambodian parties decided to apply an unlimited cease-fire and to stop receiving military assistance. In October, the United Nations set up the United Nations Advance Mission in \JCambodia\j (UNAMIC), which helped the parties concerned to maintain the cease-fire and until March 1992 engaged in alerting the civilian population to the danger of land mines and in training people to detect and clear them.
On 23 October, 1991, the Cambodian parties signed the Cambodian Agreements in Paris (France) and assigned to the United Nations all powers necessary to ensure their application.
In March 1992, the United Nations launched a program of repatriation and resettlement for some 375,000 refugees and displaced persons, and established the United Nations Transitional Authority in \JCambodia\j (UNTAC). UNTAC supervised the cease-fire and the withdrawal of foreign forces, disarmed all armed forces of the Cambodian parties, supervised the activities of the administrative structures, and organized free elections.
The elections took place from 23 to 28 May 1993, after which the new Cambodian government was formed.
#
"UN Conflict Rwanda",52,0,0,0
Fighting between the Armed Forces of the Government of \JRwanda\j and the Rwandese Patriotic Front first broke out in October 1990 across the border between \JRwanda\j and \JUganda\j. In spite of a number of cease-fire agreements, hostilities resumed in February 1993. The United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR) supervised the border area and became an important factor of stability in the region.
On 4 August 1993, a comprehensive peace agreement was signed in Arusha, providing for the installation of a democratic government, the repatriation of refugees, the \Jintegration\j of the armed forces of the two parties, and the deployment of a neutral international force to assist in its application.
In October 1993, the military observers of UNOMUR were placed under the command of the new United Nations Assistance Mission for \JRwanda\j (UNAMIR).
The deaths of the Presidents of \JRwanda\j and \JBurundi\j in a plane crash on 6 April 1994 triggered off a resumption of the civil war in \JRwanda\j. The situation changed radically. UN troops were attacked and killed, and the Belgian battalion pulled out. The "blue helmets" nevertheless continued their humanitarian activities in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
On 22 June 1994, the Security Council decided to authorize the mounting of a multinational operation. This was Operation Turquoise - a French initiative with the assistance of African troops - which ensured protection of safe areas in July and August, until the UN contingent returned in strength.
#
"UN Conflict Gulf War",53,0,0,0
On 2 August 1990, the day of \JIraq\j's invasion of \JKuwait\j, the Security Council imposed mandatory sanctions and undertook diplomatic moves in a bid to avoid war. It set 15 January 1991 as the deadline by which \JIraq\j was required to comply with its resolutions.
Since \JIraq\j did not comply, on 16 January the multinational forces launched air attacks, and these were followed, on 24 February, by a ground offensive. This operation, known as Operation Desert Storm, consisted of troops from 28 countries acting on the authorization of the Security Council under U.S. command.
On 27 February, the Iraqi forces left \JKuwait\j.
The United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM), established in April 1991, provides for international monitoring of the cease-fire line and of the weapons held by \JIraq\j.
#
"UN Conflict Somalia",54,0,0,0
The downfall of President Siad Barre in January 1991 triggered off an increasingly bloody struggle for power. Political chaos was compounded by \Jfamine\j, disease and banditry. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis died and more than one million fled into exile.
The United Nations was fully engaged in humanitarian activities, with which FAO, UNDP, \JUNICEF\j, UNHCR, WFP and WHO were associated. The United Nations Operation in \JSomalia\j (UNOSOM I: April 1992 - April 1993) constantly had to contend with attacks and looting by armed bands.
On 9 December 1992, the first elements of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), led by the United States, were deployed in \JMogadishu\j, with the mission of supporting the humanitarian assistance missions. Its activities were taken over by UNOSOM II in May 1993.
UNOSOM II achieved remarkable results in providing humanitarian assistance. However, in spite of the conciliation agreements signed between the Somali political movements (in January 1993, March 1993 and May 1994), it did not succeed in carrying through the agreed disarmament process, which was the basic prerequisite for the Operation's success.
The 29 countries which provided a total of 28,000 troops and some 2,800 civilians decided each in turn to withdraw their contingents.
In March 1995, the last UN troops left \JSomalia\j, but the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations stayed on.
#
"UN Conflict India and Pakistan",55,0,0,0
In 1947, under the partition plan provided for under the Indian Independence Act, the State of Jammu and Kashmir was free to accede to India or \JPakistan\j, with both of which it has a common border. The Maharaja of the State requested its accession to India. This choice was at the root of an armed conflict between India and \JPakistan\j, which has been under United Nations surveillance for almost the past fifty years.
On 31 December 1947, the matter was referred to the Security Council which on 20 January 1948 established a United Nations Commission for India and \JPakistan\j (UNCIP), with a view to putting an end to the conflict. The cease-fire came into effect on 1 January 1949. The first UN military observers to arrive in the area on 24 January formed the nucleus of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and \JPakistan\j (UNMOGIP). In July, the two countries signed the \JKarachi\j (Pakistan) Agreement establishing a cease-fire line to be supervised by the observers.
In August 1965, hostilities again broke out and spread to the international border between India and West \JPakistan\j. The Secretary-General established an administrative adjunct of UNMOGIP, the United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM), which was required to supervise the cease-fire beyond the borders of Kashmir. The Security Council called for a cease-fire with effect from 22 September 1964. The opposing troops were withdrawn in February 1966. UNIPOM's task was accomplished.
On 3 December 1971, hostilities broke out yet again on the cease-fire line in Kashmir. The next day, the General Assembly called for a cease-fire, which was accepted on 17 December. In July 1972, India and \JPakistan\j signed the Simla Agreement defining a Line of Control in Kashmir.
UNMOGIP continues to exist, but with a reduced contingent. Its task consists in observing compliance with the cease-fire of 17 December 1971 and in reporting thereon to the Secretary-General.
#
"UN Conflict in Former Yugoslavia",56,0,0,0
The disintegration of Yugoslavia sparked off a civil war which, between June 1991 and June 1992, extended from \JCroatia\j to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In March 1992, the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed with the mission of supervising the demilitarization of the areas protected by the United Nations and, later, the \JDubrovnik\j region.
In view of the deterioration of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the mandate and strength of UNPROFOR have been enlarged several times. Its task is to ensure the operation of \JSarajevo\j airport, the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the control of military flights in the airspace over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cease-fire agreements in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been respected.
In December 1992, UNPROFOR was deployed on a preventive mission in Macedonia.
