Cato Policy Analysis No. 253

April 30, 1996

A Miasma of Corruption:
The United Nations at 50

by Stefan Halper

Stefan Halper, a former White House and State Department official, is a nationally syndicated columnist.

Executive Summary

The United Nations is under increasing attack by critics in the United States and other countries. At the heart of the organization's mounting problems is an almost total lack of accountability, which gives rise to suspicions of wholesale corruption. Existing evidence indicates that corruption and mismanagement go beyond the routine fraud, waste, and abuse of resources that mark all public-sector enterprises.
UN budgets are shrouded in secrecy, and the actual performance of the myriad bureaucracies is translucent, if not opaque. There is no reliable way to determine whether the various and often competing specialized agencies (at least two dozen UN agencies are involved in food and agricultural policy) are doing their jobs, and many UN activities, even if they are of some value, can be carried out better and more efficiently by other groups. Other activities should not be undertaken at all.
Available evidence coupled with the United Nations' unwillingness to undergo a thorough audit raise serious questions about its mission and the means used to carry it out. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's rationale that the world body is accountable to all its 185 member-states is meaningless. Such an amorphous standard of accountability is akin to saying no one is responsible.
The United Nations is in dire need of reform, starting with a comprehensive, independent audit. Even if a complete audit were performed, however, there is no guarantee anything would be done about the problems identified. And radical change may not be possible, no matter how obvious the need. Given all the earlier, failed attempts to put things right, even on a limited basis, optimism about meaningful reform may be an exercise in wishful thinking.

Introduction

The United Nations' 50th birthday came and went this past year, and while some people treated the event as a celebration, others were far less enthusiastic. Indeed, there was decidedly more derision than congratulation in the United States. That would have seemed odd only a few years ago. Few in the attentive public then thought the United Nations was in need of serious, much less radical, reform. To the contrary, with the end of the Cold War, most Americans, especially members of the opinion-shaping elites, regarded the United Nations as more relevant than ever. By the organization's golden anniversary, however, criticism was being expressed even by UN sympathizers in the Clinton administration, who view themselves as modern internationalists parrying the thrusts of uncouth Philistine isolationists. Suddenly, it seemed, critics of the United Nations were no longer confined to the flat-earth faction of the political right, which had long considered the body a world government in the making. The recent relatively mild critiques from the foreign policy establishment, though, are woefully overdue and understated.
An increasing center of frustration with UN failures can be found in the U.S. Congress. Some members have even called for U.S. withdrawal from the world body and the expulsion of the organization from its New York City headquarters. And the arguments of the abolitionists are getting a respectful hearing from the mainstream press.^[1]
An American withdrawal would almost certainly mean the collapse of the United Nations. Without the generous, if unwilling, support of U.S. taxpayers, the United Nations would face imminent financial ruin. A decision to leave the world body may still be a decade or so away, but disgust with the United Nations is growing, not receding. Recent and expensive peacekeeping failures in Angola, Cambodia, Bosnia, and Somalia have greatly fueled the discontent.^[2]
The Clinton administration's early, naive hope that the United States could offload nettlesome foreign conflicts on the United Nations--by sending American troops, who would serve under international command, to second that body's efforts--seems far more remote than the mere three years ago it was first suggested. But the rapid fading of the administration's early dreams is a measure of the current pessimism about the United Nations and its multitude of agencies that, with little rhyme or reason, have over the decades grown like "a coral reef," in the words of John Bolton, former assistant secretary of state for international organizations.^[3]
Last June on the stage of San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, distinguished speakers from around the world, including President Clinton, labored mightily to echo the hopes expressed for the United Nations by its founders in June 1945 at the organization's charter-signing ceremony, attended by President Harry Truman. The anniversary efforts, however, fell flat. The contrast in rhetoric between the American presidents was instructive. Truman spoke glowingly of ending war through collective security, a hope anchored to the expectation of continuing the wartime alliance in perpetuity. In contrast, Clinton spoke defensively of reforming the middle-aged organization to fend off the "new isolationists" supposedly hungering for the kill. He did not even mention Bosnia, the United Nations' most recent and visible collective security mission.^[4]
Reforming the United Nations, coupled with a less exalted vision of what it might usefully do in the next century, is now safely within the mainstream of American "informed" discussion of the world body. The prevailing assumption underlying much of the talk is that the organization is in trouble, but its problems are fixable: budgets and bureaucracies can be trimmed; waste, duplication, and fraud can be uncovered and eliminated; and finances can be put on a sounder basis. Moderate reformers also concede that peacekeeping missions need to be more carefully defined and that there should be less talk and more action, particularly in connection with humanitarian services. And what if such steps are not taken? Unfortunately, that question is rarely addressed.
Any prescriptions for measured reform may well be much too little and much, much too late. After all, as members of Congress on both sides of the aisle well know, previous attempts at correcting the United Nations' many failings have come largely to naught. The most significant congressional effort at overhaul was the so-called Kassebaum-Solomon amendment passed in 1985. That measure required the United States to reduce its 25 percent share of the general UN budget to 20 percent unless a weighted system of voting on budget matters was introduced in the General Assembly. The legislation did spark some attempts at cutting spending and reducing the number of top administrators, but in general the United Nations has ignored or evaded the clear purpose of Kassebaum-Solomon.^[5]
Such a frustrating record suggests that the problems may be inherent and irredeemable rather than incidental and correctable. It also implies that the United Nations as constituted is so fundamentally corrupt that no redesign, no matter how clever the blueprint, would ever be carried out. Although that suspicion is not yet in the mainstream of debate, it deserves a careful hearing. But first we need to understand how the United Nations has gotten itself in the perhaps irreparable fix it is in.
The UN Family and How It Grew
American Wilsonian internationalists saw the United Nations as a second--and perhaps final--chance to create a world body that would preserve the peace through collective security. President Wilson's plea for U.S. membership in the League of Nations--which he could have gotten with a few minor compromises with the Senate--was rebuffed by that body. Wilson's ideological heirs believed that the lack of U.S. participation was the league's fatal flaw, leading to its ineffectiveness in dealing with the wave of aggression in the 1930s.
A Second Chance for Wilsonianism
There is actually little evidence to support that contention.^[6] Nevertheless, the Wilsonian analysis persuaded a generation of American policymakers and opinion makers that the lack of an effective world organization was the root cause of World War II. Moreover, with the arrival of the atomic age, creation of a capable global security organization seemed, not an exercise in idealism, but a stark need. Either a UN-based system of collective security would be forged by the wartime allies--large and small alike--or the planet's history would come to a swift and ugly end. To make sure that the latter would not happen, the UN Security Council--in effect, its five permanent members--was given the power to decide what measures should be taken in case of a threat to the peace. In contrast, the league's council could make recommendations for action that individual member states were free to ignore.^[7]
Hopes for an effective United Nations became an early casualty of the Cold War. Any peace-preserving action could be stalled in the Security Council by a Soviet veto, while General Assembly resolutions passed under the aegis of the United States could be simply ignored by Moscow and its growing list of satellites.^[8]
Nevertheless, the United States doggedly sought to use the organization whenever possible. Truman, for example, insisted on a UN role as a collective guarantor of the Korean peninsula's security. That was obtained, but only after a major diplomatic effort to persuade reluctant allies to join in the effort to repel North Korea's armed aggression in June 1950. (A fortuitous Soviet boycott of the Security Council prevented a veto of the UN "police action.") Later, when Stalin sent back his representative, the United States obtained what it needed to continue the mission through a constitutionally dubious Uniting for Peace resolution passed by the then-friendly General Assembly. Under that resolution, the General Assembly would assume the powers of the Security Council when the latter body was stymied by the veto of a permanent member.
The Transformation of UN Membership
All of that, of course, was possible only because the United States enjoyed the support of a majority in the 51- member General Assembly. That margin vanished forever in the mid-1950s when a momentary thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations following the death of Stalin allowed the admission of 20 new members. Five years later the General Assembly had 82 members, nearly all former colonies of the European powers.^[9] By 1970 the number had jumped yet again to 108; by 1980 it was 136; and by 1995 the General Assembly had a total of 185 member-states, each with one vote.
The vastly expanded General Assembly was soon dominated by non-Western states whose elites seldom shared the political culture of the democratic West, much less any belief in market economics. The new majority felt free to exercise its power by passing resolutions favorable to the Third World and its member-states' various pet projects. Although the Third World was hardly homogeneous, operating on an identical agenda, a mutually convenient system of logrolling soon came into being. For example, Arab states would vote for black African resolutions against South African apartheid, provided that the black African countries in turn voted against Israel when called upon to do so. All factions frequently voted against the United States, although they were seldom as harsh with the Soviet Union--as President John F. Kennedy discovered when the nonaligned states refused to condemn the USSR for resuming aboveground nuclear tests in September 1961.^[10]
Placing Financial Burdens on the United States
Nowhere was the power of the new majority in the General Assembly more evident than in the critical area of finance. In 1945 the United States was assessed 39.98 percent of the UN budget, while the poorest members were each assessed a minimum of 0.04 percent. Although the U.S. assessment eventually dropped to 25 percent for the general bud- get, that decline is not as large as the decline in America's share of global economic output. The U.S. share of the peacekeeping budget, which is usually larger than the general budget, remains 31 percent. The UN budget is actually three budgets: regular, peacekeeping, and voluntary contributions (which cover humanitarian and development programs). The total cost comes to some $10.5 billion a year.^[11] Moreover, the General Assembly's financial bias in favor of Third World members has become more pronounced over the decades. The General Assembly reduced the assessment for poor states to 0.02 percent in 1973 and then cut it again to a minuscule 0.01 percent five years later.^[12]
By 1992, 79 members were paying the minimum amount to the regular budget while another 9 were chipping in 0.02 percent. That meant that a majority of voting members in the General Assembly contributed less than 1 percent of the UN's general budget while just 14 members contributed 84 percent. A similar situation prevails with the peacekeeping budget.^[13] That fundamental disconnect between power and the purse is the central factor in the corruption of the United Nations and has led to a proliferation of agencies, an oversized bureaucracy, and general irresponsibility.
From Swords into Plowshares into Jobs for the Boys
There is no need for romanticism about the Third World. Those who saw those nations as poor and exploited--and therefore virtuous--were hopelessly out of touch with reality. Third World countries may be poor, but the elites that run them are decidedly not. Nor does their rule very often rest on the consent of the governed, even in theory. Although democratic rule has spread a bit in the post-Cold War era, the most dramatic gains for democracy have been in the former communist Second World and Latin America, which never quite fit into the tiers monde where Asian warlords feel comfortable rubbing shoulders with Middle Eastern and African military dictators at meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement and the UN General Assembly.
The Opaque Budgetary Process
A kleptocratic culture of nonaccountability at home was easily transferred to the world body. How it was managed is less clearly understood. That is because UN budgetary procedures have for decades been covered by a shroud of obfuscation and secrecy--all unnecessary for an international organization that is supported in great part by American and Western taxpayers.
Two observers well versed in the ways of the United Nations summarize its budgetary process as follows:
A draft two-year program budget is proposed by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly. Prior to the Assembly's discussions, this draft budget is reviewed by the intergovernmental Committee for Program and Coordination and the 16-member expert Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. Apprised of the comments and recommendations of these two bodies, the General Assembly and its Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) Committee carry out an in-depth scrutiny of the budget, which goes through two readings in the Fifth Committee and one final reading in the plenary of the Assembly. A few years ago, formal agreement was reached by the General Assembly that the budget must be passed by consensus and cannot be adopted by a vote.^[14]
The requirement for consensus supposedly cured the problem of the many poor members' arriving at a budget paid for by the few rich.
In reality, the above description of the budgetary process is more anatomical than physiological. By the time the budget is formally considered by the General Assembly, nearly all the decisions have been made within bodies dominated by the Third World majority. The Committee for Program and Coordination is a prime example of the problem. As a result of U.S. congressional pressure for reform of the UN's finances, that committee was established with 21 members in December 1986. It was supposed to give major donors a larger say on the budget. But within two years the membership expanded to 34, thereby once again giving the Third World states a dominant voice on budgetary questions. Moreover, there is scant evidence that the major contributors seek to exert much influence on the committee.
An equally serious problem is the opaqueness of the budget process itself.^[15] Nowhere is that more evident than in the workings of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, which for more than 20 years has been run by Conrad S. M. Mselle of Tanzania. According to New York Times correspondent Christopher Wren,
No outsider can explain how decisions get made because Mr. Mselle, who has no formal training in finance, convenes committee meetings behind closed doors. "This is not nuclear science, this is financial stuff," a diplomat said. "There's no rea- son for it to operate in secrecy."^[16]
Of course, there is a reason for that secrecy; it just does not happen to be a legitimate one. The secrecy allows Mselle to do pretty much what he wants with other people's money. That includes rewarding himself with a tax-free income of $134,000 a year as well as a $60,000 salary paid to what the New York Times euphemistically refers to as Mselle's "companion." The lack of transparency and accountability of the Advisory Committee's decisions, policies, and procedures is replicated throughout the United Nations.^[17]
Bureaucracy Run Amok
Since the Third World majority took control of the United Nations and its budget, total UN employment has ballooned from 1,500 to more than 50,000 worldwide. The latter figure does not include the nearly 10,000 consultants or the peacekeeping forces, which at their height in 1993 numbered some 80,000. No exact figure on total employment including consultants--the hiring of consultants is a popular and much-abused practice at the United Nations--can be given. That is because until 1994 there was no central, computerized list of personnel. Even today there are no records of many appointments in the Secretariat.^[18]
The personnel costs (including generous pension benefits) of that army of bureaucrats consume an estimated 70 percent or more of the UN operating budget. Given the lack of transparency, the percentage could be even higher. That leaves relatively few financial resources for the actual missions of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, including the organization's much-touted humanitarian programs.
The salary and benefits packages of UN employees based in New York City are incredibly lucrative. Statistics compiled in 1995 revealed that the average annual salary for a midlevel accountant at the United Nations was $84,500. The salary for a comparable position in non-UN businesses and agencies was $41,964. A UN computer analyst could expect to receive $111,500 compared to $56,836 paid counterparts outside the UN bureaucracy. An assistant secretary general received $190,250; the mayor of New York City was paid $130,000.^[19] The raw figures do not convey the extent of the disparity, however, since the salaries of UN employees are free of all taxes. In addition to their bloated salaries, UN bureaucrats enjoy an array of costly perks, including monthly rent subsidies of up to $3,800 and annual education grants (also tax-free) of $12,675 per child. The UN pension program is so generous that entry-level staffers whose pay rises only as fast as inflation can retire in 30 years with $1.8 million.^[20]
But it is not numbers alone that should be of concern. There is the question of quality of personnel. Unlike the old League of Nations, the United Nations has never developed a well-trained international civil service. By nearly all accounts, a very few men and women struggle to do most of the real work. The rest are time servers whose sloth is reputed to be of mythic proportions. Secretary General Boutros-Ghali, shortly after assuming his post, remarked that until he acquired his present position he had thought the Egyptian bureaucracy was the most inefficient in the world. He was, he admitted, quite wrong. The secretary general also has estimated that perhaps half of the UN workforce does nothing useful.^[21] Even when work is done, it is often unnecessary. For example, according to Richard Thornburgh, who once served as under secretary general, "In the Office of Conference Services where translation services are provided, we currently employ 500 secretary-stenographers who are given the responsibility of typing the dictated version of translated documents and returning them to the translators for editing and approval." Those positions, of course, could be eliminated entirely if the translators worked with word processors. The cost of that featherbedding is $20 million a year.^[22]
There is no mystery about the pervasive lack of efficiency. The bulk of UN employees worldwide are drawn from the Third World and the now-defunct Soviet bloc, although bureaucrats from the West certainly are not immune to the temptations of sloth. Many have no particular skills other than cultivating support from their sponsoring governments. Once they are inside the UN bureaucracy, it is virtually impossible to fire them. At best, a conscientious manager (there are a few) can force the lateral transfer of an especially unsatisfactory subordinate. Most managers, however, do not bother even making the attempt.
Given the current rules, it is nearly impossible to correct such problems. One reason is that, in blatant disregard of sound management principles, the United Nations has no functioning system of personnel evaluation. Although employees are supposedly rated on their job performance, nearly everyone receives an excellent rating--some 90 percent, in fact, during a recent year--which makes evaluations virtually meaningless. All attempts to change that nonsystem of evaluation have failed--despite five separate efforts over the last two decades--and for good reason. Few within the United Nations want the appalling practice ended. Ending it would challenge the decades-old policy of corrupt hiring practices, which a majority of member-states have no interest in correcting since they directly benefit from the status quo.^[23] An irresponsible, unaccountable bureaucracy that does not even meet minimal requirements for any professional civil service is the wellspring of many of the other evils that make the United Nations such a corrupt institution.
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
That brings us to the question of corruption narrowly defined, that is, the well-known unholy trinity of waste, fraud, and abuse. There is abundant anecdotal evidence of all three being committed within the UN system. For example, the UN Children's Fund lost perhaps $10 million thanks to mismanagement in Kenya. Nearly $4 million in cash was stolen outright at UN headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia. And lest anyone think that such examples are confined to UN operations in Africa, consider this recent report from the New York Times:
Nearly $497,000 earmarked for a two-week conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in Barbados last year included $15,000 to fly in representatives of a "national liberation movement" recognized by the Organization of African Unity. In fact, the movement was Polisario from Western Sahara, a desert region conspicuously short of small islands.^[24]
Examples from the corrupt culture of the United Nations could be multiplied almost endlessly, but that dreary record would still avoid the central questions: just how much waste, fraud, and abuse is there in the United Nations; and is it really no worse than in other public bureaucracies, as UN apologists often contend? As to the latter question, bureaucracies vary considerably in their honesty and effectiveness. Anyone comparing the efficiency and rectitude of Chad's public sector to Wisconsin's state government would come up with striking results. In any case, the United Nations, which purports to be the conscience of the international community, should be held to the highest ethical standards. It should at least be judged on the same basis as the bureaucracy of its predecessor, the League of Nations. On that basis, the comparison is extremely unfavorable.^[25]
The Quest for an Inspector General
The larger question of exactly how much corruption exists cannot be answered with precision for the simple reason that the United Nations has never been subjected or subjected itself to a thorough, top-to-bottom audit. The UN Secretariat's Internal Audit Division has long been a toothless lion. Its small staff has no jurisdiction over the autonomous agencies, and its powers over the Secretariat itself are minimal. The auditors rely totally on information supplied by managers; the guilty are never identified by name; and the results are kept confidential. It is no wonder that the Internal Audit Division usually discovers only the most petty fraud.^[26]
Until last year, in fact, the United Nations lacked an inspector general's office, despite repeated urgings of supporters and critics alike. Moreover, the under secretary general for administration and management had been replaced seven times in eight years until Joseph Connor, a former Price Waterhouse executive, took over in mid-1994. Until Connor's appointment, the job had been held mostly by political appointees, many of whom were inherently disinterested in management. One of those officials spent most of his time in Namibia arranging its independence from South African control.^[27]
The Thornburgh Report
The rather obvious and much-needed appointment of a management specialist to the post came only after a steady drumbeat of criticism, in particular the March 1993 report of the then under secretary general for administration and management, former U.S. attorney general Richard Thornburgh. Thornburgh issued a report that advocated the establishment of an inspector general with real powers, because the existing auditing system under the General Assembly's Joint Inspection Unit was found to be "totally lacking" in effectiveness. It was understaffed as well as a patronage "dump- ing ground" bent on such dubious projects as a $4 million study on "Managing Works of Art in the United Nations." In other words, the Thornburgh report concluded that the Joint Inspection Unit was no better than the offices and agencies on which it was supposed to keep tabs.^[28]
In its place, Thornburgh recommended creating a "strong" inspector general's office, "a common set of accounting principles and standards," a code of conduct that would "compel full financial disclosure by senior management" to prevent conflicts of interest, and an "overhaul of the performance evaluation process."^[29] Incredibly, all of those elementary principles of sound management had been absent since the beginning of the United Nations.
Most of the sensible reforms proposed in the Thornburgh report have been ignored. One that could not be easily dodged, however, was appointment of an inspector general, an idea that quickly attracted interest in the increasingly frustrated U.S. Congress. Consequently, in 1995 a new unit under the secretary general, Internal Oversight Services, presided over by yet another under secretary general--German diplomat Karl Theodore Paschke--was established.^[30]
Tepid Reform: The Appointment of an Inspector General
The impetus for the decision to finally create an inspector general's office and appoint a director not controlled by the dominant Third World faction did not, of course, originate with the United Nations itself. Instead, in April 1994, an impatient Capitol Hill demanded the reform "or else." The "else" was a threat to withhold $420 million of the U.S. assessment from the financially strapped organization until the demand was fully complied with. The congressional requirement called for an independent inspector general with wide-ranging powers whose reports could not be censored by the secretary general. Moreover, whistle blowers were to be provided ample protection--correcting another long-standing weak point in the alleged system of UN accountability.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the General Assembly recrafted the congressional requirements and diluted the potential effectiveness of the new post. The General Assembly was able to weaken the reform effort thanks in large part to the refusal of Clinton administration negotiators to stay the course. What the General Assembly finally created was an inspector general with less than autonomous and sweeping powers. For example, the inspector general's budget would not be independent and he would serve at the pleasure of the secretary general--an unmistakable sign of dependence. Nor was Paschke given the power to correct any wrongdoing that he found, much less threaten offenders with criminal proceedings.^[31]
Lifting the Rock--Barely: The Inspector General's First Report
Such dilution of authority has contributed to the highly limited nature of the inspector general's first report, completed seven months after his appointment in March 1995. Short on time, funds, and staff, that initial attempt at cost accounting at the United Nations--a first after 50 years--produced little surprise, much less shock. Yet even that limited effort is reported to have "demoralized" much of the organization's staff.^[32] Paschke made no pretense that he could clean the Augean stable in seven months--a Herculean task that would require years in any case. Therefore, he concentrated on several priorities: peacekeeping, humanitarian services, and procurement. A further narrowing of focus limited his investigation to abuse that constituted outright theft. That limitation, of course, left out such concerns as duplication and inappropriateness of efforts and overall accountability. But even that first, limited swipe uncovered $16.8 million in out- right fraud and waste. The following were chief among his findings, according to one New York Times report.

