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What is the UN Charter?
The primal global authority: "A centre for the harmonizing of the actions of nations"
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What does the UN do?
An organization to prevent war: through strengthening relations in ways that ensure economic development
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The UN system: 6 principal organs of the UN
- International Court of Justice
- Security Council
- General Assembly
- Economic and Social Council
- Trusteeship Council
- Secretariat
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What section of the UN does the WB and IMF fall under?
Economic and Social Council
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What does ECOSOC stand for?
The UN Economic and Social Council
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What is the role of the ECOSOC?
To coordinate economic, social, and related development work of the UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions
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How many members of ECOSOC?
54 members
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What does the UNDP stand for?
The UN Development Project
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When was the UNDP set up?
1965
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What owns the UNDP?
Ownership under authority of ECOSOC. Own Executive Board with 36 members from across the regions
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How many countries does the UNDP have presence in?
177 countries
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Biggest donors to the UNDP?
Japan, US, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and UK
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Roles of the UNDP
- Technical support and policy advice
- Coordination: UN's global development network, ‘an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life’. Chairs the UN Development Group of 32 agencies etc
- Intellectual leadership and norm setting – the UN Intellectual History Project; targets
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What does the UNIHP stand for?
United Nations Intellectual History Project
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UN - Intellectual Leadership achievements - info
- The UNIHP - mapping "Constructive dissent"
- Broadening understanding of development - gender, poverty, sustainability
- Human Development reports
- Target Setting - 0.7%, MDGs, SDGs
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Challenges to the UN
- Southern critics - problems of resourcing
- Some northern critics - corruption, waste, lack of accountability
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UN Budget - more info
- Targets are rarely met in terms of target for aid
- E.g. Yemen - Target of $1.6 billion. Only $0.4 billion reached
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UN - Humanitarian challenges
- Numbers displaced by conflict quadrupled
- Shortfall for WHO results in closure of 184 health clinics in Iraq
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UN - Total Debt - 1996-2011
- Many countries are in debt to the UN
- 2011 - US$7 billion
- US - Nearly $2 billion
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UN - Competition with the WB
- International Development Association (IDA - part of the WB) is 15x larger in terms of money allocation than UNDP
- "Territorial" competition: knowledge, policy and advice
- Human Development Report (UN) vs. World Development Report (WB)
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UN: Response to funding problems: Engaging the non-state sector
- Global Compact - 1999 - 163 countries, over 8000 companies
- Corporate sponsership
- Division for Business Partnerships
- More resources and better ethics??
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Reform the UN??
To address the critiques
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What is the Delivering as One programme?
Increase the UN system’s impact through more coherent programmes, reduced transaction costs for governments, and lower overhead costs for the UN system.
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Brief idea of UN Delivering as One Programme?
- One Leader
- One Budget
- One Programme
- One Office
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When was the Delivering as One set up and how many countries?
- 8 countries (Now 30 countries have signed up to deliver as one)
- 2007 by the UN
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Success of the UN Delivering as One?
At the end of December 2011, the cut-off point for evaluation findings, the financial sustainability of “Delivering as one” was in considerable doubt, since key donors had indicated their intention to reduce or discontinue funding for it. On balance, the likelihood of sustaining “Delivering as one” is moderate’.
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UN Video: more info:
- 1945 - fascism has been defeated but at great human cost
- Atomic weapons had been deployed for the first time
- San Francisco - 51 nations came together as first meeting of UN
- Ambition: to save future generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm faith in human rights and to uphold international justice and keep up with progress development
- Began with a budget of $19 million with a world population of 2.3 billion
- Held by allies who had won WW2
- Cold war enemies, US and USSR prevented each others allies from joining
- 1960s - 100 countries
- Peace and prosperity was absent for much of the globe as colonisation
- 1970s - UNs world health organisation - declared small pox extinct its peacekeeping and refugee operation were - 150 countries
- 1990s - cold war was over and UN catapulted in maintaining new world order
- Tough orders to promises - Kyoto - CC
- 2000 - UN agreed on new MDGs
- World Food Programme (WFP), plus research on nutrition
- UN - 60% of development activity
- Refugee humanitarian crisis
- Security was bypassed for the American led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq
- NAtural disasters such as Indian ocean tsunami required multi agency response
- 193 members - 2015 - 16 separate peace keeping missions
- 85,000 members of staff and $40 billion dollars - 2000x first budget in 1946
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UN: When was the first meeting of the UN?