From 1994 onwards, \JNATO\j engaged in military strikes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 31 March, 1995, UNPROFOR was split into three separate but interdependent peace-keeping forces: UNPREDEP (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), UNPROFOR (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and UNCRO (Croatia).
\IReprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.\i
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"How the UN has Performed",57,0,0,0
In this part, we look at how has the UN performed through the eyes of three articles reprinted from the \IUNESCO Courier\i magazine, of October, 1995. They include:
The \JRoad to Peace\j by Maurice Bertrand
The \JDevelopment Debate\j by Christian Comeliau
The \JStruggle for Human Rights\j by Philip Alston
Click on the entry of your choice to move to that part.
#
"Road to Peace",58,0,0,0
\B\Iby Maurice Bertrand\b\i
To improve its response to crises, the United Nations will probably have to rethink its structure.
There are two conflicting theories about the future of the United Nations. According to the more widely accepted one, the structure of international organizations can only change after the end of a world war, as history would seem to demonstrate -- the League of Nations was set up in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945. This argument rests on the observation that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a consensus within the "international community" for alterations to the legal framework governing relations between states. Only a universal surge of emotion such as that caused by the ending of a war, or rather the victory of a coalition on a world-wide scale, could therefore create the conditions for such a consensus.
In this view, unless there were to be a third world war the United Nations, whatever the difficulties it might encounter, would be fated to survive as it is for many decades, and the appropriate response to its fiftieth anniversary would therefore be to wish it many happy returns. While conceding that we live in a changing world and that ideas, including ideas about peace, evolve, proponents of this argument believe that the existing institutions will manage to adapt to such changes without needing in-depth reform.
The other theory, proceeding from a more complex analysis of institutional change, calls for reforms, or an \Jaggiornamento\j, of the system as a whole to be carried out without delay. However, it concurs with the previous theory in believing that it was the thinking on the subject of peace summed up by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (1) that shaped the League of Nations in 1919, and it further observes that the same thinking - corrected and supplemented by "functionalist" ideas on the pooling of efforts in science and technology -- lay behind the Roosevelt administration's setting up of the Bretton Woods institutions (the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) in 1944 and the United Nations in 1945.
\BStatesmanship in the post-war world\b
This theory therefore readily accepts 1919 and 1945 as being crucial dates since they corresponded to exceptional situations, but points out that other institutional changes have come about at other times and in other circumstances. One of these changes is of especial importance, the ongoing process of European construction since the 1950s, from the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community to the Treaty of \JRome\j and then the Treaty of Maastricht.
The fact is that European construction has had a far more effective influence on the establishment of world peace than the League of Nations or the United Nations, insofar as it has succeeded in rendering almost unimaginable an outbreak of war among \JFrance\j, the United Kingdom, \JGermany\j, \JAustria\j and \JItaly\j, countries that until 1945, and for a thousand years before then, had been involved in innumerable conflicts, including the two world wars.
On the global scale, other important institutions have been founded since 1945: in 1956, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); in 1975, the G7 group, a summit gathering of the Heads of State or Government of the seven leading Western industrial countries which provided previously lacking opportunities for exchanges of views between the great powers and set up the equivalent of a world "board of directors"; and in 1994, the World Trade Organization (WTO).
These examples suffice to show that fundamental institutional changes come about when statesmen, whose position allows them to influence the political class and world opinion, are convinced that such changes are necessary. This was the case when Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman launched European construction in 1951, drawing on the ideas concerning European unity held by many thinkers since the eighteenth century and rallying a considerable section of the political class to the cause of a "United States of Europe".
Further evidence that institutional change can occur at other times than following the victory of an international coalition in war is given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's influence on the establishment of the IAEA, by that of several European leaders, including French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, at the time of the establishment of the G7 group, or again by that of prevalent views about the need to regulate international trade at the time when the WTO was established.
\BThe need for reform\b
Any attempt to define the future of the United Nations in the light of this second theory would entail consideration of the five factors outlined below.
There is now a very broad measure of acknowledgment of the need for wide-ranging, rapid "change" in the world. Political discourse abounds increasingly in cliches about the constraints of interdependence, a single world market, acid rain "knowing no frontiers", the revolution in information technology and communication, and the "global village". The free-market \Jideology\j, with its accompanying monetarist view of the economy, predominates and, though increasingly challenged, monopolizes thinking in these matters. The end of the Cold War has not had the same kind of repercussions as the end of the two world wars but has led to a gradual calling into question of the type of society in which we now live.
This reassessment has in large part been brought about by the general sense of frustration arising from the failure of attempts to settle the growing number of intra-state conflicts that are breaking out in various parts of the world (Yugoslavia, the Caucasus, \JSomalia\j, Mexico, Rwanda) and also from the increasingly vast floods of refugees fleeing from these conflicts towards the industrialized countries.
Furthermore, the threat of economic destabilization on a world-wide scale, as in the case of the Mexican crises of February 1995 and the periodic bouts of exchange-rate speculation, are worrying not only to public opinion in general but also to the heads of the major business enterprises and those in charge of the economy and public finances.
Added to all this, the profound changes in the mode of production brought about by rapid progress in \Jelectronics\j and communications are aggravating unemployment, bringing down wages and contributing to marginalization in the rich as well as in the poor countries.
Yet neither governments nor the international institutions have any solutions to offer to these new threats. The credibility of the entire political class is thus being undermined in very many countries. It is as though nation-states had become incapable of solving their own problems because they have become world-wide problems, while at the same time the international institutions have failed to acquire the powers needed in order for them to be able to make up for these shortcomings.
Public anxiety about this situation may give rise to one of two attitudes. On the one hand, racist, nationalist, populist and fascist trends may grow stronger in the rich countries while at the same time the poor countries turn inwards on themselves in the search for ethnic identity or under the influence of \Jnationalism\j or religious \Jfundamentalism\j. On the other hand, there may be a renewal of the democratic \Jideology\j that opposes \Jfascism\j and defends human rights, leading on to calls for institutional reform on a global scale.
The first of these trends is already manifesting itself in the rise of populist and extreme right-wing parties in Europe, the spread of nationalist and militarist ideas in the United States and the exacerbation of various forms of \Jfundamentalism\j in many countries of the South. However, the unease caused by this trend is provoking resistance in the form of movements by citizen groups and by a section of the general public in support of stronger defence of human rights, democracy and peace.
The kind of society that should be set up in order to ensure the success of the humanist and universalist \Jideology\j remains, however, ill-defined, especially as regards peace and the share-out of political responsibilities at the global, regional and national levels.
