Frequently asked Questions (FAQs)
UN in general
THE UN WORLDWIDE
What is the United Nations?
The United Nations is a unique international organization of 191 sovereign States, representing virtually every country in the world.* It was founded after the Second World War to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and promote social progress, better living standards and human rights. The Member States are bound together by the principles of the UN Charter, an international treaty that spells out their rights and duties as members of the world community.
In September 2000, some 150 presidents, prime ministers and other world leaders met at UN headquarters to lay out a vision for the future. The resulting "Millennium Declaration" applies the purposes and principles of the UN Charter to a new world. To realize that vision, Member States have agreed on specific, obtainable targets aimed at overcoming hunger and poverty, ending conflict, meeting the needs of Africa, promoting democracy and the rule of law and protecting our environment - and to meet those goals within a specified time-frame.
* Switzerland and East Timor are the UN's newest Member States. The people of Switzerland, which enjoyed observer status at the UN since it was founded in 1945, voted on 3 March 2002 to join the world body as a full member. After achieving independence in May 2002, East Timor also joined the world body.
The UN family of organizations consists of:
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1) The United Nations as such, made up of six main organs - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. All are based at UN Headquarters in New York, except for the Court, which is at The Hague, the Netherlands.
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2) The UN Programmes and funds - such as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) - working for development, humanitarian assistance and human rights
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3) The UN specialized agencies and analogous bodies, working in such diverse areas as health, agriculture, international aviation and meteorology. Related to the UN through special agreements, the specialized agencies coordinate their work with the UN but are separate, autonomous organizations.
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The UN, its Programmes and funds, and the specialized agencies compose the "UN system". As a family of organizations, the UN performs a vast range of duties that affect us all in myriad ways. These range from the decision of the Security Council to dispatch a peacekeeping operation in response to a dispute, to setting standards for air safety and communications compatibility; from rushing emergency supplies to victims of natural disaster, to coordinating the response to the AIDS pandemic; from helping countries carry out free and fair elections, to securing low-interest loans to develop the infrastructures of poorer countries. Ultimately, its work is about making a healthier, more stable world with enhanced opportunities and justice for all of us (see http://www.unsystem.org).
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How does the UN work for peace?
The UN promotes peace in a multitude of ways, both directly and indirectly. In situations of manifest or simmering conflict, the UN employs tools ranging from mediation to the dispatch of peacekeeping forces. In the preventive sphere, the UN works to heal the economic and social causes of war. As a centre for diplomacy and debate, the UN provides a framework for the peaceful settlement of disputes, a means of defusing conflicts before they begin. In times of international crisis, it serves as a focal point for easing tensions and beginning negotiations. The UN also promotes peace through its development of a growing body of international law, as well as through development assistance.
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What is the UN doing to prevent conflict?
For the United Nations, preventing conflict is as important as keeping the peace.
Prevention has many aspects: it involves early warning, diplomacy, disarmament,
preventive deployment and the use of sanctions when necessary. But above all, effective prevention addresses the structural faults that predispose a society to conflict. Through its activities aimed at promoting human security, good governance, equitable development and respect for human rights, the UN is helping to make the world a safer place by addressing the underlying causes of war.
To be successful, the work of prevention must be supported by the peoples and parties directly affected. It involves cooperation between countries, the United Nations, NGOs, civil society and even the private sector. With the support of the international community, the UN employs integrated prevention strategies to avert the enormous material, human and moral costs of conflict. In so doing, the UN is facilitating the transition from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention as the cornerstone of collective security.
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What is the role of UN peace-building?
The UN is increasingly undertaking activities that address the underlying causes of conflict and in building what the Secretary-General has called "sustainable peace". The UN system does this through its efforts to support good governance, civil law and order, human rights and democratization in countries struggling with the aftermath of conflict. It repatriates refugees, provides electoral assistance and humanitarian aid, and helps to rebuild administrative, health, educational and other services.
The UN presence in East Timor played a central role in helping its people move through serious difficulties to their chosen goal of independence, which was attained in May 2002. Some peace-building activities, such as the UN's supervision of the 1989 elections in Namibia, mine-clearance Programmes in Mozambique and police training in Haiti, take place within the framework of a UN peacekeeping operation and may continue when the operation withdraws. Others are requested by governments - as in Cambodia, where the UN maintains a human rights office, or in Guatemala, where the UN is helping to implement peace agreements which affect virtually all aspects of national life.
UN peace-building in post-conflict situations often includes overseeing the collection and destruction of hundreds of thousands of weapons and facilitating the reintegration of former combatants into civil society. For example, in January 2002, the UN successfully completed its disarmament and demobilization Programme in Sierra Leone and immediately began voter registration for presidential and parliamentary elections. In Kosovo, legislative elections in November 2001 led to the formation of a coalition government. During the same period, UN efforts in Afghanistan facilitated the establishment of an interim government and coordinated action by the UN system to rebuild that war-torn country. To that end, a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was set up in March 2002.
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What is the UN doing to fight terrorism?
"Terrorism will be defeated if the international community summons the will to unite in a broad coalition, or it will not be defeated at all", Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said. "The United Nations is uniquely positioned to serve as the forum for this coalition, and for the development of those steps governments must now take, separately and together, to fight terrorism on a global scale."
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the Security Council played its part in this new global coalition. On 28 September of the same year, it adopted a wide-ranging resolution under the enforcement provisions of the UN Charter to prevent the financing of terrorism, criminalize the collection of funds for such purposes, and immediately freeze terrorist financial assets. The Council called on States to accelerate the exchange of information concerning terrorist movements and decided that States should afford one another the greatest measure of assistance for criminal investigations or proceedings relating to terrorist acts. It also established a Counter-Terrorism Committee to oversee implementation of its resolution.
The UN has long stood at the centre of international efforts to combat terrorism and to create a legal framework covering all its aspects. Twelve global conventions on the issue have been negotiated under UN auspices, including the 1979 Convention against the Taking of Hostages, the 1997 Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the 1999 Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism - and work is in under way on a comprehensive anti-terrorism treaty to fill any gaps left by the earlier texts.
The UN is also working to strengthen the global norm against weapons of mass
destruction, end the sale of small arms to non-State groups, eliminate landmines, improve the protection of nuclear and chemical facilities, and increase vigilance against cyberterrorist threats.
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What is the UN doing to stop the spread of arms?
Disarmament occupies a central place in UN efforts to advance peace and development in a safer world. Through its own bodies dealing with disarmament issues and its support for international negotiating forums, the UN works to set norms and strengthen multilateral principles for disarmament. Through the UN, countries have the means to build confidence and trust in each other and to verify that agreements are being honoured.
