UPSC IAS exam preparation - International Institutions - Lecture 3

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United Nations

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1.0 United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945 to promote international co-operation. Its predecessor was the ineffective League of Nations (LoN) that collapsed under the internal contradictions of its leading members, and the second world war ensued. Lessons were learned from that experience, and the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated talks on a successor agency to the League. The UN was established in order to prevent another such conflict. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

The United Nations was formulated and negotiated among the delegations from the Soviet Union, the UK, the US and China at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. The UN officially came into existence 24 October 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council-France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US-and by a majority of the other 46 signatories (so a total of 51).

At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Some say the UN was actually founded in January 1942 with the signing of the "Declaration of the United Nations" by governments of the 26 founding states, including the Polish wartime govt-in-exile based in London. This was the first time the term, the “United Nations,” was used in an official document. 

UN objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945. The UN's Chief Administrative Officer is the Secretary-General. Year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

The six official languages of the United Nations, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The UN and its agencies are immune from the laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the UN's impartiality with regard to the host and member countries. The United Nations obey the Noblemaire principle, binding on any system organization. This principle calls for salaries that will draw and keep citizens of countries where salaries are highest, and also calls for equal pay for work of equal value independent of the employee's nationality. Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that is administered by the UN organizations.

1.1 Cold War and the UN

The UN's mission to preserve world peace was not an easy one in its early decades due to the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The UN participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo, as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947. UN added many new members after widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.

1.2 The UN Charter 

Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more. Though critics claim the UN is not as effective as it should be, the UN strives hard when any international crisis strikes.

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.

1.2.1 The structure of the UN Charter 

The Preamble and 19 Chapters make up the UN Charter.

Preamble

Chapter I: (Articles 1-2) Purposes and Principles 

Chapter II: (Articles 3-6) Membership

Chapter III: (Articles 7-8) Organs

Chapter IV: (Articles 9-22) The General Assembly

Chapter V: (Articles 23-32) The Security Council

Chapter VI: (Articles 33-38) Pacific Settlement of Disputes

Chapter VII: (Articles 39-51) Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, 

                               Breaches of the Peace and Acts of Aggression

Chapter VIII: (Articles 52-54) Regional Arrangements

Chapter IX: (Articles 55-60) International Economic and Social Co-operation

Chapter X: (Articles 61-72) The Economic and Social Council

Chapter XI: (Articles 73-74) Declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories

Chapter XII: (Articles 75-85) International Trusteeship System

Chapter XIII: (Articles 86-91) The Trusteeship Council

Chapter XIV: (Articles 92-96) The International Court of Justice

Chapter XV: (Articles 97-101) The Secretariat

Chapter XVI: (Articles 102-105) Miscellaneous Provisions

Chapter XVII: (Articles 106-107) Transitional Security         

Arrangements

Chapter XVIII: (Articles 108-109) Amendments

Chapter XIX: (Articles 110-111) Ratification and Signature

1.2.2 The Preamble of the UN Charter

2.0 Six principal organs of the UN

There are six principal organs of the UN. These are

1. General Assembly (UNHQ, New York) - the main deliberative assembly
2. Security Council (UNHQ, New York) - for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security in international matters
3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (UNHQ, New York) - for promoting international economic and social co-operation and development
4. Secretariat (UNHQ, New York) - for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN), hence an administrative organ
5. International Court of Justice (The Hague, Netherlands) - the primary judicial organ, a Universal court
6. United Nations Trusteeship Council - inactive since 1994, upon the independence of Palau, the last remaining UN trustee territory.

2.1 General Assembly (UNGA)

The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.  Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend and address. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.  The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office, from among the members on a rotating basis, and has 21 vice-presidents. Its first session convened 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London and included representatives of 51 nations.

Top Agenda of General Assembly

• Adopts the budget
• May resolve non-compulsory recommendations to states or suggestions to the Security Council (UNSC)
• Elects the non-permanent members of the UNSC; all members of ECOSOC; the UN Secretary General (following his/her proposal by the UNSC); and the fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Each country has one vote
• Decides on the admission of new members, following proposal by the UNSC

When the General Assembly votes on important questions, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. Examples of important questions include 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 a 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 consideration by the Security Council.

Draft resolutions can be forwarded to the General Assembly by eight committees: the General Committee, the Credentials Committee, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural), the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), and Sixth Committee (Legal).

2.2 The Security Council (UN SC)

Under the Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members - five permanent with veto power and ten elected - and each Member has one vote. Under the terms of Charter Article 25, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions, the only such instance for any UN organ. The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates, and changes, every month. The decisions of the Council are known as United Nations Security Council resolutions.

At present, the permanent members are 'great powers' that won the second World War viz., China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The non-permanent members are Angola (term ends 2016), Chad (2015), Chile (2015), Jordan (2015), Lithuania (2015), Malaysia (2016), New Zealand (2016), Nigeria (2015), Spain (2016), and Venezuela (2016). The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions, allowing a permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. This has been criticized by nations like India as an anachronistic situation in a rapidly changing 21st century scenario. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with member states voted in by the General Assembly on a regional basis.

One proposed measure is to increase the number of permanent members by five, which, in most proposals, would include Brazil, Germany, India, Japan (known as the G4 nations), one seat from Africa (most likely between Egypt, Nigeria or South Africa) and/or one seat from the Arab League. On 21 September 2004, the G4 nations issued a joint statement mutually backing each other's claim to permanent status, together with two African countries. Currently the proposal has to be accepted by two-thirds of the General Assembly (128 votes).

On 15 April 2011, China officially expressed its support for an increased Indian role at the United Nations, without explicitly endorsing India's Security Council ambitions. However, recently China has expressed its support for Indian candidacy as a permanent member of the Security Council if India revoked its support for Japanese candidacy, thus making India the only candidate that has received some form of support from all permanent members and most other nations as well.

The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice.

The UNSC is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. It may adopt compulsory resolutions. 