\BUnderrated proposals\b
As a result of this state of uncertainty, much thought has been given and many suggestions have been made in the last ten years or so as to the reform or complete reorganization of international institutions. This is something new; until 1985 all thinking on this subject was paralyzed by forty years of the Cold War. Not only are \JGermany\j and \JJapan\j, at the most official level, claiming their places as permanent members of the UN Security Council but other institutional proposals are beginning to win approval from the majority of experts and at least some political leaders in various countries.
These proposals include: the establishment of an Economic Security Council, a body of limited membership comprising representatives of the major powers -- in economic or demographic terms -- and the various regions of the world (equivalent to envisaging an enlargement of the G7); the introduction of international taxation to replenish the budgets of the international organizations; making good the "democratic deficit" on a global scale by means of improved representation of civil society or even a World Parliament; defining and implementing a "conflict-prevention strategy" instead of relying solely on the inefficient methods of "preventive diplomacy" or trusting to those of "collective security", illusory as they have proved to be; and thorough-going reform of the International Monetary Fund or its possible replacement by a body akin to a "World Central Bank" providing better guarantees of stability in exchange rates.
The tendency emerging from the efforts undertaken, this year alone, in over a hundred commissions, symposia, seminars and research programs, is towards recognition of the fundamental requirements that modern international institutions should meet: an effective system of joint consultation by the world's political leaders; democratic representation of citizens; a security system making it possible to prevent the outbreak of civil wars; and better safeguards of economic stability.
These proposals continue, however, to run up against national political leaders' lack of interest in problems of this kind and the public's lack of information about them. There is thus a long way to go before they can be seen as viable political responses to the most urgent problems.
The future of the United Nations is in fact tied up with the evolution of the world political situation itself and with the nature of the crises arising therein in the years ahead. Should serious crises of security occur -- such as the mass migrations caused by civil wars in countries near to the industrialized world, which are in danger of provoking a sharp increase in racist and ultranationalist reactions in the rich countries -- they could lead to the rejection of the United Nations or even to its demise, as the world reverts to national rivalries and the competitive struggle for hegemony.
On the other hand, crises which, though less grave, nevertheless sound serious warnings, in the field of economic security for instance, could induce those statesmen who take the long view and who are concerned to avoid a disastrous outcome to recommend and put into effect reforms broad enough to allow for the gradual reorganization and reinforcement of the international institutional structure.
The future of the United Nations will thus depend, in the final analysis, on the ability of statesmen to suggest, and to put into effect, visionary solutions - before it is too late.
\I(1). In his Fourteen Points.
Reprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.
Maurice Bertrand is an honorary counsellor of the French Cour des Comptes and a former member of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit. His published works include L'ONU (La Decouverte publishers, Paris, 1994).\i
#
"Development Debate",59,0,0,0
\B\Iby Christian Comeliau\b\i
\B\ICan development be the same for all?\b\i
Has the United Nations contributed to development in its fifty years of existence and if so, to what kind of development? What role can we expect to see it play in this field in the coming years?
In a short article it is scarcely possible to present a complete assessment (1). To do so would, for a start, be a technically challenging undertaking: how could precise demarcation lines be drawn between action in support of development and other related fields such as international security, human rights, humanitarian activities or many specific areas such as childhood, food, labour and health? It is difficult, if not impossible, to give an overall picture of activities that are many-sided and complex and are carried out by a large number of specialized agencies and programs.
Another difficulty in the way of this assessment is that it is the subject of heated controversy; given that development results from a political process rather than from mere technocratic know-how, it entails choices between different objectives and \Jarbitration\j between different interest groups, and hence a constant interplay of power relationships, ideological confrontations and negotiating strategies.
\BAn Uneven track record\b
I should like to emphasize four points.
Firstly, the challenge of meeting the overall demands of development on a world-wide scale is an enormous one, made even greater by recent political and economic upheavals. No organization is capable of meeting that challenge single-handed in a satisfactory way. The question thus arises: should the role of an international organization be limited to a few day-to-day management tasks, or can it be expected to come up with the new ideas and carry out the changes that such a challenge calls for? The initial temptation, as regards the second half of the question, would be to answer no, but that would be to overlook the conceptual and methodological value of ideas recently put forward by the United Nations such as "sustainable" development, "human" development and "social" development -- even if the uses to which these concepts have so far been put fall short of the potential they represent.
Secondly, in the matter of development, the United Nations has served as an arena for dialogue and confrontation between North and South. Confrontation has, however, had the upper hand over dialogue, and has proved fruitless: either the end result has been incompatible sets of demands, as was the case of the debates surrounding the "New International Economic Order" in the 1970s, or poorly presented and inappropriate demands have been repeatedly put forward, as was the case with increased public aid to development, which was supposed to have reached 0.7 per cent of donor countries' GNP but still stands at half that rate!
As to the confrontation between the capitalist and socialist theories of development, no serious debate on the subject ever took place, with the very regrettable result that simplistic conceptions of the role of market forces now hold sway.
Thirdly, the weak point of the United Nations is that it has never had a proper body of principles as regards development. It has always fallen into line with the viewpoints of the financial institutions, which are themselves dominated by neoclassical orthodoxy and the vested interests of the North, albeit with a few of the demands of the South, irreconcilable as they are with that orthodoxy, thrown in for good measure. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) itself long felt compelled to mimic the principles and outlook of the World Bank, which accounts for the incoherent nature of the "development decades" and suchlike solemnly proclaimed events.
Fourthly, this being the case, it comes as no surprise to see the very uneven quality of the development activities of the United Nations, not only regarding population, the environment or children but also in the fields of structural adjustment, industrialization, food and international trade. This uneven track record, partly inevitable though it may be, is particularly regrettable since the United Nations has shown on many occasions that it is capable of doing excellent work in these fields, work that is now more than ever needed.
\BMaking the UN a more global organization\b
How could performance be improved in the future? The record shows serious shortcomings that can only be put right by means of a comprehensive overhaul of the entire United Nations system. The primary need is to take steps to make it a truly global organization.
This means, in the first place, allowing the major players in the development process to be more fairly represented at the world level. The United Nations cannot go on letting a minority of states, albeit the richest ones, hold the financial and monetary levers of development in their hands, as they do today. The institutional solution is not, however, an easy one: the richest countries cannot be required to provide most of the funding for organizations over whose decisions they have no control.