With UN support, multilateral negotiations, such as those in the Conference on
Disarmament, have resulted in a wide range of agreements, including the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and treaties to establish nuclear-free zones. In addition, a number of bodies have been established to help control weapons of mass destruction. The International Atomic Energy Agency, for example, runs a system of nuclear safeguards and verification, while the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons helps ensure compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Other confidence-building measures include the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the system for standardized reporting of military expenditures, which promote greater transparency in military matters.
In the past decade, some 2 million children were killed and 5 million disabled in conflicts involving small arms and light weapons - including revolvers, assault rifles, mortars, hand grenades and portable missile launchers. Through unscrupulous arms dealers, corrupt officials, drug trafficking syndicates, terrorists and others, such weapons can bring death and mayhem into streets, schools and towns worldwide. The UN is working to curb the illicit trade in these, the weapons of choice for terrorists, criminals and irregular forces. At a UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Lights Weapons in 2001, States agreed on measures to strengthen international cooperation in curbing this illegal arms trade.
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What is the UN doing to rid the world of landmines?
Some 15,000 to 20,000 people are killed or maimed every year by landmines and unexploded ordnance scattered in over 90 countries. The UN has been active in efforts to rid the world of these deadly weapons, whose first victims are often children, women and the elderly.
* The UN played a crucial role in encouraging countries to support the 1997 Ottawa Convention - which provides for the total ban on the production, export and use of landmines - and continues to promote universal adherence to this treaty. Ratification of the treaty by more than 120 countries has led to reduced use of these weapons, markedly fewer victims, a dramatic drop in production, an almost complete halt in their trade, increased destruction of stockpiles, and increased funding for humanitarian action.
* As a result of this international momentum, even most States which are not parties to the treaties have ceased using, stockpiling, producing and transferring anti-personnel landmines. And more land is being de-mined than ever before - more than 185 million square meters worldwide in 2000.
* By 2001, the UN system was providing direct support for mine action in 30 countries. The UN not only performs mine clearance, but also trains deminers, conducts mine surveys, carries out mine-awareness education, and supports de-mining schools.
* The UN also works to improve medical and rehabilitation services for landmine victims. Such Programmes have been carried out since 1989 in the killing fields of some of the most affected countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Rwanda and Yemen.(see UN De-mining Database at www.mineaction.org).
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Why do we need a United Nations?
"There is no alternative to the UN. It is still the last best hope of humanity"
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
It is often said that if we did not have the United Nations, it would have to be invented.
-- In a world plagued by conflict, the UN permits instant consultations among governments and provides the forum for dealing with long-term problems.
-- The UN is a catalyst for action on major global issues, such as the environment and illicit drugs, and provides the best mechanism available to mobilize and sustain international cooperation to tackle these issues.
-- The UN and its agencies help build economies and stabilize financial markets. They help eradicate disease, expand food production and increase longevity. They protect refugees, deliver food aid and respond quickly to natural disasters.
-- The UN and its agencies protect vulnerable groups, like children, refugees, displaced persons, minorities, indigenous people and the disabled.
-- The UN and its agencies provide the machinery for setting technical and legal standards in vital areas of global interaction, from air safety standards to human rights.
-- No organization in the world is better suited to pursue these goals, because no other possesses the UN's universality and legitimacy
-- The UN has been the recipient of eight Nobel Peace Prizes in recognition of its work.
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Is the United Nations a world government?
The UN is not, and was never intended to be, a world government. As an organization of sovereign and independent States, it does only what Member States have agreed it can do. It is their instrument.
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Do countries surrender their sovereignty at the UN?
The members of the UN are sovereign nations, and the UN Charter is one of the strongest safeguards of sovereignty, enshrining that principle as one of its central pillars. At the same time, most of the problems the world faces today are of such complexity that they cannot be addressed by any single nation acting alone. The UN is where the world's countries come together to address common problems. Working with other countries is an exercise of sovereignty, not a limitation of it. By cooperating in specific areas through the United Nations, States build the structures that make international life possible. Countries voluntarily decide to work together because they feel it is in their best interest. The universality and impartiality of the UN provides the common ground where countries can achieve maximum benefits from cooperation, while guaranteeing that their sovereignty will be protected.
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Is the UN a tool of the big powers?
The United Nations is the instrument of all its Member States, who shape its policies by discussing and voting on major issues. In the General Assembly, all countries have the same voting rights, making it the most democratic of international institutions. Even in the Security Council, the United States and the other four powerful, veto-wielding members, though able to stop any action with which they disagree, must take the views of other States into account and cannot impose their will. No country, however powerful, is able to dictate UN policies single-handedly.
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What does the General Assembly do?
The General Assembly is the unique world forum where all Member States are represented. It has been called the closest thing we have to a parliament of nations. It is here - and only here - that the world's most pressing problems are addressed, a place where all countries can express their differences and reach agreement on how to proceed.
Just as individuals in a democracy have equal voting rights regardless of whether they are rich or poor, powerful or weak, all countries in the General Assembly have the same voting rights. The vote of the General Assembly is therefore an accurate barometer of world opinion. Its decisions, though not legally binding on Member States, represent the moral authority of the community of nations. The UN is unique in that it is truly a "parliament of nations." (see http://www.un.org/ga)
Do developing countries dominate the General Assembly?
Before 1960, some States complained about an "automatic majority" of the industrialized countries. After 1960, with many newly independent States having joined the UN, others complained about a "tyranny of the majority" by
the developing countries. In fact, voting patterns tend to vary greatly, depending on the issue at hand, and like-minded countries tend to have similar voting patterns on issues of mutual concern. However, the new spirit of cooperation in international affairs has generated an increasing trend towards decision-making by consensus. As a result of negotiation and accommodation in
reaching mutually agreeable solutions, most General Assembly resolutions are now adopted without a vote.
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Are only governments heard at the UN?
Although the UN is the world organization of States, its framework provides opportunities to involve other actors whose cooperation is increasingly vital for the solution of global problems. Various expressions of civil society contribute to the work of the UN - non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the business community, trade unions, professional associations - and their involvement with the UN is growing. The UN has also expanded its cooperation with research and academic institutions, youth groups and other associations.
The Secretary-General regularly consults with the private sector, meeting with business leaders and business organizations - seeking their help to achieve the goals of the UN. As a guiding principle for this relationship, he has proposed a "Global Compact" under which world business leaders commit themselves to certain norms in the areas of human rights, labour standards and the environment. Hundreds of companies from North and South, big and small, are engaged in the Compact, as well as trade unions and NGOs. Contrary to some perceptions, the Compact does not accept corporate funding. It does not endorse companies or give them recognition, and the UN logo remains strictly guarded. The Compact seeks to engage companies in support of UN goals through learning, dialogue and projects.
Regarding philanthropy, Time-Warner co-chairman Ted Turner in 1997 announced a $1 billion donation to UN development and assistance Programmes, which is administered by his UN Foundation in coordination with the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 made a $750 million grant to the UN-supported Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. The world's Rotary Clubs have given more than $400 million to WHO's efforts to eradicate polio, and the world's Lions Clubs support many UNICEF Programmes.
