HIST103: World History (1600–Present)

The UN system is financed in two ways: assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. The regular two-year budgets of the UN and its specialized agencies are funded by assessments. The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by national income statistics, along with other factors.

The assembly has established the principle that the UN should not be overly dependent on any one member to finance its operations. Thus, there is a "ceiling" rate, setting the maximum amount any member is assessed for the regular budget. In December 2000, the assembly agreed to revise the scale of assessments to make them better reflect current global circumstances.

As part of that agreement, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25 to 22 percent; this is the rate at which the United States is assessed. The United States is the only member that meets that ceiling; all other members' assessment rates are lower. Under the scale of assessments adopted in 2000, other major contributors to the regular UN budget for 2001 are Japan (19.63 percent), Germany (9.82 percent), France (6.50 percent), the United Kingdom (5.57 percent), Italy (5.09 percent), Canada (2.57 percent), and Spain (2.53 percent).

Special UN programs not included in the regular budget (such as UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Food Programme are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments.

Aims and activities

International conferences

The member countries of the UN and its specialized agencies – the "stakeholders" of the system – give guidance and make decisions on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. Governing bodies made up of member states include not only the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and the Security Council but also counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies. For example, the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board oversee the work of the World Health Organization. Each year, the U.S. Department of State accredits delegations to more than six hundred meetings of governing bodies.

When an issue is considered particularly important, the General Assembly may convene an international conference or special session to focus global attention and build a consensus for consolidated action. Recent examples include:

• 2007 Global Compact Leaders Summit: "Facing Realities: Getting Down to Business" (Geneva, Switzerland, July 5-6, 2007)
• ECOSOC 2007 High-Level Segment: First Annual Ministerial Review and Launch of the Development Cooperation Forum (Geneva, Switzerland, July 2-5, 2007)
• Seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government (UNHQ Vienna, Austria, June 26-29, 2007)
• Committee on the Rights of the Child (45th Session) (UNHQ New York, May 21-June 8, 2007)
• Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (38th Session) (UNHQ New York, May 14-June 1, 2007)
• United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (6th Session) (UNHQ New York, May 14-25, 2007)
• World Tourism Forum – For peace and sustainable development (Porto Alegre, Brazil, November 29-December 2, 2006)
• Human Rights Council (resumed 2nd session; 3rd session) (Geneva, Switzerland, November 27-December 8, 2006)
• Web 4 Dev Conference (UNHQ New York, November 20-22, 2006)
• International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty (UNHQ New York, November 15-16, 2006)
• United Nations Climate Change Conference (Nairobi, Kenya, November 6-17, 2006)
• Internet Governance Forum (Athens, Greece, October 30-November 2, 2006)
• Human Rights Committee (88th Session) (Geneva, Switzerland, October 16-November 3, 2006)
• Human Rights Council (2nd Session) (Geneva, Switzerland, September 18-October 6, 2006)
• Mid-term Comprehensive Global Review of the Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 (UNHQ New York, September 18-19, 2006)
• High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (UNHQ New York, September 14-15, 2006)
• Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (8th Session) (UNHQ New York, August 14-25, 2006)
• Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (36th Session) (UNHQ New York, August 7-25, 2006)

International Observances

The UN declares and coordinates international days, weeks, years, and decades in order to focus world attention on important issues. Using the symbolism of the UN, a specially designed logo for the year, and the infrastructure of the UN system to coordinate events worldwide, the various years have become catalysts for advancing key issues on a global scale. Some recent and upcoming observances include:

2000 – International Year for the Culture of Peace; and International Year of Thanksgiving

2001 – International Year of Volunteers; United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations; and International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

2002 – International Year of Mountains; International Year of Culture Heritage; and International Year of Ecotourism

2003 – International Year of Freshwater

2004 – International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and Its Abolition; and International Year of Rice

2005 – International Year of Microcredit; and International Year for Sport and Physical Education

2006 – International Year of Deserts and Desertification

2008 – International Year of the Potato; International Year of Planet Earth; International Year of Sanitation; and International Year of Languages

Arms Control and Disarmament

The 1945 UN Charter envisaged a system of regulation that would ensure the "least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources." Ironically, the first use of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided the immediate impetus to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament.