Next, the new organization must be able to act in an integrated and coherent manner upon all the dimensions of development and not be limited to only some of them, as was seen to be the case during the preparations for the \JCopenhagen\j Summit for social development. The view was expressed on that occasion that the United Nations should specialize in "social" development and leave the economic aspects of development to other bodies. Such a break-up would be both absurd and disastrous, especially as one of the most urgent tasks for thinking and planning in relation to development is that of integrating its economic, social and political dimensions (2). It is a task the United Nations cannot shirk.
Lastly, such an organization should understand the expression "development" as encompassing a much wider range of social needs than just the need, as set forth in the model that prevails today, for access to greater and greater consumption of goods. Not only must the structures of production and consumption that characterize growth be reconsidered; we must also accept pluralism in the definition of development, of the elements of which it is composed, of the way in which it is shared out, and of the models of social organization upon which it depends -- in political terms, a much harder task.
These reforming ideas have far-reaching implications. They confer upon the United Nations a power of \Jarbitration\j in the allocation of collective resources to the satisfaction of needs that are considered, world-wide, as having priority, such as the reduction of the least acceptable forms of physical deprivation or social oppression, the banning of trade in certain weapons or the protection of the basic conditions for the survival of the \Jecosystem\j, whether or not these needs meet the criteria of the dominant economic approach.
Thus enlarged, the conception of the role of the United Nations runs the obvious risk of suffering from the same lack of realism as has marked the Organization in the past -- one need only think back to the grandiloquent declarations about the "right of all peoples to self-determination" or the "right of all people to health by the year 2000". The risk is a double one: on the one hand, the danger is that the political and social basis for defining these priorities will be lacking; and on the other, an even worse danger, that a cosmetic consensus will be arrived at around a few general objectives to which nobody is committed.
This lack of realism could, however, be avoided by sticking to precise, specific commitments, entailing well-defined strategies and resources. I shall cite two examples.
The first relates to international trade. In this field, the prevailing model imposes a specific orientation on all countries through the action of the Bretton Woods institutions and the \JGATT\j (3) accords, in particular the fullest possible \Jintegration\j of national economies into international trade in accordance with the often obscure rule of "comparative advantages". The social costs of this narrow, mercantile conception of development have, alas, been proven beyond all doubt, yet the United Nations has never made any serious attempt to reverse it.
The second relates to the new ways of funding development and in particular to the role that a world-wide taxation system might play. This idea, recently taken up by the United Nations Development Program (4), has the advantage of being relatively painless while potentially bringing in considerable resources. A much clearer commitment by the United Nations, or by a renovated world organization, to such a scheme would doubtless be much more effective than any number of generous-sounding but empty speeches.
The task of thinking these questions out and, in particular, of making specific proposals is going ahead, but remains inadequate and needs to be tackled more thoroughly. The stakes are high. It is not a matter of promising a "radiant future" but, by trying to eradicate certain unacceptable factors, of ensuring the survival of the present world.
\I(1). See L'ONU (The UN) by Maurice Bertrand, published by La Decouverte (Paris, 1994) in its "Reperes" series. The present article draws heavily on this work, which presents a critical overview of the complex working of the United Nations.
(2). See in particular Pour un developpement social different: recherche d'une methode d'approche, the report of a working group for the UN Conference on Social Development held in March 1995 in \JCopenhagen\j (Institut universitaire d'etudes du developpement, Geneva, July 1994).
(3). \JGATT\j: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, now being replaced by the World Trade Organization.
(4). Human Development Report 1994, United Nations Development Program, Oxford University Press, New York, 1994.
Reprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.
Christian Comeliau of \JFrance\j, is a Professor and Deputy Director of Research at the University Institute of Development Studies (IUED) in Geneva. His publications include Les Relations Nord-Sud (La Decouverte publishers, Paris, 1991).\i
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"Struggle for Human Rights",60,0,0,0
\B\Iby Philip Alston\b\i
\BThe international system for the defence of human rights has made real progress, but much still remains to be done\b
When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris in 1948, virtually all governments said the standards were not to be legally binding upon them. At that time, no specific human rights violations, apart from \Jslavery\j, genocide and gross abuses of the rights of aliens, were effectively proscribed. Virtually all states shielded themselves happily behind Article 2(7) of the United Nations Charter (1) in arguing that any other human rights matter was strictly an internal affair for the state concerned. While a UN Commission on Human Rights was set up, its work was dominated entirely by governments and its mandate was largely confined to the drafting of new treaties and other legal instruments. Governments wasted no time in declaring in 1947 that the Commission had "no power" whatsoever to respond in any way to violations of human rights. A procedure which examined complaints was correctly described by a senior UN official as "the world's most elaborate waste-paper basket".
In 1948 many governments specifically rejected proposals to move to the adoption of binding treaty obligations and, by 1953, the United States had informed the world that it would have nothing to do with any human rights treaty that might be adopted by the United Nations. The Cold War ensured that the drafting of the two International Human Rights Covenants was not completed until 1966. It then took another decade before thirty-five states ratified them, thus bringing them into operation. In 1976, therefore, less than twenty years ago, an assessment of the United Nations' achievements and prospects in this area provided few grounds for optimism.
\BFrom theory to practice\b
Since then, however, very significant progress has been made. The standards contained in the Universal Declaration are, in practice, applicable to every state, whatever its formal attitude to their legal status. The view that human rights violations are essentially domestic matters, while still put forward in an almost ritual manner from time to time, receives very little credence from the international community.
The Universal Declaration has been supplemented by a vast array of international standards, the most important of which are the six "core" human rights treaties -- the two Covenants and Conventions dealing with racial discrimination against women, torture, and children's rights. In addition to the six expert treaty bodies created by the United Nations to supervise the compliance of states parties with their obligations under those treaties, regional human rights conventions, and implementing machinery, have been set up in Europe, the Americas and Africa, and the United Nations has created a complex array of other monitoring mechanisms.
In the mid-1960s the Commission on Human Rights began responding to human rights violations, albeit in a very limited number of situations. Since 1979 it has gradually and persistently expanded both the number and diversity of countries subjected to public monitoring and the range and intrusiveness of the procedures it has been prepared to apply. Ever-increasing numbers of non-governmental organizations and victims of human rights violations now participate in the work of one or more of the bodies set up by the Commission or its Sub-Commission, and governments attest to the growing potential of the United Nations to be effective by the lengths to which they go in order to achieve membership of the Commission and to influence its deliberations, as well as by the occasional harshness of their denunciations of its actions.