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What does the Security Council do?
The Security Council is the UN organ primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security, dealing with crises as they arise. Under the
Charter, the Council's decisions are legally binding; Member States are
obligated to carry them out.
The Council is made up of 15 members: 10 non-permanent members, periodically elected by all Member States for two-year terms; and five permanent members. The system of voting gives added weight to the permanent members - China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. Any of these countries can block a proposal by casting a negative vote, even if the other four permanent and all non-permanent members vote in favour. This is called the "veto power". (see www.un.org/securitycouncil)
How many countries are permanent members of the Security Council?
The Security Council is made up of 15 members. The five permanent members - China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States can block any proposal brought before the Council by casting a negative vote. The ten non-permanent members are periodically elected by all Member States for a two-year term.
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Isn't the Council in need of reform?
The General Assembly's working group on reform of the Security Council, made up of all Member States, is considering possible changes.
Given the large increase of UN Member States since 1945 - especially developing countries - as well as the changes in international relations, Member States have recognized the need to review the membership of the Security Council. Proposals before the General Assembly include increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent members, rotating or sharing Council seats, modifying the veto power, and improving the Council's working methods.
One such proposal would increase membership from 15 to 24, by adding five permanent members without veto power (three developing States and two industrialized States), as well as four non-permanent members. This proposal would add Japan, Germany and three developing countries as permanent members. It has also been suggested that only non-permanent members be added, with periodic re-election of countries on the basis of their contribution to UN peacekeeping and development activities. Though none of these proposals has obtained overall agreement, the General Assembly is continuing its efforts
to find an acceptable formula.
Meanwhile, the Security Council has made considerable progress in reforming its working methods, with the aim of enhancing transparency. During 2001, a number of procedural changes were introduced, affecting the conduct of meetings, format of reports and documentation. The Council continues looking at ways to improve the transparency of its working methods.
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What is the role of the Economic and Social Council?
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central UN forum for international economic and social issues. Through its discussion of these issues and humanitarian concerns, as well as its policy recommendations, the Council plays a key role in fostering international cooperation for development and in setting priorities for action. It coordinates the economic and social work of the UN specialized agencies, Programmes and funds, and also plays a key role in formulating follow-up mechanisms to the major UN conferences, to ensure implementation.
The Economic and Social Council has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms. It meets monthly for short sessions of several days' duration, and holds an annual four-week session in July, during which a special meeting of Ministers discusses major economic, social and humanitarian issues. The Council also offers NGOs the opportunity to bring their expertise to the UN, thereby maintaining a vital link between the Organization and civil
society.
ECOSOC has seen a revitalized role in recent years as it has taken the lead in tackling many of the major challenges presented by globalization. Along with coordinating the work of commissions that deal with such topics as population, sustainable development and social development, it has led efforts to meet new challenges - such as closing the "digital divide" between the developed and developing countries through its work on information and communication technologies. The Council has also emerged as a forum of major importance for policy dialogue, bringing key representatives from the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund together with the diplomatic community at the UN to forge new policy directions.
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What is the role of the UN Secretary-General?
The Secretary-General is the top official of the United Nations and its chief administrative officer - the symbol of the Organization to the world, particularly as the foremost international mediator and peacemaker. The Secretary-General
draws world attention to major global issues, from development to disarmament to human rights, and is empowered to bring to the attention of the Security Council any problem that threatens international peace and security. To help resolve international disputes, the Secretary-General may carry out mediation or exercise quiet diplomacy behind the scenes.
The impartiality of the Secretary-General is one of the UN's most important assets. In recent years, the Secretary-General has intensified the exercise of preventive diplomacy to keep international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading. The Secretary-General has also taken the lead in efforts to reorganize and streamline the work of the UN, working closely with the General Assembly and other bodies to ensure that reforms are far-reaching and coordinated, so the UN may respond effectively to the needs of Member States.
The Secretary-General is also Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), which meets twice annually to ensure the coordination of activities in pursuit of the common goals of Member States across a wide range of issues. It comprises the Executive Heads of 27 organizations, including UN funds, Programmes and specialized agencies, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (an autonomous agency under the aegis of the UN) and the World Trade Organization - representing the entire UN system.
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How is the Secretary-General appointed?
The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Council.
The first two Secretaries-General were Trygve Lie of Norway and Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden. In the past 40 years, countries have informally agreed to rotate the office among the regional groups. It has thus passed from Asia (U Thant of Burma, now Myanmar), to Western Europe (Kurt Waldheim of Austria), to Latin America (Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru), to Africa (Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, who served one term, and Kofi Annan of Ghana, the current Secretary-General). Although there is technically no limit to the number of five-year terms a Secretary-General may serve, none so far has held office for more than two terms.
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What is the scope of United Nations peacekeeping?
Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, there have been 55 United Nations peacekeeping operations. Forty-two of those operations have been created by the Security Council since 1988. There are currently 13 United Nations peacekeeping operations in the field. Peacekeeping initially developed as a means of dealing with inter-State conflict and involved the deployment of military personnel from a number of countries, under UN command, to help control and resolve armed conflict. Today, peacekeeping is increasingly applied to intra-State conflicts and civil wars. In recent years, peacekeeping tasks have become more varied and complex and, although military personnel remain the backbone of most peacekeeping operations, proportionately larger numbers of civilians work alongside the military personnel.
Tasks range from keeping hostile parties peacefully apart to helping them work peacefully together. This means helping implement peace agreements, monitor ceasefires, create buffer zones, and, increasingly, creating political institutions, working alongside governments, non-governmental organizations and local citizens' groups to provide emergency relief, demobilize former fighters and reintegrate them into society, clear mines, organize and conduct elections and promote sustainable development.
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Who is in charge of peacekeeping?
Although peacekeeping is not specifically mentioned in the United Nations Charter, the Charter gives the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council creates and defines peacekeeping missions. Its 5 permanent members - China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States - can veto any decision on peacekeeping operations.
The Secretary-General directs and manages UN peacekeeping operations and reports to the Council on a mission's progress. Through the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Secretary-General formulates policies and procedures and makes recommendations on the establishment of new missions and on the functioning of ongoing missions.
Soldiers on UN peacekeeping missions do not swear allegiance to the United Nations. Governments that volunteer military and civilian police personnel carefully negotiate the terms of their participation. They retain ultimate authority over their own military forces serving under the UN flag, including disciplinary and personnel matters. Peacekeeping soldiers wear their own national uniforms. To identify themselves as peacekeepers, they also wear blue berets or helmets and the UN insignia.
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How much does it cost?
