國際組織簡介
參見International organization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An international organization, or more formally intergovernmental organization (IGO), is an
organization, such as the European Community or the WTO, with sovereign states or other IGOs as members. Such organizations function according to the principles of intergovernmentalism, which means that unanimity is required. The European Union is however an exception to this rule in some areas.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are private organizations that can also be international in scope. Generally and correctly used, however, the term "international organization" is reserved for intergovernmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article.
法律性質（Legal nature）
Legally speaking, an international organization must be established by a treaty providing it with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international
organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by treaty, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred to as international organizations as well.
International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties; while all international organizations are founded on a treaty, many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration.
成員和功能（Membership and function）
International organizations differ in function, membership and membership criteria. Membership of some organizations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and so on.
Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries,
the Latin Union), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference).
Were it to come about, the ultimate international organization would be a Federal World Government.
In the nineteenth century, France was the fons et origo of many international organizations: This means that much of the driving force to form such bodies (such as those which maintain the SI (metric system)) came from the French, and that their headquarters is in France, often in Paris.
Under the Third Republic, the International Exposition of 1878 in that city held a great number of meetings of such international organizations - as opposed to the preceding regimes. The motivation was that to keep France a republic and not slip back into either a monarchist or Bonapartist regime, the republicans would underscore their inheritance of the crusading nature of the French Revolution against feudal cultural remnants within France, which had been generalized to the rest of feudal Europe, eventually to the world. Some conclude from this example that internationalism often has national origins, at the difference of globalism.
The Union of International Associations provides information on international organizations.
宗旨/目的（Purpose of International organizations）
International Organizations exist to increase international relations, promote education, health care, economic development, environmental protection, human rights, and conflict resolution throughout a region.
Global organizations
United Nations, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations
Organization of the Islamic Conference, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations INTERPOL
International Hydrographic Organization國際水文組織（IHO）
IDEA國際民主選舉基金會（International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance）
World Trade Organization Universal Postal Union
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Regional organizations
Organizations grouping almost all the countries in their respective continents. Note that Russia is member of both the Council of Europe (COE) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and Cuba is currently a suspended member of the Organization of American States (OAS)
Several smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.
Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colors indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.
Europe:
European Union (EU) Council of Europe (COE)
Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) European Space Agency (ESA)
European Patent Organisation (EPO)
Asia:
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Asian Development Bank (ADB) East Asian Summit (EAS)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Gulf Cooperation Council
Colombo Plan
Eurasia:
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Eurasian Economic Community
Central Asian Cooperation Organization TRACECA
GUAM
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
Africa:
African Union Conseil de l'Entente
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Southern African Development Community (SADC) Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Arab Maghreb Union
Western Hemisphere:
Organization of American States (OAS) South American Community of Nations Mercosur
Andean Community
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Central American Parliament
Rio Group NAFTA
Cooperation System of the American Air Forces(SICOFAA)
Trans-atlantic:
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Arctic Ocean:
Arctic Council Indian Ocean:
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)
Pacific:
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Pacific Islands Forum
Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Organizations with various membership criteria
International organizations that largely represent the independent states formed after the breakup of an empire. La Francophonie has overlapping membership with all three of the other organizations shown in the map.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC) Commonwealth of Nations
La Francophonie
Comunidade dos países de língua portuguesa (CPLP) Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Unión Latina
Non-Aligned Movement Arab League
Organization of the Islamic Conference Advisory Centre on WTO Law
Financial international organizations Bank for International Settlements International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Bank Group
參見
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%8B%E9%9A%9B%E7%B5%84%E7%B9%94 國際組織
國際組織是具有國際行為特徵的組織，國際組織可分為兩種主要型態：
政府間國際組織（IGOs）：成員都是主權國家或其它成員不必為主權國家的國際組織(像歐 盟和世界貿易組織).
非政府間國際組織（NGOs）：任何國際組織，凡未經政府間協議而建立，均被視為是為這 種安排而成立的非政府國際組織。包括獨立組織，民間組織，第三部門，志願協會。
從法律角度來講，政府間的國際組織必須有一部公約作為基礎，並且有一個法人。
成員及功能
國際組織在功能上，成員以及成員的標準上有區別. 某些國際組織(全球性國際組織)是允許 所有國家加入的， 這樣的組織有聯合國以及它的下屬機構，世界貿易組織等。還有一些國 際組織是接受世界上，某一地區或大陸的成員加入的，像歐盟，非洲聯盟，東盟、上海合作 組織等等。
區域性國際組織：
歐盟 歐洲理事會
歐洲自由貿易協會 歐洲太空總署 歐洲專利組織
亞洲：
東南亞國協 東亞峰會
南亞地區合作協會 波斯灣合作理事會
歐亞：
獨立國家國協 上海合作組織 歐亞經濟共同體 中亞合作組織 古阿姆五國集團 黑海經濟合作組織
非洲：
非洲聯盟 協約理事會
西非國家經濟共同體(西非)
南部非洲發展組織(南非) 政府間發展管理局 (東非) 阿拉伯馬格里布聯盟(北非)
美洲：
美洲國家組織 南美洲國家聯盟 南方共同市場 安第斯國家共同體 加勒比國家聯盟 東加勒比國家組織 中美洲議會
里約集團
北美自由貿易協定 大西洋：
北大西洋公約組織 歐洲安全合作組織
太平洋：
亞洲太平洋經濟合作會議 太平洋島嶼論壇
太平洋共同體 etc.