Most recently the United Nations has become heavily involved in the administration of human rights programs of unprecedented scope and importance in countries such as El Salvador, \JCambodia\j, \JHaiti\j, \JRwanda\j and \JBurundi\j. Electoral assistance, which was such a novelty in \JNamibia\j as recently as 1989, has developed into a major United Nations activity, and technical assistance in the human rights field has been provided to a significant number of countries. The 1993 World Human Rights Conference held in Vienna definitively identified women's rights as having been subject to unacceptable neglect in the past and as a major priority concern for the future. The following year the first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was appointed. In brief, the international human rights system has developed to an extent that would have been considered inconceivable by the vast majority of observers in 1945.
\BThe challenge of universality\b
One of the biggest challenges facing international human rights law in the post-Cold War era is to establish beyond doubt its universality. When the Universal Declaration was drafted, many Third World countries had not attained independence and were thus unable to contribute. When the two International Covenants were adopted in 1966 a far larger number of them participated. Nevertheless the Cold War tended to discourage adequate discussion of cultural concerns because of the pressure on many states to support either East or West in the global ideological struggle. It was only in the late 1980s that an energetic debate began at the international level over whether human rights are indeed universally valid or are relative to each specific society. Subsequently the Vienna Conference (2) reaffirmed that "the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question".
While this is a vitally important development, it does not once and for all eliminate the need to take cultural diversity into account.
Once we move beyond the core rights of physical integrity, the nature of the society, its traditions and culture and other such factors become highly pertinent to any efforts to promote and protect respect for the rights concerned. We must recognize that the intransigent approach that is appropriate in relation to such core violations will simply be less productive and achieve far less enduring results than a more sensitive, open and flexible approach which situates the goals sought within the society in question. The precise requirements of what is often termed the right to democracy is a case in point. Human rights efforts will be enriched, not compromised, by an approach that is, in appropriate respects, more probing, more self-conscious and more selective than that which many countries have achieved to date. It is also important to recognize that there are conflicts among rights and that the resolution of such conflicts requires greater openness about the difficulties and a more concerted attempt to accommodate the different values involved.
\BThe problem of relativism\b
On the other hand it is essential to scrutinize claims of relativism on cultural, philosophical or religious grounds. Many of the claims made essentially reflect no more than the age-old tendency of governments to justify the cynical and self-interested proposition that their own citizens neither want nor need the protection of human rights.
In the development of the international human rights system and in its application at the national level, non-governmental organizations have played an indispensable role. They have contributed to the drafting of many of the international standards; they have developed a much greater awareness of human rights among the public at large; they have constantly prodded governments to respect their obligations, and they have assembled the facts that have compelled other governments to react to gross violations of human rights in a wide range of situations. They have also played a central role in responding to humanitarian emergencies. Ironically, the fact that so many governments have sought to suppress or subvert them should be seen as a tribute to their effectiveness.
There are various challenges ahead for non-governmental organizations. They must be accorded greater opportunities to contribute to the work of international organizations, including the United Nations, the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, the Organization of African Unity and the Organization of American States. At the international level they need to become both better co-ordinated and more systematically critical. They as a group need to work out how they can ensure that adequate attention is accorded to economic, social and cultural rights. Too many of the major groups currently do no more than pay lip service to these crucial rights.
\BMatching words with deeds\b
Thus while much has been achieved in half a century, there remain many challenges. In the years ahead governments must match their fine words with deeds. The United Nations human rights program is radically under-resourced and clearly incapable of dealing with the tasks assigned to it. Economic, social and cultural rights continue to be largely neglected by the vast majority of governments, despite the rhetorical commitment of many. The result is that large-scale problems such as chronic \Jmalnutrition\j and lack of access to clean water, primary health care, primary education and adequate shelter are not considered human rights problems. This approach is morally and legally untenable and the obligations undertaken by governments and the international community must be taken seriously. Universal ratification of the six basic international human rights treaties should be an urgent objective. It must be followed by further strengthening of the institutional arrangements designed to help and, where necessary, to pressure governments into respecting the full range of their citizens' human rights, just as they are pledged to do under the Charter.
\I(1). "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic \Jjurisdiction\j of any state..."
(2). See the \JUNESCO\j Courier, March 1994, "Human rights - the unfinished task".
Reprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.
Philip Alston of \JAustralia\j, is chairperson of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for International and Public Law at the Australian National University. He is the author of a number of books, the most recent of which is The Best Interests of the Child: Reconciling Culture and Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 1994) and is the editor of the English version of the International Dimensions of Human Rights (two vols., \JUNESCO\j, 1982).\i
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"Looking Ahead",61,0,0,0
A number of UN Agency Chiefs take a look at what the future holds. Articles are included from the following organizations:
\JFood and Agriculture Organization Report\j
\JInternational Atomic Energy Agency Report\j
\JInternational Fund for Agricultural Development Report\j
\JInternational Monetary Fund Report\j
\JInternational Labour Organization Report\j
\JIndustrial Development Organization Report\j
\JUniversal Postal Union Report\j
\JFifty Years On\j
Click on the entry of your choice to move to that part.
#
"Food and Agriculture Organization Report",62,0,0,0
\B\Iby Jacques Diouf\b\i
The right to food is the most fundamental of human rights. Throughout history chronic hunger, whether caused by war, \Jdrought\j, poverty or natural disaster, has led to widespread suffering, and freedom from hunger remains a long-cherished goal. Alongside peace, hunger is the most pressing of all issues.
There must be two principal components in any strategy to eradicate hunger. One is to increase food production in order to feed an expanding world population. The second is to alleviate poverty at least to the point where every person has access to the food they need for a healthy life.
While the Food and Agriculture Organization concentrates on helping to ensure sustainable expansion of agricultural production and productivity, we also promote the concept that, where feasible, a greater emphasis by developing nations on the agriculture sector can make a powerful contribution to combating poverty. This follows from the fact that the majority of the poor in most developing countries depend on agriculture for employment and incomes. As long as this dependence continues, the growth of food production and of agricultural productivity in the countries with high concentrations of rural poverty will continue to be among the principal means of alleviating poverty and improving \Jnutrition\j.
The dimensions of the hunger problems are great. In the developing countries 800 million people are chronically undernourished. Among them, 192 million children under the age of five suffer from acute or chronic protein and energy deficiencies. Hundreds of millions more suffer ailments such as retarded growth, \Jblindness\j and impaired vision or goitre because their diets lack essential vitamins and minerals.
Progress has been made, both in absolute and per caput terms. For example, the figure of 800 million undernourished people mentioned above is down from 893 million in 1969-1971. It is projected to drop further to 730 million in 2010, a figure which still represents an appalling level of suffering and wasted human potential. Happily, the number of undernourished people as a percentage of total population has declined appreciably over the last two decades and is expected to continue to drop.