Annual cost of UN peacekeeping personnel and equipment peaked at over $3.6 billion in 1993, reflecting the expense of operations in the former Yugoslavia and Somalia. Peacekeeping costs fell in 1996 and 1997, to $1.4 billion and some $1.3 billion, respectively. By 1998, costs had dropped to just under $1 billion. With the resurgence of larger-scale operations, costs for UN peacekeeping rose to $1.7 billion in 1999 and are estimated at about $2.63 billion for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003.
All Member States are obligated to pay their share of peacekeeping costs under a formula that they themselves have agreed upon. As of 15 February 2003, however, Member States owed approximately $2.1 billion in current and back peacekeeping dues.
Who contributes personnel?
All Member States share the risk of maintaining peace and security. Since 1948, close to 130 nations have contributed military and civilian police personnel at various times. As of 31 January 2005, 103 countries were contributors of more than 65,050 military and civilian police personnel. Of this number, the top five were: Pakistan, 8,183; India, 5,154; Nepal, 3,453; Ethiopia, 3,428; Ghana, 3,335. mall island nation of Fiji has taken part in virtually every UN peacekeeping operation, as has Canada. As of 31 January 2005, there were also more than 6,765 international civilian personnel and some 6,300 locally-recruited staff working in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
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What does the United Nations do to promote development?
As the only global institution committed to development, the UN system has bettered the lives of countless people in the poorest parts of the world through a variety of practical Programmes.
The UN's track record in promoting development is second to none. The UN Development Programme has more than 130 offices around the world, and the UN system spends nearly $6.5 billion a year on operational activities for development - assisting refugees, the poor and the hungry, and promoting child survival, environmental protection, crime and drug control, human rights, women's equality and democracy. In addition, the World Bank extends billions of dollars every year in development loans (more than $17 billion to over 100 developing countries in 2001). By contrast, world military expenditures stand at about $800 billion a year.
The UN is also active in efforts aimed at opening global markets to developing countries. The Secretary-General has expressed support for a "development round" of trade negotiations, to remove the unfair subsidies given to producers in rich countries and to fully open markets to labour-intensive exports from poor countries. He has called for measures to mobilize private investment in developing countries in a manner that respects the environment and is thus sustainable. During 2001-2002, these issues were addressed at three world conferences: the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (Doha, Qatar); the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, Mexico); and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa).
However, until these efforts bear fruit and enable the world's struggling countries to lift themselves out of the pit of underdevelopment, the UN remains a major source of technical and financial assistance. For millions in poor countries, these Programmes of assistance are the UN. The blue flag is respected because it is the symbol of people helping people build a just and sustainable world.
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The Global Compact
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 31 January 1999, Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged world business leaders to join in a "Global Compact" to further help safeguard human rights, labour standards and the environment - both in their individual corporate practices and by supporting appropriate public policies. The Secretary-General asked world business to:
* support and respect the protection of international human rights within their sphere of influence;
* make sure their own corporations are not complicit in human rights abuses;
* uphold freedom of association and the right of collective bargaining;
* uphold the abolition of child labour;
* uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation;
* support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
* promote greater environmental responsibility;
* encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. (For details, visit www.unglobalcompact.org )
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What can the UN do that others cannot?
A number of unique features make the UN especially effective in promoting development:
* Its universality: all countries have a voice when major policy decisions are made.
* Its impartiality: the UN does not represent any national or commercial interest. It can develop therefore relations of trust with countries and their people to provide aid with no strings attached.
* Its global presence: the UN has the largest network of country offices for the delivery of development assistance.
* Its comprehensive mandate, spanning social, economic and emergency needs.
* Its commitment to all "the peoples of the United Nations".
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What is the UN doing to protect the environment?
The UN is in the forefront of international efforts to protect the environment.
The UN helps bring about environmental treaties which, for example, helped to cut oil pollution from ships by 60 per cent during the 1980s; to curb cross-border pollution in North America and Europe; and to stop production in both industrialized and developing countries of many of the gases that destroy the ozone layer. Since the first UN Conference on the environment in 1972, UN agencies and Programmes have helped broker more than 300 international treaties and agreements relating to endangered species, marine pollution, ozone depletion, hazardous waste, biological diversity, climate change, desertification, fisheries, and industrial chemicals and pesticides.
* Agenda 21, negotiated at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (the "Earth Summit"), provides a comprehensive global blueprint for environmentally sound development, which has become the basis for many national plans and local initiatives. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa) provided an opportunity to identify areas where further efforts and action-oriented decisions were needed and to generate renewed political commitment.
* The UN Commission on Sustainable Development encourages the social and economic changes needed for "sustainable" development, which aims at providing real improvements in the quality of human life now while ensuring the preservation of resources for future generations. The Commission reviews how Agenda 21 and other Earth Summit agreements are being implemented at the international, regional and national levels. It also promotes dialogue and builds partnerships between governments and major groups involved in sustainable development. To help countries gather and report data for measuring progress, the Commission has developed a set of internationally accepted indicators of sustainable development, and encourages governments to establish national sustainable development bodies and goals.
* The UN Environment Programme helps countries to better manage the environment, monitors the health of the planet and builds consensus towards international treaties and Programmes of action.
* UN-sponsored technical bodies take the pulse of the environment. The UNEP-WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a worldwide network of more than 1,000 leading scientists from over 120 countries, assesses the state of knowledge on global climate change - its causes, impact and options for mitigating and adapting to it. Similar scientific and technical bodies also operate under international treaties dealing with the ozone layer. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) monitors global fish stocks, alerting countries to the risks of over-fishing. The UN-sponsored Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, involving 1,500 of the world's leading scientists, is examining the processes that support life on earth, such as the world's grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes, farmlands and oceans. It will provide decision-makers with authoritative scientific knowledge concerning the impact of changes in the world's ecosystems on human livelihoods and the environment.
* The Global Environment Facility (GEF), a Fund administered by UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank, has allocated more than $3.5 billion and leveraged another $8 billion for actions to reduce the risk of climate change, conserve and use biodiversity sustainably, protect international waters and phase out ozone-depleting substances and persistent organic pollutants in more than 150 developing countries and economies in transition. (see www.undp.org/gef)
* UN campaigns for universal immunization against childhood diseases have eradicated smallpox and reduced cases of polio by 99 per cent, with the aim of eradicating it entirely by 2005.
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How is the UN fighting against AIDS epidemic?
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a health disaster of pandemic proportions, with some 40 million people living with AIDS or the HIV virus that causes it. The epidemic has struck more than 60 million people and is expanding at the rate of 5.3 million new infections a year. It is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which pools the expertise of eight UN agencies and Programmes, is the main advocate for global action. It leads and supports work to prevent the transmission of HIV, reduce the vulnerability of individuals and communities, provide care and support, and alleviate the impact of the epidemic.UNAIDS promotes research, mobilizes support from the private sector and encourages partnerships between governments and the pharmaceuticals industry. It also engages the efforts of major drug companies, which have agreed to make HIV/AIDS treatment and care more affordable in developing countries.