Security Council resolutions are typically enforced by UN peacekeepers, military forces voluntarily provided by member states and funded independently of the main UN budget. As of 2016, 106,245 peacekeeping soldiers and 18,501 civilians were deployed on 16 peacekeeping operations and 1 special political mission. Evaluations of the Security Council's effectiveness are mixed, and calls for its reform predate the body's first meeting; however, little consensus exists on how its structure should be changed. 

2.3 The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies.  It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. It is the United Nations' central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.

Thus, ECOSOC

• is responsible for co-operation between states as regards economic and social matters;
• co-ordinates co-operation between the UN's numerous specialized agencies;
• has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly to serve staggered three-year mandates. 

The ECOSOC helps the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co-operation and development.  The council has one annual meeting in July, held in either New York or Geneva. 

Viewed as separate from the specialized bodies it co-ordinates, ECOSOC's functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. Owing to its broad mandate of co-ordinating many agencies, ECOSOC has at times been criticized as unfocused or irrelevant.

ECOSOC's subsidiary bodies include the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which advises UN agencies on issues relating to indigenous peoples; the United Nations Forum on Forests, which co-ordinates and promotes sustainable forest management; the United Nations Statistical Commission, which co-ordinates information-gathering efforts between agencies; and the Commission on Sustainable Development, which co-ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working toward sustainable development. ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations; by 2004, more than 2,200 organizations had received this status.

A number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations.

In a report issued in early July 2011, the UN called for spending nearly USD 2 trillion on green technologies to prevent what it termed "a major planetary catastrophe", warning that "It is rapidly expanding energy use, mainly driven by fossil fuels, that explains why humanity is on the verge of breaching planetary sustainability boundaries through global warming, biodiversity loss, and disturbance of the nitrogen-cycle balance and other measures of the sustainability of the earth's ecosystem".

The design is the message: The ECOSOC chamber in the UN Conference Building was a gift from Sweden. It was conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius. The pipes and ducts in the ceiling above the public gallery were deliberately left exposed; the architect believed that anything useful could be left uncovered. The "unfinished" ceiling is a symbolic reminder that the economic and social work of the United Nations is never finished; there will always be something more which can be done to improve living conditions for the world's people.

2.4 The UN Secretariat

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs.  

The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term. UN staff members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.  But serving the cause of peace in a violent world is a dangerous occupation. Since the founding of the United Nations, hundreds of brave men and women have given their lives in its service.

The current Secretary-General is António Guterres.

The Secretary-General acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's "chief administrative officer". Article 99 of the charter states that the Secretary-General can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that Secretaries-General since Trygve Lie have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on the world stage. 

The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues.

2.5 The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). The Court's role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. The court has heard cases related to war crimes, illegal state interference, ethnic cleansing, and other issues. The ICJ can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions.

The ICJ is composed of 15 judges who serve 9-year terms and are appointed by the General Assembly; every sitting judge must be from a different nation.

Among some noted decisions, the court had ruled that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law.

The Court's workload covers a wide range of judicial activity. After the court ruled that the United States's covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law (Nicaragua v. United States), the United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 to accept the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings. However, such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Council, which the United States used in the Nicaragua case.

Composition of the ICJ: The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of people nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Elections are staggered, with five judges elected every three years to ensure continuity within the court. Should a judge die in office, the practice has generally been to elect a judge in a special election to complete the term.

No two judges may be nationals of the same country. According to Article 9, the membership of the Court is supposed to represent the "main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world". Essentially, that has meant common law, civil law and socialist law (now post-communist law).

There is an informal understanding that the seats will be distributed by geographic regions so that there are five seats for Western countries, three for African states (including one judge of francophone civil law, one of Anglophone common law and one Arab), two for Eastern European states, three for Asian states and two for Latin American and Caribbean states.

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States) always have a judge on the Court, thereby occupying three of the Western seats, one of the Asian seats and one of the Eastern European seats. The exception was China, which did not have a judge on the Court from 1967 to 1985 because it did not put forward a candidate.

Judges may deliver joint judgments or give their own separate opinions. Decisions and Advisory Opinions are by majority, and, in the event of an equal division, the President's vote becomes decisive, which occurred in the Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict (Opinion requested by WHO), [1996] ICJ Reports 66. Judges may also deliver separate dissenting opinions.

Jurisdiction of the ICJ: As stated in Article 93 of the UN Charter, all 193 UN members are automatically parties to the Court's statute. Non-UN members may also become parties to the Court's statute under the Article 93(2) procedure. For example, before becoming a UN member state, Switzerland used this procedure in 1948 to become a party, and Nauru became a party in 1988. Once a state is a party to the Court's statute, it is entitled to participate in cases before the Court. However, being a party to the statute does not automatically give the Court jurisdiction over disputes involving those parties. The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the two types of ICJ cases: contentious issues and advisory opinions.

Some difficult cases

• A dispute over the course of the maritime boundary dividing the U.S. and Canada in the Gulf of Maine area
• A complaint by the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the DRC's sovereignty had been violated by Uganda and that DRC had lost billions of dollars worth of resources, was decided in favor of the DRC
• A complaint by Iran after the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser
• A complaint by the United States in 1980 that Iran was detaining American diplomats in Tehran in violation of international law
• A dispute between Tunisia and Libya over the delimitation of the continental shelf between them

When deciding cases, the Court applies international law as summarised in Article 38 of the ICJ Statute, which provides that in arriving at its decisions the Court shall apply international conventions, international custom and the "general principles of law recognised by civilized nations." The Court's decision binds only the parties to that particular controversy. Under 38(1)(d), however, the Court may consider its own previous decisions.