印度洋:
環印度洋地區合作聯盟
北冰洋：
北極理事會
經濟合作與發展組織
石油輸出國組織 大英國協
法語國協 葡語國協 拉丁語聯盟 阿拉伯國家聯盟 不結盟運動
伊比利亞－美洲合作組織 伊斯蘭會議組織
國際聯誼城市 加勒比國家聯盟
國際金融組織：
國際結算/清算銀行 國際貨幣基金 世界銀行
歐憲簡約
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=europa&article=449155&lng=1 A 'made-in-Portugal' European compromise
Under the chairmanship of Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, the 27-nation EU finally has a deal on a new reform treaty. This replaces the defunct draft constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
That left the bloc tied in knots, in what was widely referred to as a crisis of confidence over the enlarged Union's future.
At the conclusion of a summit of all the leaders, Socrates said: "I hope that this institutional model will last a long time and that the name 'Treaty of Lisbon' lasts a long time also."
Even Poland's ruling Kaczinski twins were happy.
Warsaw won a guarantee that a provision for small groups of states to delay EU decisions could only
be overturned by unanimity. The Poles were also promised a permanent advocate-general's job at the European Court of Justice.
Italy was spared a loss of face over its representation in the European Parliament --although Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Rome would not have blocked the treaty on this account.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, brandishing a clutch of concessions for the UK, ruled out further EU institutional reform for the foreseeable future.
Like the UK, Ireland also opted out of EU policy in home affairs, notably in police and judicial co- operation.
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=europa&article=449036&lng=1
EU-wide flexicurity policies gain currency in Lisbon
Two hundred thousand protesters, according to Portugal's main trade union, have marched in Lisbon, against pan-European labour reforms.
Special counsel to the Portuguese government
Maria Joao Rodrigues describes the ambitions embodied in so-called "flexicurity":
"The big gamble we're going to make is to create jobs in new sectors. Simultaneously, it is to prepare people. This is the initiative 'new competences for new jobs.'"
Flexicurity is a policy that makes hiring and firing easier while guaranteeing retraining and generous benefits during the transition from one job to another.
Much was made of the Lisbon Strategy at the start of this decade, whereby the EU leaders promised courageous policy action to make the bloc the world's foremost knowledge-based society-slash- economy.
Henri Monceau, from think tank 'Our Europe' talks about the new realities:
"Europeans are anxious to retire with more than the state guarantees, by investing in private pension funds. They understand they have to make sacrifices. They understand this means putting off the retirement age, either establishing a legal cut-off or through alternative incentive measures."
A broad flexicurity agreement has been reached between the European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope, representing employers in the bloc.
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由於自由貿易協定涵蓋的範圍廣泛，協定的名稱已不侷限於 Free Trade Agreement，而有 Closer Economic Relations(CER)、Closer Economic Partnership(CEP)、Association Agreement 等不同的稱呼。
The EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in a country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets (industrial goods, agricultural products, etc), and financial or technical assistance. Most recently signed AAs also include a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the third country.
Association Agreements have to be ratified by all the EU member states.
In recent history, such agreements are signed as part of two EU policies: Stabilisation and Association process (SAp) and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The countries of the western Balkans are covered by SAp and the EU signs with them "Stabilisation and Association Agreements" (SAA). The countries of the Mediterranean and the East European EU neighbours (including South Caucasus, but excluding Russia that insists on creating four EU-Russia Common Spaces) are covered by ENP. Both the SAA and ENP AP are based mostly on the EU's Acquis communautaire and its promulgation in the cooperating states legislation. Of course the depth of the harmonisation is less than for full EU members and some policy areas may not be covered
(depending on the particular state).
In addition to these two policies AAs with Free Trade Agreement provisions are signed with other states and trade blocs in the world like Chile, Mexico, South Africa and others.
[edit] Stabilisation and Association process
Covers Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stabilisation and Association Agreement
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.freewebs.com/rojbas/Kurd
%2520map.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.freewebs.com/rojbas/itemsofinterest.htm&h=480&w=532
&sz=40&tbnid=0owBHuNrlT6mxM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522kurd
%2522%26um%3D1&start=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1 The First Coins of Kurdistan
The Kurds are an ethnic group divided between Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. For centuries they have dreamed of having an independent homeland, however each time the dream has been thwarted.
An independent Kurdistan was promised after World War I, but instead their land was divided between Turkey and Iraq. After the First Gulf War in 1991 the Kurds in Iraq were granted a large degree of autonomy under the United Nations. They even used a different currency than the rest of Iraq, called the Swiss Dinar.
Many Kurds in Iraq were expecting to gain full independence with the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Several overseas Kurdish groups authorized the issuance of coins for what they expected would be a new independent nation after the fall of Saddam. However, the Turks feared that an independent Kurdistan in Iraq would further the demands of the Kurds within Turkey for more autonomy. They strongly objected to an autonomous Kurdistan within Iraq and threatened an invasion. The United States agreed with Turkey, so plans for an independent Kurdistan have once again been quashed.
The first coins however were still issued. The coins feature the Kurds historic past and wildlife native to their homeland. The 1 Dinar showing the most famous Kurd of all time, Saladin. Saladin founded the powerful Ayyubid dynasty and ruled from 1169 to 1193. His diplomatic skills, backed by well-disciplined army enabled him to gain control of Egypt, Palestine and Syria from Islamic as well as Christian opponents. Even his opponents admired him for his chivalry, justice and piety.
The 1 Dinar is struck in bronze-plated zinc, a material similar to that used in the current U.S. cent, has an authorized mintage of only 5,000 pieces.
The 10 Dinars coin pictures the native Persian Fallow Deer and has an authorized mintage of only 10,000 pieces. The coin is struck on nickel plated bronze. The silver proof 100 Dinar shows the Lesser Kestrel, a small bird of prey from the Falcon family that is native to Kurdistan. It has an authorized mintage of only 800 pieces. The gold proof 1000 Dinar features Saladin riding a horse carrying a Kurdish flag. It is struck in 22 Karat gold and contains just slighly under a half ounce of pure gold. Only 98 pieces were struck of this attractive gold coin. The 10 Dinar is 39mm (silver dollar size) while the other denominations are 27mm in diameter.
