LECTURE SIX

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LECTURE SIX

• THE UNITED NATIONS 1945 TO THE PRESENT

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Last section of lecture five

• The UN Secretariat approximately 14,000
  permanent staff headed by UN Secretary-General.
  Organized into departments which have functions
  related to other main organs eg. Special
  political affairs, security affairs, economic and
  social affairs. Other departments have
  administratve functions or provide services eg.
  Translation and interpreting. All departments
  have a role in conference organization and
  follow-up work.
• UN S-G is assisted by an Executive Office. The
  present administration has organized the
  coordination of the UNs work into four Executive
  Committees responsible for Peace and Security,
  Humanitarian Affairs, Economic and Social
  Affairs, Development.
• In general the political and security activities
  are based at the New York Office while many
  development/social activities take place in
  Geneva. However, the UNDP is located in New York
  also.

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UN Secretary-General

• UN S-Gs main task is to direct the Secretariat
  staff, coordinate activities of overall UN
  system.
  
• Art. 99 can bring to attention of UNSC any
  matter that threatens peace and security of
  international community and suggest initiative.
  This has widened scope for SGs independent
  activity.
• SGs quiet diplomacy role. Used extensively by
  Hammarskjold, Perez de Cuellar and current SG,
  Kofi Annan.
  
• There have been seven SGs so far. Each can serve
  a maximum of two five year terms (1) Trygve Lie
  of Norway (2) Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden (3) U
  Thant of Burma (4) Kurt Waldheim of Austria (5)
  Perez de Cuellar of Peru (6) Boutros Boutros
  Ghali of Egypt (7) Kofi Annan of Ghana.

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History of UN

• Both external and internal influences have
  contributed to changing structures, locus of
  authority, decision-making procedures,
  operational focus of UN system over the years.
• Some contributing factors Cold War
  decolonization formation of the European
  Community rising oil prices and reductions in
  prices of most other commodities in the 1970s
  collapse of Gold Standard international debt
  crisis collapse of Eastern Bloc, disintegration
  of Soviet Union unipolarity and emergence of new
  patterns of global conflict.

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Phase One 1945 mid-1950s

• 1945 51 member states in contrast to 191 today.
• Raison detre collective security
• Operations focused on emergence of new states and
  regional stability in this new post-war political
  era egs. India-Pakistan region 1947 1949
  Palestine 1948.
• Worsening relations between US and USSR, growing
  bipolar divisions, growing paralysis in
  decision-making procedures of UNSC.
  
• Regional economic commissions in Europe and Latin
  America. Emerged out of operations to rebuild
  Europe.

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Phase Two Mid-50s to 1960s

• Major wave of decolonization in Asia and Africa.
  Formation of Non-Aligned Movement in 1955. New
  states wished to distance themselves from
  East-West tensionsnonetheless, Cold War
  competition spilled over into many decolonization
  conflicts eg. IndoChina.
• New focus on development machinery of UN trade
  and aid issues, in response to perceived needs of
  post-colonial member states.
  
• Charter amendments to increase representation of
  developing countries on UNSC (non-permanent
  seats) and in ECOSOC.
  
• Formation of UNCTAD, UNIDO and World Banks soft
  loan facility, the IDA.

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Phase Three NIEO and North-South Confrontation
1970s

• More radical Third World demands aimed at
  restructuring international political and
  economic system. Campaign for a transfer of
  economic resources and a redistribution of
  economic and managerial control throughout UN
  system.
• External climate US defeat in Vietnam, OPEC
  formation and action, oil price rises, collapse
  of Bretton Woods system.
  
• 1973 NAM formulated Declaration and Plan of
  Action for the Establishment of a New
  International Economic Order (NIEO).
  
• 1974 6th Special session of UNGA in May
  December 1974 UNGA adopted Charter on the
  Economic Rights and Duties of States.
  
• A number of other N/S conferences and ongoing
  negotiations 1974 - 1979

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NIEO contd

• Results of this period Three major UNGA
  resolutions 1974 and 1977
  
• UNCTAD Codes of Conduct egs. Transfer of
  Technology, Restrictive Business Practices
  
• UNCTAD mechanisms to stabilize commodity prices
  commodity agreements on cocoa and rubber
  
• GATT GSPs enabling legislation 1971
• WHO Code on Infant Feeding Formula, adoption of
  programme for Basic Health for All by year 2000
  
• IMF modified terms of its compensatory financing
  mechanism, World Bank set up Basic Needs programme

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Northern Response

• Beyond organizational responses outlined,
  reluctance of industrialized world to make
  further concessions (exception Lome Convention)
  
• Attempts to relocate crucial economic
  decision-making to other fora eg. GATT, G7, IMF
  and World Bank with weighted voting, OECD.
  Refusal to discuss restructuring of financial
  agencies.
• Calls to change voting and membership rules of UN
  bodies
  
• Switch to consensus decision-making rather than
  majority voting
  
• Reluctance to continue funding organizations
  where they perceived programmes conflicted with
  Northern/Western interests eg UNESCO and New
  Information Order US and British withdrawal

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Phase Four Crisis of 1980s

• Debt Crisis, impasse in North-South negotiations,
  withering away of NIEO programme together with
  bargaining strength and solidarity of Third World
  countries.
• Rise of Neoliberal ideology, reassertion of
  conservative Western leadership
  
• UNs financial crisis 1985 bankruptcy due to
  major arrears in payments by many states for a
  variety of reasons. Need for scaling down of
  staffing, offices, functions of organization
• Universal calls for UN restructuring and reform

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Revitalization of UN late 1980s post Cold War
period

• Initial revival of UN system due to superpower
  collaboration that began with Gorbatchev
  initiatives (1985-1986) and US-Soviet agreement
  to jointly work for the resolution of regional
  conflicts in the late 1980s. This opened the way
  for a major role for UNSG and the peace-keeping
  arm of UN in Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan,
  end of Iran-Iraq war, independence of Namibia,
  new government in Cambodia, Central American
  peace settlements.

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• Following Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and
  international response, special UN Summit 1992 to
  discuss UNs peace and security role in a
  post-Cold War world. Optimistic outlook for a
  vastly expanded role for multilateral management
  of global peace and security as well as economic
  issues.
• Agendas peace-keeping and security enforcement
  disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation
  refugees and humanitarian assistance human
  rights the environment and sustainable human
  development neoliberal economic programme of
  trade liberalization, capital flows, economic
  restructuring.

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New Challenges

• Ongoing debates on UN reform various
  perspectives and proposals
  
• New challenges limited UN capacity to deal with
  all the new tasks
  
• Unipolarity and its problems
• What of the UN development agenda?

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READINGS

• Karns and Mingst (2004), chap. 4.
• Karns and Mingst (1995), various chapters.
• Forsythe, Weiss and Coate, chap. 8.
• Taylor and Groom (2000), chap. 8 by Sally
  Morphet.
  
• R. Maddock, The Global Political Economy, chap.
  4 in Baylis and Rengger (1992), The Dilemmas of
  World Politics
  
• D. Benn (2003), chaps. 1 4.
• Baylis and Smith, The Globalization of World
  Politics, chap. 16.
  
• J. Krasno, The United Nations Confronting the
  Challenges of a Global Society, chaps. 6, 8.