Criticisms: The International Court has been criticized with respect to its rulings, its procedures, and its authority. As with criticisms of the United Nations, many of these criticisms refer more to the general authority assigned to the body by member states through its charter than to specific problems with the composition of judges or their rulings. Major criticisms are -

• The International Court does not enjoy a full separation of powers, with permanent members of the Security Council being able to veto enforcement of cases, even those to which they consented to be bound 
• "Compulsory" jurisdiction is limited to cases where both parties have agreed to submit to its decision, and so instances of aggression tend to be automatically escalated to and adjudicated by the Security Council 
• According to the sovereignty principle of international law, no nation is superior or inferior against another. Therefore, there is no entity that could force the states into practice of the law or punish the states in case any violation of international law occurs. 
• Organizations, private enterprises, and individuals cannot have their cases taken to the International Court or appeal a national supreme court's ruling. 
• Other existing international thematic courts, such as the ICC, are not under the umbrella of the International Court. Unlike ICJ, international thematic courts like ICC work independently from United Nations. Such dualistic structure between various international courts sometimes makes it hard for the courts to engage in effective and collective jurisdiction.

3.0 Funds, Programmes, Specialized Agencies and Others

The UN system, also known unofficially as the "UN family", is made up of the UN itself and many affiliated programmes, funds, and specialized agencies, all with their own membership, leadership, and budget.  The programmes and funds are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions. The Specialized Agencies are independent international organizations funded by both voluntary and assessed contributions.

3.1 Programmes and Funds

1. UNDP - The United Nations Development Programme: This is the UN's global development network, focusing on the challenges of democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and environment, and HIV/AIDS. UNDP also coordinates national and international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals aimed at poverty reduction.
2. UNICEF - The United Nations Children's Fund: It provides long-term humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers.
3. UNHCR - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: The UNHCR protects refugees worldwide and facilitates their return home or resettlement.
4. WFP - The World Food Programme: It aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.  It is the world's largest humanitarian agency. Every year, the programme feeds almost 80 million people in around 75 countries.
5. UNODC - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: It helps Member States fight drugs, crime, and terrorism.
6. UNFPA - The United Nations Population Fund: It is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
7. UNCTAD - The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: It is the United Nations body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade - the main driver of development.
8. UNEP - The United Nations Environment Programme: Established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.
9. UNRWA - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees: It has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. It's services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.  It reports only to the UN General Assembly.
10. UN Women: UN Women merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focus exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
11. UN-Habitat: The mission of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all.

3.2 UN Specialized Agencies

The UN specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations. All were brought into relationship with the UN through negotiated agreements. Some existed before the First World War. Some were associated with the League of Nations. Others were created almost simultaneously with the UN. Others were created by the UN to meet emerging needs.

• World Bank: The World Bank focuses on poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, and communications, among other things. The World Bank works in over 100 countries.
• The World Bank Group

1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
2. International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
3. International Development Association (IDA)
4. International Finance Corporation (IFC)
5. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

• IMF: The International Monetary Fund fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance. The IMF currently has $28 billion in outstanding loans to 74 nations.
• WHO: The World Health Organization  is responsible for global vaccination campaigns, responding to public health emergencies, defending against pandemic influenza, and leading the way for eradication campaigns against life-threatening diseases like polio and malaria.
• UNESCO: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world. UNESCO added 28 new World Heritage Sites this year to the list of irreplaceable treasures that will be protected for today's travelers and future generations.
• ILO: The International Labor Organization promotes international labor rights by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor, and equality of opportunity and treatment.
• FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organization leads international efforts to fight hunger. It is both a forum for negotiating agreements between developing and developed countries and a source of technical knowledge and information to aid development. 
• IFAD: The International Fund for Agricultural Development, since it was created in 1977, has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.
• IMO: The International Maritime Organization has created a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency.
• WMO: The World Meteorological Organization facilitates the free international exchange of meteorological data and information and the furtherance of its use in aviation, shipping, security, and agriculture, among other things. 
• WIPO: The World Intellectual Property Organization protects intellectual property throughout the world through 23 international treaties.
• ICAO: The International Civilian Aviation Organization sets international rules on air navigation, the investigation of air accidents, and aerial border-crossing procedures.
• ITU: The International Telecommunication Union is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. It is committed to connecting all the world's people - wherever they live and whatever their means. Through our work, we protect and support everyone's fundamental right to communicate.
• UNIDO: The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.
• UPU: The Universal Postal Union is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players. It  helps to ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services.
• UNWTO: The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

3.3 Other Entities

UNAIDS: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS is co-sponsored by 10 UN system agencies: UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, the ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank and has ten goals related to stopping and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

UNISDR: The United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction serves as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction.

UNOPS: The United Nations Office for Project Services is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.

3.4 Related Organizations

IAEA: The International Atomic Energy Agency, is the world's centre for cooperation in the nuclear field. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

WTO: The World Trade Organization is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements, and a place where member governments try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other.

CTBTO: The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization promotes the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (which is not yet in force) and the build-up of the verification regime so that it is operational when the Treaty enters into force.

OPCW: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. OPCW Member States work together to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.

4.0 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000 the largest gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets, with a deadline of 2015, that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights-the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security.

The internationally agreed framework of 8 goals and 18 targets was complemented by 48 technical indicators to measure progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. These indicators have since been adopted by a consensus of experts from the United Nations, IMF, OECD and the World Bank.