Mountains have figured prominently in Kurdish lore, so the reverse of all the coins features four mountain peaks, which also represents the four nations with major Kurdish populations. Above the mountains is a 21-rayed rising sun, which is a traditional Kurdish symbol predating the nations
conversion to Islam. The legends are in the two main dialects of Kurdish: Sorani and Kurmanji. A significant portion of the authorized mintages of the 1 and 10 Dinars are actually being distributed in Iraqi held portions of Kurdistan. The 100 and 1000 Dinars are Proof-only issues, so are not expected to circulate. These are beautiful and intriguing coins coin from a new nation that has yet to be born.
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=449683&lng=1
Ecologists get Green light in Swiss elections
The surge in demand for more eco-friendly policies, especially in Western Europe, has been reflected by the success of the Green Party in the Swiss elections. They increased their presence in parliament by at least five seats, and for the first time ever, voters elected one of their number to the upper house, the State Council.
Robert Cramer, from the Geneva canton, was among the founders of the Swiss Green movement, and said his victory is especially sweet. Switzerland is known for its neutrality, and generally conservative outlook, so the success of the Greens shows the calls for more Earth-friendly polices have struck a chord there too.
Analysts say worries about global warming and climate change contributed to the Greens' rise.
瑞士選舉
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=449697&lng=1
Nationalists ascendant as the Swiss roll Right
Banner headlines in Swiss newspapers tell the story; the country has lurched to the right with the SVP/UDC becoming the biggest party in parliament.
The party of Christoph Blocher pushed its low-tax, anti-immigration and Eurosceptic message so successfully that even traditionally left-leaning French-speaking cantons were convinced.
Its most controversial poster showed white sheep kicking out a black one. The most-recent variation of the party's anti-foreigner theme saw calls for new powers allowing entire immigrant families to be thrown out if a child breaks the law. Rebutting accusations of racism, the SVP/UDC said it was simply a tough line on crime. But not all Swiss are convinced. Some people blamed the other parties for a dull campaign which bored the voters.
Others attacked the Left for criticising Blocher without offering a credible alternative, and said Blocher should pay them for their help. So, for the first time in years, the Right is in the ascendant, mainly at the expense of the Socialists.
Switzerland will still be governed by the same four-party coalition, but now the Right has a greater say.
UN DAILY NEWS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE 2007 1023
AT UN ASSEMBLY, MINISTERS DISCUSS NEW PUSH TO FINANCE DEVELOPMENT The future of development financing is under discussion at a High-Level United Nations event in New York that has attracted the participation of ministers, central bank governors, government delegates and representatives of business and civil society, meeting to advance a 2002 agreement made in Monterrey, Mexico. “Progress in implementing the Monterrey Consensus has been mixed,”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, which opened today, referring to the understanding which emerged from the Mexico conference based on developing countries taking primary responsibility for mobilizing domestic resources and developed countries agreeing to promote an environment conducive to this effort.
Many developing and low-income countries had experienced stronger economic growth, he said, and official development assistance（ 官方發展援助，簡稱 ODA） had improved, but the
“sustained increase”in assistance needed to meet the targets agreed in Monterrey has not materialized. “Closing the funding gap is essential if we are to alleviate extreme poverty, fight diseases and achieve the other development targets,” Mr. Ban said. The Secretary-General called on developing countries to adopt policies that support sustained economic growth and job creation.
Developed countries must increase capital flows, especially to low-income countries, Mr. Ban argued. He called for a swift, development-oriented conclusion to the Doha trade negotiations, a sustainable path of debt repayment for low-income countries and greater participation by
developing countries in international financial institutions. “If implemented, existing commitments to finance development are enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, even in Africa,”
said General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim, who is chairing the meeting. “But each side of the partnership must deliver,” he said. “As developing countries adopt comprehensive national
strategies, then donors must deliver on commitments to provide additional assistance to enable them to succeed.” Mr. Kerim called for moving beyond the “simplistic division” of the world into North and South. “We live in a far more complex and integrated global age, with new emerging economic powers and donors as well as private philanthropy in all regions of the world.”
The General Assembly President added that the Monterrey Consensus combined the energies of governments, international institutions, faith groups, civil society and the private sector. Mr. Kerim stated that: “If this – the greatest anti-poverty partnership in history – is insufficient to break from
‘business as usual’ many developing countries and campaigners around the world will be left without hope. Global trust will be irredeemably undermined.” On behalf of the group of least developed countries, Bangladesh’s Mirza Md. Azizul Islam said they could not “effectively gain from trade” due to “a wide array” of harmful subsidies, non-tariff-restrictions and artificial standards imposed by importing countries. He called on such countries to provide “duty-free and quota-free market access” for all products from least developed countries. “Monterrey suffers from a serious implementation deficit,” said Pakistan’s Minister for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China. Official development assistance in 2006 had dipped to 0.3 per cent of gross domestic product, down from 0.36 in 2005. Developing
countries had little ability to influence financial trends, despite their importance for growth and development. Perversely, to guard against the volatility of financial flows, developing countries had accumulated large reserves that were transferred back to the deficit country, she said. This had helped to enlarge the net financial outflow from developing to developed countries, which had gone from $533 billion in 2005 to $662 billion in 2006.