In Somalia, $369,000 was paid for fuel distribution services that a contractor did not provide.
A project director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which helps Palestinian refugees, kept $100,000 of agency money in his private bank account and failed to disclose a personal stake in the irrigation project under way.
In Nairobi, a staff member of the United Nations Center for Human Settlements arranged loans worth $98,000 for a company in which she had been a partner, and with whose director she was "closely associated."
A travel assistant working in New York for the special commission that supervises the dismantling of Iraq's nuclear weapons program misappropriated $28,000 in travelers checks.^[33]

The report also contained the usual criticisms of poor management practices and abysmal personnel policy. But Paschke's overall conclusion proved more disturbing to the cause of real reform than any of his criticisms. The inspector general stated, "I have not found the UN to be a more corrupt organization, an organization that shows more fraud than any other comparable public organization."^[34]
But what is a comparable organization? Certainly not the old League of Nations, whose standards were very high. The statement, in short, has a ring of self-serving complacency, precisely what the United Nations does not need if it is to survive. Members of Congress had hoped for an inspector general who would prove to be a "junkyard dog," but U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright--no UN buster--suggested that Paschke had thus far proved to be a "junkyard puppy."^[35]
The Internal Oversight Services Office, in short, may well become another typical UN effort to deflect criticism without addressing the central problem. In any event, there is likely to be ongoing controversy and further attempts, at least on Capitol Hill, to make the United Nations responsible and responsive to its major contributors.
Can the United Nations Be Reformed?
There is no end to the schemes proposed for reforming the United Nations; many of them bubbled up in and around the institution's 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, most approach the issue from the wrong assumption: that the chief problem is a lack of money. To be sure, many nations "owe" billions--the United States, in particular, which is now $1.2 billion in arrears. That is hardly a new situation. In September 1993, for example, some 116 countries were behind in their payments while only 62 were paid in full. Two years later little had changed. At the end of December 1995, 91 of 185 members had not paid their share of the regular UN budget.^[36] In 1993 a blue-ribbon panel sponsored by the Ford Foundation and presided over by Paul Volcker, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Shijuro Ogata, former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, proposed to resolve the United Nations' cash-flow problems through a variety of means. The panel's principal recommendation was that past dues and present ones be paid in four quarterly installments, "instead of a single lump sum in the beginning of the year."^[37]
The Independent Revenue Panacea
More recently, the secretary general has suggested that the cure for the United Nations' financial woes is to give the world body taxing power. That would enable the organization to raise revenues directly and would give the institution an unprecedented degree of independence. Indeed, it would greatly diminish, if not eliminate, the financial control possessed (at least theoretically) by the member-states. Suggestions such as imposing a surcharge on international airline tickets or charging a fee for foreign exchange transactions--which amount to between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion per day--have been met with scant interest in the Clinton administration and open hostility in the Republican-controlled Congress.^[38]
Critics have raised the red flag of world government in response to proposals for taxing authority. But a more realistic objection is that such schemes would enhance the corrupt nature of the United Nations, whose core defect is an utter lack of accountability. The United Nations certainly is not accountable to its most important financial contributor, the United States, nor to the other major powers that largely provide the remaining share of the money. Nor can accountability be found with the secretary general, the chief administrative officer according to the UN Charter. Occupants of that post have regularly pleaded that they cannot be held accountable--none more emphatically than the incumbent, who contends that the member-nations are all-powerful in questions of responsibility.^[39] Freeing the United Nations of any form of control by the major contributors would make that problem worse, not better.
Since the negative reaction to the secretary general's proposals for raising new revenues, he has tried another tack. This time he has proposed to reduce the U.S. share of the general budget from the current 25 percent to 15 or 20 percent. In addition, he has in hand a recommendation from his management experts to cut the UN Secretariat staff based in New York by 1,150 positions.^[40] Such suggestions come at a very late date and merely reflect the growing pressure on the United Nations from the U.S. Congress, among others. Moreover, the steps are modest ones--the UN specialized agencies, for example, would not shrink at all--and do not address the larger question of accountability. Why U.S. officials should be satisfied with such half measures, even if they were to be implemented, is very much an open question.
A Radical Reform Agenda
How can the United Nations be made accountable in a meaningful sense of the term? Before addressing that primary question, however, we need to spell out the realistic options facing the organization. There are only two. The United Nations must either be radically reformed and its various bodies and agencies made strictly accountable to their primary donors, or failing that--and the record of failed reform attempts warrants pessimism--the principal donors, especially the United States, should end any further obligation to support financially an organization that is inherently corrupt and unfixable. The Reagan administration's withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1984 is a model of what could be done.
A Real Audit
There must be an agreement among the major donors that a thorough housecleaning is in order. The United States could theoretically pursue that project alone, but without the cooperation of the Japanese, Russians, Germans, French, British, and to a much lesser extent, the Chinese, the UN bureaucracy, as in the past, would be well positioned to stymie a grand audit.
That audit must be carried out by a properly staffed, completely independent inspector general with a warrant allowing complete access to all UN and related-agency records. Indeed, some of the worst waste and duplication can be found in the affiliated agencies. For example, at least two dozen UN agencies are involved in food and agricultural policy, including one of the most notoriously ill managed, the Food and Agricultural Organization.^[41] The proliferation of bureaucratic entities and the lack of pruning of obsolete ones is evident throughout the United Nations; agencies, councils, committees, and other bureaucratic bric-a-brac once established are almost never eliminated even though their usefulness has long since come to an end. The Trusteeship Council, for example, still absorbs resources even though it no longer has any wards.^[42]
The lack of organizational coherence that characterizes the United Nations generally is especially striking in the affiliated agencies--which spend the largest share of the overall UN budget. Consider this observation by one seasoned diplomatic correspondent:
The chiefs of some autonomous UN agencies rule their fiefdoms like autocrats, answering to no one. Regional mafias of UN bureaucrats have taken root, consolidating their power through favoritism in hiring and promotions. Recipient governments also routinely plunder UN programs, diverting aid from intended beneficiaries with little remonstration from UN agencies.^[43]
A comprehensive audit cannot be completed in haste and could well take up to five years to finish. Moreover, the scope of the inquiry cannot be limited to fraud, waste, and outright theft, narrowly defined. Rather, the approach should be that of zero-based budgeting, both financially and conceptually. In other words, the audit needs to determine, not only whether the various bodies are effectively performing their missions, but also whether a particular mission is worth pursuing in the first place.
Curbing Pretentious Conferences
One of the most egregious abuses is the United Nations' penchant for holding international conferences of dubious worth. A splendid example was last year's $2.5 million Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Featuring 100 world leaders, the summit (and its dozen preparatory meetings) fuzzily focused on poverty, job creation, and "solidarity." The outcome was roughly divisible into two categories: bromides that few could quarrel with or find of practical use and proposals for yet more government intervention to promote societal betterment.^[44]
The UN conference that fretted about "social issues" was matched by huge conferences on women in Beijing in 1995, population control in Cairo in 1994, and, of course, the Rio environmental summit in 1992. All attracted thousands of delegates who were usually pursuing agendas associated with the statist left. Although few results can be pointed to-- resolutions passed are not binding, fortunately, on anyone-- there is little indication, considering the sponsors and the size of the attendance, that any serious work can ever be achieved at such gatherings. As a result, even boosters of the United Nations (including the Clinton administration) are growing critical of the proliferation of high-profile conferences. Said one unnamed senior U.S. official, "We think the General Assembly, which includes all 185 UN member states, is the proper forum for addressing these issues, and it's time to stop running around the world wasting resources when the same work could be done right here in New York at much less cost."^[45]
Alternative Organizations
A reform audit should also examine whether some of the functions of the United Nations can be carried out more efficiently by other organizations. We are no longer living in the world of 1945. In the last 50 years private, volunteer organizations and state-run agencies (the U.S. Peace Corps, the British Volunteer Service) have sprung up like mushrooms. Many are vastly more efficient than (often) rival UN agencies, which are top-heavy with bad management and provide relatively few dollars for actual humanitarian relief even when those funds are not diverted to other less worthy causes by host governments. It is not heartless to no longer accept at face value what bureaucrats claim they do for the world's poor and suffering. A vivid example of the collective wisdom about the UN humanitarian mission was the General Assembly's approval in 1984 of a $73.5 million regional conference center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That decision was made at a time when the murderous regime of Mengistu Haile-Mariam had induced a massive famine that left international relief agencies scrambling for donations.^[46] Scarce resources wasted, and therefore not available to help those in need, serve no legitimate purpose.
A thorough scrutiny of the largely unexamined and unaudited UN budgets would allow primary donors to have for the first time the data with which to make rational decisions about those budgets rather than simply guess about what is actually being done to serve their legitimate national interests or even the broader interests of the inter- national community. The suspicion is that few UN programs and agencies would pass the test. Those that are found wanting and refuse to change or voluntarily go out of business should simply be starved of funds.
We would lose very little by taking that step. Functional, highly specialized agencies such as the World Meteorological Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization, many of which predate the founding of the United Nations, would carry on pretty much as they always have. Useful diplomatic initiatives that the United Nations can do best could be preserved--provided that a corps of competent, and neutral, career diplomats can be recruited and retained. Peacekeeping missions would be limited to the relatively inexpensive monitoring arrangements that have worked over the years. Large-scale "peacemaking" operations, as attempted in Somalia and Bosnia, should be relegated to the wastebasket of failed experiments.
Conclusion
If the United Nations is to continue for another half century, more will be required than showering the institution with happy-talk birthday cards. The organization needs a vast overhaul of mission and method. In recent years the world body has been subjected to a variety of criticisms and suggested reforms. But the critiques rarely go far enough, and the remedies, particularly in the area of financial reform, would probably make matters worse rather than better. That is especially true of suggestions to give the United Nations even limited taxing authority.
The U.S. Congress can and probably will play a large leadership role in the campaign for either reform or abandonment. But the Congress cannot do it alone. The president has the solemn responsibility to take the lead in presenting the case for a continued U.S. interest in and support for an international organization that has been generously subsidized by American taxpayers yet has shown scant regard for their interests. UN personnel do not have jobs and budgets by divine right--although many act as if they do. Nor can their privilege of utter unaccountability be tolerated much longer.
A half century of experience with the United Nations should have resulted in a real review of its flaws. Instead, supporters of the organization frequently act as though it should be immune from criticism. Far more realism is required if the United Nations is ever to reach its centenary.
Greater realism may lead to the conclusion that the United Nations cannot be salvaged--or at least that the burden of doing so may exceed any prospective benefit. Strip away the sentimental, often self-serving rhetoric, the utopian and hence unachievable aspirations, and it may well be that the international body is no more relevant to the world's problems than the Holy Roman Empire was in its waning decades. If that is the case, we should rid ourselves of the United Nations as Napoleon did Europe of the empire in 1808