In June 2001, at a special session of the General Assembly on AIDS, world leaders made a commitment to ensure that resources for the global response to HIV/AIDS are substantial, sustained and geared towards achieving results. Along with a comprehensive "battle plan" against the disease, the Assembly supported the establishment of a Global HIV/AIDS and Health Fund to finance an expanded response to the epidemic combining prevention, care, support and treatment. The Fund, which became operational in January 2002 with initial pledges from governments and private sources totaling some $2 billion, will also be used to combat tuberculosis and malaria. The UN supports HIV/AIDS-related activities in 155 countries.
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What is the UN doing to fight illicit drug trafficking?
Governments are well aware that the illicit drug problem cannot be solved unilaterally. Effective drug control requires a global approach, involving both the countries that are the source of drugs and those in which they are consumed.
The UN helps countries wage the battle against illicit drugs in numerous ways:
* The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the main intergovernmental policy- making body dealing with all drug-related matters. It analyses the world drug abuse situation and develops proposals to strengthen international drug control.
* The International Narcotics Control Board strives to restrict the availability of drugs to medical and scientific purposes, prevent their diversion into illegal channels, and combat illicit trafficking.
* The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides leadership in the global struggle against illicit drugs. It works to strengthen international action against drug production, trafficking and related crime, including money laundering. It supports crop monitoring and helps farmers switch from drug crops to alternative crops. In addition to providing accurate statistics, the Programme helps to draft anti-drug legislation and to train judicial officials.(see www.unodc.org)
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How does the UN handle emergency relief?
When disaster strikes, the UN operational agencies swiftly move in to help the affected population. Every day, UN emergency teams, working closely with humanitarian NGOs, rush supplies to millions of victims of man and nature, whether from war and political strife, or floods, droughts and crop failures. This involves food aid through the World Food Programme; shelter and protection through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; relief aid to mothers and children through the UN Children's Fund; control of epidemics such as the Ebola fever through the World Health Organization; and longer-term development activities through the UN Development Programme.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. An Inter-Agency Standing Committee brings together UN humanitarian agencies and the major world relief organizations for a coordinated global response. UN humanitarian appeals in 2001 raised more than $1.4 billion to assist 44 million people all over the world. Virtually all UN humanitarian relief is funded by voluntary contributions.(see www.reliefweb.int/ocha).
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What does the UN do for human rights?
One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law to which all nations can subscribe. The UN has also developed effective mechanisms to protect human rights, benefiting people all over the world.
The UN advances human rights in many ways:
* The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights raises concerns with governments, responds to human rights abuses and takes action to prevent violations.
* The UN Secretary-General and the High Commissioner confidentially voice human rights concerns with governments on various human rights situations and issues, including the treatment of prisoners and the commutation of death sentences.
* Under certain UN human rights treaties, individuals can appeal against States for alleged violations of their rights, subject to the fulfillment of certain preconditions, including the exhaustion of all domestic remedies.
* The UN Commission on Human Rights is one of the main intergovernmental bodies that holds public meetings on human rights violations wherever they occur in the world. It reviews human rights issues, including the situation in specific countries and territories. (see www.unhchr.ch)
* UN experts appointed by the Commission monitor and report on the human rights situation in specific countries, as well as on violations of all human rights in any part of the world - including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
* The Office of the High Commissioner assists in all these efforts. It also helps governments fulfill their human rights responsibilities by providing technical assistance through such activities as the training of police and judges, as well as the provision of advice on legislation and national human rights institutions.
* Many peacekeeping operations now include mandates for protecting and promoting the human rights of the affected population.
* The United Nations promotes accountability for grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Two UN International Tribunals, established to deal specifically with the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, have helped bring war criminals to justice.
* In January 2002, the UN and the government of Sierra Leone established a Special Court to try persons for serious violations of international humanitarian and national law during that country's decade-long civil war. The court is independent of the UN and the government. Unlike the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, it is funded directly through voluntary contribution by Member States.
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How does the UN defend vulnerable groups in society?
The UN is an advocate for society's most vulnerable groups - minorities, migrant workers, refugees, indigenous people and children in especially difficult circumstances - and works to better their plight. International treaties, such as the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, have been negotiated through the UN to protect vulnerable groups. Various UN mechanisms monitor compliance by States with obligations enshrined in human rights conventions on the rights of vulnerable groups, and hold countries accountable for violations.
The UN also conducts international campaigns to raise global awareness of the problems affecting vulnerable groups. On behalf of the world's 300 million indigenous people, the UN launched the International Year of the World's Indigenous People (1993) and the ongoing International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1994-2004), and is negotiating a declaration on their rights. In 2004 there were more than 500 million indigenous people in more than 70 countries around the world, representing over 5,000 languages and cultures on every continent.
The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is the main advocate for the estimated 300,000 child soldiers. The International Labour Organization has launched a global Programme to eliminate child labour, while the UN Children's Fund carries out projects to improve the lives of street children, working children and children in conflict situations.
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What does the UN do to promote the equal rights of women?
The UN has been instrumental in improving the status of women by spearheading change and raising awareness of their rights throughout the world.
* The equal rights of women are enshrined in the Preamble to the UN Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which legally establish gender equality as a fundamental human right.
* The UN has set international standards on women's rights and created instruments to monitor their observance around the world. In 1979, it adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - an international bill of rights for women and a blueprint for action by countries to guarantee those rights. Nearly 170 countries have ratified the Convention, legally committing themselves to ensuring women's equality. A special UN committee of independent experts monitors implementation of the Convention.
* Established in 1946, the UN Commission on the Status of Women meets annually on matters concerning women's rights. It makes recommendations on problems requiring immediate attention and promotes international legislation in support of women's rights.
* The UN has helped mobilize women around the world. To focus attention on women's rights, the UN declared 1975 to be International Women's Year and 1976-1985 as the UN Decade for Women. The UN has also provided a forum for women from around the world to join together to promote their rights. In 1975, it convened in Mexico City the first global conference ever held on women, followed by world conferences in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995).
* Two UN bodies are devoted exclusively to women's issues. The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) funds innovative development activities to benefit women, especially in rural areas of the developing world. The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) uses new information technologies to support the advancement of women and their access to the information society (see www.un.org/womenwatch).
How does the UN support democratization?
The UN supports democratization in an increasing number of countries that seek its help. By providing technical assistance in preparing and holding elections, the UN has helped nearly 80 nations to consolidate the democratic process. It organized the 1993 elections in Cambodia and has sent impartial observers to ensure free and fair elections in several countries - including Namibia, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique. The UN has also helped armed opposition movements transform themselves into political parties - for instance in El Salvador, Mozambique and Guatemala. To consolidate democracy, the UN helps nations to build and strengthen well-functioning, accountable processes and institutions - political, judicial and administrative. The UN Development Programme supports democratic governance in many countries by strengthening parliamentary procedures, upgrading the judicial system and helping to fight corruption. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights advises countries in expanding human rights laws, improving penal codes and protecting freedom of expression.