4.1 Detailing of the 8 Millennium Development Goals

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty

Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day 

Indicators 

• Proportion of population below $1 (1993 PPP) per day (World Bank)
• Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty] (World Bank)
• Share of poorest quintile in national consumption (World Bank)

Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger 

Indicators

• Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age (UNICEF-WHO)
• Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption (FAO)

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

Indicators

• Net enrolment ratio in primary education (UNESCO)
• Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (UNESCO)
• Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds (UNESCO)

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

Indicators

• Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education (UNESCO)
• Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old (UNESCO)
• Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector (ILO) 
• Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (IPU)

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Target 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

Indicators

• Under-five mortality rate (UNICEF-WHO)
• Infant mortality rate (UNICEF-WHO)
• Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized against measles (UNICEF-WHO)

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Target 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

Indicators

• Maternal mortality ratio (UNICEF-WHO)
• Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel (UNICEF-WHO)

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases

Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS 

Indicators

• HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15-24 years (UNAIDS-WHO-UNICEF) 
• Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate (UN Population Division)

1. Condom use at last high-risk sex (UNICEF-WHO)
2. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS (UNICEF-WHO)
3. Contraceptive prevalence rate (UN Population Division)

• Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14 years (UNICEF-UNAIDS-WHO)

Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

Indicators

• Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria (WHO)
• Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures (UNICEF-WHO)
• Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis (WHO)
• Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (internationally recommended TB control strategy) (WHO)

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources

Indicators

• Proportion of land area covered by forest (FAO)
• Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area (UNEP-WCMC)
• Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP) (IEA, World Bank)
• Carbon dioxide emissions per capita (UNFCCC, UNSD) and consumption of ozone-depleting CFCs (ODP tons) (UNEP-Ozone Secretariat)
• Proportion of population using solid fuels (WHO)

Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

Indicators

• Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural (UNICEF-WHO)
• Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural (UNICEF-WHO)

Target 11: Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Indicators

• Proportion of households with access to secure tenure (UN-HABITAT)

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Target 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory trading and financial system (includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction?both nationally and internationally)

Target 13: Address the special needs of the Least Developed Countries (includes tariff- and quota-free access for Least Developed Countries? exports, enhanced program of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries [HIPCs] and cancellation of official bilateral debt, and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction)

Target 14: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing states (through the Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and 22nd General Assembly provisions)

Target 15: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

Indicators

Official development assistance (ODA)

• Net ODA, total and to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors' gross national income (GNI)(OECD) 
• Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation) (OECD) 
• Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied (OECD) 
• ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a proportion of their GNIs (OECD)
• ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their GNIs (OECD)

Market access

• Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free of duty (UNCTAD, WTO, WB) 
• Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries (UNCTAD, WTO, WB) 
• Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP (OECD) 
• Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity (OECD, WTO) 

Debt sustainability

• Total number of countries that have reached their Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative) (IMF - World Bank)  
• Debt relief committed under HIPC initiative (IMF-World Bank)
• Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services (IMF-World Bank)

Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries, Africa, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states

Target 16: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth

Indicators

• Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total (ILO)

Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries

Indicators

• Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis (WHO)

Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologie

Indicators

• Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population (ITU)
• Personal computers in use per 100 population and Internet users per 100 population (ITU)

4.2 Performance of India

4.3 Performance of the World

5.0 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit - officially came into force.  Over the next fifteen years, with these new Goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. The Goals are contained in paragraph 54 United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015. 

The SDGs build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty. The new Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.

While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals.  Countries have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection.  Regional follow-up and review will be based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level.

Thus, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are an intergovernmental set of aspiration Goals with 169 targets. The Resolution is a broader intergovernmental agreement that, while acting as the Post 2015 Development Agenda (successor to the Millennium Development Goals), builds on the Principles agreed upon under Resolution A/RES/66/288, popularly known as The Future We Want.

5.1 The 17 SDGs

The Official Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on 25 September 2015 has 92 paragraphs, with the main paragraph (51) outlining the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and its associated 169 targets. This included the following goals:

SGD1 - Poverty - End  poverty in all its forms everywhere

SDG2 - Food - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 3 - Health - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

SDG 4 - Education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

SDG 5 - Women - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

SDG 6 - Water - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

SDG 7 - Energy - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

SDG 8 - Economy - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

SDG 9 - Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG 10 - Inequality - Reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG 11 - Habitation - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

SDG 12 - Consumption - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG 13 - Climate - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

SDG 14 - Marine-ecosystems - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

SDG 15 - Ecosystems - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

SDG 16 - Institutions - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

SDG 17 - Sustainability - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

5.2 What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet. For it to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These elements are interconnected and all are crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies.

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. To this end, there must be promotion of sustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems.

5.3 Are the Sustainable Development Goals legally binding?

No. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not legally binding. Nevertheless, countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving the 17 Goals. Implementation and success will rely on countries' own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes. Countries have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review, at the national, regional and global levels, with regard to the progress made in implementing the Goals and targets over the next 15 years. Actions at the national level to monitor progress will require quality, accessible and timely data collection and regional follow-up and review.

5.4 How does climate change relate to sustainable development?

Climate change is already impacting public health, food and water security, migration, peace and security. Climate change, left unchecked, will roll back the development gains we have made over the last decades and will make further gains impossible.

Investments in sustainable development will help address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience. Conversely, action on climate change will drive sustainable development. Tackling climate change and fostering sustainable development are two mutually reinforcing sides of the same coin; sustainable development cannot be achieved without climate action. Conversely, many of the SDGs are addressing the core drivers of climate change.

5.5 How are the Sustainable Development Goals different from the MDGs?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets are broader in scope and go further than the MDGs by addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people. The goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. Building on the success and momentum of the MDGs, the new global goals cover more ground, with ambitions to address inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and human settlements, industrialization, oceans, ecosystems, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, peace and justice. The new Goals are universal and apply to all countries, whereas the MDGs were intended for action in developing countries only. A core feature of the SDGs is their strong focus on means of implementation-the mobilization of financial resources-capacity-building and technology, as well as data and institutions. The new Goals recognize that tackling climate change is essential for sustainable development and poverty eradication. SDG 13 aims to promote urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

6.0 Achievements of the UN

The United Nations was established in the aftermath of a devastating war to help stabilize international relations and give peace a more secure foundation. Amid the threat of nuclear war and seemingly endless regional conflicts, peace-keeping has become an overriding concern of the United Nations. In the process, the activities of blue-helmeted peace-keepers have emerged as the most visible role associated with the world organization. The UN also carries out tasks in many other areas like child survival and development, environmental protection, human rights, health and medical research, alleviation of poverty and economic development, agricultural development and fisheries, education, family planning, emergency and disaster relief, air and sea travel, peaceful uses of atomic energy, labour and workers' rights.