Notes

^[1] See, for example, Thomas W. Lippman, "Florida GOP Fresh man Moves to Scuttle the U.N.," Washington Post, November 6, 1995, p. A9, which outlines the views of Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), who has introduced a bill calling for an end to U.S. membership in the United Nations after a four-year transition period. The congressman flatly denied that such a move was a retreat into isolationism, noting that he believed the United States would and should maintain its alliances with liberal democracies. For two recent sugges tions for limited UN reform, see Inguar Carlsson, "The U.N. at 50: A Time to Reform," Foreign Policy 100 (Fall 1995): 3-18; and Ruben D. Mendez, "Paying for Peace and Develop ment," Foreign Policy 100 (Fall 1995): 19-31.
^[2] Even the relatively successful operation in Mozambique demonstrated that various UN agencies are often shockingly incompetent. For example, the Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination managed to interfere with the work of other groups, which delayed unnecessarily the removal of land mines. See Tim Carrington, "Incompetence of the U.N. in Mozambique Casts Shadow over the Future of Haiti," Wall Street Journal, September 26, 1994, p. A10.
^[3] John R. Bolton, "A Good Year at the U.N.?" Washington Post, January 17, 1994, p. A23.
^[4] John F. Harris, "Clinton Calls on United Nations to Focus, Says It Must Trim Bureaucracy," Washington Post, June 27, 1995, p. A14. Other speakers included UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, and poet Maya Angelou.
^[5] Simon Duke, "The U.N. Finance Crisis: A History and Analysis," International Relations, August 1992, pp. 133-37.
^[6] Even if the United States had been a full league member (as it was Washington played a role behind the scenes), it is improbable that America would have sent troops to Spain or Ethiopia, marched into the Rhineland, prevented the Anschluss with Austria, or banged the tables at Munich in defense of Czechoslovakia. Given America's modest armed forces and the public fear of again being caught up in fighting foreign wars, the belief that such activism would have been forthcoming is based on wishful thinking, not logic.
^[7] According to article 16 of the league's covenant, "It is the duty of each member of the League to decide for himself whether a breach of the Covenant has been committed." Quoted in Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), p. 304.
^[8] One mark of the Security Council's decline is apparent in this comparison: in 1948 the council met 168 times; a decade later the number of meetings had dropped to 36. Ibid., p. 485.
^[9] Ibid., pp. 489-90.
^[10] For a first-hand account of Kennedy's "profane" reaction to the neutrals' moral cop-out at the Belgrade meeting, see Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965), p. 520.
^[11] Julia Preston, "Massive World Body Resists Shaping Up," Washington Post, January 3, 1995, p. A1.
^[12] Ibid.
^[13] Duke, pp. 129-30.
^[14] Hans D'Orville and Dragoljub Najman, "A New System to Finance the United Nations," in Security Dialogue (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1994), pp. 136-37.
^[15] Duke, pp. 133-35.
^[16] Christopher S. Wren, "Mismanagement and Waste Erode U.N.'s Best Intentions," New York Times, June 23, 1995, p. A1.
^[17] Ibid.
^[18] Ibid. According to Wren, 1,500 of the 7,000 Secretariat personnel have no valid appointments. Those who have spent time in Third World government offices know exactly how that could happen; "employment" in such governments is often a very casual concept involving little or nothing in the way of a paper trail. For the total number of UN personnel, see Julia Preston, "U.N. Wrestles with Sexual Harassment in Its Ranks," Washington Post, September 8, 1994, p. A29; and Catherine Toups, "Peacekeeping Falloff May Lead to U.N. Cut," Washington Times, January 13, 1996, p. A10. See also William Branigin, "As U.N. Expands, So Do Its Problems," Washington Post, September 20, 1992, p. A1.
^[19] Karen Cheney, "It's the U.N.'s 50th Birthday, But Its Employees Get the Gifts," Money, November 1995, p. 27. The disparity in salaries is a long-standing problem. See General Accounting Office, "United Nations: Personnel Com pensation and Pension Issues," Report to Congressional Requesters, February 1987.
^[20] Cheney.
^[21] See John M. Goshko, "U.N. Chief: Political Will, Money Needed," Washington Post, November 22, 1992, p. A1.
^[22] Richard Thornburgh, Testimony, in Management and Misman agement at the United Nations: Hearing before the Subcommit tee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 103d Cong., 1st sess., March 5, 1993 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993), p. 20.
^[23] Refet Kaplan, "U.N. Staff to Be Cut to Boost Efficien cy," Washington Times, March 15, 1995, p. A1; and Preston, "Massive World Body Resists Shaping Up," p. A1.
^[24] Wren, "Mismanagement and Waste Erode U.N.'s Best Inten tions," p. A1. His report goes on to note that $53,000 was requested for the 1994-95 UN budget for consultants' analy sis of South African apartheid even though the country's first multiracial elections were held in April 1994.
^[25] James Avery Joyce, Broken Star: The Story of the League of Nations (1919-1939)(Swansea: Christopher Davies, 1978), pp. 78-79; and Jack C. Plano and Robert E. Riggs, Forging World Order: The Politics of International Organization (New York: Macmillan, 1967), pp. 22-23, 172-73. The league's Secretariat numbered about 600 and was drawn from 50 dif ferent nations. Yet the league's first secretary general, Sir Eric Drummond, a senior British civil servant, insisted that the Secretariat be recruited on an individual basis and that its members live up to the standards of the British civil service, then regarded as the world's most efficient.
^[26] Branigin, p. A1.
^[27] He was Martii Ahtisaari, at present Finland's president. Connor has had some small successes. His first budget proposal for 1996-97 is actually $109 million less than the previous one. He has selected some 200 jobs for elimination out of a Secretariat staff of more than 10,000. In UN terms, those are major accomplishments, but they hardly address the fundamental concern. See ibid. See also Julia Preston, "U.N. Chief Fires American in Charge of Reforming World Body," Washington Post, January 18, 1994, p. A20.
^[28] Richard Thornburgh, "Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations," March 1, 1993, reprinted in Management and Mismanagement of the United Nations, pp. 100-101. Thornburgh, at the request of President Bush, served one year as under secretary general in order to prepare the report on mismanagement at the United Nations.
^[29] Ibid., pp. 101-3.
^[30] Wren, "Mismanagement and Waste Erode U.N.'s Best Inten tions," p. A1.
^[31] Catherine Toups, "U.N. Critics Call Report on Fraud a Prescription for Action," Washington Times, October 31, 1995, p. A13; and Christopher S. Wren, "Surprise! U.N. Auditors of Peacekeeping Missions Find Waste," New York Times, October 29, 1995, p. 18.
^[32] Catherine Toups, "U.N. Faces Increased Scrutiny at Age 50," Washington Times, June 26, 1995, p. A1.
^[33] Wren, "Surprise!"
^[34] Quoted in ibid. See also Toups, "U.N. Critics Call Report on Fraud a Prescription for Action," p. A13.
^[35] Quoted in Wren, "Surprise!" p. A18.
^[36] Catherine Toups, "U.N. Dues Proposal a Mixed Bag for U.S.," Washington Times, January 25, 1996, p. A1.
^[37] "Financing an Effective United Nations: A Report of the Independent Advisory Group on U.N. Financing," Ford Founda tion, New York, April 1993, p. 26. On the current U.S. bill, see Catherine Toups, "U.N. Considers Imposing Taxes," Washington Times, January 16, 1996, p. A1.
^[38] The idea was first broached in 1994 in D'Orville and Najman, pp. 135-44. See also Mendez, p. 25.
^[39] Toups, "U.N. Critics Call Report on Fraud a Prescription for Action," p. A13.
^[40] "The United Nations Heads for Bankruptcy," The Econo mist, February 10, 1996, p. 41; and John M. Goshko, "To Help Ward Off Bankruptcy, U.N. May Lay Off More Than 1,000 Staff," Washington Post, February 3, 1996, p. A16. Appar ently, some within the bureaucracy are getting the word as well. Rubens Ricopero, the new director of the UN Confer ence on Trade and Development, is suggesting that his staff shrink by 10 percent. Perhaps. But UNCTAD for decades has been a steady advocate of the developed nations' transfer ring resources to the underdeveloped. Only lately have UNCTAD officials suggested that the private sector should have any input into the operations of the organization. In any case, any legitimate functions the UNCTAD may have ac quired could be transferred to the World Trade Organization. Frances Williams, "UNCTAD Chief Pledges Sweeping Reforms," Financial Times, January 30, 1996, p. 5.
^[41] See remarks of Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.) on FAO cor ruption in Management and Mismanagement at the United Na tions, p. 3.
^[42] Bolton.
^[43] Branigin, p. A1.
^[44] Anne Applebaum, "The U.N. Offers Summits, Not Solu tions," Wall Street Journal, March 8, 1995, p. A20; and Preston, "Massive World Body Resists Shaping Up," p. A1. The Social Summit was the creation of Chile's ambassador to the United Nations, Juan Somavia, who lobbied Third World nations for their support of that dubious enterprise. Ibid.
^[45] Quoted in John M. Goshko, "U.N. Conferences Come under Fire," Washington Post, November 25, 1995, p. A16.
^[46] Branigin, p. A1.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-253.html

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Has the UN Become Obsolete?

The UN was never intended as an forum for global democracy. At its core, the United Nations are an aristocratic body – and will always remain that way. Instead of pressing for UN reform, the task is creating alternative institutions that can fulfill the promise of global democracy

It is easy to forget that tackling global problems is a somewhat novel task. Until recently, global issues were largely restricted to terminating and preventing all-out wars. It is for this purpose that the League of Nations (1919-1946) and the UN were created. Set up to prevent the disaster that was World War I and rejecting the traditional notion of the balance of power, the League of Nations was a revolutionary concept but, ill-conceived and without support from the US, proved a dismal failure. In 1945, as the League was floundering in a humiliating death in Geneva, the United Nations Organization was born in New York. While the League had been thought through by the idealistic Woodrow Wilson, the UN was the brain child of the very pragmatic Franklin D. Roosevelt. What Roosevelt understood that Wilson did not was that a global institution with some measure of influence needed to reflect the balance of power and feed on the dynamics between the more powerful and established political entities.

In effect, under the cloak of democracy, the UN was conceived as an aristocratic entity revolving around the five sates with a permanent seat in the security council, thus reflecting not only the geopolitical reality of the day, but most importantly the pre-eminence of the state and especially the powerful state. In its eighth decade, and despite the vast changes it has witnessed in the world, the UN is in essence the same machine that it was at its inception, proving that it was designed both to be resilient and impermeable to tempering. Today, this constitutes a gnawing problem.

The architects of the post-war world sought to prevent a Third World War, and this objective was met in great measure. With the limited means that were always its staple, more than ever controlled by the original five nations, the UN has been put to the task of reflecting on, anticipating and responding to not only the classic threats to global stability such as armed conflict, but also to a wide array of menaces great and small that endanger humanity. Generally, it has fared much better with the former than the latter.

Despite some success, the UN has proven to have neither the capacity, the resources, nor the power to tackle all or even a portion of the issues at hand. It is not just that it is impervious to reform, but as a representative of a collectivity – rather than a true community – of nations, each with varying “national” interests, it is simply not designed to struggle for the global interests of a global community.

Today, many observers still bask in the illusion that a thorough reform of the UN is possible. But designed not to re-invent itself, the UN will be increasingly removed from its mission(s). Since it is neither possible nor desirable for any single superpower to take up the task; since the so-called global civil society is largely powerless and unorganized; since the idea of a “world government” is both scary and premature; since a return to a classical balance of power is wishful thinking, it might be time to think about creating a new institution which, like the UN vis à vis the League, will prove better, more robust and efficient than its predecessor.

For this, one need not kill the UN but let it naturally fade away as its replacement takes flight. This new outfit should reflect the new geopolitical order, integrate non-state actors and provide itself with the means and resources to act effectively. But if a better system of collective management takes form, let us give this entity the ability to adapt to a changing world and its changing global needs lest it, like its two predecessors, be predestined to one day be obsolete.

Read more in this debate: Joseph Hammond, George Friedman, Alexander von Hahn.

by Arnaud Blin 01.02.2012

http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/arnaud-blin--2/6205-the-future-of-international-governance

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Top 10 Failures of the United Nations

Formed at the conclusion of World War II, the United Nations seeks to maintain international security and peace, while developing friendly relations amongst nations. Consisting of 192 members (for now), the UN has been largely successful in ending various conflicts and wars. Despite their success, they have also witnessed a number of catastrophic failures, resulting in millions of innocent civilian deaths. Below are ten failures of the UN since its inception.

Top 10 Failures of the United Nations

Andrew Fitzgerald January 28, 2013

Terrorism

Many experts agree that “modern” terrorism began with the 1968 hijacking of El Al Israel Flight 426 by a Palestinian terrorist organization. The United Nations condemned the action, but failed to take any further action. These terrorist acts continued throughout the remainder of the twentieth century, with no reaction from the UN; a simple condemnation was as far as they would go.
With the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the UN finally took action, outlawing terrorism and punishing those responsible for the attacks. Unfortunately, this applied only to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. State-funded terrorist programs—such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Mossad—were unaffected. Nations that support groups that are widely linked to terrorism, such as Iran, are not held accountable specifically for these actions. To this date, the UN still does not have a clear definition of terrorism, and they have no plans to pursue one.