In fact, the first resolution of the first meeting of the General Assembly (January 24, 1946) was entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and called upon the commission to make specific proposals for the "elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction." In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established in conjunction with the United Nations to help both with peaceful uses of atomic energy and to monitor the proliferation of nuclear materials for weapons of mass destruction. The IAEA is presently focused on Iran's nuclear program and the dismantling of North Korea's.

The UN has established several forums to address multilateral disarmament issues. The principal ones are the First Committee of the General Assembly and the UN Disarmament Commission. Items on the agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons, nuclear and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security.

The Conference on Disarmament is the sole forum established by the international community for the negotiation of multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements. It has 66 members representing all areas of the world, including the five major nuclear-weapon states (the People's Republic of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). While the conference is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to the UN through a personal representative of the secretary-general; this representative serves as secretary-general of the conference. Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly often request the conference to consider specific disarmament matters. In turn, the conference annually reports on its activities to the General Assembly.

Human Rights

The pursuit of human rights has been a central theme of the United Nations. World War II atrocities and genocide led to a ready consensus that the new organization must work to prevent similar tragedies in the future. An early objective was creating a legal framework for considering and acting on complaints about human rights violations. The United Nations is particularly concerned with the rights of minorities, refugees, women, children, and others who do not have a political voice.

The UN Charter obliges all member nations to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights" and to take "joint and separate action" to that end. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 as a common standard of achievement for all. In contrast to the development of the UN Charter, the declaration had more significant input from civil society. It is not legally binding and was not ratified by many nations, including the United States, because it is seen as an infringement on national sovereignty; however, it exerts significant moral force in international relations.

The General Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues. Many nations were not satisfied with a voluntary declaration and proceeded to adopt two Human Rights Covenants in 1966, whose observance was obligatory after ratification, which has been done by most of the nations of the world. The combined Declaration and the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights make up what is called the International Bill of Human Rights. In addition, the UN has adopted several important human rights treaties under which nations make specific commitments: the rights of women, elimination of racial discrimination, torture, children, and migratory workers.

The UN and its agencies are central in upholding and implementing the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A case in point is support by the UN for countries in transition to democracy. Technical assistance in providing free and fair elections, improving judicial structures, drafting constitutions, training human rights officials, and transforming armed movements into political parties have contributed significantly to democratization worldwide. The UN has helped run elections in countries with little democratic history, including recently in Afghanistan and East Timor.

The UN is also a forum to support the right of women to participate fully in the political, economic, and social life of their countries. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly, Security Council resolutions, or International Court of Justice rulings.

In 2002, the International Criminal Court came into existence, whose development had been greatly shaped and hastened by civil society action.

Human Rights Council

In April 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights with the United Nations Human Rights Council. Its purpose is to address human rights violations. The UNCHR has repeatedly been criticized for the composition of its membership. In particular, several of its member countries themselves had dubious human rights records, including states whose representatives had been elected to chair the commission.

The new Council has stricter rules for peacekeeping membership, including a universal human rights review and a dramatic increase in the number of nations needed to elect a candidate to the body, from election-by-regional-slate on the 53-member Economic and Social Council to a majority of the 192 member General Assembly.

In May 2006, elections were held to elect all 47 members to the council. While some governments with poor records were elected, such as Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan, other rights violators that ran for election did not receive enough votes: Iran, Thailand, Iraq, and Kyrgyzstan. This change in membership has been cited as a positive first step for the council.

There are now seven UN-linked human rights treaty bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Council's secretariat services are provided for six of those (excluding the latter) by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Inaction on Genocide and Human Rights

The UN has been accused of ignoring the plight of people across the world, especially in parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Examples cited include the UN's inaction toward the Sudanese government in Darfur, the Chinese government's Sinicization of Tibet, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the wake of the Rwandan genocide, the UN and the international community in general drew severe criticism for its inaction. Despite international news media coverage of the violence as it unfolded, most countries, including France, Belgium, and the U.S., declined to intervene or speak out against the massacres. Canada continued to lead the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda, the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). However, the UN did not authorize UNAMIR to intervene or use force to prevent or halt the killing.