1. Maintaining peace and security - By having deployed a total of 71 peace-keeping forces and observer missions as of end 2015, the United Nations has been able to restore calm to allow the negotiating process to go forward while saving millions of people from becoming casualties of conflicts. There are presently 16 active peace-keeping forces in operation. In Jan 2016, across 18 missions worldwide, the UN had deployed 1,07,076 peacekeepers. Forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis. In 2013, of the 98,200 police, troops, and military experts, European nations contributed nearly 6,000 units, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh contributed the largest individual numbers with around 8,000 units each. African nations contributed nearly half the total, almost 44,000 units.
2. Making peace - Since 1945, the United Nations has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts. Recent cases include an end to the Iran-Iraq war, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, and an end to the civil war in El Salvador. The United Nations has used quiet diplomacy to avert imminent wars.
3. Promoting democracy - The United Nations has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections, including those held in Cambodia, Namibia, El Salvador, Eritrea, Mozambique, Nicaragua and South Africa. It has provided electoral advice, assistance, and monitoring of results.
4. Promoting development - The UN system has devoted more attention and resources to the promotion of the development of human skills and potentials than any other external assistance effort. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in close cooperation with over 190 Member States and other UN agencies, designs and implements projects for agriculture, industry, education, and the environment. It supports thousands of projects with a big budget. It is the largest multilateral source of grant development assistance. The World Bank, at the forefront in mobilizing support for developing countries worldwide, has alone loaned huge amounts for development projects since 1946. In addition, UNICEF spends more than $800 million a year, primarily on immunization, health care, nutrition and basic education in more than 150 countries. 
5. Promoting human rights - Since adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the United Nations has helped enact dozens of comprehensive agreements on political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. By investigating individual complaints of human rights abuses, the UN Human Rights Commission has focused world attention on cases of torture, disappearance, and arbitrary detention and has generated international pressure to be brought on governments to improve their human rights records. 
6. Protecting the environment - The United Nations has played a vital role in fashioning a global programme designed to protect the environment. The "Earth Summit," the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, resulted in treaties on biodiversity and climate change, and all countries adopted "Agenda 21" - a blueprint to promote sustainable development or the concept of economic growth while protecting natural resources.
7. Preventing nuclear proliferation - The United Nations, through the International Atomic Energy Agency, has helped minimize the threat of a nuclear war by inspecting nuclear reactors in 90 countries to ensure that nuclear materials are not diverted for military purposes.
8. Promoting self determination and independence - The United Nations has played a role in bringing about independence in countries that are now among its Member States.
9. Strengthening international law - Over 300 international treaties, on topics as varied as human rights conventions to agreements on the use of outer space and seabed, have been enacted through the efforts of the United Nations.
10. Handing down judicial settlements of major international disputes - By giving judgments and advisory opinions, the International Court of Justice has helped settle international disputes involving territorial issues, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, the right of asylum, rights of passage and economic rights. 
11. Ending apartheid in South Africa - By imposing measures ranging from an arms embargo to a convention against segregated sporting events, the United Nations was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid system, which the General Assembly called "a crime against humanity." Elections were held in April 1994 in which all South Africans were allowed to participate on an equal basis, followed by the establishment of a majority government.
12. Providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict - More than 30 million refugees fleeing war, famine or persecution have received aid from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 1951 in a continuing effort coordinated by the United Nations that often involves other agencies. There are more than 19 million refugees, mostly women and children, who are receiving food, shelter, medical aid, education and repatriation assistance. 
13. Aiding Palestinian refugees - Since 1950, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sustained four generations of Palestinians with free schooling, essential health care, relief assistance and key social services virtually without interruption. There are 2.9 million refugees in the Middle East served by UNRWA. 
14. Alleviating chronic hunger and rural poverty in developing countries - The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has developed a system of providing credit, often in very small amounts, for the poorest and most marginalised groups that has benefited over 230 million people in nearly 100 developing countries.
15. Focusing on African development - For the United Nations, Africa continues to be the highest priority. In 1986, the United Nations convened a special session to drum up international support for African economic recovery and development. The United Nations also has instituted a system-wide task force to ensure that commitments made by the international community are honoured and challenges met. The Africa Project Development Facility has helped entrepreneurs in 25 countries to find financing for new enterprises. 
16. Promoting women's rights - A long term objective of the United Nations has been to improve the lives of women and to empower women to have greater control over their lives. Several conferences during the UN-sponsored International Women's Decade set an agenda for the advancement of women and women's rights for the rest of the century. The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) have supported programmes and projects to improve the quality of life for women in over 100 countries. They include credit and training, access to new food-production technologies and marketing opportunities, and other means of promoting women's work.
17. Providing safe drinking water - UN agencies have worked to make safe drinking water available to 1.3 billion people in rural areas during the last decade. 
18. Eradicating smallpox - A 13-year effort by the World Health Organization resulted in the complete eradication of smallpox from the planet in 1980. The eradication has saved an estimated $1 billion a year in vaccination and monitoring, almost three times the cost of eliminating the scourge itself. WHO also helped wipe out polio from the Western hemisphere.
19. Pressing for universal immunization - Polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and tuberculosis still kill more than eight million children each year. In 1974, only 5 per cent of children in developing countries were immunized against these diseases. Today, as a result of the efforts of UNICEF and WHO, there is an 80 per cent immunization rate, saving the lives of more than 3 million childrean each year. 
20. Reducing child mortality rates - Through oral rehydration therapy, water and sanitation and other health and nutrition measures undertaken by UN agencies, child mortality rates in the developing countries have been halved since 1960, increasing the life expectancy from 37 to 67 years. 
21. Fighting parasitic diseases - Efforts by UN agencies in North Africa to eliminate the dreaded screw worm, a parasite that feeds on human and animal flesh, prevented the spread of the parasite, which is carried by flies, to Egypt, Tunisia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. A WHO programme also has saved the lives of 7 million children from going blind from the river blindness and rescued many others from guinea worm and other tropical diseases.
22. Promoting investment in developing countries - The United Nations, through the efforts of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has served as a "match-maker" for North-South, South-South and East-West investment, promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance, industrial cooperation and technology transfer and cost-effective, ecologically-sensitive industry. 
23. Orienting economic policy toward social need - Many UN agencies have emphasized the need to take account of human needs in determining economic adjustment and restructuring policies and programmes, including measures to safeguard the poor, especially in areas of health and education, and "debt swaps for children." 