Nuclear Proliferation

At the creation of the UN in 1945, the United States was the only nation in the world to own and test nuclear weapons. In 1970, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed by 190 nations, including five nations that admitted to owning nuclear weapons: France, England, Russia, China, and the US.
Despite this treaty, nuclear stockpiles remain high, and numerous nations continue to develop these devastating weapons, including North Korea, Israel, Pakistan, and India. The failure of the non-proliferation treaty details the ineffectiveness of the United Nations, and their inability to enforce crucial rules and regulations on offending nations.

Sri Lanka

The small island nation of Sri Lanka experienced a bloody civil war lasting from 1983 to 2009, pitting the militant, separatist Tamil Tigers against government forces. In the final months of the war, the opposing sides were fighting in the heavily populated northeast coastline, a designated safe zone.
The fighting forced 196,000 people to flee, and trapped over 50,000 civilians. Independent experts urged the Human Rights Council of the UN to investigate claims of war crimes, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged being “appalled” by the situation, but the United Nations made no attempts to intervene on behalf of the civilian population. From January to April of 2009, over 6,500 civilians were killed in this so-called “safe-zone”.

Child Sex Abuse Scandal

Many nations plead for support from the United Nations in times of desperation and war. To the oppressed, the blue helmets of UN peacekeepers represent stability and safety. Unfortunately, this was not the case in numerous countries in the 1990s. Reports from Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia, Haiti, and Mozambique revealed a shocking trend; areas with peacekeeping forces saw a rapid rise in child prostitution.
Often, soldiers would reward the children with candy or small sums of money, so they could claim the sexual relationship was prostitution rather than rape. Senior officials in the United Nations refused to condemn the peacekeepers, as they feared this public shaming would discourage nations from joining peacekeeping forces.

Veto Power

The United Nations Security Council consists of fifteen nations, five of which are permanent: France, Russia, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The other ten nations are elected to serve two-year terms. The five permanent members enjoy the luxury of veto power; when a permanent member vetoes a vote, the Council resolution cannot be adopted, regardless of international support. Even if the other fourteen nations vote yes, a single veto will beat this overwhelming show of support.
The most recent use of the veto was by China and Russia, on July 19th, 2012. The Security Council attempted to evoke chapter VII sanctions from the United Nations Charter to intervene and prevent genocide in Syria. But the vetoes by China and Russia halted any international intervention. Since the Syrian Civil War began, an estimated 60,000 civilians have been killed, with thousands more displaced.

Srebrenica Massacre

This 1995 Bosnian War massacre was the single worst act of mass murder on European soil since World War II. After an ethnic cleansing campaign led by the Serbs targeted the Bosniaks, a largely Muslim community, the United Nations designated Srebrenica a safe-zone in 1993. Militarized units in the zone were forced to disarm, and a peacekeeping force was put in place, consisting of six hundred Dutch soldiers. The Serbs then surrounded the safe-zone with tanks, soldiers, and artillery pieces.
With the zone surrounded, supply lines were slow-moving at best. The UN forces were running low on ammunition, fuel, and food, as the Serbs continued to build an army around Srebrenica.
In July, Serbian forces invaded the area, forcing the small UN team back. As many as 20,000 Bosniak refugees fled to the UN compound in Potocari, seeking protection from the advancing Serbs. Despite the UN peacekeeping force present, Serbian soldiers entered the camp, raping Bosniak women and murdering freely while the Dutch peacekeepers did nothing. By July 18th, 7,800 Bosniaks were dead, due largely to an ill-equipped and unprepared UN force.

Khmer Rouge

Ruling Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge practiced an extreme form of Communism, as dictated by their borderline-psychotic leader Pol Pot. Any suspected enemies were executed, including professionals and intellectuals. Ethnic Vietnamese, Ethnic Chinese, and Christians were executed en masse.
In 1979, the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge and end the massacre. Pol Pot was forced in exile, and a new government was put in place in Cambodia. Shockingly, the United Nations refused to recognize this new government because it was backed by Vietnam, which had recently ended a decade-long conflict with the United States. Until 1994, the United Nations recognized the Khmer Rouge as the true government of Cambodia, despite the fact that they had killed 2.5 million Cambodians, amounting to 33% of their total population.

The Cold War

The Cold War exemplifies the failure behind the United Nations Charter. With the atrocities of World War II still fresh in their minds, the original founders aimed to foster human rights for all citizens of the world. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was established, which was binding to all nations, along with the Convention Against Genocide.
Almost immediately, the USSR disregarded these. Civic rights were virtually non-existent. Stalin continued to rule with an iron fist, silencing all opponents. In numerous Soviet Bloc nations, uprisings demanding the rights established in the UDHR were crushed with force. With the United Nations unwilling to act upon such atrocities, the words in the charter were rendered meaningless for those who needed them the most.

Darfur

In 2003, the unstable nation of Sudan erupted in conflict, as various militia groups criticized and attacked the government for oppressing non-Arabs. Early in the war, rebel forces defeated the Sudanese military in more than thirty battles. Seeing that defeat was imminent, the government funded the Janjaweed, a group of Arab militants. By 2005, the Janjaweed were carrying out attacks on populated villages using artillery and helicopters, prompting condemnation by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Despite this condemnation, the UN did not enter Sudan, instead urging members of the African Union to intervene.
As the African Union attempted an intervention, it became apparent that the Sudanese military was destroying civilian populations. Reports emerged revealing that Sudanese military planes were painted white, to resemble UN humanitarian aircraft, only to drop bombs on villages. It was not until 2006 that 200 UN soldiers were dispatched to the area. Despite their limited presence, fighting continued until 2010. In seven years, an estimated 300,000 Sudanese civilians were killed.

Rwanda

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 details the gross inability of the United Nations to carry out its sworn duty to maintain peace and security. Following the Rwandan Civil War in the early 1990s, tensions between two ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsis, were at a dangerous high. In 1993, UN peacekeeping forces entered the nation, attempted to secure the capital and enable humanitarian aid. The peacekeeping forces were not authorized to use military maneuvers to achieve these goals.
In January of 1994, a cable was sent from the Canadian Force Commander to the UN headquarters detailing the imminent threat of genocide by Hutu mobs on Tutsi minorities. The Security Council never received the cable, and the notice was largely ignored. Following the loss of eighteen American servicemen in the Battle of Mogadishu, the United States was largely unwilling to help in any intervention.
Most shocking in this series of events is the abandonment of a school by Belgian peacekeepers after ten soldiers were murdered. Thousands had flocked to the school for UN protection, and roaming gangs of Hutu supporters killed nearly all of them. Close to one million Rwandans were killed in the genocide, amounting to twenty percent of the population.

http://listverse.com/2013/01/28/top-10-failures-of-the-united-nations-2/

Top 10 Failures of the United Nations - Listverse

listverse.com/2013/01/28/top-10-failures-of-the-united-nations-2/

Jan 28, 2013 ... 10 Ways You Can Legally Discriminate In The USA ... The United Nations condemned the action, but failed to take any further ... To this date, the UN still does not have a clear definition of terrorism, and they have no plans to pursue one. ... To the oppressed, the blue helmets of UN peacekeepers represent ...

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The UN Security Council – has it become obsolete?

Posted on October 24, 2015 Gentiana ImeriPosted in Uncategorized

On 24 October 1945, the Charter of the United Nations entered into force, with the victors of World War II – the Republic of China (today: People’s Republic of China), France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (today: Russian Federation), the United Kingdom, and the United States – representing the five permanent members of the newly established Security Council. Together with 46 other states, these five powers formed the United Nations whose primary objective is to maintain international peace and security. Today, at its 70^th anniversary, the United Nations counts 193 member states. Whereas the number of membership has significantly changed over past years, the structure has remained as in 1945 – powers concentrating on the Big Five. Is this structure in line with the current state of affairs?

According to Art. 24 of the UN Charter the Security Council has the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security. It is the only UN body that has the authority to issue legally binding resolutions, including sanctions, force by arms, and blue-helmet peacekeepers. For a resolution to be passed, nine of the 15 non-permanent members of the Security Council must vote for it. Any of the five permanent members, however, can block any resolution by interposing its veto. One of the more recent prominent examples is the Security Council’s paralysis over Syria caused by Russia, which has used its veto power four times in order to freeze resolutions on the issue. While Russia fears danger for its ally, the regime of Bashar al-Assad, more than 220,000 Syrians have died and more than 11 million have left the country as refugees.

With the Security Council’s failure to act in Ukraine and Syria, voices pointing out the body’s increasing lack of legitimacy have become louder. The body is not representative, it is claimed. After 1945, the geopolitical realities have changed dramatically and it is questionable whether the Big Five reflect today’s world order. There are, for example, no African or Latin American states among the permanent members. Moreover, some argue that the body’s decision-making procedures make it dysfunctional. The power of veto has prevented the Council many times from addressing pressing international issues.

Proposals to reform the Security Council have been around since the UN’s 40^th anniversary. Up to the present, however, it has not been possible to adapt any of these suggestions. This year, at 70^thanniversary of the UN, the reform of the UN Security Council is again on the agenda. Will we make it this time? And what is a proposal supposed to look like for the UN to do a better job in the future? Please, share with us your thoughts on this issue.

http://www.thedsj.ch/uncategorized/the-un-security-council-has-it-become-obsolete/

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Is it time to reform the United Nations?

By Francesco Stipo, contributor

Last Tuesday, Sept. 15, the 70th session of the U.N. General Assembly opened in New York.

A long list of heads of state lined up to address the annual event. There are great expectations about this session because the work of the United Nations has become essential in an increasingly complex world.

However, the international organization has not been able to effectively deal with issues such as the war on international terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation or the prevention of a global economic crisis.

The international community addressed these issues outside the framework of the United Nations System — through the G-20 or in multilateral conferences such as the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany).

One of the problems is that the General Assembly's voting system does not reflect the political and economic balances of the world: under the one vote-one nation system, the United States, which contributes 25 percent of the U.N. budget, only has 0.5 percent of the voting power in the General Assembly (one vote out of 193 member nations). Without the veto power in the Security Council, U.S. influence would be irrelevant.

The wind of change has been blowing on the U.N. since the beginning of the new century, when the United States and several other countries became disappointed with the administration of certain programs, such as the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which was chaired by Muammar Gaddafi's Libya and endorsed brutal dictators with records of violating of the same rights the commission was supposed to protect.

The United Nations System lacks central coordination: It is composed of 20 specialized agencies (including the World Bank Group), each one with its own budget and its own assembly, with an average of 180 delegations per agency (one delegation for each member nation). Therefore, there are over 3,500 delegates to the entire U.N. system and 20 directors-general.

The activities of the different specialized agencies should be coordinated by the secretary-general to implement uniform action and to better allocate their resources.

Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan and current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attempted to introduce some reforms and deserve credit for recognizing the important role of the private sector. They developed the Global Compact, a public-private partnership to promote global sustainability.

Their efforts were echoed by the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, whose institution last year launched the Global Infrastructure Facility, an initiative that combines private capital and public expertise to foster international development.

And notably, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, expressed strong arguments in support of IMF reform. The quota reform, which would increase the representation of emerging economies while preserving American de facto veto power, has not obtained the required approval from Congress. A compromise solution that would give greater influence to emerging markets without altering governance and funding is being discussed, and such solution would not require congressional approval.

These are small but important steps to modernize an organization that risks becoming obsolete — but the United Nations needs more change than that. It needs a comprehensive reform to make it less bureaucratic, better coordinated and therefore more efficient.

Any amendment to the U.N. Charter requires a super majority of two-thirds of the General Assembly, and no veto from permanent members of the Security Council. To be successful, a reform would have to be initiated by the five countries with veto power (United States, United Kingdom, France, China and Russia). But because of the current dispute between the West and Russia over Ukraine, this may not be the right time to put it forward.

Until the international climate has the conditions for structural reform, the U.N should increase cooperation both in the vertical and the horizontal dimensions. Vertical cooperation should be developed between the U.N. and regional organizations such as the Organization of American States; horizontal coordination should be increased between the secretary-general and the specialized agencies. The World Bank and the IMF should strengthen their collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements.

The United Nations needs to be reformed to better reflect the political and economic balances of its members and to deal with the global challenges of the new millennium. The 70th session of the General Assembly could be a good opportunity to restart such important debate.

Stipo is an American author and expert in international affairs. He is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and was formerly the president of the U.S. Association of the Club of Rome, a global think tank.

Tags: United Nations, U.N., World Bank, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-Moon, Jim Yong Kim, Christine Lagarde, Reform, Reform of the United Nations, U.N. reform

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/254459-is-it-time-to-reform-the-united-nations

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Let the UN Die - UNWatch.com

www.unwatch.com/let_the_un_die.html

For more than a half-century, the United States has invested untold billions of ... Between bureaucratic inertia, and political posturing, the U.N. has become a ... To those who subscribe to this point of view, the U.S. Constitution is obsolete; ...

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Sovereignty | Beyond Intractability

www.beyondintractability.org/essay/sovereignty

The United Nations Charter contains a contradiction that has become ever more ... one of the key discussions surrounds whether the nation-state is obsolete as ...

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Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities - Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.com

Nov 1, 2013 ... ... and Felix Marquardt wrote, “the nation-state is fast becoming obsolete.” ... The United Nations has been of little help in resolving toxic global ...

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The Future of the United States and the United Nations, Jeannine ...

www.iwp.edu

May 21, 2011 ... The guiding principles of the United Nations (UN) existed long before the actual ... moral fabric of universal human rights that had become inherent in ... the League of Nations, “every president since Wilson has advanced ..... the U.S. implemented sanctions without which would become obsolete because of.

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Outdated United Nations 'must reform', warns Nick Clegg - BBC News

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-24304685

Sep 27, 2013 ... The UN faces becoming a "relic of a different time", Nick Clegg has ... has had its day and our multilateral system is becoming obsolete," he said ...

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U.N. Budget: Would You Believe $13.9 Billion? | Fox News

www.foxnews.com/world/2009/09/17/budget-believe-billion.html

Sep 17, 2009 ... More importantly, even Ban's biggest numbers fail to include the rapidly spirally annual cost of U.N. peacekeeping operations — which will ...

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70 years and half a trillion dollars later: what has the UN achieved ...

www.theguardian.com

Sep 7, 2015 ... Even accounting for inflation, annual UN expenditure is 40 times higher ... every two years and goes to pay for the cost of administering the UN ...

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How much does it cost to run the United Nations?

UpdateCancel

Answer Wiki

2 Answers

Ali Ismayilov, M.Sc. in Computer Science, works at UN, lives in Germany, from Azerbaijan

204 Views

More than $10 billion. For example, 2012-2013 regular budget was $5,152 billion (Page on un.org) and peace keeping budget 2011/2012 was $7,8 billion (Page on un.org ).

I work at the UN in Geneva, I resigned and will finish next week. The main reason is that I have never seen such a waste of money in my entire life. It's mind boggling. That is NOT helping the world.