At present, 88 nations fall into the category of low-income food-deficit countries. Forty-four of these are in Africa, 19 in Asia and the Pacific, nine in Latin America, four in the Near East and 12 in the states of the former Soviet Union. The net food deficits of the developing countries are expected to continue to grow, and the developing countries as a whole will soon turn from being net agricultural exporters into net importers. These are alarming prospects given the difficult balance of payments situation and the unfavourable economic prospects for many developing countries.
Nothing short of a significant upgrading of the overall development performance of the lagging economies, with emphasis on a more equitable sharing of the benefits, will free the world of the most pressing food insecurity problems. The only feasible option for an early and sustainable improvement in food security is the enhancement of the productivity and production of food. The key to such gains is efficient technology, applied to the commodities that can make a difference.
The basic goal of food security is one that peoples, governments and the international community have no alternative but to address. Yet certain trends are not encouraging. Developmental commitment from bilateral and multilateral sources to developing country agriculture is declining. Between 1981 and 1992, overall amounts dropped from $12.3 billion to $8.5 billion, in constant 1980 U.S. dollars. During this period, agriculture's share of total development assistance fell from 25 per cent to 17 per cent.
I believe that now is the time to raise public awareness and to promote political commitment at the highest level for a global campaign to provide food security for all. The Food and Agriculture Organization is hosting a World Food Summit in November 1996 to pursue this commitment. Only a combination of faster, poverty-reducing development and appropriate public policy, both national and international, will ultimately improve access to food by the poor and eliminate chronic undernutrition.
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"International Atomic Energy Agency Report",63,0,0,0
\B\Iby Hans Blix\b\i
IAEA's activities are directly relevant to a number of areas that are vital to the future of our planet: the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, energy, the environment and development assistance.
The number of states acceding to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has grown significantly in recent years. For example, several republics of the former Soviet Union - notably \JUkraine\j - along with South Africa and, quite recently, \JAlgeria\j have joined the 169 countries which had already signed the Treaty. This has led to the broadening of the nuclear materials safeguards system, which now covers more than 1,000 installations all over the world. To perform this field work, IAEA has a team of 200 inspectors and an annual budget of some $68 million. It is currently envisaging the introduction of new technical methods to increase the effectiveness of monitoring operations.
On two occasions in recent years, this fundamental activity has come up against major difficulties - in \JIraq\j and in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. However, IAEA remains resolutely optimistic regarding its ability to contribute substantially to the efforts deployed to circumscribe the danger which nuclear weapons can still represent for world security, in spite of the end of the Cold War.
With regard to the environment, the energy sources chosen by all of us will continue to play a fundamental role if we wish to halt the process of degradation that is already well under way. The choice of a viable form of electricity production in the coming decades will chiefly lie between "polluting" fuels, such as coal, oil and gas (above all from carbon dioxide), and nuclear energy, from which the emanations are negligible.
It is up to every country to make its own choice. Some 30 of our member countries have adopted nuclear energy to provide at least part of their electricity supply, and 17 per cent of world electricity production is now nuclear-generated. Some countries are opposed to its use as an energy source, but all are agreed that nuclear energy should be exploited under the best possible safety conditions. It is from this standpoint that IAEA is devoting considerable efforts to enhancing the safety of nuclear installations, in particular at the request of countries, including those of the former Soviet Union and of Eastern Europe, wishing to obtain the Agency's opinion and support in regard to the operation of their nuclear power stations. Last year, the first International Convention on Safety laid down standards in this area, to which some 50 countries have already signified their assent.
Lastly, IAEA is also endeavouring to transfer peaceful nuclear techniques in a number of fields to its developing member countries. These include the eradication of the tsetse fly and the fruit fly by the sterile insect technique, the production by radiation of mutant cultivated plants that are more capable of withstanding crop-devastating organisms or difficult climatic conditions, the use of radioactive isotope tracers to detect water resources, and the use of radiation in combating cancer. IAEA attaches the utmost importance to these transfers, which are a key feature of its work program.
#
"International Fund for Agricultural Development Report",64,0,0,0
\B\Iby Fawzi H. Al-Sultan\b\i
The shortage of resources for development caused by the world crisis which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union makes it essential that these resources should be rationally and effectively managed.
With this in view, a number of innovations have been introduced into the project cycle of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in order to make these projects less costly and more suited to the real needs of the Fund's clients. The resulting savings will be used to strengthen operations in priority sectors.
IFAD is devoting increased attention to technical assistance. A lasting reduction in poverty requires technologies of a new type that will be both intrinsically suited to the purpose and financially affordable. IFAD has applied itself to persuading international research institutes to shift their priorities and strategies and to give prominence in their schedules to the needs of small farmers and other disadvantaged people living in rural areas. This preoccupation is at the root of the Fund's efforts to foster partnerships between national agricultural research systems in the developing countries and international research institutions.
IFAD also attaches special importance to the elaboration of joint strategies and alliances with other financing and development agencies. Such collaboration has to go beyond the co-financing of projects. IFAD's vast experience could be used to advantage on a broader front in connection with joint approaches to combating poverty in rural areas. The idea is to establish a package of programs, centred on an IFAD-type project, which would benefit from substantial funding from other international financing agencies. IFAD's grassroots projects could then be reproduced on a larger scale, which would considerably increase their impact.
IFAD and the World Environment Fund (WEF) are currently examining ways and means of strengthening their collaboration in contending with the interdependent problems of poverty and the environment. Breaking the vicious circle of rural poverty and the degradation of the environment has long been at the heart of IFAD's concerns, especially in connection with the Special Program for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Through innovative projects and specialized studies carried out under this program, new ways have been found of helping small farmers to protect the environment by practising ecologically sustainable agriculture. IFAD is intent on making the most of this experience in the framework both of concerted action with WEF and of the International Convention to Combat \JDesertification\j and \JDrought\j.
The coming years are likely to be difficult ones. Resources will be limited, while needs will keep on growing. It is imperative therefore that every dollar at our disposal should be used as effectively as possible. Success in banishing hunger in twenty years, thirty years or a century will depend on the sense of commitment of the donor and beneficiary countries and on the international institutions. IFAD, in its modest and positive fashion, is paving the way.