24. Reducing the effects of natural disasters - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has spared millions of people from the calamitous effects of both natural and man-made disasters. Its early warning system, which utilizes thousands of surface monitors as well as satellites, has provided information for the dispersal of oil spills and has predicted long-term droughts. The system has allowed for the efficient distribution of food aid to drought regions, such as southern Africa in 1992. 
25. Providing food to victims of emergencies - Over two million tons of food are distributed each year by the World Food Programme (WFP). Nearly 30 million people facing acute food shortages in 36 countries benefited from this assistance in 1994.
26. Clearing land mines - The United Nations is leading an international effort to clear land mines from former battlefields in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Rwanda and Somalia that still kill and maim thousands of innocent people every year. 
27. Protecting the ozone layer - The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have been instrumental in highlighting the damage caused to the earth's ozone layer. As a result of a treaty, known as the Montreal Protocol, there has been a global effort to reduce chemical emissions of substances that have caused the depletion of the ozone layer. The effort will spare millions of people from the increased risk of contracting cancer due to additional exposure to ultraviolet radiation. 
28. Curbing global warming - Through the Global Environment Facility, countries have contributed substantial resources to curb conditions that cause global warming. Increasing emissions from burning fossil fuels and changes in land use patterns have led to a build-up of gases in the atmosphere, which experts believe can lead to a warming of the Earth's temperature.
29. Preventing over-fishing - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) monitors marine fishery production and issues alerts to prevent damage due to over-fishing. 
30. Limiting deforestation and promoting sustainable forestry development - FAO, UNDP and the World Bank, through a Tropical Forests Action Programme, have formulated and carried out forestry action plans in 90 countries.
31. Cleaning up pollution - UNEP led a major effort to clean up the Mediterranean Sea. It encouraged adversaries such as Syria and Israel, Turkey and Greece to work together to clean up beaches. As a result, more than 50 per cent of the previously polluted beaches are now usable. 
32. Protecting consumers' health - To ensure the safety of food sold in the market place, UN agencies have established standards for over 200 food commodities and safety limits for more than 3,000 food containers.
33. Reducing fertility rates - The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), through its family planning programmes, has enabled people to make informed choices, and consequently given families, and especially women, greater control over their lives. As a result, women in devloping countries are having fewer children - from six births per woman in the 1960s to 3.5 today. In the 1960s, only 10 per cent of the world's families were using effective methods of family planning. The number now stands at 55 per cent. 
34. Fighting drug abuse - The UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) has worked to reduce demand for illicit drugs, suppress drug trafficking, and has helped farmers to reduce their economic reliance on growing narcotic crops by shifting farm production toward other dependable sources of income. 
35. Improving global trade relations - The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has worked to obtain special trade preferences for developing countries to export their products to developed countries. It has also negotiated international commodities agreements to ensure fair prices for developing countries. And through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which has now been supplanted by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations has supported trade liberalization, that will increase economic development opportunities in developing countries. 
36. Promoting economic reform - Together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations has helped many countries improve their economic management, offered training for government finance officials, and provided financial assistance to countries experiencing temporary balance of payment difficulties. 
37. Promoting worker rights - The International Labour Organization (ILO) has worked to guarantee freedom of the right to association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, promote employment and equal remuneration and has sought to eliminate discrimination and child labour. And by setting safety standards, ILO has helped reduce the toll of work-related accidents. 
38. Introducing improved agricultural techniques and reducing costs - With assistance from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) that has resulted in improved crop yields, Asian rice farmers have saved millions on pesticides and governments.
39. Promoting stability and order in the world's oceans - Through three international conferences, the third lasting more than nine years, the United Nations has spearheaded an international effort to promote a comprehensive global agreement for the protection, preservation and peaceful development of the oceans. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into force in 1994, lays down rules for the determination of national maritime jurisdiction, navigation on the high seas, rights and duties of coastal and other states, obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment, cooperation in the conduct of marine scientific research and preservation of living resources. 
40. Improving air and sea travel - UN agencies have been responsible for setting safety standards for sea and air travel. The efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have contributed to making air travel the safest mode of transportation.
41. Protecting intellectual property - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides protection for new inventions and maintains a register of nearly 3 million national trademarks. Through treaties, it also protects the works of artists, composers and authors world-wide. WIPO's work makes it easier and less costly for individuals and enterprises to enforce their property rights. It also broadens the opportunity to distribute new ideas and products without relinquishing control over the property rights. 
42. Promoting the free flow of information - To allow all people to obtain information that is free of censorship and culturally unbiased, UNESCO has provided aid to develop and strengthen communication systems, and supported an independent press. 
43. Improving global communications - The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has maintained and regulated international mail delivery. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has coordinated use of the radio spectrum, promoted cooperation in assigning positions for stationary satellites, and established international standards for communications, thereby ensuring the unfeterred flow of information around the globe. 
44. Empowering the voiceless - UN-sponsored international years and conferences have caused governments to recognize the needs and contributions of groups usually excluded from decision-making, such as the aging, children, youth, homeless, indigenous and disabled people. 
45. Establishing "children as a zone of peace" - From El Salvador to Lebanon, Sudan to former Yugoslavia, UNICEF pioneered the establishment of "Days of Tranquillity" and the opening of "Corridors of Peace" to provide vaccines and other assistance desperately needed by children caught in armed conflict.  
46. Generating worldwide commitment in support of the needs of children - Through UNICEF's efforts, the Convention on the Rights of the Child entered into force as international law in 1990 and has become law in 166 countries by the end of September 1994; following the 1990 World Summit for Children convened by UNICEF, more than 150 governments have committed to reaching over 20 specific measurable goals to radically improve children's lives by the year 2000. 
47. Improving education in developing countries - As a direct result of the efforts of UN agencies, over 60 per cent of adults in developing countries can now read and write, and 90 per cent of children in these countries attend school. 
48. Improving literacy for women - Programmes aimed at promoting education and advancement for women helped raise the female literacy rate in developing countries from 36 per cent in 1970 to 56 per cent in 1990. 
49. Safeguarding and preserving historic cultural and architectural sites - Ancient monuments in 81 countries including Greece, Egypt, Italy, Indonesia and Cambodia, have been protected through the efforts of UNESCO, and international conventions have been adopted to preserve cultural property. 
50. Facilitating academic and cultural exchanges - The United Nations, through UNESCO and the United Nations University (UNU), have encouraged scholarly and scientific cooperation, networking of institutions and promotion of cultural expressions, including those of minorities and indigenous people.