Let me just make a rough calculation to put this in context for you. In my sub division there are 70 people. The average salary is more than 8000 francs per month (and I am not including all the diplomatic benefits of P5+ positions here). TAX FREE. Consultants make the least, 5000 per month, but a P4 makes 11.500 to give you an idea. That adds up to roughly 7 million francs per year in salaries.
There are more than 9500 employees in the Geneva offices. Nine thousand five hundred. Do the math, its almost 1bn. In salaries. For what? I come from a corporate world, I am used to working hard 12+ hours a day. At 6.01pm the UN is desert. People barely work 8 hours a day. And by work I mean being physically present into the building. Inefficiency and bureaucracy at its finest.
I am not calculating the cost of maintaining the whole facilities, security, licenses, cafeterias, hosting speakers and representatives from permanent missions, etc. Also, and most importantly, I am not calculating the cost of staff missions. Many of those 9500 travel regularly. Needless to say, they do not travel economy nor stay in 3 star hotels.
The UN became such a GIGANTIC machine that it will be impossible to reform.

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transforming the united nations system - Professor Joseph ...

www.josephschwartzberg.org/GSO_Newsletter_Sep_12.pdf

entitled Transforming the United Nations System: Designs for a Workable World. .... Other agencies that have become obsolete or that have failed to live up to ...

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Is the UN obsolete? A response to Frank Vibert | openDemocracy

www.opendemocracy.net

Apr 2, 2003 ... “The New World Order was becoming an embarrassment, having .... Perhaps there would have been even more if the UN had not existed.

Does the UN find itself to be obsolete in the 21 century? Is the ...

www.quora.com

The United Nations will always be relevant because problems still exist in the ... it is past its usefulness and has become more than obsolete, it's now akin to that ...

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UN agencies 'broke and failing' in face of ever-growing refugee crisis

Damage will be impossible to reverse, warns head of UNHCR, after 10% fall in funding forces cuts to food rations and closure of clinics

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WHO WILL BE ACCOUNTABLE? - Office of the United Nations ...

www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/WhoWillBeAccountable.pdf · PDF file

accountability. United Nations Secretary ... UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund WHO World Health ... Accountability has been undermined by a lack of clarity ...

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/WhoWillBeAccountable.pdf

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COMPLETE BETRAYAL OF HAITI

The Future of a Failed State | The Nation

www.thenation.com

Mar 23, 2015 ... Nations like Haiti don't “fail” because of their people, but because ... How does a state fail? ... by the Haitian government with money borrowed—conveniently— from French ... Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”), fertilized the terrain on which Haiti as a ... After the quake, Clinton—by then the UN special envoy to Haiti, ...

COTTON

Claim: Clintons 'Got Rich' Off Poor Haitians Following Earthquake ...

www.truthrevolt.org/news/claim-clintons-got-rich-poor-haitians-following-earthquake-tragedy

Jul 22, 2016 ... Claim: Clintons 'Got Rich' Off Poor Haitians Following Earthquake Tragedy ... “ Clinton, where's the money?” the Haitian ... It did not escape the attention of the Haitians that Bill Clinton was the designated UN representative for aid to Haiti. .... If folks thought that "Papa Doc" & "Baby...

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Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti - Rolling Stone

www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-world-failed-haiti-20110804

Aug 4, 2011 ... If it were me, I would take my kids out there rather than stay here. ... "It was like the gold rush," says one U.N. official, close to the process. .... It was a reference to Haiti's last dictator, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who, .... The money that poured into Haiti after the earthquake was...

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Haiti's nightmare: Missing billions in aid, rebuilding left to the women ...

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2290251/Haitis-nightmare-Missing-billions-aid-rebuilding-left-women-president-protected-baton-wielding-thugs.html

Mar 9, 2013 ... The President of Haiti, Michel Martelly, stands just yards away, surrounded by ... until 1971, and then for his playboy son 'Baby Doc', who was overthrown in 1986. ... After the earthquake: Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to ... As much as 40 per cent of aid money is believed to be spent on ...

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Haiti 2004-2014: 10 years of the UN's Military Dictatorship

www.marxist.com/haiti-2004-2014-10-years-of-the-uns-military-dictatorship.htm

Nov 10, 2015 ... For ten years, Haiti has lived under a bloody military dictatorship established by the ... the whites and all that they possess; let us die rather than fail to keep this vow”. .... its dominance over Haiti after the flight of Baby Doc and to establish direct military ..... To syphon off the money as they did in Haiti in...

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The Secret History of the Haitian Earthquake | Boston Review

bostonreview.net/world-books-ideas/secret-history-haitian-earthquake

Jun 25, 2013 ... The differences between the Haiti of the 70s and and Baby Doc's Haiti, on the one ... organizations, using Haitian expertise after the earthquake. ... and this was the fault of the U.N. and the international community, and these are ... that is bound up in a dusty volume and keeps being pulled out over and over ...

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Horror in Haiti - Macleans.ca

www.macleans.ca

Jan 25, 2010 ... Maclean's cover story: after the earthquake, the desperate fight for survival amid the ruins. ... Only when the sun rose did the scale of the destruction set in. ..... Haitian police and UN soldiers don't control the slum, Occident said: “We .... run by his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who left office i...

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Ex-dictator 'Baby Doc' Duvalier returns to Haiti - World news - Haiti ...

www.nbcnews.com

Jan 17, 2011 ... Former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier made a surprise return from exile to ... Jump to photos A year after quake, Haiti still rebuilding ... "I don't know much about Jean-Claude Duvalier but I've heard he did good things for the ... Preval, accused by opponents of rigging the U.N.-backed...

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The Clintons' Haiti Screw-Up, As Told By Hillary's Emails - POLITICO ...

www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/hillary-clinton-email-213110

Sep 2, 2015 ... “The UN people I encountered were frequently out of touch ... He reported on the Clintons in Haiti for POLITICO on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Follow ... "Haitians cannot vote, so what difference does it make now? .... Morning Energy · Morning Money · Morning Score · Mo...

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1. Cutting a Deal: Baby Doc's Retirement Fund | Haiti Innovation

haitiinnovation.org/.../06/01/cutting-deal-baby-docs-retirement-fund

Cutting a Deal: Baby Doc's Retirement Fund. ... The United Nations said Tuesday that Duvalier's presence in Haiti had taken the global ... who stole haiti's fortune ...

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Death of U.S.-Backed Ex-Dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier Won't End ...

www.democracynow.org/2014/10/6/death_of_baby_doc_duvalier_wont

Oct 6, 2014 ... Baby Doc's death came just months after a Haitian court ruled that he ... that it was safe for him to return to the country, where you had 7,000 U.N. ... money was transferred to his wife, the money that he stole from Haiti ... Now we're waiting to see if the power in place, Martelly government, will give a natio...

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United Nations (UN) | international organization | Britannica.com

www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations

Nov 30, 2015 ... UN international organization established on October 24, 1945. The United Nations (UN) was the second multipurpose international ... Headquartered in New York City, the UN also has regional offices in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. ... can coordinate their actions and activities toward these various ends.

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Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations

unic-ir.org/EngaboutUn.pdf

The United Nations has four purposes: to maintain international peace and ... actions of nations Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated ... The UN system works to promote respect for human rights, reduce .... UN Peacekeeping Budget ... tice, and there are no provisions for it in the United Nations Charter. The.

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Why the UN Should Take Responsibility for Haiti's Cholera Outbreak ...

www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/why-the-un-should-take-responsibility-for-haitis-cholera-outbreak/278762/

Aug 16, 2013 ... ... to apologize and take responsibility for the consequences of its actions and its inaction. In a new report, Peacekeeping Without Accountability, which was released ... and Immunities of the United Nations--that requires the organization to ... While the UN does have legal immunity in very specific instances, .....

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PEACEKEEPER ABUSE, IMMUNITY AND IMPUNITY: THE NEED ...

www.kentlaw.edu/faculty/bbrown/classes/IntlOrgSp09/PEACEKEEPERABUSEIMMUNITYANDIMPUNITY.pdf

immunities in relation to United Nations peacekeeping – particularly on the accountability ... such that not only have the policies (aimed at preventing sexual abuse and ... In most domestic legal systems these would be crimes – including rape ... up facing radically different accountability processes, including: no action, UN.

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United Nations - New World Encyclopedia

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/United_Nations

The United Nations Security Council, the UN's enforcement tool, has had to cope ... of the world's peoples feel they have no representation in the United Nations. ... a world organization to promote collective security, disarmament, and a legal ... Thereafter, the Allies used the term "United Nations Fighting Forces" t...

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section

Peacekeeping

without AccountabilityThe UniTed naTions’ ResponsibiliTy foR The haiTian CholeRa epidemiC

https://www.law.yale.edu/system/files/documents/pdf/Clinics/Haiti_TDC_Final_Report.pdf

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The UN and the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti | The Globe

theglobegwu.com/gaps-downward-accountability-un-cholera-outbreak-haiti/

Mar 22, 2016 ... [and] be a [center] for harmonizing the actions of nations. ... The United Nations itself lost 96 of its peacekeeping soldiers who had been ... Should the organization fall short of its moral and legal responsibilities, it has the obligation to .... “Peacekeeping without Accountability: The UN's Responsibility for t...

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UN peacekeeping operations and cooperation with NATO

www.nato.int

Apr 25, 2002 ... At no time since its inception has the nature or the concept of peacekeeping ... The rapid growth of peacekeeping has also obliged the UN to seek new ... of the United Nations and of peacekeeping itself, made this action possible. ... and the Charter of the United Nations provides the legal authority for it.

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Peacekeeping without Accountability - Yale Law School

www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Clinics/Haiti_TDC_Final_Report.pdf

Oct 15, 2013 ... This report addresses the responsibility of the United Nations (U.N.) for the cholera ... has still not taken responsibility for its own actions.

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United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines

www.un.org

Over the past six decades, United Nations peacekeeping has evolved ... operations has been guided by a largely unwritten body ... One UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017. Tel. ... this publication may be reproduced for sale or mass publication without ..... The legal basis for such action is found in Chapters VI, VII and VIII of the.

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Remedies for Harm Caused by UN Peacekeepers | ASIL

www.asil.org/blogs/remedies-harm-caused-un-peacekeepers

Apr 2, 2014 ... I. Remedies in response to harm caused by UN peacekeeping ... shield the Organization from responsibility as a “good citizen” on the ... The United Nations has generally achieved these dual objectives, ... However, throughout the history of United Nations peacekeeping missions no such commission has ...

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United Nations Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com ...

www.encyclopedia.com/topic/United_Nations.aspx

United Nations (UN), international organization established immediately after ... The Security Council was constructed as an organ with primary responsibility for ... The veto has prevented much substantive action by the UN, but it embodies the ... other four states on opposing sides; thus no regular forces were established.

Protection of Peacekeepers: The Legal Regime - Duke Law ...

scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1377&context=djcil

The responsibility for any errors, however, remains his ... 572 at any one time, lost 24 personnel through hostile action and accidents. See UNITED ... Security of United Nations Operations: Report of the Secretary General, U.N. GAOR, 48th. Sess., Item 87 .... Nations has no permanent disciplinary system or criminal law of its.

The United Nations as Good Samaritan: Immunity and Responsibility

chicagounbound.uchicago.edu

Jan 1, 2016 ... has evolved into a very public rift in the Haiti Cholera, Kosovo Lead .... of U.N. action is no less grievous when caused by the U.N. than by any other ..... of United Nations forces is an attribute of its international legal personality.

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United Nations: Urgent Problems That Need Congressional Action

www.heritage.org

Feb 3, 2011 ... The United Nations has largely failed to maintain international ... In recent years, the U.S. Congress itself has neglected its responsibility to exercise proper oversight. ... Without fundamental reform, the problems hindering the U.N. will .... The U.N. peacekeeping budget increased more than fourfold from ...

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The UN is not above the law | Al Jazeera America

america.aljazeera.com

Mar 6, 2014 ... Few people dispute that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in ... Yet the U.N. has consistently refused to accept responsibility. ... Thwarted at every turn, they filed a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit against the U.N. in U.S. ... to the guiding principle of 'do no harm' in humanitarian emergencies.

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Ottawa may help alleged victims of UN peacekeepers

Three more Canadian peacekeepers were accused of sexual exploitation or assault in Haiti, documents show.

By Alex BoutilierOttawa Bureau Reporter, and Kathleen DavisSpecial to the Star

Sat., July 30, 2016

The federal government is considering support for victims of alleged sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers after a damning UN report brought the number of Canadian offenders — whose names are being kept secret — to five, the Star has learned.

The news of potential victim support comes just days after it was revealed two Quebec provincial police officers retired before they faced disciplinary hearings for alleged sexual exploitation or abuse while on a UN mission in Haiti. By leaving, the officers avoided being disciplined by the force.

Documents prepared in February by the deputy minister of foreign affairs for Global Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion show Ottawa was aware of five separate cases of alleged sexual exploitation or abuse by Canadian peacekeepers in Haiti dating back to 2013. In two incidents, Canadian peacekeepers have been accused of fathering children with Haitian women.

Currently, Ottawa has no policy or legislation to address paternity claims for victims abused by Canadian peacekeepers sent to protect them.

Global Affairs told the Star the Canadian government is examining the way it handles complaints of abuse against Canadian peacekeepers, particularly when paternity claims are made.

“(Canada) is considering how best to address the issue of paternity claims as well as victim assistance generally in the UN context,” Global Affairs spokesperson Diana Khaddaj said in an email.

But when asked what specifically the government is considering, and when a decision is expected to be made, Global Affairs refused to offer any details as the Liberal government intends to “reengage” in a UN peacekeeping program.

The total of Canadian peacekeepers who were linked to the allegations climbed to five when the UN reported earlier this year that two more Canadians had allegedly engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse of women while on mission in Haiti.

Dion was told in February in the information memorandum — which summarizes the UN investigation and was obtained by the Star under an access to information law — that women can pursue justice themselves if they have the resources to launch a case in Canadian courts.

Paula Donovan, co-director of the Code Blue Campaign, said that for many women support remains “out of reach.”

“Even if a woman knows the identity of the perpetrator and is able to launch a paternity claim in a national court, staff rotation makes it likely that the father will have already moved to another post, and may not be compelled to return to the mother’s country to appear in a child support case,” Donovan said.

“What’s more, the UN is not an honest broker in this process . . . . They cannot advocate for the rights of the mother and child while also defending and protecting one of their own.”

A UN peacekeeping spokesperson said it makes medical, psychosocial and legal services available to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse “through a network of partners to ensure immediate assistance and support. The spokesperson also said that the UN “will take action to facilitate paternity claims by liaising with member states” and is encouraging these nations to do more to facilitate paternity and child support claims.

The spokesperson added that in one paternity case “the father has agreed to pay child support and is still currently paying on a monthly basis together with the school fees.”

“In the second case, the UN is in touch with the Canadian government on the matter, including what assistance the authorities can provide to claimants to facilitate the resolution of a paternity claim and ensure that child support is provided, “ the spokesperson said.

Emma Phillips, a Toronto lawyer who worked on an independent UN panel reviewing the international body’s response to sexual exploitation, said that “as a country that does contribute troops and police, we have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute these cases in a meaningful way.”

“Within the bounds of the Canadian legal system, we should take creative measures to ensure that victims are able to testify and participate in our legal process, so that the victims can see justice being done,” she said.

The UN did not respond when asked to provide the name of the peacekeepers and the forces they worked for. Asked about the identities of peacekeepers and potential criminal charges, Global Affairs Canada referred questions to the RCMP, which did not respond Friday afternoon.

The Star is not aware of any criminal charges in the five cases.