The two-day meeting is addressing the six major areas of the Monterrey Consensus: mobilizing domestic financial resources, mobilizing international resources, international trade, international cooperation for development, external debt, and the coherence of the international monetary, financial and trading systems. The outcome of the current meeting will provide the basis for next year’s Review Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Doha, Qatar. In a related development, Barbara Adams of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) emphasized the importance of promoting gender equality when tackling the problems associated with financing for development. “It’s got to be economic growth plus; it’s not policies only to stimulate economic growth,” she said. Policies must be supported at the international level. “Just generating more resources without looking at the actual flows of how those flows help the society to develop can’t work,” she told a press briefing held at UN Headquarters in conjunction with the General Assembly meeting. She emphasized the need for policies that support gender equality, especially at the macroeconomic level, where decisions are made that “determine and drive how resources are gathered and how resources are allocated within societies.”
MYANMAR: UN ENVOY TO VISIT EARLIER THAN PLANNED
Myanmar has agreed to allow United Nations Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who is currently touring regional capitals to garner support ahead of a planned visit to the country in mid-November, to visit even sooner, the spokesperson for the world body announced today.
WITH NEPAL AT CROSSROADS, BAN KI-MOON URGES PARTIES TO AGREE ON FUTURE STEPS
The peace process in Nepal is facing unprecedented challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, urging the parties there to reach agreement on future steps, including a realistic timetable for elections that were to have been held next month but have been postponed to an as yet undetermined date. The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) continues to monitor arms and armed personnel “to serve the important purpose of fostering confidence and goodwill,” the report states. In a related development, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (聯合國人權事務高級專員辦事處，簡稱 OHCHR) in Nepal today issued a statement welcoming a recent decision by the country’s cabinet to institute quotas for recruiting women and members of marginalized groups to fill vacant posts in the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. OHCHR has long urged the police forces and other Government institutions to take steps to make their workforces more inclusive as part of their response to criticisms that they did not act impartially when responding to violence. “Making provisions to include historically
marginalized groups in the police forces and other civil services will signal that the commitment to inclusion made by political leaders is indeed genuine. It will also address some current demands of these groups, thus strengthening the peace process as it moves toward Constituent Assembly elections,” said Richard Bennett, OHCHR Representative in Nepal.
UN HEALTH AGENCY PROJECTS DRAMATIC EXPANSION OF FLU VACCINE STOCKS The projected supply of influenza vaccines in case of a global pandemic has soared this year, but medical officials should accelerate rather than relax their efforts to prepare for an outbreak, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) warned today. Experts anticipate that the world will be capable of producing 4.5 billion pandemic immunization courses per year by 2010, WHO said in a press release issued at its headquarters in Geneva.
UN AGENCY AIRDROPS EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF INTO FLOOD-RAVAGED UGANDA
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered by airdrop enough food for 33,000 people in northern Uganda who have had to leave their homes because of widespread flooding – the first time airdrop food assistance has been used in the Central African country.
WFP spokesperson Christiane Berthiaume told reporters today in Geneva that the agency, which started the relief programme two weeks ago, will continue to deliver emergency food supplies by airdrop for another three weeks. It is also delivering food supplies by truck, boat and helicopter to
an estimated 183,000 people, particularly in western Uganda, which has also been inundated.
In total, more than 480,000 Ugandans have been displaced by the flooding, which were the worst in decades in some areas of the country. Crop planting has been badly hit, and harvests are unlikely before February at the earliest.
The latest update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that dry weather for much of the past two weeks has led to improved road conditions, although some bridges remain open only to lightweight vehicles.
All but eight of 110 schools which had been unable to open for the third term have now re-opened, but school sanitation facilities are still struggling to cope, with many latrines waterlogged.
OCHA said it has also been able to reduce the incidence of malaria in those districts where insecticide-treated nets have been widely distributed.
But Ms. Berthiaume warned that, since 15 October, WFP has not received any contributions to its appeal for $26 million to help in the relief effort. So far the agency has received just over a fifth of the target amount, forcing it to dig into its stocks used normally to support refugees and those displaced by the ongoing armed conflict in northern Uganda.
RISK OF PROTRACTED STATUS QUO AND NEGOTIATIONS ON WESTERN SAHARA – BAN KI-MOON
The recent two rounds of United Nations-sponsored talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario on Western Sahara were positive but they could not be described as negotiations, given the two sides largely rejected each other’s views, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the issue.
Mr. Ban says “we now risk entering a protracted stage of negotiations and status quo” on Western Sahara, with more direction needed from the Security Council before any substantive negotiations can begin.
The UN-led talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario, which contest Western Sahara, took place in Manhasset, just outside New York, in June and again in August.
The Secretary-General writes that the fundamental positions of the two sides were mutually
exclusive and so it prevented them from seriously discussing each other’s proposal during the talks.
“As a result, the parties did, indeed, express their views and even interacted with one another, but they mainly did so by rejecting the views of the other party, and there was hardly any exchange that could in earnest be characterized as negotiations,” he states.
Morocco’s position is that its sovereignty over Western Sahara should be recognized, while the Frente Polisario’s position is that the Territory’s final status should be decided in a referendum that includes independence as an option.
Although the August talks ended with agreement that the status quo was unacceptable and that the talks process should continue, a mutually acceptable date for the next round has not yet been set.
Mr. Ban says his Personal Envoy on the issue, Peter van Walsum, has reminded both parties that
“nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
The acceptance of this principle by Morocco and the Frente Polisario “could be the key to the beginning of genuine negotiations, as it would encourage them to discuss proposals with elements that are unacceptable to them.”
In an April resolution, the Security Council called on the parties to enter into negotiations “without preconditions in good faith.”
Mr. Ban recommends that the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which has been in place since September 1991 to monitor the ceasefire between the two sides, be extended for another six months until 30 April next year.