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Why do we need an International Criminal Court?
An International Criminal Court has been created to deal with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The establishment of such a court had long been on the UN agenda, but the appalling massacres in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda made the need for it even more urgent. The statute of the Court, drafted by a committee set up by the General Assembly with more than 100 Member States participating, was endorsed by 120 countries at a conference held in Rome in 1998. After receiving the required 60 ratifications, the Court came into being on 1 July 2002.
Located at The Hague in the Netherlands, the Court is to consist of 18 internationally respected judges elected for nine-year terms, and a team of prosecutors and investigators. It is not part of the UN and is accountable to the countries that ratify its statute. Those countries agree to prosecute their citizens accused of such crimes under their own laws or surrender them to the Court for trial.
The Court's statute ensures against unwarranted prosecutions. It gives precedence to national courts, requiring States parties to use their own tribunals in the first instance. The Court may intervene only when national courts are unable or unwilling to act. Moreover, prosecutors must justify their decisions on the basis of well-defined international standards, which preclude politically motivated charges. Finally, the Security Council has the authority to halt any prosecution it deems improper. As it begins functioning, it is hoped that the Court will help to end impunity and deter potential war criminals. (see www.un.org/law/icc)
What is the UN doing to ensure its continuing effectiveness?
In the past few years, the UN has enacted major reforms to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness. These have included appointing an Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, reducing operating expenses, cutting high-level posts and eliminating some 1,000 positions. The UN regular budget has had zero nominal growth for eight years, followed by a very slight increase for the current biennium - which nevertheless represents a reduction in real terms from the prior period.
The pace of reforms accelerated dramatically during the first term of Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1997-2001), who put in motion the most far-reaching set of reforms ever proposed to the General Assembly. These included:
* Reallocating resources from low priority areas and administrative services to higher priority areas identified by Member States.
* Reducing administrative costs and using the savings for development activities.
* Organizing the UN's work Programme into four core areas - peace and security, development, economic and social affairs, and humanitarian affairs - with human rights as a cross-cutting issue.
* Appointing a Deputy Secretary-General to oversee the day-to-day work of the UN and coordinate its reform efforts.
* Creating an Office of Internal Oversight Services, whose work involves audits, evaluations, monitoring, inspections and investigations.
* Establishing a cabinet comprising the UN senior managers to speed decision- making and enhance coordination.
* Undertaking a major reform of personnel aimed at improving management of staff at all levels.
Reform efforts continued in 2002 with a review of all activities of UN departments, as well as such administrative issues as conference servicing and documentation and the process of resource allocation in preparing the UN budget. The aim is to ensure the optimum allocation of available resources by simplifying procedures, reducing redundancies, improving efficiency, modernizing Secretariat functions and discontinuing activities that have outlived their usefulness. The Secretary-General has taken action in all areas of reform under his authority. On other aspects of UN reform, the decisions must come directly from Member States, acting together.(see www.un.org/Depts/oios)
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How much does the UN cost?
The regular budget of the UN is some $1.3 billion per year. It pays for UN activities, staff and basic infrastructure but not peacekeeping operations, which have a separate budget. All States of the UN are obligated by the Charter - an international treaty - to pay a portion of the budget. Each State's contribution is calculated on the basis of its share of the world economy.
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How much does the entire UN system spend each year?
The UN system as a whole spends some $12 billion a year, taking into account the United Nations, UN peacekeeping operations, the Programmes and funds, and the specialized agencies, but excluding the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Just over half of this amount comes from voluntary contributions from the Member States; the rest is received from mandatory assessments on those States.
The United Nations and its agencies, funds and Programmes - mainly the UN Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the UN Children's Fund and the UN Population Fund - spend nearly $6.5 billion a year on operational activities for development, mostly for economic, social and humanitarian Programmes to help the world's poorest countries. In addition, the World Bank, the IMF and IFAD provide billions more annually in loans that help to eradicate poverty, foster development and stabilize the world economy.
World military expenditures - some $800 billion a year - would pay for the entire UN system for more than 65 years. (see www.unsystem.org)
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How does the UN budget compare with those of other organizations?
To put in perspective the UN's expenditures - some $1.3 billion per year for the UN alone and about $12 billion for the entire UN system - compare them with expenditures by governments and by other bodies:
* The administrative budget of the 15-country European Community amounts to some $4.5 billion.
* The two states in the U.S. with the smallest budgets - Wyoming and South Dakota - have a budget of more than $2 billion each.
* The World Health Organization (WHO), which has reduced or eliminated the incidence of a number of diseases worldwide, including smallpox and polio, has an annual budget of $421 million - about what it cost to build the new American Airlines Center, a basketball/hockey facility in Dallas, Texas.
* The annual budget for the city of Zurich is $3.1 billion.
* Metropolitan Tokyo's Fire Department has a budget of $1.8 billion.
* The University of Minnesota has a budget of $1.9 billion.
* The budget of the New York City Board of Education for fiscal year 2001 was more than $12.4 billion.
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How is the UN budget decided?
UN spending is determined through a rigorous process involving all Member States.
The budget is initially proposed to the General Assembly by the Secretary-General, after careful scrutiny of requests from individual UN departments. It is then analysed by the 16-member Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and by the 34-member Committee for Programme and Coordination. The Committees' recommendations go to the General Assembly's Administrative and Budgetary Committee, made up of all Member States, which gives the budget further scrutiny. Finally, it is sent to the General Assembly for final review and approval.
Since 1988, the budget has been approved by consensus - a practice that gives countries the leverage to restrain increases.
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Is the budget growing too fast?
In real terms - that is, after allowing for inflation and currency fluctuations - the budget has declined significantly over the past decade, despite constant demands from Member States for new Programmes and activities.
Since 1994, when the Assembly adopted a two-year budget of just over $2.6 billion, the Secretariat has been working with the same or a lower level of resources, dropping as low as $2.5 billion for 1998-1999. Even in actual terms, spending never exceeded 1994-1995 levels, and the budget for 2002-2003 has only now returned to $2.6 billion - far lower, in real terms, than the 1994-1995 budget, which is estimated at $3.1 billion at today's costs. The budget for the current biennium represents a 3 per cent reduction in real terms from the budget for 2000-2001.
The budget for the New York City Board of Education exceeds that of the entire UN system
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Who watches spending at the UN?
Internal controls are in place to ensure that money is spent only for authorized purposes and as efficiently as possible.
* The UN Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, headed by the UN Controller, is the main control mechanism. Each specialized agency and major Programme of the UN system has its own control office.