According to the UN’s peacekeeping website, the agency “has a zero-tolerance policy with respect to sexual exploitation and abuse.”

“UN rules forbid sexual relations with prostitutes and with any persons under 18, and strongly discourage relations with beneficiaries of assistance (those that are receiving assistance food, housing, aid, etc. . . . as a result of a conflict, natural disaster or other humanitarian crisis, or in a development setting),” it reads.

Of the five Canadian peacekeepers, two were sergeants in the Sûreté du Québec. Both have since quit. Another is a Mountie but the RCMP will not reveal details for privacy reasons. And the Star could not determine what forces the other two belong to.

The Star found little transparency about what happened in the five cases against Canadian peacekeepers — or exactly what consequences the police officers faced. According to the UN, four of the officers were barred from future UN service and one was suspended for nine days.

On Thursday, Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Capt. Guy Lapointe confirmed two of the service’s officers were accused of “sexual misconduct” while working as United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti.

Both quit before their internal disciplinary hearings, Lapointe said. “So, the disciplinary committee lost jurisdiction,” he said.

Lapointe said the men could not be identified because neither matter had been tested in a Canadian court. Police can lay charges but only if an accuser comes forward.

The first case took place in January 2013 when one of the officers allegedly solicited the services of a sex worker at a bar that is off limits to peacekeepers, Lapointe said. “When the officer returned to Quebec, the situation was brought to our attention.”

An internal hearing was scheduled for April 2015, but the officer quit before it could take place.

The second case took place between September 2014 and January 2015, and came to light when an officer was reported by colleagues to have been engaged in a sexual relationship with a Haitian resident, said Lapointe. The sergeant also quit before his disciplinary hearing.

The five cases are not isolated incidents, but fall within a broader spate of sexual exploitation or abuse that has embroiled the UN in controversy and caused some to question the viability of peacekeeping.

After disturbing revelations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers against children in the Central African Republic came to light last year, the UN has been trying to strengthen “zero tolerance” policies against exploitation. Ongoing reports of violations, however, have undermined the confidence in the organization’s efforts to address the issue.

Canadian peacekeeping has been a source of national pride, even as Canada’s commitment to UN peacekeeping has shifted from boots on the ground to funding operations.

Another set of documents obtained by the Star show that as of November 2015, Canada had 116 personnel deployed to five UN operations. The documents, also prepared for Dion, show that while Canada is the ninth-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping at $240 million a year, we rank 68th among 124 countries in terms of police and troops actively engaged in peacekeeping.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said his government will reengage with peacekeeping efforts — a centrepiece of the Liberals’ foreign policy platform in last year’s federal election. In July, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan the government is considering deploying Canadian troops to UN missions in Africa. One mission reportedly being considered is Mali, where Canadians’ ability to speak French would be an asset — as it was in Haiti.

If Canada plans to increase peacekeeping operations, Phillips said it’s crucial to do so “with eyes wide open.”

“Canada has an important role to play in trying to preserve (peacekeeping) for current use and future use and to rebuild trust and regain effectiveness,” Phillips said.

“If we are going to reengage with peacekeeping we need to do so with an appreciation of the fact that peacekeeping is in crisis.”

With files from David Bruser, Verity Stevenson and Bruce Campion-Smith

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/07/30/ottawa-may-help-alleged-victims-of-un-peacekeepers.html

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Then.... RWANDA

BLOGSPOT:

CANADA MILITARY NEWS- RWANDA-Canadians Remember Rwanda- April 7, 2014/So few...NO heroes among Global politicans r Global $$$ Media- so many deaths... not a white mans war-UN ignored- as did Africas- RWANDA SCREAMS THAT SYRIA IS 2014's RWANDA- shame United Nations- Shame!

http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2014/04/canada-military-news-april-6-2014-we.html

AND...

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BLOGGED:

CANADA MILITARY NEWS: The World's Hate John 15:17-27 / What does CANADA'S SOLDIER- Romeo Dallaire -Rwanda's Saviour say/ Pope Francis calls on us- let's get cracking/no excuse Canadians for voting-Afghan women did/Vietnam Boat Movement/Rwanada/UN complete betrayal of world's humanity- gotta go /Wish we could have sponsored Anne Frank...as WWII children she was our hero... so brave...so good...so decent/ Desiderata

http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/09/canada-military-news-worlds-hat-john.html

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AJIL Unbound

Remedies for Harm Caused by UN Peacekeepers

Comments

Article

By: Bruce Rashkow | April 2, 2014 - 3:55pm

Editor’s note: On February 26 of this year, the American Society of International Law, in cooperation with the United Nations Association-National Capital Area, the American Bar Association Section of International Law, and the Washington Foreign Law Society hosted a panel discussion titled “Remedies for Harm Caused by UN Peacekeepers.” The discussion focused generally on misconduct by UN peacekeepers that may result in harm to third parties and specifically on third-party claims in the context of the cholera epidemic in Haiti (including, for example, allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping forces). The following is the first in a series of posts by the speakers of the panel.

* * *

I. Remedies in response to harm caused by UN peacekeeping activities
Since the creation of the United Nations, the need for the Organization to enjoy immunity from the jurisdiction of Member States has been widely recognized as necessary to achieve its important and far ranging purposes. However, it has also been understood that this immunity was not intended to shield the Organization from responsibility as a “good citizen” on the world stage to respond to justifiable claims against the Organization by third parties resulting from the activities or operations of the Organization. The United Nations has generally achieved these dual objectives, although two recent situations in the peacekeeping context have raised questions about whether it continues to do so, namely the cases involving the Mothers of Srebrenica and the Haiti Cholera victims.
Claims by third parties against the United Nations come from a broad range of claimants who allege to have been harmed in some way by the activities or operations of the United Nations. These claims are of generally of two types: Contractual or Tortious.
Third-party claims, generally
The norm with individual consultants, large and small contractors, and others who interact contractually with the United Nations, including in the peacekeeping context, is that they must seek to resolve their claims in some manner through Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations (General Convention). That provision calls for a modality for resolving disputes of a private law character.
This normally means an initial effort to amicably resolve the dispute administratively (e.g., by a negotiated settlement). Failing such an amicable resolution, the parties would seek to resolve the dispute through arbitration, usually under the terms of the contract entered into with the Organization. Of course, the opportunity for arbitration, while attractive and useful to large commercial entities with large claims, is not so attractive to individual contractors or consultants. The United Nations is considering revising its newly reformed internal justice system to address such small claimants that would offer Ombudsman services and/or some form of streamlined, inexpensive arbitration process more appropriate for such smaller claims.
In regard to tort claims, initially, the focus was on automobile accidents involving UN vehicles or vehicles driven by UN staff or officials in the performance of official functions, including in the field. In addition, as the role of the United Nations expanded over the years in the area of peacekeeping and other field missions, it became necessary or desirable for the Organization to obtain its own air carrier capability, routinely through charter arrangements with providers of the aircraft, rather than rely on services provided by commercial entities or even Member States. In both instances, the United Nations has relied on worldwide insurance policies to address its exposure to risks of third-party claims, although in regard to air services it also seeks to protect itself by contractually shifting the risk to the provider.
In regard to third-party claims resulting from the operations and activities of operational subsidiary bodies of the United Nations in the field (e.g., UNDP and UNICEF), the Organization routinely enters into agreements with the beneficiary states where such activities occur to hold harmless the Organization in respect of claims that may arise in relation to its activities.
Over the years, for one reason or another, tort claims have usually been amicably resolved—without recourse to arbitration. That said, occasionally, the Organization has been sued or threatened to be sued in a national court. Such suits are inevitably either amicably resolved or dismissed on the basis of the Organization’s immunity.
Third-party claims in connection with peacekeeping
With respect to peacekeeping missions, the Organization has internal administrative processes in place to deal with claims against it. Initially, these processes have included internal claims review boards the decisions of which may be challenged by requests for further administrative review within the Organization—or arbitration.
As a practical matter, these boards have worked well over the years to resolve claims on a day-to-day basis, even if at times their decisions have been challenged. The Status of Forces agreements (SOFAs) between the Organization and the states in which such peacekeeping missions take place also provide routinely for a standing claims commission. However, throughout the history of United Nations peacekeeping missions no such commission has ever been established.
In the late 1990s, however, in response to the growth in peacekeeping missions and related claims, the Organization adopted a special regime to deal specifically with third party contract and tort claims arising in the context of such missions. The Organization went to great lengths in designing this regime to balance the obligations of UN peacekeeping missions to respond to third-party claims with the obligations of the host country that invited such mission into the country to assume some responsibility in principle for such claims.
That balance resulted in certain types of claims being excluded altogether and limits being set on the damages for which the Organization would be liable in relation to certain contract and tort claims. The Organization established these financial limitations with the understanding that the host country would ultimately be responsible for compensation, if any, beyond these limits.
The regime excludes liability altogether for claims resulting from or attributable to activities of UN peacekeepers arising from “operational necessity.” [See A/Res/52/247, para. 6, as defined in para. 14 of A/51/389 (September 20, 1996).]
The concept of “operational necessity” was developed specifically in connection with UN peacekeeping operations and, while similar to the more traditional concept of “military necessity,” goes a bit further. [See A/51/389 (September 20, 1996).] Notably, the concept of “military necessity,” governed by the laws of war, remains under the new regime as an exemption from liability specifically relating to combat operations.
The new regime imposes temporal and financial limitations on the liability of the Organization in terms of personal injury, illness, or death and for property damage resulting from or attributable the activities of peacekeeping operations in the performance of their official duties. In this last respect, it also excludes certain kinds of damages (e.g., non-economic loss).
The new regime recognizes that third-party claims may continue to be addressed, as they have in the past, by local claims review boards. It also preserves the long-standing but never invoked option for the establishment of a standing claims commission.
New challenges for the United Nations in responding to claims in the peacekeeping context: Mothers of Srebrenica and Haiti cholera
At this point we should briefly address the two most recent controversial liability challenges facing the United Nations: the Mothers of Srebrenica and the Haiti cholera cases. Underlying the efforts of the Organization throughout the years to amicably settle third-party claims has been the desire or goal of the United Nations not only to be a good citizen on the world stage—to be fundamentally fair in dealing with individuals injured in some manner as a direct result of UN actions—but also to avoid bad publicity. However, with the increase in peacekeeping activities and the evolution of more robust peacekeeping mandates since the end of the Cold War, the realities of such a more active engagement are raising new challenges. These challenges are perhaps most clearly reflected in the decisions of the United Nations in invoking immunity in the face of claims by the Mothers of Srebrenica and the Haitian cholera victims.
On the one hand, with the Mothers of Srebrenica, the issue is the failure of UN forces to protect innocent civilians from almost certain death in the face of a policy, if not mandate, to provide such protection. On the other hand, with the Haitian cholera victims, the issue is the ostensible negligence of the United Nations in failing to screen troops for cholera prior to deployment in Haiti or to properly maintain waste treatment facilities utilized by such troops that arguably caused a cholera outbreak that affected thousands of innocent civilians. In both cases, the Organization declined to accept responsibility to compensate the victims.
In the Mothers of Srebrenica case brought in Dutch courts, the United Nations maintained its immunity. The Dutch Supreme Court, overruling the Appellate Court, upheld immunity as absolute, indicating that the assertion of immunity is not affected by the failure of the United Nations to provide a modality for bringing these claims under Section 29 of the General Convention.
The ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court raises a fundamental issue of the relationship of the claimed immunity under Section 2 of the Convention to the requirement under Section 29 for the United Nations to provide a modality for reviewing these claims. The ruling also raises the issue of what is meant under Section 29 by its reference to disputes of a “private law character.” The claimants appealed this decision to the European Court of Human Rights.
In the case of the Haitian cholera victims, the United Nations publicly announced simply that the claims are “not receivable,” suggesting that this is because considering them would necessarily include a review of political or policy matters. Thus far, the United Nations has declined to further explain the basis of its decision not to entertain such claims. The claimants while continuing to urge the Organization to establish a claims commission under the terms of the SOFA with Haiti to review these claims, have filed suit against the UN in the Federal District Court in New York.
Initially, the situations of the Mothers of Srebrenica and the Haitian cholera victims are very different. Failure to use military force, even where there is a policy or mandate to do so to protect innocent civilians, is very different from the failure to screen UN peacekeeping troops and negligent maintenance of sanitary facilities for those troops.
Admittedly, the use of force under a UN Security Council mandate is always a complex issue. These differences are inherently relevant and important to the issue of whether the actions of the UN troops that are at the heart of the claims of the Mothers of Srebrenica present a claim under Section 29 of a “private law character.”
The European Court of Human Rights recently declared the application of the Mothers of Srebrenica inadmissible. In so doing, the Court upheld the immunity of the United Nations stating, in passing, that what was at issue were “operations established by the Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter are fundamental to the mission of the United Nations to secure international peace and security.” The Court added that, “the Convention (European Convention on Human Rights) cannot be interpreted in a manner that would subject the acts and omissions of the Security Council to domestic jurisdiction without the accord of the United Nations.”
It is much more difficult to see how the new peacekeeping liability regime wouldn’t apply to the Haitian cholera victims. More specifically, it is difficult to understand the United Nations’ position that these claims “are not receivable.” Indeed, as the head of the UN legal office that routinely handled claims against the Organization for some ten years, I did not recall any previous instance where such a formulation was utilized in regard to such claims. Recently, however, the Organization in 2011 used that formulation in response to claims against the Organization for damage to health suffered by third parties as a result of lead contamination in certain Internally Displaced Person camps in Kosovo. In that instance, the United Nations took the position that “[t]he claims do not constitute claims of a private law character and, in essence, amount to a review of the performance of UNMIK’s mandate as the interim administration in Kosovo. Based on the framework established by Member States, therefore, the claims are not receivable under Section 29 . . . or . . . the new peacekeeping liability regime.”
It is important to note what appear to be certain critical distinctions between that situation and the Haiti situation. Initially, and perhaps most critical, is the fact that in Kosovo, the United Nations was not operating in the capacity simply of a “peacekeeping mission.” It was acting in the capacity essentially of the temporary governmental authority—the “Interim Administration.” In this context, in explaining its position, the United Nations addressed other possibly critical factors relating to the long history of industrial pollution in the area and the precarious security situation in Kosovo.
Arguably, when the United Nations acts in such circumstances, it is the government for which it is temporarily acting that is ultimately responsible for such matters. In this respect, there is a much stronger case for characterizing the actions of the “Interim Administration” as addressing political or policy matters of a governmental nature that do not give rise to claims of a private law character within the meaning of Section 29, than there is in the Haiti situation.
II. Remedies for harm caused by UN peacekeepers in regard to misconduct relating to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA)
Sexual exploitation and abuse by UN staff and officials and UN peacekeepers became a significant issue during the 1990s and early 2000s in connection with the increase in UN peacekeeping activities in the Balkans and Africa—particularly with widespread reports of such abuses by UN peacekeeping troops and civilian staff of the UN’s mission in the Congo—MONUC—in 2004.
In 2003, in response to earlier reports of sexual exploitation of refugees by aid workers in West Africa, Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued an administrative issuance expressly prohibiting such conduct by UN staff, including the staff of the separately administered organs and programs of the United Nations. The issuance stipulates that any acts of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by UN staff members or persons under contract with the UN “constitute acts of serious misconduct and are therefore grounds for disciplinary measures, including summary dismissal.”
In addition to disciplinary action, in cases where SEA has been determined to have occurred, the United Nations routinely considers referral of the matter to the national authorities of the perpetrator for prosecution or other appropriate action.
There was, however, a considerable loophole in the United Nations’ response; the issuance did not cover UN peacekeeping troops. Neither were civilian police and military observers expressly covered in the issuance covered, until 2004 when the prohibitions in the issuance were specifically made applicable to them. In response to subsequent and more numerous reports of SEA, the Secretary General commissioned a report on the subject of SEA from a panel led by Ambassador Zeid of Jordan.
The Zeid report addressed a wide a wide spectrum of behavior ranging from solicitation of prostitutes, which was legal in some host countries, to acts considered criminal offenses in virtually all countries—such as rape and pedophilia. This included rape disguised as prostitution—for instance when the victim was given money or food to give the acts the appearance of consent. In addition to the issue of rape, there is also the issue of “peacekeeper babies” which is very difficult to address because of the absence often of an effective legal system in the host country.
Most importantly, the issue of addressing SEA is complicated by the fundamental nature of UN peacekeeping—where members of troop contributing contingents are under the exclusive authority of the commanders of those contingents—not the United Nations. The Zeid panel came up with a number of recommendations to address this problem. Unfortunately, the General Assembly declined to act on a number of those recommendations, primarily those relating to troop contingent Member States.
In a nutshell, the regime for military contingents is that complaints are referred to national contingents who are responsible for investigating and taking appropriate action. This usually involves repatriating the named individuals and following up in the troop contributing Member State. There is a responsibility on the part of the State that provides the peacekeeping forces to report the results of the investigation and follow up action to the United Nations.
Since the 2003 issuance and the Zeid report, the United Nations has implemented a number of important initiatives to address SEA in order to educate and sensitize both UN peacekeeping personnel and the local population as to what SEA is and the responsibility of the United Nations for responding to allegations of such misconduct, including the procedures for dealing with complaints, and measures for assisting the victims of SEA. Among these initiatives are the following:

The Model Memorandum of Understanding to be used between troop-contributing states and the United Nations which includes specific provisions relating to SEA [A/61/19 (Part III, Annex)]
United Nations Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN staff and related personnel [A/RES/62/214 (March 7, 2008)]
Criminal Accountability of United Nations Officials and Experts on Mission (relating to SEA) [A/Res/62/63 (January 8, 2008)]

In addition, the Secretary General has issued reports regarding the implementation of UN initiatives to address SEA, including an annual report on “Special measures for the protection from exploitation and sexual abuse.” [See A/67/766 (April 2013).]
Unfortunately, as the latest annual report demonstrates, while the situation has improved, there continues to be problems with compliance by troop contributing states. According to the report, since 2005, the number of complaints has fallen from 373 to 88 in 2012.
However, the report also demonstrates that the greatest number of complaints continue to be in regard to peacekeeping troops and that there continues to be problems with the troop contributing states following up on the complaints.
In regard to remedies available to individuals harmed by this misconduct, the United Nations in its Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance specifically provides for basic assistance and support to both complainants and victims of SEA. Assistance and support takes the form of "medical care, legal services, support to deal with psychological and social effects of the experience and immediate material care, such as food, clothing, emergency and safe shelter." Children born as a result of SEA are to receive assistance with their individual needs, and the United Nations is to "work with Member States to facilitate, within their competence, the pursuit of claims related to paternity and child support."
Notably, the Comprehensive Strategy expressly provides at the outset: “The strategy shall in no way diminish or replace the individual responsibility for acts of sexual exploitation and abuse, which rests with the perpetrators. The Strategy is not intended as a means for compensation.” As this provision suggests, SEA is considered in the same manner as ordinary criminal acts by UN personnel—not UN actions for which the United Nations might be liable to third parties.
The United Nations throughout the decades since its establishment and notwithstanding the immunity provided it to perform its important functions, has generally achieved the objective of acting as a good citizen on the world stage in responding to third-party claims, including in the peacekeeping context. However, the situation in the Mothers of Srebrenica matter and the Haiti Cholera victims case, raise the issue of whether the Organization is continuing to do so and the implications of its position in these matters for the future of UN peacekeeping.
Bruce Rashkow is currently Lecturer in Law at Columbia University. He formerly held senior positions in the UN Office of Legal Affairs as well as in the Office of the Legal Adviser in the U.S. Department of State and with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
https://www.asil.org/blogs/remedies-harm-caused-un-peacekeepers

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United Nations Peacekeeping Has ‘Responsibility and Privilege’ to Serve Those Grasping Promise of Peace, Security, Prosperity, Fourth Committee Told

Meetings Coverage

24 October 2011

	General Assembly GA/SPD/490

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Sixty-sixth General Assembly

Fourth Committee

14th Meeting (AM)

United Nations Peacekeeping Has ‘Responsibility and Privilege’ to Serve Those

Grasping Promise of Peace, Security, Prosperity, Fourth Committee Told

Peacekeeping History One of ‘Evolution and Diversity’, Under-Secretary-General

Says; Its Greatest Asset — Creative Spark, Extraordinary Spirit of Those Who Serve

It was the “responsibility and privilege” of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to bring the Organization’s highest ideals to the service of people who, having endured conflict and war, still fought to grasp the promise of peace, security and prosperity, said the new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, addressing the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) for the first time in that capacity.

Opening the Special Political and Decolonization Committee’s consideration of the question of peacekeeping, Mr. Ladsous said that perhaps the greatest asset to peacekeeping was the creative spark and extraordinary spirit that motivated those serving in the operations. He described the history of peacekeeping as one of evolution and diversity, throughout which mandates dramatically expanded as missions were charged, not only with supporting peace accords, but also with transitional administration and physical protection of civilians.

Those complex mandates — amid difficult security environments from South Sudan to Afghanistan and elsewhere, including in the Middle East — must be matched by specialized skills and personnel of the highest calibre, he said. Delivering on mandates increasingly depended on the ability to reliably deploy police and other civilian capacities, such as rule of law and security sector reform experts, and ensure that Formed Police Units had adequate training and equipment.

The greatest single comparative advantage of peacekeeping was that it offered a unique, common platform to blend political, rule of law, human rights and other expertise with military, police and logistics operational capacities, he said. It also brought to that platform a universal legitimacy that no other Organization did. Realizing that potential required that the United Nations improve its efforts to plan and manage missions in an integrated manner, combining strong leadership in the field with clear strategic direction from Headquarters.

Also stressing the need for high standards of conduct for all United Nations peacekeeping personnel, he stated that just one incident of poor conduct could overshadow the otherwise exemplary behaviour of all peacekeepers. Hence, constant vigilance and a zero-tolerance policy were being applied.

The Department of Field Support operated in a rapidly evolving global environment, said Susana Malcorra, the Department’s Under-Secretary-General. Over the past year, it had been tasked with providing logistical support to the referendum in Sudan in January, deploying the new United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the establishment of an Interim Security Force (UNISFA) in Abyei, the deployment of a new mission to Libya, delivering logistical support for the African Union peacekeepers, and supporting the elections in Liberia this month.

Moving from policy development to field support, the Global Field Support Strategy was entering its second year of implementation and, she said, it played a key role in responding to the operational demands, in keeping with objectives of improving support for the operations and special political missions, strengthening resource stewardship and accountability while achieving greater efficiencies and economies of scale, and improving the living conditions of staff.

Aware of the mounting economic challenges and the concerns about the affordability and cost-effectiveness of United Nations field operations, she noted the Secretariat’s funding proposals for the current 2011‑2012 budget for ‘continuing’ missions reflected a 2 per cent reduction from the previous year, despite the pressure from rising prices.

Cost savings, she explained, had been realized through consolidating back- office functions and reducing in-mission footprints, achieving economies of scale. Noting that the missions were facing severe shortages of critical capacities, especially military helicopters, she called for the continued commitment of troop-and police-contributing countries with required capacities. The Department was also working with the Office of Military Affairs to enlarge the pool of potential contributors and to ensure seamless management of military and commercial assets.

At the same time, the Department was also strengthening accountability through the introduction of enterprise risk management practices and letters of representation, which were both an internal control measure and a managerial accountability tool.

Remembering the 86 United Nations peacekeepers who had lost their lives in various tragic incidents this year, she stressed the need to implement the safety and security policies and procedures established through the Inter-Agency Security Management Network. The Department had adapted the security risk management process to military and police activities in the field and was also improving “organizational resilience and emergency preparedness”.

As debate got under way, Morocco’s delegate, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said peacekeeping must be a partnership and not “merely an outsourcing exercise”, in which developed countries contracted lower-cost troops from developing countries to do the hard and dangerous work. In order for the troop-contributing countries to be fully involved in the planning process for peacekeeping operations, the Movement called for a more effective consultation process between the Security Council, the Secretariat and the troop contributors.

Stating that peacekeeping was distinctive from classic warfare, he emphasized that the use of force in peacekeeping must under no circumstance jeopardize the strategic relation between the host country and the peacekeeping mission. On the subject of funding, he said that peacekeeping missions had become heavily mandated but under-resourced, with many deployed troops being stretched to cover geographic areas that exceeded their capacities.

The head of the European Union’s delegation cautioned that in today’s times of austerity, it was necessary to make the most out of “each peacekeeping dollar”.

The Union’s emphasis was on national ownership, which it felt should be front and centre, when it came to the peacekeeping-peacebuilding nexus. Indeed, all peacebuilding activities needed to be based on that ownership, which in turn should be based on all segments of post-conflict society, including women.

Reiterating the importance of efforts to further improve the safety and security of peacekeepers on the ground, he paid his respects to “those who had paid the highest price”.

The representative of Australia, speaking on behalf of CANZ (Canada, Australia, New Zealand), encouraged further analysis of the tools and skills that could assist peacekeepers in meeting current challenges. For example, information, with “contextual” analysis, was a “mission-critical enabler” that improved situational awareness. Aviation assets provided enhanced mobility, reach and flexibility, but those were too frequently in short supply. But the most valuable resource to a peacekeeping mission, she said, was its people.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 October, to continue its general debate on the question of peacekeeping operations in all its aspects.

Background

The Fourth Committee met this morning to begin its general debate on the comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all its aspects.

Statements

HERVÉ LADSOUS, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said that as he took up his responsibilities with the Department, he was aware of the long and varied history of United Nations peacekeeping – from the first operation in 1948, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), to the missions in South Sudan and Abyei, approved in 2011. Men and women had sacrificed, not just their comforts and homes, but their very lives in the cause of peace. This year alone, 86 men and women had been killed while serving in missions. The safety and security of peacekeeping personnel was a top priority, and he would work closely with host countries as they bore the primary responsibility for the safety and security on their respective territories.

He said that United Nations peacekeeping rested on a global partnership that drew together the legal and political authority of the Security Council, the personnel, equipment and financial contributions of Member States, the support of host countries, and the accumulated experience of the Secretariat in managing operations. The global partnership of peacekeeping also involved regional and international organizations such as the African Union, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others.

Regarding the urgent challenges facing missions today, he said he had been struck by the diversity of realities on the ground. In South Sudan, a new mission had been established in July, the United Nations Mission in the South Sudan (UNMISS), which was mandated to help build the capacity of the nascent State in the areas of rule of law and governance, while also working to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid. Strong, coordinated international support to the Government of South Sudan and to UNMISS would be important to ensure progress on the implementation of its mandate. In light of the situation in Abyei, the Security Council had also established the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), a mission with a mandate to protect civilians.

He said the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) had not been renewed and had entered liquidation. Meanwhile, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), currently the largest peacekeeping operation, continued its work, having reached near-complete deployment of troops, police and civilians and had decreased overall insecurity levels. The consolidation of peace in the Sudanese region, however, would continue to require significant efforts. As requested by the Security Council, the Department was embarking on a review of UNAMID in order to ensure the most effective and efficient use of its resources.

In Afghanistan, he said the difficult security environment continued to pose significant challenges to the work of the Mission there (UNAMA), as evidenced by the attack on the United Nations office in Mazar-i-Sharif on 1 April, claiming the lives of seven colleagues. As for the wider Middle East, the Department had yet to fully assess the political and security impact of ongoing major changes in some countries in the region on peacekeeping operations – the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), or of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Regarding the Department of Political Affairs-led mission in Libya, his Department was exploring with the Libyan authorities how it could assist in the areas of public security and community-based policing, as well as mine action and transitional justice.

In Africa, the violent post-electoral crisis in Cote d’Ivoire had put to the test the Department’s ability to continue implementing peacekeeping mandates under extremely adverse circumstances, he said. In Liberia, despite new humanitarian and security challenges associated with the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, undeniable progress had been made in consolidating peace. Over the past year, continued progress had been made to enhance security and gradually build up national capacity in that sector.

In Timor-Leste, he said, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was anticipated to depart by the end of 2012, and would continue to work closely with that country’s Government and other relevant stakeholders to ensure an effective joint transition process. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO would provide logistical and technical support as well as good offices for the organization and conduct of national, provincial and local elections from 2011 to 2013. In Haiti, with the formation of a new Government after five months of political gridlock, the country could now focus on rebuilding itself after the devastating earthquake of January 2010. As the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) prepared to return to its pre-earthquake troop and police levels, the Mission would focus on fostering political dialogue and consensus and strengthening the capacity of Haiti’s institutions.

He said that United Nations peacekeeping was a global instrument that, through the support of Member States, had been able to constantly evolve and improve. One indication of clear and continuing progress was in the stronger representation of women in United Nations peacekeeping. Four of the eleven Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, and 30 per cent of civilian staff were women. He would remain committed to that agenda across all areas of peacekeeping, including the global effort to increase the share of women among United Nations Police to at least 20 per cent by 2014.

The history of peacekeeping tasks and missions had also been one of evolution and diversity, he said. Traditional peacekeeping, consisting of cease fire monitoring, started in 1948 with UNTSO. Through the 1990s, mandates had dramatically expanded. Missions were charged, not only with supporting implementation of comprehensive peace accords, but even with transitional administration. Today, in addition to traditional and multidimensional peacekeeping operations, there were missions that were largely focused on the physical protection of civilians. Those challenges highlighted the need for systems in support of United Nations peacekeeping that were flexible, agile and responsive to changing conditions on the ground. They demanded strong leadership in the field, coupled with clear strategic direction from Headquarters and from United Nations legislative organs.

Complex mandates needed to be matched by specialized skills and personnel of the highest calibre, he said. Delivering on mandates would increasingly depend on the ability to reliably deploy police and other civilian capacities, such as rule of law and security sector reform experts, and ensure that Formed Police Units had adequate training and equipment. The single greatest comparative advantage of peacekeeping was that it offered a unique, common platform to blend political, rule of law, human rights and other expertise with military, police and logistics operational capacities. It also brought to that platform a universal legitimacy that no other Organization did. However, in order to fully realize that potential on the ground required that the United Nations further improve its efforts to plan and manage missions in an integrated manner so that they, in turn, could better respond to the complex demands of countries and populations emerging from conflict.

Regarding reforms of the Department, he said that mission planning and oversight was now established practice, to brief, not only the Security Council but, also the troop- and police-contributing countries before the renewal of mandates. That, in turn, had strengthened triangular cooperation between the Security Council, the Secretariat and the troop-contributing countries. Regarding the role of peacekeepers in peacebuilding, there was recognition from Member States that peacekeepers helped authorities to set out priorities, facilitate leadership and implement directly a select set of peacebuilding tasks.