He also encourages the parties to work with MINURSO to directly cooperate and communicate with each other on areas of mutual concern such as mine clearance.
In addition, the Secretary-General welcomes the fact that exchanges of family visits between Western Sahara and refugee camps in the Tindouf area of neighbouring Algeria have continued without interruption in recent months.
“I am encouraged that the parties have also agreed in principle to the expansion of the programme, and that seminars and a new round of registration will take place in the months ahead,” he says.
* * *
TOP UGANDAN REBEL SURRENDERS IN NEIGHBOURING DR CONGO, SAYS UN MISSION
A senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army（烏干達反抗軍，聖主抵抗軍，簡稱 LRA）, the northern Ugandan rebel group, has surrendered in the northeast of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo （剛果民主共和國）, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to that country reported today. No known criminal charges are pending against Mr. Makasi, who is believed to be operations and logistics commander of the LRA. The LRA, which has fought a civil war with the Ugandan Government since the mid-1980s, became notorious during the conflict for abducting as many as 25,000 children and using them as fighters and porters. The children were often subject to extreme violence shortly after abduction, with many girls allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape. In October 2005 the International Criminal Court （國際刑 事法院，簡稱 ICC）issued its first-ever arrest warrants against five senior members of the LRA:
the leader Joseph Kony, and commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
VOTING IN UN-MONITORED BALLOT ON SELF-DETERMINATION FOR TOKELAU MOVES TO ATOLLS
Voting in the referendum to determine whether Tokelau, a group of three small and isolated atolls, should have self-government in free association with New Zealand has moved to the atolls
themselves, the United Nations team of observers monitoring the ballot has reported.
UN FORUM ON PROMOTING THE USE OF SAFER NEEDLES KICKS OFF IN GENEVA With an estimated 6 billion injections given every year with syringes or needles that are reused without sterilization, the United Nations health agency has gathered together global experts to explore ways to promote the use of safer needles, which in turn can prevent the spread of viruses such as Hepatitis. The annual meeting of the Safe Injection Global Network (SIGN), which kicked off at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, brings together UN agencies, donors, experts, countries and
industry.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE FLEEING INSIDE IRAQ COULD RISE, UN REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS
Monitoring developments on the Iraq-Turkey border, the United Nations refugee agency today warned that the number of Iraqis displaced by conflict could rise beyond the already staggering 4.7 million who have fled either within the country or across borders. Ron Redmond, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees（聯合國難民事務高級專員）, said the agency “is worried about ongoing instability that could lead to further displacement.”
UN FOOD AID OFFICER RELEASED FOLLOWING SIX-DAY DETENTION IN SOMALIA The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (聯合國世界糧食計劃署，簡稱 WFP) today welcomed the release in Mogadishu of its officer Idris Osman, who had been detained by authorities in the Somali capital since 17 October.
聯合國簡史
聯合國（The United Nations，簡稱 UN） is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues.
The United Nations was founded in 1945 to replace the League of Nations（國聯）, in the hope that it would intervene in conflicts between nations and thereby avoid war. The organization began with fifty countries signing the United Nations Charter. The organization's structure still reflects in some ways the circumstances of its founding. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, each of which has veto power on any Security Council resolution, are the main victors of World War II or their successor states (alphabetical order): the People's Republic of China (which replaced the Republic of China in 1971); France; Russia (which replaced the Soviet Union in 1991);
the United Kingdom; and the United States.
There are currently 192 United Nations member states , encompassing almost every recognized independent state. From its headquarters in New York City, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is divided into administrative bodies, including the General Assembly, Security
Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ國際 法庭). Additional bodies deal with the governance of all other UN System agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO世衛) and United Nations Children's Fund（聯合國兒童基 金）. The UN's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General（秘書長）. The current
Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon（潘基文）of South Korea, who assumed the post on 1 January 2007.
Aims
The stated aims of the United Nations are to maintain international peace and security, to safeguard human rights, to provide a mechanism for international law, and to promote social and economic progress, improve living standards and fight diseases. It provides the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems.
Toward these ends it ratified a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Wartime poster of the United Nations
The United Nations was founded as a successor to the League of Nations, which was widely
considered to have been ineffective in its role as an international governing body, in that it had been unable to prevent World War II. Some argue that the UN's major advantage over the League of Nations is its ability to maintain and deploy its member nations' armed forces as peace keepers.
Others see such "peace keeping" as a euphemism for war and domination of weak and poor countries by the wealthy and powerful nations of the world. The term "United Nations"
was decided by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during World War II, to refer to the Allies. Its first formal use was in the 1 January 1942 Declaration by the United Nations, which
committed the Allies to the principles of the Atlantic Charter and pledged them not to seek a separate peace with the Axis powers. Thereafter, the Allies used the term "United Nations Fighting Forces" to refer to their alliance.
The idea for the UN was espoused in declarations signed at the wartime Allied conferences in Moscow, Cairo, and Tehran in 1943 . From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington, DC. Those and later talks produced
proposals outlining the purposes of the organization, its membership and organs, and arrangements to maintain international peace and security and international economic and social cooperation.
On 25 April 1945, the UN Conference on International Organizations began in San Francisco. In addition to the governments, a number of non-governmental organizations were invited to assist in drafting the charter. The 50 nations represented at the conference signed the Charter of the United Nations two months later on 26 June. Poland had not been represented at the conference, but a place had been reserved for it among the original signatories, and it added its name later. The UN came into existence on 24 October 1945, after the Charter had been ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council—the Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and by a majority of the other 46 signatories.
Initially, the body was known as the United Nations Organization, or UNO. However, by the 1950s, English speakers were referring to it as the United Nations, or the UN.