* The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, headed by the equivalent of an Inspector General in the United States, reviews UN activities throughout the world and looks into allegations of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. Since its establishment in 1994, the Office has helped the UN save or recover some $87 million. It reports directly to Member States at the General Assembly, and maintains a confidential hotline to receive information on alleged wrongdoings.
* The Board of External Auditors goes over the accounts. It consists of the Auditors-General of three Member States chosen by the Assembly. Each Auditor-General appoints a staff of auditors who inspect UN offices all over the world.
* The Joint Inspection Unit helps ensure that the activities of the various organizations of the UN system are carried out in the most economical manner and that optimum use is made of resources. The Unit consists of inspectors from 11 nations, appointed by the Assembly. They have broad powers of investigation in all matters bearing on efficiency and the proper use of funds and can make on-the-spot inquiries.
The UN Internal Oversight Office has helped save or recover some $87 million since 1994.
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How are membership dues calculated?
The primary criterion applied by Member States, through the General Assembly, is a country's capacity to pay. This is based on estimates of their gross national product (GNP) and a number of adjustments, including for external debt and low per capita incomes. The percentage shares of each Member State in the budget are decided by the General Assembly based on this methodology and range from a minimum of 0.001 per cent to a maximum of 22 per cent, and a maximum of 0.01 per cent from least developed countries. For 2002, the 43 countries contributing at the minimum rate were assessed $11,104 each. The largest contributor - the United States - was assessed $283,076,321.
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Are the dues unfairly distributed?
Since the assessments are based on gross national product (GNP), richer countries generally pay more and poorer countries less, although there are some exceptions (e.g., Brazil pays more than Liechtenstein even though its per capita income is much lower, because its total GNP is much higher).
Beginning in 1974, the Assembly fixed a maximum rate of 25 per cent for any contributor - later reduced to 22 per cent from 2001. So far, this ceiling has benefited only the United States, whose share of total membership GNP is approximately 27 per cent. Without this ceiling, its share would be even higher since, like other countries with high per capita income, it would have been required to contribute to the cost of reductions for the countries with low per capita income. The rates of other Member States are raised to make up for the difference.
The country with the second-highest assessed contribution is Japan, which was assessed some 19.7 per cent for 2002, or $218.4 million. The 15 members of the European Union together contribute some 35 per cent of the budget. The scale of contributions is completely reviewed every three years on the basis of the latest national income statistics to ensure that assessments are fair and accurate.
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Are industrialized countries paying too much?
When the States contributing to the UN regular budget are ranked by the amount of their contribution, it is clear that a small number of countries are assessed a large share of the costs - reflecting their larger share of world income. If other criteria are used, however, a different picture emerges. If we look at per capita contributions, for example, we see three smaller countries and four Nordic States among the top contributors.
A large share of the money that some major industrialized countries give to the UN system returns to them in terms of the money the UN spends in their countries on materials purchased, salaries and operating expenses. Of the $3.7 billion in goods and services purchased by the entire UN system in 2000, 64 per cent came from industrialized countries, totalling nearly $2.4 billion. U.S. companies received $527 million of this - more than double that of the next largest provider of goods and services, and far more than most Member States.
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What about unpaid dues?
The UN has recently emerged from a financial crisis - what happens when Member States do not pay their share of costs for Programmes they themselves have mandated. Some countries fail to pay their dues on time due to budgetary technicalities or simple poverty. Others have withheld payments as a way to exert pressure on the UN or to make a political point. No State or private company could function under such conditions, with Member States continuing to ask more and more of the UN, even as dues are withheld.
Efforts on the part of States to meet their arrears have significantly improved the UN's financial situation, but significant arrears remain and the organization's reserves are depleted. At the end of 2001, arrears to the regular budget totalled $239.6 million - of which $209.9 million was for the current year. Of the UN's 191 Member States, 54 (some 29 per cent) had not paid their regular budget dues in full, although only 22 were in arrears beyond the current year. Also at the end of 2001, $43.8 million was owed in arrears relating to the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.
However, when one adds in UN peacekeeping, the total of unpaid assessed contributions leaps to $2.1 billion, with a staggering $1.8 billion owed for peacekeeping. Some 38 per cent of this figure -$690.9 million - represents outstanding contributions by the United States, with $373 million relating to the current period and $316.9 to prior periods. Nevertheless, even this situation represents an improvement, and during 2001 the UN was able to reduce its debt to countries - mainly for troops and equipment provided for peacekeeping operations - from some $1.1 billion to $800 million.
Clearly, more is needed from Member States in clearing their arrears and meeting their financial obligations in full and on time to restore the UN to financial stability - which alone can ensure its ability to fulfil its many roles with maximum impact and benefit to the people of our planet.
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What can be done to make Member States fulfill their financial obligations?
Under the UN Charter (Article 19), a Member State can be deprived of its vote in the General Assembly if its arrears equal or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the previous two years. Various Members have suffered this sanction over the years.
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Has the UN made the world a better place?
While some achievements of the UN family are well known, many of them, which benefit people everywhere, are often taken for granted:
* The UN and its agencies have improved the health of millions - immunizing the world's children, fighting malaria and parasitic disease, providing safe drinking water and protecting consumers' health. As a result, longevity and life expectancy have increased worldwide.
* More international law has been developed through the UN in the past five decades than in the entire previous history of humankind.
* UN relief agencies together provide aid and protection to some 25.7 million refugees and displaced persons worldwide.
* The UN in 1948 formulated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - an historic proclamation of the rights and freedoms to which all men and women are entitled. More than 80 UN treaties protect and promote specific human rights.
* The UN and its agencies, including the World Bank and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), are the premier vehicles for furthering development in poorer countries, providing assistance worth more than $30 billion a year.
* The UN has helped strengthen the democratic process by assisting elections in nearly 80 countries.
* UNDP is the UN system's principal provider of advice, advocacy and grant support for development. With an annual expenditure of about $1 billion, UNDP supports many development projects worldwide.
* UN appeals raise over $1 billion a year for emergency assistance to people affected by war and natural disaster. In 2001 alone, 19 inter-agency appeals raised more than $1.4 billion to assist 44 million people in 19 countries and regions.
* The World Food Programme - the world's largest food-aid organization - provides about one third of the world's food aid each year.
* The UN was a promoter of the great movement of decolonization, which led to the independence of more than 80 nations.
* Smallpox was eradicated from the world through a campaign coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Another WHO campaign, launched in 1988, aims to eliminate polio worldwide by 2005. In 1998, polio struck some 1,000 people per day in 125 countries. By 2001, there were only 537 cases for the entire year and the disease had been eliminated from all but 10 countries.
* Every year, up to 3 million children's lives are saved by immunization, but almost 3 million more die from preventable diseases. UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank group, private foundations, the pharmaceutical industry and governments have joined in a Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization that aims to reduce that figure to zero.