Further, he said, “effective” peacekeeping, as it had been called by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping, Committee of 34, involved several key practical aspects, including deterrence, use of force as agreed under long-standing principles of peacekeeping, and operational readiness. Moving from policy development to field support, the Global Field Support Strategy was entering its second year of implementation. It was necessary to acknowledge that United Nations peacekeeping had been and remained a highly cost-effective tool of international peace and security and a unique instrument for burden-sharing. As for capability development, the coming year would be a critical one for shaping a comprehensive approach to capabilities going forward.

The Department also needed to work with Member States to address critical and systematic gaps in capabilities, particularly in military utility and attack helicopters. Both departments were working to improve communication with the Security Council and the troop-contributing countries on identifying gaps and to address the ways in which helicopter assets were generated, utilized and reimbursed.

The greatest single comparative advantage of peacekeeping was that it offered a unique, common platform to blend political, rule of law, human rights and other expertise with military, police and logistics operational capacities, he said. It also brought to that platform a universal legitimacy that no other Organization did. However, in order to fully realize that potential on the ground required the United Nations to further improve its efforts to plan and manage missions in an integrated manner so that they, in turn, could better respond to the complex demands of countries and populations emerging from conflict.

He said he was personally committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct for all United Nations peacekeeping personnel, as just one incident of poor conduct could overshadow the otherwise exemplary behaviour of all peacekeepers. A constant vigilance and a zero-tolerance policy had been instituted and were being applied. In this, he said he also relied on the example set by troop- and police-contributing countries to ensure that such incidents were met with swift and decisive action at the national level.

Perhaps the greatest asset to peacekeeping was the creative spark and extraordinary spirit that motivated those serving in peacekeeping operations, he said. It was the Department’s responsibility and privilege to bring the highest ideals of the United Nations to the service of people who, having endured conflict and war, still fought to grasp the promise of peace, security and prosperity.

SUSANA MALCORRA, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Field

Support, said that she was aware of the mounting economic challenges and the concerns about the affordability and cost-effectiveness of United Nations field operations, and therefore, the Secretariat’s funding proposals for the current 2011‑2012 budget for ‘continuing’ missions reflected a 2 per cent reduction from the previous year, despite the pressure from rising prices.

She said that despite those reductions, since approval of this year’s budget, two new missions had been deployed, UNMIS and UNISFA; and the Security Council had enhanced the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and reaffirmed the role of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in supporting upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cost-saving measures were realized through consolidating back-office functions and reducing in-mission footprints, achieving economies of scale. Concerted efforts had also been made to process claims for death and disability incurred by Member States who had contributed troops and police to the United Nations field operations.

The Secretary-General, she said, had taken steps to fulfil his mandate to create a Senior Advisory Group comprising five eminent persons of relevant experience; five representatives from major troop countries; five representatives from major financial contributors; and one member from each regional group, to consider reimbursement rates for troop-contributing countries and related issues. If the Group was to be appointed, it would be important for Member States to complete their responses to the Secretary-General’s request for nominations.

Turning to the subject of Global Field Support Strategy, she stated that the bi-monthly briefings to the Committee of 34 had provided opportunities for regular consultation and feedback. A non-paper that set out a proposed end state for the Strategy in 2015 would be shared with the Committee. The Strategy’s objectives were “to expedite and improve support for peacekeeping operations and special political missions; strengthen resource stewardship and accountability while achieving greater efficiencies and economies of scale; and improving the living conditions of staff”.

Over the past year, her Department had operated in a rapidly evolving global environment, she said. In Sudan, it had been called upon to provide logistical support to the referendum successfully held in January and immediately thereafter to deploy the new UNMISS along with the concurrent closure and liquidation of UNMIS. At the same time, the Security Council had called for the establishment of an Interim Security Force (UNISFA) in Abyei. The Department had also supported the deployment of a new mission to Libya, UNSMIL. In Somalia, the United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA) was approaching its third year of delivering logistical support for the African Union peacekeepers. The Department had also supported the elections, which had taken place successfully in Liberia this month; it looked forward to a successful run-off election and a peaceful transition period.

The Global Service Centre, comprising the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi and the United Nations Support Base at Valencia, had played a central role in responding to those operational demands, she said, noting that the Regional Service Centre at Entebbe had also come on line. Key back-office support functions had been established, allowing for a lighter support footprint on the ground. The Secretary-General would put forward a recommendation in his upcoming second annual progress report on establishment of two additional regional service centres in West Africa and the Middle East, in the context of the Global Field Support Strategy.

Her Department, she said, had also completed a review of all human resources management and logistical functions, resulting in the recommendation to transfer some functions to the Global Service Centre, in furtherance of the Strategy’s vision of the Department as a strategic headquarters. Further, the standardized funding model that had been approved by the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session would contribute to faster deployment of new missions.

Emphasizing that accountability was vital, she stated that the Department was strengthening accountability through the introduction of enterprise risk management practices and letters of representation, which were both an internal control measure and a managerial accountability tool. When fully implemented, that would provide evidence to support the public assertions that would have to be made under international public sector accounting standards as to the strength and quality of internal controls over financial reporting.

On the issue of capacities, she noted that the missions were facing severe shortages of critical capacities, especially military helicopters. Despite the economic constraints faced by the Member States, the missions depended upon the continued commitment of troop- and police-contributing countries with required capacities. The Department was working very closely with the Office of Military Affairs to find creative options to enlarge the pool of potential contributors and to ensure a seamless management of both military and commercial assets. Further, the recent report of the Secretary-General had identified initiatives that aimed to make the United Nations a more responsive, effective partner for national counterparts as they strengthened core national capacities after conflict. It recognized the important contribution that peacekeeping operations and special political missions could make through training national staff. She also stressed the need to work more effectively with the national partners, particularly from the Global South, in delivering civilian support.

Turning now to the conduct of United Nations peacekeepers, she said that despite the collective and noteworthy accomplishments of the peacekeepers, their exemplary record remained clouded by serious acts of misconduct by a few individuals. While that trend was decreasing, allegations relating to rape or sexual relationships with minors remained high as compared to the total number of allegations received. The Secretariat was carefully following cases involving civilian staff to ensure due process within a reasonable timeframe. It was also critical that Member States inform the Department of the status of all pending investigations.

Remembering the 86 United Nations peacekeepers who had lost their lives in various tragic incidents this year, she added that she was resolved to press forward on implementation of the safety and security policies and procedures established through the Inter-Agency Security Management Network. The Department had adapted the security risk management process to military and police activities in the field and was also improving “organizational resilience and emergency preparedness”. All of that was reinforced by modular accommodations for both civilian and uniformed personnel.

MOHAMMED LOULICHKI (Morocco), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that complex multidimensional peacekeeping missions that combined military, police, civilian and humanitarian components coexisted with first- generation peacekeeping operations that had an inter-positional mandate. He stressed the need to ensure the safety of more than 120,000 personnel serving in missions around the world. Eighty-six peacekeepers had lost their lives so far this year, and 29 of them were civilians. That was a high toll, which the international community could not afford.

He said that the Movement believed that United Nations peacekeeping should not be used as a substitute for addressing the root causes of conflict, which should be tackled in a coherent, well-planned and comprehensive manner with relevant political, social, economic and developmental instruments. Nor was peacekeeping a substitute for a comprehensive political process.

Marked by an unrealistic trend of “doing more with less”, he said, peacekeeping missions had become heavily mandated but under-resourced. Many deployed troops were being stretched to cover geographic areas that exceeded their capacities. He regretted that enablers were still lacking air assets, field hospitals, transport companies, night vision and other critical equipment.

Calling for a more effective consultation process in the form of a triangular cooperation between the Security Council, Secretariat and troop-contributing countries, he stated the latter must be fully involved in the planning process for peacekeeping operations. Peacekeeping must be a partnership and not “merely an outsourcing exercise in which developed countries contract lower-cost troops from developing countries to do the hard and dangerous work”. It was no longer sustainable for troop-contributing countries to subsidize United Nations peacekeeping. He also expected the recently appointed Senior Advisory Group for the Review of Troop Costs to come up with measures to address that long-standing issue.

Peacekeeping, he stated, was distinct from classic warfare. Quoting from the Brahimi Report on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, he said, “`Force on its own cannot lead to peace; it can only open a space where peace can be built.’” It was important not to enter the premises of peace enforcement. The use of force in peacekeeping must, under no circumstance, jeopardize the strategic relationship between the host country and the peacekeeping mission.

He concluded that it was necessary to improve the working methods of the Committee of 34. Although that Committee had advanced several important operational and institutional reforms, it had become evident that its work could be carried out more efficiently and to great effect.

THOMAS MAYR-HARTING, head of the delegation of the European Union, said the United Nations could continue to count on the Union for its unwavering support for multidimensional peacekeeping, as it saw eye-to-eye with the Organization on crisis management, with a vision of all instruments - political, civilian and military – being mobilized in the interest of peace. In August, during the Security Council debate on peacekeeping, the Secretary-General had said that partnership was the cornerstone of peacekeeping, and the Union could not agree more.

He said that peacekeeping should be enhanced through the full implementation of the New Horizon initiative, which, while no longer truly new, was still relevant. Over the past few years, that initiative had breathed new life into United Nations peacekeeping, as would no doubt be seen in the upcoming progress report. The protection of civilians had gone beyond the conceptual stage. As the scenario-based training package was recently rolled out, and as relevant missions translated the strategic framework into action on the ground, the Union would continue to advocate for establishing benchmarks to measure performance and for further developing early warning tools.

On the peacekeeping-peacebuilding nexus, the European Union put national ownership front and centre, he said. All peacebuilding activities should be based on that ownership, which, in turn, should be based on all segments of post-conflict society. That included, at every level and at every stage, women’s full participation. This week’s debate on the ever-relevant Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) would be a good opportunity to address that issue. Regarding a more robust approach to peacekeeping, an area where there was still some conceptual ground to cover, he stressed the importance of deferring to the field and of listening to peacekeepers. He also said that in these times of austerity, it was necessary to make the most out of “each peacekeeping dollar”.

To prevent a security vacuum from occurring after an operation ended, he said it was necessary to invest in security sector reform, which should always be carried out under the banner of the rule of law. A United Nations with a fully elaborated and coordinated vision on security sector reform would be better positioned to make the most of its comparative advantages in the field – its global mandate, political neutrality and legitimacy. The European Union was one of the international players active in that field, and its added value lay in, among other things, the Union’s long track record on security sector reform, through assisting more than 70 countries in the past five years alone. The Union’s security sector reform policies were integrated, its commitment was long-term, and cues were taken from the countries undergoing reform.

He further said that the Committee of 34 had a special and central place in the peacekeeping machinery. However, sustaining that required improving the Committee’s working methods. With the three “e”s – of enhancement, effectiveness and exit – one could see the main challenges for peacekeeping in the coming period. That would take the form of enhancement of peacekeeping through the efficiency gains and responsible exit of peacekeeping operations through specific socioeconomic and security strategies.

In closing, he paid respect to those who had paid the highest price, and reiterated the importance of efforts to further improve the safety and security of peacekeepers on the ground. Considering their continuous efforts, that was the least that the international community owed to its peacekeepers, who, every day, put themselves in harm’s way to defend the values of the United Nations Charter.

PHILIPPA KING (Australia), speaking on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ), said that peacekeepers faced increasingly challenging and complex security situations that required responses that were both rapid and appropriate. CANZ encouraged the Secretariat to develop further guidance on operational readiness, deterrence and the use of force. It also supported the need for further dialogue on this issue.

She said that multidimensional peacekeeping placed significant demands on deployed United Nations forces — in no case more so than in the complex task of protecting civilians. In that, CANZ had been very pleased at the progress towards developing pre-deployment scenario-based training modules for peacekeepers on protecting civilians, including modules to assist peacekeepers to respond to sexual violence in conflict. And, it encouraged their distribution to troop- and police-contributing countries as soon as possible. It also encouraged the Secretariat to develop guidelines to assist in more clearly articulating the responsibilities of uniformed peacekeepers.

Peacekeeping missions were often a small part of a longer-term effort to build sustainable peace in post-conflict societies, she said. There was scope for greater coordination between institutions such as the Peacebuilding Commission, the Security Council, United Nations system entities and international financial institutions such as the World Bank. Peacekeeping missions were continuing to support current and future electoral processes in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Timor-Leste. That support was a reminder that peacekeepers often also served as early peacebuilders, providing vital support to the establishment of security, political processes and restoration of State authority.

The last 12 months had provided opportunities for reflection on the progress of women in the peace and security field, in concert with the tenth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). Significant work remained to ensure that women’s participation in peacekeeping operations increased; that reform efforts in post-conflict societies were gender-responsive, including through supporting women’s participation in political processes; and that every effort was made to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence. CANZ looked forward to the development of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ Forward Looking Gender Strategy on Gender Mainstreaming and implementation of resolution 1325.

He encouraged further analysis of the tools and skills that could assist peacekeepers in meeting current challenges. For example, information, with “contextual” analysis, was a “mission-critical enabler” that improved situational awareness. Aviation assets provided enhanced mobility, reach and flexibility, but those were too frequently in short supply. But the most valuable resource to a peacekeeping mission, he said, was its people.

Also essential was regular consultation between all stakeholders involved in peacekeeping, including the Council, host nations and troop- and police-contributing countries, she said. Cost effectiveness and efficiency would assume greater importance in the current global fiscal climate and, in that, the Global Field Support Strategy remained an important driver in securing economies of scale to improve the cost-effective delivery of support to operations. She welcomed the ongoing engagement on and transparent approach to that issue.

http://www.un.org/press/en/2011/gaspd490.doc.htm

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Cato Policy Analysis No. 253

April 30, 1996

A Miasma of Corruption:
The United Nations at 50

by Stefan Halper

Stefan Halper, a former White House and State Department official, is a nationally syndicated columnist.

Executive Summary

Introduction

In Somalia, $369,000 was paid for fuel distribution services that a contractor did not provide.
A project director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which helps Palestinian refugees, kept $100,000 of agency money in his private bank account and failed to disclose a personal stake in the irrigation project under way.
In Nairobi, a staff member of the United Nations Center for Human Settlements arranged loans worth $98,000 for a company in which she had been a partner, and with whose director she was "closely associated."
A travel assistant working in New York for the special commission that supervises the dismantling of Iraq's nuclear weapons program misappropriated $28,000 in travelers checks.^[33]

Notes

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-253.html

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Saturday, July 30, 2016

A Miasma of Corruption: The United Nations at 50

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Has the UN Become Obsolete?

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Top 10 Failures of the United Nations

Top 10 Failures of the United Nations

The UN Security Council – has it become obsolete?

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Is it time to reform the United Nations?

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UN agencies 'broke and failing' in face of ever-growing refugee crisis

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COMPLETE BETRAYAL OF HAITI

COTTON

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1. Cutting a Deal: Baby Doc's Retirement Fund | Haiti Innovation

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Ottawa may help alleged victims of UN peacekeepers

Comments

United Nations Peacekeeping Has ‘Responsibility and Privilege’ to Serve Those Grasping Promise of Peace, Security, Prosperity, Fourth Committee Told

United Nations Peacekeeping Has ‘Responsibility and Privilege’ to Serve Those

Grasping Promise of Peace, Security, Prosperity, Fourth Committee Told

A Miasma of Corruption: The United Nations at 50

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A Miasma of Corruption:
The United Nations at 50

A Miasma of Corruption:
The United Nations at 50