[edit] Membership
Main article: United Nations member states
With the addition of Montenegro on 28 June 2006, there are 192 United Nations member states, including virtually all internationally-recognized independent states. [6]
The United Nations Charter outlines the rules for membership:
Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the
obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
—United Nations Charter, Chapter 2, Article 4, http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/
A world map showing the members of the UN. Note that Antarctica has no government.
[edit] Group of 77 (G77)
Member states of G77The Group of 77 at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 130 member countries. The group was founded on 15 June 1964 by the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The first major meeting was in Algiers in 1967, where the Charter of Algiers was adopted and the basis for permanent institutional structures was begun.[7]
[edit] Headquarters
Main article: United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters in New York City
The United Nations headquarters was built on an 18 acre site in New York City purchased with a donation to the UN by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1946 [8]. Although it is in New York City, the land occupied by the United Nations headquarters is international territory. [9] [8] Its borders are First Avenue west, East 42nd Street south, East 48th Street north and the East River east. FDR Drive passes underneath the Conference Building of the complex.
Prior to 1949, the UN used various venues in London and New York State. [8]There are also major UN agencies in Geneva, The Hague, Vienna, Montreal, Copenhagen, Bonn, and elsewhere.
As the main UN building is aging, the UN is in the process of negotiating to build a temporary headquarters designed by Fumihiko Maki on First Avenue (Manhattan) between 41st and 42nd Streets for use while the current building is being expanded (see United Nations
headquarters#Renovation plans). NewsMax reported in March 2007 that the UN planned to begin a renovation of its complex, starting 2008. The Capital Master Plan is projected to last almost 10 years and could cost close to $2 billion.
[edit] Financing
Major contributors to the regular UN budget for 2006 [10] United States (22%) Japan (19.47%)
Germany (8.66%)
United Kingdom (6.13%) France (6.03%)
Italy (4.89%) Canada (2.81%) Spain (2.52%) China (2.05%) Mexico (1.88%)
The UN is financed from 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 their Gross National Income (GNI), with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income.[11]
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 revised the scale of assessments to reflect current global circumstances. As part of that revision, the regular budget ceiling was reduced from 25% to 22%. The U.S. is the only member that meets the ceiling. In addition to a ceiling rate, the minimum amount assessed to any member nation (or 'floor' rate) is set at 0.001% of the UN budget. Also, for the least developed countries (LDC), a ceiling rate of 0.01%
is applied.[11]
The current operating budget is estimated at $4.19 billion [11] (refer to table for major
contributors). Some member nations are overdue on their payments, most notably the United States (see United States and the United Nations).
Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget (such as UNICEF and UNDP) are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments. Most of this is financial
contributions, but some is in the form of agricultural commodities donated for afflicted populations.
[edit] Languages
The UN has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.[12]Five of the official languages were chosen when the UN was founded (the languages of the permanent members of the Security Council, plus Spanish, which was the official language of the largest number of nations at the time). Arabic was added in 1973; the number of Arabic-speaking member states had increased substantially since 1945, and the 1973 oil crisis provided the catalyst for the addition. The Secretariat uses two working languages, English and French.
The UN standard for English language documents (United Nations Editorial Manual) follows British usage and Oxford spelling. The UN standard for Chinese (Mandarin) changed when the Republic of China (Taiwan) was succeeded by the People's Republic of China in 1971. From 1945 until 1971 traditional characters were used, and since 1972 simplified characters have been used.
[edit] Organizational structure Main article: United Nations System
The United Nations system is based on five principal organs (formerly six - the Trusteeship Council suspended operations in 1994).[13]
[edit] General Assembly
UN General Assembly.Main articles: United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations. It is composed of all United Nations member states and meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the member states. At the start of each session all members have the opportunity to address the assembly over a two-week period. Traditionally, the Secretary-General makes the first
statement, followed by the president of the assembly. The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Westminster Central Hall in London and included representatives of 51 nations.
When the General Assembly votes on important questions, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. Examples of important questions includes: recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; and, budgetary matters. All other questions are decided by majority vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under Security Council consideration. The one state, one vote power structure theoretically allows states comprising just eight percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a two-thirds vote. [citation needed]
[edit] Security Council
Interior of the Security Council chambers.Main article: United Nations Security Council Further information: Reform of the United Nations Security Council
The UN Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. While other organs of the United Nations only make recommendations to member governments, the Security Council has the power to make decisions that member governments must carry out under the United Nations Charter. The decisions of the Council are known as United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
The Security Council is made up of 15 member states, consisting of five permanent seats and ten temporary seats. The permanent five are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. These members hold veto power over substantive but not procedural resolutions allowing a permanent member to block adoption but not debate of a resolution unacceptable to it. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms with member states voted in by the UN General
Assembly on a regional basis. The presidency of the Security Council is rotated alphabetically each month.
The Security council has been criticized for being unable to act in a clear and decisive way when confronted with a crisis. The veto power of the five permanent members has been cited as the cause of this problem. Under the "Uniting for Peace" resolution, adopted by the General Assembly in November 1950, the assembly may take action if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of its permanent members, fails to act where there appears to be a threat to international peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression. The makeup of the security council dates back to the end of World War II, and this division of powers no longer represents the state of the world. Critics question the effectiveness and relevance of the Security Council because enforcement relies on the member nations and there usually are no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.
[citation needed]
[edit] Economic and Social Council
Main article: United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting
international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The president is elected for a one- year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. ECOSOC meets once a year in July for a four-week session. Since 1998, it has held another meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Viewed separate from the specialized bodies it coordinates, ECOSOC's functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations.
In addition, ECOSOC is well-positioned to provide policy coherence and coordinate the
overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary bodies and it is in these roles that it is most active.
[edit] Secretariat
Main article: United Nations Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of
international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies.