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"International Monetary Fund Report",65,0,0,0
\B\Iby Michel Camdessus\b\i
In the last 50 years, many changes have taken place in the world economy, all of which have had an impact on the work of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These changes have included the emergence and growth of the developing countries -- today there are almost 130 of them among the IMF's 179 members; the trend toward greater symmetry in economic size among the industrial countries; the increased international mobility of goods, capital, and labour, and the associated international \Jintegration\j of markets; the trend towards regional \Jintegration\j; and the \Jintegration\j of the formerly centrally planned economies into the world market economic system and the IMF itself.
But the influence has not been only one-way: some of the changes can be attributed to a significant extent to the work of the IMF. Over the years the IMF has come to see more clearly that macroeconomic policies need to be conducted within a medium-term framework of monetary stability and fiscal rectitude and have to be supported by structural, cost-effective social and environmental policies; that restrictions on capital flows are generally not to be recommended as an instrument of policy; that the requirements of maintaining pegged exchange rates, especially in the face of increasingly voluminous and agile international capital markets, as revealed by the Mexican crisis, are demanding
These developments have been reflected in each of the IMF's three major areas of activity.
First, in the provision of financial assistance: one major change is the concentration of the IMF's financing operations in recent years on developing countries and countries in transition and the introduction of new financing facilities operating in a more flexible framework. These adaptations have enabled the IMF to continue serving the needs of countries in balance of payments difficulties, to play its role in resolving the debt crises and recent systemic crisis in Mexico, to make its contribution to growth-oriented adjustment in the developing countries, and to play its full role in \JRussia\j and the other transition economies.
Second, the IMF has adapted its role in the exchange rate system. It has responsibility for exercising "firm surveillance" over the exchange rate policies of members, which involves surveillance over all policies impinging on exchange rates. IMF surveillance is conducted through regular -- usually annual -- consultations with individual member countries, and through consideration of policy issues in a global context. This has been and remains the IMF's principal means of promoting exchange stability.
The third main area of IMF activity is the provision of technical assistance to member governments in its areas of expertise, including fiscal policy, central banking and monetary policy, and economic statistics. There has been a dramatic growth in demand for these services in recent years, especially to help with institution-building in the countries in transition.
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"International Labour Organization Report",66,0,0,0
\B\Iby Michel Hansenne\b\i
Promoting social justice in the closing years of the 20th century, marked as they are by globalization and the triumph of the market economy, entails taking a firm stand on principles that are deemed to be essential and adopting imaginative strategies. What values should be defended? What changes should be made?
Tripartism is both the cornerstone of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the feature that makes it fundamentally different from the other United Nations organizations. By associating representatives of governments, employers and workers in all its deliberations and decision-making, ILO ensures that its action is relevant, topical and effective with regard both to the setting of standards and their practical application. However, while ILO is intent on remaining the social conscience of the world, it will also have to study ways and means of gathering round it the other intermediary groups working for the promotion of social justice.
Setting international labour standards and monitoring their applications continues to be the prime function of ILO. All the views expressed on the occasion of the Organisation's 75th anniversary in 1994 culminated in reaffirming their usefulness and universal value. However, an effort has to be made to adapt their contents to present-day realities and improve their effectiveness in practical terms. The ILO's Governing Body has embarked on this process. It will endeavour in particular to draw up a conceptual framework for the revision of existing standards and the adoption of new ones. At the same time, ILO will set out to promote wider acceptance and greater respect for the standards through its monitoring system and the direct assistance it provides to its membership.
However, at a time when unemployment has become the major social blight in most economies, worker protection cannot be dissociated from job promotion. In other words, it is necessary to deal with both labour law and the right to work.
In this perspective, ILO has just published the first volume of its World Labour Report, which presents a global analysis of the situation in this field, together with proposals aimed at shifting the emphasis of national and international policies in a direction more conducive to employment and social justice.
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"Industrial Development Organization Report",67,0,0,0
\B\Iby Mauricio de Maria y Campos\b\i
Urgent, practical, solutions are crucial if the world is to cope with the demands of its expanding population. The role of industrialization is central to confronting the causes and effects of this human explosion as well as to ensuring a better life for the three quarters of humankind who live in developing countries.
A complex range of development problems have to be tackled in most of these countries, from the provision of basic necessities to the creation of jobs, raising income levels and using non-renewable resources efficiently.
Industrialization offers a number of answers to this growing human and economic dilemma. Slow industrial and economic growth, which goes hand-in-hand with poverty, is as much a cause of rapid population growth as an effect. To break this vicious circle, a comprehensive program is needed, combining socio-economic and industrial development.
In the highly competitive international environment that has come to prevail throughout the world, especially in the aftermath of the Uruguay Round of trade agreements, (1) industrial and technological growth is more crucial than ever for the economic survival of the South. As new challenges emerge for developing nations and economies in transition, the demand for industrial services is increasingly at the forefront of development issues.
The future of UNIDO lies in providing the services essential to meet the demands of industrialization today and into the next century. Responding to the recent dramatic changes in the world's economic environment, the Organization has just undergone a major transformation, making it more responsive to the needs of developing countries and economies in transition.
In 1993, UNIDO's Member States adopted the Yaounde Declaration calling for a series of far-reaching reforms of the Organization. The aim was to build on the strengths gained from more than two decades of experience in serving the needs of the developing world. These strengths include the Organization's impartial, non-profit status, its multidisciplinary capabilities and the industrial expertise of its staff, as well as its experience in technical co-operation at policy, institutional and enterprise levels and its broad knowledge of industrial development issues.
Five development priorities were set to guide the Organization's new course: industrial and technological growth and competitiveness; human resource development; equitable development through industrialization; environmentally sustainable industrial development; and international co-operation in industrial investment and technology.
With a streamlined management structure and refocused priorities, the Organization is now in a better position than ever to meet the development challenges of the 1990s and beyond.
\I(1). The eighth round of international trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which ended with the approval of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round at a meeting in Marrakesh (Morocco ) in April, 1994.\i
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"Universal Postal Union Report",68,0,0,0
\B\Iby Thomas E. Leavey\b\i
Spectacular though they are, the changes that have taken place on the communications market in recent years appear only to be the precursors of even greater upheavals.
It is in preparation for these upheavals that the Universal Postal Union has equipped itself with two new Councils separating the governmental function (the Council of Administration) from the operational function (the Postal Operations Council). In addition, the development of strategic planning and program budgeting now makes it possible for UPU to define its objectives more clearly and to make a more accurate assessment of the resources necessary for their fulfilment.
UPU's current strategy, which was adopted at its Congress held in Seoul in 1994, is aimed at two essential points: improving the quality of services and securing greater management autonomy.