Humanitarian Assistance and International Development

In conjunction with other organizations, such as the International Red Cross, the UN provides food, drinking water, shelter, and other humanitarian services to populations suffering from famine, displaced by war, or afflicted by some other disaster. Major humanitarian arms of the UN are the World Food Programme (which helps feed more than 100 million people a year in 80 countries) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Currently, the UN High Commission for Refugees has projects in over 116 countries; over 89 million people are fed each year through the World Food Programme. The coordination of all of these efforts has worked unevenly in the UN system, and the secretary-general has proposed strengthening the role of ECOSOC in assuring that the multiple tasks are done effectively.

The UN is also involved in supporting economic development, particularly through the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals:^[9]

• Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
• Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
• Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
• Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the largest multilateral source of grant technical assistance in the world. Organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, are leading institutions in the battle against AIDS, especially in poor countries. The UN Population Fund is a major provider of reproductive services, also focusing on poor countries. It has helped reduce infant and maternal mortality in one hundred countries.

Annually, the UN publishes the Human Development Index (HDI), a comparative measure listing and ranking countries based on poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, and other factors.

The UN promotes human development through various agencies and departments:

• World Health Organization – eliminated smallpox in 1977 and is close to eliminating polio
• World Bank
• International Monetary Fund
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Peacekeeping

UN peacekeepers are sent to various regions where armed conflict has recently ceased in order to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage the combatants from resuming hostilities, for example, in East Timor until its independence in 2001. These forces are provided by member states of the UN; the UN does not maintain an independent military. All UN peacekeeping operations must be approved by the Security Council.

The founders of the UN hoped that it would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible by fostering an ideal of collective security. Those hopes have not been fully realized. From 1945 through 1991, the Cold War period, the division of the world into two camps – each with veto power in the Security Council – made agreement on peacekeeping matters extremely difficult.

However, this was a period of general stability in which nations did not often wage war with each other. Following the end of the Cold War, there were many calls for the UN to become the agency to resolve disputes and end genocide within countries. This was not a mandate of the original charter, which ratified national sovereignty. Nevertheless, the United Nations has sent troops to many nations to keep order based on the concepts of human rights and humanitarian intervention.

UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular scale, but including a surcharge for the five permanent members of the Security Council (who must approve all peacekeeping operations); this surcharge offsets discounted peacekeeping assessment rates for less developed countries. In December 2000, the UN revised the assessment rate scale for the regular budget and for peacekeeping. The peacekeeping scale is designed to be revised every six months.

Total UN peacekeeping expenses peaked between 1994 and 1995; at the end of 1995, the total cost was just over $3.5 billion. Total UN peacekeeping costs for 2000, including operations funded from the UN regular budget as well as the peacekeeping budget, were on the order of $2.2 billion.

The UN Peacekeeping Forces received the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2001, the United Nations and Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the UN, won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."

For participation in various peacekeeping operations, the United Nations maintains a series of United Nations Medals, which are awarded to military service members of various countries who enforce UN accords. The first such decoration issued was the United Nations Service Medal, awarded to UN forces who participated in the Korean War. The NATO Medal was designed on a similar concept; both the UN Service Medal and the NATO Medal are considered international decorations instead of military decorations.

Peace Enforcement

The UN has not only acted to keep the peace but also intervened in armed conflicts, the first and most prominent instance of which was the Korean War. Peace enforcement is authorized under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and can be undertaken when combatants refuse to accept peace.

In Korea, based on a Security Council decision to aid South Korea after it was invaded by North Korea on June 25, 1950, 16 nations supplied military forces to the UN Command (led by the United States), and five additional nations provided medical units. The war lasted over three years and ended in a stalemate. The intervention of UN forces prevented South Korea from forcibly being reunited with the North under a communist government. Since that time, South Korea has become not only a democracy but the world's 12th-largest economy. Arguably, the case of Korea may be the UN's greatest success story in security matters.

Historically, the UN has also supervised truces and monitored activity in buffer zones or peace zones (areas where norms are attempted to be established, which limit the destructive effects of violent conflict). It has also called for certain regions with high-conflict potential to be zones of peace. However, another conception of a peace zone is an area that serves as a model for cooperation between two enemies that can serve as the basis for future peace.^[10]

Treaties and International Law

The UN negotiates treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to avoid potential international disputes. Disputes over the use of the oceans may be adjudicated by a special court. The International Court of Justice is the main court to adjudicate disputes among states.