The United Nations Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of the "highest
standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis.
The Charter provides that the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member country is enjoined to respect the international character of the Secretariat and not seek to influence its staff. The Secretary-General alone is responsible for staff selection.
The Secretary-General's duties include helping resolve international disputes, administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences, gathering information on the
implementation of Security Council decisions, and consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area include the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.
[edit] International Court of Justice
Peace Palace, seat of the ICJ. The Hague, NetherlandsMain article: International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, Netherlands, is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the Court.[14]
It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, sharing the building with the Hague Academy of International Law, a private centre for the study of international law. Several of the Court's current judges are either alumni or former faculty members of the Academy. Its purpose is to adjudicate disputes among states. The court has heard cases related to war crimes, illegal state interference and ethnic cleansing, among others, and continues to hear cases.[15]
A related court, the International Criminal Court (ICC), began operating in 2002 through
international discussions initiated by the General Assembly. It is the first permanent international court charged with trying those who commit the most serious crimes under international law, including war crimes and genocide. The ICC is functionally independent of the UN in terms of personnel and financing, but some meetings of the ICC governing body, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, are held at the UN. There is a "relationship agreement" between the ICC and the UN that governs how the two institutions regard each other legally.[16]
[edit] Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon, the UN's Secretary-General.The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, and acts as the de facto
spokesman and leader of the United Nations.
[edit] Selection
The UN Charter provides little guidance for the selection of the Secretary General. The Charter states that "the Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the
recommendation of the Security Council". Over the years the process has changed, but always requires bartering and negotiation on the part of the five veto holding members of the Security Council.
In practice, a few details have remained consistent:
the Secretary-General is appointed for a renewable five year term no Secretary-General has served more than two terms
candidates are selected using geographic rotation
no candidate has been elected from the country of a permanent member of the Security Council the General Assembly has never rejected a candidate recommended by the Security Council
[edit] List of Secretaries General
1. Trygve Lie ( Norway) - February 1946 until his resignation in November 1952
Lie, a foreign minister and former labour leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post. After UN involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Lie's reappointment in 1951. The U.S. circumvented the Soviet Union's veto and recommended reappointment to the General Assembly. Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to five, with eight abstentions. The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie and he subsequently resigned in 1952. [17]
2. Dag Hammarskjöld ( Sweden) - April 1953 until his death in a plane crash over Africa in September 1961
After a series of candidates were vetoed, Hammarskjöld emerged as an option that was acceptable to the Security Council. Hammarskjöld was re-elected unanimously to a second term in 1957. The Soviet Union was angered by Hammarskjöld's leadership of the UN during the Congo crisis, and suggested that the position of Secretary General be replaced by a troika, or three person executive.
Facing opposition from the Western nations, the Soviet Union gave up on its suggestion.
Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash over Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961. [17]
3. U Thant ( Burma) - November 1961 to December 1971
In the process of replacing Hammarskjöld, the developing world insisted on a non-European. U Thant was recommended; however, due to opposition from the French (Thant had chaired a committee on Algerian independence) and the Arabs (Burma supported Israel), he was only appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. The following year, Thant was unanimously re-elected to a full five year term. He was similarly re-elected in 1966. Thant did not seek a third term.[17]
4. Kurt Waldheim ( Austria) - January 1972 to December 1981
Waldheim launched a discreet but effective campaign to become the Secretary General. Despite initial vetoes from China and the United Kingdom, on the third round Waldheim was selected to become the Secretary General. In 1976 China initially blocked Waldheim's reappointment, but relented on the second ballot. In 1981, Waldheim's re-election for a third term was blocked by China, which vetoed his selection through 15 rounds. In the mid 1980s it would be revealed that a post WWII UN War Crimes Commission had labeled Waldheim a suspected war criminal based on his involvement with the German army. The files had been stored in the UN archive.[17]
5. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar ( Peru) - January 1982 to December 1991
Pérez de Cuéllar was selected after a six week deadlock between the selection of Waldheim and China's candidate, Salim Salim of Tanzania. Pérez de Cuéllar, a Peruvian diplomat, was a compromise candidate. He was re-elected unanimously in 1986.[17]
6. Boutros Boutros-Ghali ( Egypt) - January 1992 to December 1996
The 102 member Non-Aligned Movement insisted that the next Secretary General come from Africa. With a majority in the General Assembly and the support of China, the Non-Aligned Movement had the votes necessary to block any unfavourable candidate. The Security Council conducted five anonymous straw polls - a first for the council. Boutros-Ghali emerged with 11 votes on the fifth round. In 1996 the U.S. vetoed the re-appointment of Boutros-Ghali, claiming he had failed in implementing necessary reforms to the UN. Boutros-Ghali responded saying he was given insufficient resources caused in large part by countries with large debts owed to the UN, such as the
U.S.[17]
7. Kofi Annan ( Ghana) - January 1997 to December 2006
Annan was head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations before being selected as Secretary General. In 2001, after implementing changes such as a more fiscally responsible budget, Annan was unanimously re-elected to a second term.[17]
8. Ban Ki-Moon ( South Korea) - January 2007 to present
[edit] Activities
The United Nations plays a large role in the field of global social activities. The UN actively encourages international human rights (see Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The United Nations has focused considerable attention on decolonisation and supporting the new states that have arisen as a result. The organisation occupies itself at present in the fields of economic development, world health, the state of the environment, the health of animals, education, and refugee work.