In the first place, UPU is intent on ensuring that postal administrations set satisfactory distribution standards, take steps to ensure that their customers are properly informed and then watch over the strict application of those standards. UPU's International Bureau measures the global quality of services and informs the postal administrations concerned of any departures from the norm, so that steps can be taken to remedy them.
The International Bureau has also designed and set up a world Electronic Data Interchange project (EDI), which connects postal exchange offices at the points of origin, transit and destination, surface and air transport companies and customs authorities to a standardized electronic communications network. EDI technologies will also help improve and speed up accounting procedures, the compilation of statistics on volumes of mail by categories and destinations, and the monitoring of quality of service. The goal is to ensure that the largest possible number of developing countries will be able to benefit from EDI at the earliest opportunity.
Since they are obliged to offer universal services at affordable prices, postal administrations are subjected to considerable economic pressures connected with competition and technological progress. The demands of the international market have accordingly compelled them to transform their legal status. In order to make sure that deregulation and liberalization will be effective, it is essential for governments to allow postal administrations sufficient autonomy over their human and financial resources. Government-controlled postal administrations are therefore being converted into independent or semi-independent public companies that are progressively adapting to a competitive international market.
In this new economic and technological environment, UPU is continuing to be the main channel of co-operation between postal services and is thereby contributing to the maintenance of a worldwide network of modern products and services.
We all know that the inequalities existing in the world today are a scandal that must be brought to an end. We know too that the burden of debt must be alleviated so that the spiralling process whereby the poor continue to get poorer and the rich richer can be halted. We are aware of the need to promote lifelong vocational training and education, to foster scientific and technological development so that countries may become masters of their own fates, to facilitate urban renewal as well as rural development, to ensure that the law and freedom of expression are respected, that the independence of the judiciary is maintained and that democratic principles are embodied in everyday practice.
So much we all know. But now is a time for action, in the first instance at the national level. It is pointless to adopt declarations, strategies and charters unless countries set themselves definite plans with precise objectives and deadlines so as to undertake -- while there is still time -- the changes of direction that are now unavoidable. There must be changes in behaviour and attitudes towards the consumption of energy and raw materials, of production and employment and also of welfare. Such changes take time, they require sustained effort and a long-term outlook; but it is unfortunately difficult to reconcile the demands of national politics with medium and long-term preoccupations. When things too obviously go wrong and imbalances become too glaring, the powers that be prefer to recommend adjustments, and then apply corrective measures to offset the often devastating effects of those adjustments. And they take it upon themselves to transpose -- or even impose -- models from elsewhere instead of helping individual countries and peoples to work out their own plans for the future.
While it is true, however, that history marches on, contemporary history -- the history we are living through -- is not a piece of machinery that only needs oiling when it seizes up or can be improved by repeated tinkering. We are dealing with the aspirations of billions of people throughout the world who need to be provided with a more tolerable present, and at the same time enabled to envisage the future as a project, respectful of their dignity and their culture, from which they may draw sustenance and to which they may contribute, often with a creativity that others better off than themselves might envy.
This urgent need for interdependent action also involves a thorough-going reform of the United Nations system. The system was designed to deal with the problems of the postwar world but it is ill prepared to meet the challenges of the present and the foreseeable future, which are, first and foremost, those of world development. We must in all honesty admit that the efforts made by the international community over the last fifty years to promote development are far from having achieved the desired effects. The promises made by the richest countries, twenty or so years ago, to help the development of the poorest countries have not really been kept, while large-scale movements of capital and market forces are increasingly outside states' control.
The undertakings in which we have invested have all too often ended in failure, and the emphasis now placed on peace-keeping operations -- with results that do not always justify the large sums of money poured into them -- shows that the logic of responding to emergencies still prevails. But international stability and security today transcend the military sphere; they rely upon a whole set of economic, financial, political, educational, scientific and technological measures that need to be worked out in concerted fashion and applied in good time.
We therefore need to revise our conception of the role of the United Nations system without delay. We are spending vast amounts on deploying armies to "re-establish" peace and then on restoring, repairing and reconstructing what has been destroyed by warfare, but it is war itself that we should destroy, by rooting out the underlying causes of conflict: poverty, social injustice, political oppression, and discrimination and exclusion in all their forms. The time has come to put the Charter in its totality into effect and to move on from a conception of the role of the United Nations whereby peace-keeping constituted its principal task to a more ambitious conception, having in view the prevention of conflicts and the building of peace.
The places where peace has hitherto made most headway are those where societies have succeeded in maintaining their cohesion and progress while preserving respect for human rights, providing themselves with democratic structures and making development a joint undertaking, i.e. ensuring that its fruits are fairly shared. Many societies today are, however, also under threat from faceless enemies: unemployment, poverty and exclusion that are becoming worse and worse from day to day, despite the emergency measures applied in some places. Even where tolerance used to be the order of the day, a shift towards xenophobia is becoming more evident, and chauvinist or racist utterances that had seemed to be a thing of the past are heard more and more often, and are taken up and sometimes amplified by certain intellectual elites who are incapable of seeing beyond the horizon of national frontiers.
Indignation is an insufficient response to this state of affairs. We need to find a real riposte to the real threats now posed to international security in the shape of exclusion, rural decline and urban decay, large-scale emigrations, deterioration of the environment, new pandemic diseases and the traffic in arms and drugs.
In \JUNESCO\j's own specific domain, we need to rally the forces of the human mind to this cause. We must concentrate our efforts on the development of human resources with a view to getting back, after decades when strategies have been characterized by a narrowly economic approach, to that which lies at the very heart of development, the human individual. We are learning to invest in that intangible asset, human creativity, and in the acquisition, transfer and pooling of knowledge, which hold the key to any process of individual and collective emancipation. Emancipation can never be achieved in isolation or by turning in upon oneself. It is by receptivity and interaction that cultures grow strong, and it is by experiencing and seeking out the Other that individual personalities are formed.
To counter the culture of war we must construct a culture of peace, a culture of conviviality, founded upon the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, of tolerance and solidarity, and upon respect for all human rights; a culture that rejects violence and seeks solutions to problems through dialogue and negotiation; a culture of prevention that endeavours to get to the very root of conflicts in order, as far as this is possible, to stop them erupting.
Development for peace and peace for development, these are the two thrusts of our action. Helping the weakest, bringing society's outcasts back into the fold, facilitating the exercise of civil rights and the participation of the whole population in development, learning to live together and build together in spite of disagreements and differences, these are our objectives.
\IReprinted from the \JUNESCO\j Courier, October, 1995.\i