7.0 The Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded five times to the United Nations and its organizations

1954: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, for its assistance to refugees

1965: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), for its work in helping save lives of the world's children

1969: International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, for its progress in establishing workers' rights and protections

1981: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, for its assistance to Asian refugees

1988: United Nations Peace-keeping Forces, for its peace-keeping operations

The Prize was also awarded to:

1945: Cordell Hull, U.S., ex-Secretary of State, for his leadership in establishing the UN

1949: Lord John Boyd Orr, United Kingdom, first Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

1950: Ralph Bunche, U.S., UN Mediator in Palestine (1948), for his leadership in the armistice agreements signed in 1949 by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

1957: Lester Pearson, Canada, ex-Secretary of State, President, 7th Session of the UN General Assembly, for a lifetime of work for peace and for leading UN efforts to resolve the Suez Canal crisis

1961: Dag Hammarskjöld, Sweden, Secretary-General of the UN, for his work in helping settle the Congo crisis

1974: Sean MacBride, Ireland, UN Commissioner for Namibia Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, for its assistance to European refugees

UNITED NATIONS AND NOBLE PRIZE

• 2013 - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) : The Nobel Peace Prize 2013 was awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons "for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons".
• 2007 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr : The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
• 2005 - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Mohamed ElBaradei : The Nobel Committee selected the IAEA and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei as the recipients of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way”.
• 2001 - United Nations and Kofi Annan : The United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world”.
• 1988 - United Nations Peacekeeping Forces : The Nobel Committee awarded the prize because “The peacekeeping forces of the United Nations have, under extremely difficult conditions, contributed to reducing tensions where an armistice has been negotiated but a peace treaty has yet to be established”.
• 1981 - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) : “The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees has, in the opinion of the [Nobel] Committee, carried out work of major importance to assist refugees, despite the many political difficulties with which it has had to contend."
• 1969 - The International Labor Organization (ILO) : The International Labour Organization was awarded the Peace Prize since it has done most to promote fraternity among nations by ensuring social justice, the Nobel Committee said. "Beneath the foundation stone of the ILO's main office in Geneva lies a document on which is written: 'Si vis pacem, cole justitiam. If you desire peace, cultivate justice'."
• 1965 - United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) : Upon giving the prize, the Nobel Committee declared that “everyone has understood the language of UNICEF, and even the most reluctant person is bound to admit that in action UNICEF has proved that compassion knows no national boundaries".
• 1961 - Dag Hammarskjöld (awarded posthumously) : “Dag Hammarskjöld was exposed to criticism and violent, unrestrained attacks” explained the Nobel Committee “but he never departed from the path he had chosen from the very first: the path that was to result in the UN's developing into an effective and constructive international organization."
• 1954 - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) : The UNHCR "shows us that the unfortunate foreigner is one of us; it teaches us to understand that sympathy with other human beings, even if they are separated from us by national frontiers, is the foundation upon which a lasting peace must be built”.
• 1950 - Ralph Bunche, United Nations mediator in Palestine during the 1948 conflict between the Arabs and Jews : Ralph Bunche received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s work as a United Nations mediator in the Palestine conflict. He called himself  'an incurable optimist'. Bunche was the first African American and person of color to be so honored in the history of the prize. 

UN Nobel prize laureates list

UN - Top 10 facts

UN Peacekeeping

8.0 70th Anniversary of Geneva Conventions - 2019

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the treaty, comprising four Conventions and three Additional Protocols, established the modern, international legal standards for humanitarian treatment during times of war. They were agreed on 12 August 1949, and with some exceptions, ratified by 196 countries around the world. In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the landmark Geneva Conventions, the president of the United Nations Security Council hailed the “significant body of law”, describing it as playing “a vital role in limiting brutality of armed conflicts”.

They are ratified and acceded by almost every State of the world, so the principles and legal norms enshrined in these Conventions are also recognized as customary international humanitarian law [IHL] and are universally applicable. This is a rare quality for any multilateral treaty.

The singular term "Geneva Convention" usually denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–45), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties, and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively defined the basic rights of wartime prisoners (civilians and military personnel), established protections for the wounded and sick, and established protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone. Because the Geneva Conventions are about people in war, the articles do not address warfare proper—the use of weapons of war — which is the subject of the Hague Conventions (First Hague Conference, 1899; Second Hague Conference 1907), and the bio-chemical warfare Geneva Protocol (Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, 1925).

8.1 The history

A Swiss businessman Henry Dunant went to visit wounded soldiers after the Battle of Solferino in 1859. He was shocked by the lack of facilities, personnel, and medical aid available to help these soldiers, and wrote a book "A Memory of Solferino" in 1862, on the horrors he saw. He proposed two things :

1. A permanent relief agency for humanitarian aid in times of war, and 
2. A government treaty recognizing the neutrality of the agency and allowing it to provide aid in a war zone.