[edit] Conferences
The Berlin born polar bear Knut will be the official mascot animal for the Conference on Biological Diversity to be held in Bonn 2008. He is the symbol figure of global climate change.When an issue is considered particularly important, the General Assembly may convene an international
conference to focus global attention and build a consensus for consolidated action. Examples include:
International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa (ICARA 2) established in 1984;
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (the 1992 Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil discussed issues including climate change, biological diversity, and sustainable development and led to the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development;
The International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, approved a programme of action to address the critical challenges between population and sustainable development over the next 20 years;
The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China in 1995, sought to accelerate implementation of the historic agreements reached at the Third World Conference on Women;
The Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), convened in 1996 in Istanbul, Turkey, considered the challenges of human settlement development and management in the 21st century; and
In 1998, the General Assembly called a conference to establish an International Criminal Court (ICC), where it adopted the "Rome Statute". The ICC became operational in 2002 and began its first
case in 2006.[18]
[edit] UN International Observances
The UN declares and coordinates international observances to focus world attention on important issues and remembrance days. Using the symbolism of the UN, a specially designed logo for the year, and the infrastructure of the UN System, various days and years have become catalysts to advancing key issues of concern on a global scale. For example, World Tuberculosis Day, Earth Day and International Year of Deserts and Desertification [1].
[edit] Peace and security
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". The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided immediate impetus to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament. In fact, the first resolution of the first meeting of the General Assembly (24 January 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". [citation needed]
[edit] Disarmament
Main article: General Assembly First Committee
The UN has established several forums to address multilateral disarmament issues. The principal ones are the First Committee of the General Assembly, the UN Disarmament Commission, and the Conference on Disarmament. Items on the agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons and land mines, nuclear and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security.
[edit] Peacekeeping
UN peacekeeping missions. Dark blue indicates current missions, while light blue represents former missions.Main articles: Peacekeeping and List of UN peacekeeping missions
UN peacekeepers are sent to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased (or paused) to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities.
Since the UN does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the UN. All UN peacekeeping operations must be approved by the Security Council.
Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the CongoThe founders of the UN had envisaged that the UN would act to prevent conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible. Those hopes have not been fully realized. During the Cold War (from about 1945 until 1991), the division of the world into hostile camps made peacekeeping agreement extremely difficult. Following the end of the Cold War, there were renewed calls for the UN to become the agency for achieving world peace, as several dozen military conflicts continue to rage around the globe. However, the breakup of the Soviet Union also left the U.S. in a unique position of global dominance, creating a variety of new challenges for the UN.
UN peacekeeping light armed mechanised vehicle in Bovington tank museum, DorsetThe UN Peace-Keeping Forces (called the Blue Helmets) received the 1988 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 2001, the UN and Secretary General Kofi Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." [19] The UN maintains a series of United Nations Medals awarded to military service members 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 is designed on a similar concept and both are considered international decorations instead of military decorations.
[edit] Assessments
A large share of UN expenditures addresses the core UN mission of peace and security. The peacekeeping budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year is approximately $5 billion (compared to approximately $1.5 billion for the UN core budget over the same period), with some 70,000 troops deployed in 17 missions around the world. [citation needed]
UN peace operations are funded by assessments, using a formula derived from the regular funding scale, but including a weighted surcharge for the five permanent Security Council members, who must approve all peacekeeping operations. This surcharge serves to offset 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 and was projected to be near 27% in 2003. The US intends to pay
peacekeeping assessments at these lower rates and has sought legislation from the U.S. Congress to allow payment at these rates and to make payments towards arrears. [citation needed]
[edit] Successes in security issues
The Human Security Report 2005,[20] produced by the Human Security Centre at the University of British Columbia with support from several governments and foundations, documented a dramatic, but largely unrecognized, decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War. Statistics include:
a 40% drop in violent conflict;
an 80% drop in the most deadly conflicts; and an 80% drop in genocide and politicide.
The report argued that international activism — mostly spearheaded by the UN — has been the main cause of the post–Cold War decline in armed conflict, though the report indicated the evidence for this contention is mostly circumstantial.
In the area of Peacekeeping, successes include:
The US Government Accountability Office concluded that UN Peacekeeping is eight times less expensive than funding a U.S. force.[21]
A 2005 RAND Corp study found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts.
It also compared UN nation-building efforts to those of the U.S., and found that of eight UN cases, seven are at peace, whereas of eight U.S. cases, four are at peace.[22]
[edit] Failures in security issues
In many cases UN members have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council
resolutions. Iraq is said to have broken 17 Security Council resolutions dating back to June 28, 1991 as well as trying to bypass the UN economic sanctions [citation needed]. For nearly a decade, Israel delayed implementing resolutions calling for the dismantling of Jewish communities in "occupied territories" [citation needed]. Such failures stem from the UN's intergovernmental nature — in many respects it is an association of 192 member states who must reach consensus, not an
independent organization. Even when actions are mandated by the 15-member Security Council, the Secretariat is rarely given the full resources needed to carry out the mandates [citation needed].
Other serious security failures include:
Failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the killings of nearly a million people, due to the refusal of security council members to approve any military action.[23]
Failure by MONUC (UNSC Resolution 1291) to effectively intervene during the Second Congo War, which claimed nearly five million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 1998- 2002, and in carrying out and distributing humanitarian aid.
Failure to intervene in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre: despite the fact that the UN designated Srebrenica a "safe haven" for refugees and assigned 600 Dutch peacekeepers to protect it, the peacekeeping force was not authorised to use force.
Failure to successfully deliver food to starving people in Somalia; the food was instead usually seized by local warlords. A U.S./UN attempt to apprehend the warlords seizing these shipments resulted in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
Failure to implement the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 calling for disarmament of Lebanese paramilitary groups such as Fatah and Hezbollah.
UN ambulance caught on tape transporting armed Palestinians forces in 1994.[24][25][26]
Allegations of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers during UN peacekeeping missions in Congo [27],