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Who works at the United Nations and what do they do there?
Economists, translators, statisticians, secretaries, TV producers, computer experts, physicians, carpenters - these are just a few of the wide variety of people with many skills and backgrounds who work as UN staff members.
The UN Secretariat employs some 7,500 staff members under the regular budget and a nearly equal number under special funding. Coming from some 170 countries, they administer the UN's policies and Programmes in New York and at duty stations around the world. The UN system as a whole - the UN and its related Programmes and specialized agencies, including the World Bank and the IMF - employs some 61,000 people worldwide.
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How are staff members selected?
The UN Charter says that the essential criteria for recruitment shall be "the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity". Due regard must also be paid to "recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible". The staff of the Secretariat must reflect the whole membership of the UN, so that it will be responsive to the diverse political, social and cultural systems in the world and so that all Member States will have confidence in it. To ensure such diversity, the UN employs qualified people from all over the world, recruiting both globally and locally. Tough competitive examinations are used to recruit the core professional staff at the junior and middle levels.
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Are diplomats posted at the UN as members of its staff?
No. Most visible to the public, these diplomats represent and work for their governments, not for the UN. All Member States maintain permanent missions in New York, which are, in effect, their countries' embassies to the UN. Missions are headed by ambassadors, known as permanent representatives, who make up the core of the diplomatic community in New York. Diplomats posted to the UN enjoy the legal privileges and immunities allowed under international law for diplomats everywhere. Each year, between September and December, nearly 3,000 diplomats come to New York to take part in the annual session of the General Assembly.
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Are both developed and developing countries fairly represented among UN staff?
At the end of 2001, nearly 47.5 per cent of UN posts in the professional category were held by nationals of developed countries, followed by those from developing countries (41.6 per cent) and countries in transition (10.9 per cent). Among all staff, 50.6 per cent were from developing countries, 43 per cent from developed countries, and 6.4 per cent from countries in transition - despite the fact that developing countries represent 149 of the UN's 191 Member States and 82 per cent of the world's population.
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How about women's representation?
In 2001, women filled 40.2 per cent of the core professional posts (up from 29.2 per cent in 1991). At the senior levels of the Secretariat, women held 32.7 per cent of the posts. The UN seeks to ensure equal opportunity for women, and the Secretary-General has appointed several eminent women to top UN posts. These include the Deputy Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.
Women lead seven other UN institutions, including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Volunteers. Women also head the UN regional commissions for Europe and Western Asia which - along with regional commissions for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean - initiate measures to promote regional economic development. There are now more women in senior positions than ever before.
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Is the UN overstaffed?
The number of people employed worldwide by the UN in all capacities - nearly 15, 000 people by the UN Secretariat and some 61,000 by the entire UN system - is remarkably small for a system of organizations engaged on a global scale in virtually all areas of human welfare, from promoting peace to furthering development, to organizing humanitarian relief. For example, the United States Federal Government employs more than 89,000 civilians overseas alone; the city of Vienna has over 70,000 public employees; while Disneyland and Disney World employ more people than the entire UN system.
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Are UN staff members overpaid?
To assure high standards for UN staff, Member States have stipulated that UN professional salaries should be comparable to those of the highest-paid national civil service. But rates of remuneration at the UN have fallen far short of those of national civil services and international organizations, and are even more out of line with salaries in the private sector of several countries. Many heads of UN agencies have expressed concern that conditions of service are no longer competitive. For professionals from France, Germany, Japan and many other countries, quitting their jobs to join the UN would mean lower salaries and benefits. Even though most staff join the UN out of support for the ideals of the Organization, the UN still has difficulty in attracting and retaining staff from countries with high pay levels. If the UN wants to continue to attract highly qualified and dedicated professionals, it must be a competitive employer offering attractive conditions. UN professional salaries are considerably lower than in many other international organizations.
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Do UN staff members have too many benefits?
No. In terms of holidays, health insurance, pension and the like, UN benefit Programmes resemble those offered by governments and the private sector for their staff working abroad.
The vast majority of UN staff members do not enjoy diplomatic status and are subject to the laws of the country in which they are serving. Staff members pay a "staff assessment", which is a form of income tax deducted from their gross salary according to a graduated scale. It is a fixed tax from which no deductions may be taken. Except for the few with diplomatic status, UN employees pay the same sales, real estate and other taxes as anyone else. And while people often associate the idea of a UN job with New York, many staff members live and work far away from Headquarters - often in countries ravaged by poverty or war.
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How can I support the work of the United Nations?
The best way to support the UN actively is through the network of non-governmental organizations affiliated with the UN. Especially relevant are the UNAs in more than 100 countries, often with many local chapters. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has national committees in countries around the world, spreading awareness about UNICEF's Programmes and raising the funds that help to make them a reality. More than 5,000 UNESCO clubs, centres and associations in over 120 countries undertake activities in the areas of education, science, culture and communication. Major contact points are the UN information centres and services all over the world.
If you have a skill in agriculture, medicine, education or engineering, as well as the necessary flexibility and commitment, the UN Volunteers Programme may place you for a two-year period with an appropriate UN development project in a developing country. Contact UN Volunteers, P.O. Box 260111, D-53153 Bonn, Germany (email: information@unvolunteers.org; website: www.unv.org).
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What UN is doing for nuclear disarmament?
Halting the spread of arms and reducing and eventually eliminating all weapons of mass destruction are major goals of the United Nations. The UN has been an ongoing forum for disarmament negotiations, making recommendations and initiating studies. It supports multilateral negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament and in other international bodies. These negotiations have produced such agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996) and treaties establishing nuclear-free zones.
Other treaties prohibit the development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons (1992) and bacteriological weapons (1972); ban nuclear weapons from the seabed and ocean floor (1971) and outer space (1967); and ban or restrict other types of weapons. By 2001, more than 120 countries had become parties to the 1997 Ottawa Convention outlawing landmines. The UN encourages all nations to adhere to this and other treaties banning destructive weapons of war. The UN is also supporting efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons - the weapons of choice in 46 of 49 major conflicts since 1990. The UN Register of Conventional Arms and the system for standardized reporting of military expenditures help promote greater transparency in military matters.
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Does the UN offer scholarships?
The UN offers no general scholarship or student exchange Programme. However, UNESCO's Study Abroad contains information on study, travel and work in Member countries. This publication contains 2,950 entries concerning higher education and training opportunities in all disciplines in 124 countries. It includes information on scholarships, financial assistance, university-level courses, short-term courses, training Programmes, student employment possibilities and facilities for handicapped. This publication is available for consultation in many public libraries, or may be ordered from: UNESCO Publishing, Promotion and Sales Division,1, rue Miollis, F-75732, Paris Cedex 15, FRANCE, Fa | 