The former proposal led to the establishment of the Red Cross in Geneva. The latter led to the 1864 Geneva Convention, the first codified international treaty that covered the sick and wounded soldiers in the battlefield.

The Geneva Conventions entered into force on October 21, 1950 on an international scale. Ratification grew steadily through the decades: 74 States ratified the Conventions during the 1950s, 48 States did so during the 1960s, 20 States signed on during the 1970s, and another 20 States did so during the 1980s. Twenty-six countries ratified the Conventions in the early 1990s, largely in the aftermath of the break-up of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and the former Yugoslavia. The four 1949 Conventions have been now ratified by 196 states, including all UN member states, both UN observers the Holy See and the State of Palestine, as well as the Cook Islands. 

8.2 What Geneva Conventions did

The Conventions established protections for vulnerable groups in armed conflict, namely the wounded and sick; prisoners of war; and civilians, including civilians living under occupation. The greatest challenge to protecting human life in modem conflict is observance of and respect for the existing rules by the armed forces and non-State armed groups. If existing rules were followed, much of the human suffering in contemporary armed conflicts would not occur.

8.3 Grave risks for future - modern technologies

Artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems, such as military robots and cyber-weapons, reduce the role and control of human factors during wartime, the general rules of IHL prohibiting indiscriminate and inhumane weapons, “are being violated”.

Two IHL principles under the Geneva Conventions that deserve particular attention, are (a) the obligation to protect civilians, prisoners of war, the wounded and shipwrecked, and (b) limitations to the rights of parties to an armed conflict on how they conduct operations and on their choice of weapons.

It is clear today that international humanitarian principles are under pressure and the complexity of new challenges impedes the process of classification of conflict situations and makes it difficult to determine the exact rules that may be applied.

8.4 A historic moment for humanity

The four Conventions are “at the core” of IHL. The first three conventions were by no means completely novel at the time, the Fourth Convention was “the first treaty that was specifically dedicated to the protection of civilian persons in time of war”.

As per Article 3, a provision on basic rules governing the humane treatment of people not involved in hostilities, including soldiers who have laid down their arms, those wounded or in detention, as well as civilians, was created. This was a historic moment for humanity, as it was the first instance in which non-international armed conflicts were regulated by a multilateral treaty. The significance is augmented by the fact that the Geneva Conventions are now universally adhered to.

The Conventions show what is possible when States take collective and individual action to uphold the law and humanitarian principles. In a sense, the Geneva Conventions represent a line of mankind's common humanity, shielding it from its own barbarity.

8.5 Details

The term "Convention" here is used to mean an international agreement, or treaty. The Geneva Conventions apply at times of war and armed conflict to governments who have ratified its terms. The details of applicability are spelled out in Common Articles 2 and 3. Although warfare has changed dramatically since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, they are still considered the cornerstone of contemporary international humanitarian law.

1. The First Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" (first adopted in 1864, revised in 1906, 1929 and finally 1949);
2. The Second Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea" (first adopted in 1949, successor of the Hague Convention (X) 1907);
3. The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" (first adopted in 1929, last revision in 1949);
4. The Fourth Geneva Convention "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War" (first adopted in 1949, based on parts of the Hague Convention (II) of 1899 and Hague Convention (IV) 1907).

With two Geneva Conventions revised and adopted, and the second and fourth added, in 1949 the whole set is referred to as the "Geneva Conventions of 1949" or simply the "Geneva Conventions". Usually only the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are referred to as First, Second, Third or Fourth Geneva Convention. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 196 countries. India signed in 1950.

In addition, there are "Additional Protocols" - Protocol I, Protocol II, and Protocol III. 

8.6 Typical situations

The application of the Geneva Conventions to the 2014 conflict in Ukraine (Crimea) is a troublesome problem because some of the personnel who engaged in combat against the Ukrainians were not identified by insignia, although they did wear military-style fatigues

Controversy arose over the US designation of irregular opponents as "unlawful enemy combatants" especially in the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) judgments over the Guantanamo Bay brig facility Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush, etc.

In early 2019, India and Pakistan had a skirmish over the Pulwama terror attack, followed by Indian Air Force's attack on Balakot terror camps. An air force officer was caught by the Pakistanis (returned safely later), and multiple references to the Geneva Convention were invoked. They were not really valid, as it was not a "war" going on. Diplomatic conventions came to the rescue later on.

9.0 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has more than 1.7 crore million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The movement has many organizations independent of each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. 

9.1 The movement's three key parts are:

1. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) : It is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
2. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
3. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 190 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

9.2 Seven fundamental principles

The 7 fundamental principles are - Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. These provide an ethical, operational and institutional framework to the work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. They are at the core of its approach to helping people in need during armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies.

These principles unite the components of the Movement – the ICRC, the National Societies and the International Federation – and are key to its distinct identity. Adherence to these principles ensures the humanitarian nature of the Movement's work and brings consistency to the broad range of activities it undertakes around the world.

9.3 Symbols and emblems

The emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, under the Geneva Conventions, are to be placed on humanitarian and medical vehicles and buildings, and to be worn by medical personnel and others carrying out humanitarian work, to protect them from military attack on the battlefield. There are four such emblems, three of which are in use: the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and the Red Crystal. The Red Lion and Sun is also a recognized emblem, but is no longer in use.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC)

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. 
• It provides regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
• Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC reports are also a key input into international climate change negotiations.
• The IPCC is an organization of governments that are members of the United Nations or WMO. The IPCC currently has 195 members. Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. 
• For the assessment reports, IPCC scientists volunteer their time to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
• An open and transparent review by experts and governments around the world is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise. Through its assessments, the IPCC identifies the strength of scientific agreement in different areas and indicates where further research is needed. The IPCC does not conduct its own research.    

Summary of structure

UN Institutions and Logos

- The UN System - Bird's eye view

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