1945
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UN: How many countries were at the first meeting of the UN?
51 nations
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UN: What was their ambition?
To save future generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm faith in human rights and to uphold international justice and keep up with progress development
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UN: What was the budget of the UN at the start?
$19 million
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UN: How many members in the 1960s?
100 countries
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UN: 1970s:
UNs World Health Organisation - declared small pox extinct its peacekepper and refugee operations
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UN: How many countries in the 1970s?
150 countries
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UN: In the 2000s, what % of development activity did the UN do?
60% of development activity
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UN: How many members in 2015?
193 members
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UN: Budget of the UN now?
$40 billion
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UN: Activities for Development:
- 40% Development Related activities
- 25% peace keeping
- 20% humanitarian assistance
- 15% norm setting and other
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UN: MAin entities of the UN Development system?
- 23% UNDP
- 19% WFP
- 15% UNICEF
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UN: What is the UN Charter?
- The primal global authority: "a centre for the harmonising of the actions of nations"
- An organisation to prevent war: through strengthening relations in ways that ensure economic development
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UN: What is ECOSOC?
Role: to coordinate economic, social and related development work of the UN specialised agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions
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UN: How many members in ECOSOC?
- 54 members
- 14 from Africa
- 11 from Asia
- 6 Eastern European
- 10 Latin American
- 13 Western Europe and other
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When was the UNDP set up?
1965
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UN: The UNDP - more info
- 1965
- Ownership: under authority of ECOSOC. Own Executive Board with 36 members from across the regions
- Presence in 177 countries - one country, one vote decision making
- Biggest donors: Japan, US, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, UK
- Technical support and olicy advice
- Coordination: UNs global development network "an organisation advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life". Chairs the UN Development Group of 32 agencies
- Intellectual leadership and norm setting - the UN Intellectual History Project; targets
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The UNDP: Ownership
Ownership under authority of ECOSOC
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UNDP: presence in how many countries?
177 countries
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Biggest donors to UNDP?
Japan, US, UK, Sweden, Netherlands
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Why does the UN Global Compact exist?
- Exists to "assist the private sector in the management of increasingly complex risks and opportunities in the environmental, social and governance realms. By partnering with companies in this way, and leveraging the exertise and capacities of a range of other stakeholders, the Global Compact seeks to embed markets and societies with universal principles and values for the benefit of all"
- The worlds largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative
- Since its inception (26th July 2000) compact has grown dramatically
- Now more than 6,200 participants, of which businesses in 120 countries around the world
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When was UN Global Compact introduced?
26th July 2000
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How many participants in the UN Global Compact?
6200 participants
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How many countries does the UN Global compact operate in?
120 countries
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UN: A successful case:
- EITI - Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative:
- Started as NGO campaign - "publish what you pay" by NGOs including CAFOD, Global Witness, Open Society Institute, Oxfam, Save the Children UK and Transparency International
- Picked up by corporations and northern bilaterals
- Development into formal structure of EITI housed at DFID
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UN: How much funding does IDA get compared to UNDP?
IDA is 15x larger in terms of money allocated than UNDP
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UN: Response to funding problems
- Engaging the non-state sector:
- 60-80% of funding is specialised - rely on donations
- Global Compact - 1999 - Corporate Sponsership
- New UN agencies: UNFIP, Division for Business Partnerships
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UN: What are the implications of the weaknesses of the UN?
- Weakening southern representation, consolidation of neoliberalism and few controls
- More resources and better corporate ethics
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UN Budget 2014 - breakdown
- $6 billion regular budget
- $8 billion peacekeeping
- $30 billion voluntary contributions
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Challenges to the UN:
- Corridor politics at the FAO
- Different ideas - security vs development
- Millennium +5 meeting report: Bolton's 750 amendments
- "Little more than a meaningless sketchpad of world politics...and a grotesque tragedy" Bolton
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Who critiqued the UN?
- Bolton - 750 amendments
- "little more than a meaningless sketchpad of world politics"
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Challenges to the UN - more info
- Reforming the UN: Obsolete structures?
- 2006 - "high level panel on system wide cohenrence"
- Critics of process: rushed, failure to consult
- Critics of content: Undermining ECOSOC and the specialised agencies
- Undermining normative work
- Recommendations:
- More meetings and co-ordination bodies
- UN "Delivering as One"
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