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United Nations International Children'S Emergency Fund (Unicef) Business Information, Profile, and History

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New York, New York 10017
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Company Perspectives:

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young. We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind--to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child's path. We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

History of United Nations International Children'S Emergency Fund (Unicef)

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is one of the world's best-known organizations devoted to the health and welfare of children. UNICEF is headquartered in New York, and works with children in 158 countries. The group works through local offices in these countries. It also operates a European regional office in Geneva, Switzerland, a special office in Brussels, Belgium, and an Office for Japan in Tokyo. UNICEF's Supply Division, which handles most of its vaccine packing and distribution, is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. UNICEF also maintains the Innocenti Research Centre, in Florence, Italy. The Innocenti is the group's main social science research arm, helping to compile data on issues relating to children and exploring policy options relating to the financing of social programs. UNICEF is a non-profit group that receives about two-thirds of its funding from governments. The remaining one-third of its funding comes from its own fundraising activities, such as its sales of greeting cards and its "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" campaigns, and from donations from individuals and private groups. The group is a United Nations organization that began as a response to the plight of children in the aftermath of World War II. Its mandate gradually broadened to include ongoing support for children in all parts of the world. UNICEF has been instrumental in programs to vaccinate children against communicable diseases, and is a leader in work on prevention of HIV/AIDS. UNICEF is a strong advocate for universal education, for girls as well as boys, and the agency also works to overcome violence and discrimination against children. UNICEF responds to children in emergency situations, such as supplying food and rebuilding healthcare infrastructure in war-torn areas. UNICEF also works to promote children's health and welfare in non-emergency situations, with ongoing programs that seek to curtail child labor or advocate breastfeeding, for example. UNICEF also acts as a voice for children's issues, publishing an annual State of the World's Children and many other reports on specific problems and goals

Response to Children's Needs After World War II

UNICEF was founded in December 1946. World War II was over, but the devastating effects of the war years continued to be felt by people across Europe. The United Nations was itself founded in October 1945, and it had begun operating a relief organization called the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) to combat famine and disease in liberated Europe. UNRRA's initial mission was to bring relief to civilians all across Europe. The war had left millions without shelter, farming had been severely disrupted, and the population was extremely vulnerable to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis. UNRRA had existed in some form since 1943, and over the next three years it fed millions of European children and adults. By late 1946, however, the former Allies began to regroup, and as the Cold War began, Europe fell into distinct Eastern and Western zones. UNRRA was to be wound down, though its budget had not all been spent, on the tacit understanding that it was not equally welcome in all parts of Europe. However, there was still a huge need for a relief group, especially as the winter of 1946-47 threatened to become one of the worst on record.

As UNRRA disbanded, the United Nations agreed to charter a new group with a focus on the emergency needs of children in particular. Though UNICEF rose in response to World War II, the concept of children's aid had its roots in World War I. The British social reformer Eglantyne Jebb had documented the effect of that war on children, and had founded the Save the Children International Union (SCIU). SCIU believed there was no such thing as an "enemy" child, and wished to minister to children no matter what side their parents had fought on. SCIU's principles were adopted by the League of Nations in 1924 as the World Child Welfare Charter. The SCIU merged into the International Union of Child Welfare by 1946, and this group pressed the United Nations to continue to work for war-scarred children. U.S. Army film makers had also put together a 19-minute documentary, "Seeds of Destiny," which captured the wretched plight of postwar children. The film, which contained images of children begging, foraging in garbage dumps, and barely surviving in hospitals and orphanages, eventually raised $200 million for children's welfare work. It was shown at the last meeting of UNRRA's governing council, at which point the council voted to propose to the United Nations that its leftover budget be used to continue relief work for children. Thus, UNICEF came into being.

The group's first leader was Maurice Pate, an American investment banker who had worked closely with Herbert Hoover on relief efforts after World War I. Pate found children's needs after World War II to be three times greater than after World War I, and he was anxious to lead UNICEF. However, he accepted the job only if he could use the organization to help all needy children, no matter their nationality and the ex-combatant status of their governments. This was, of course, a controversial point, but Pate made clear from the start that UNICEF would put children above politics, and all would be treated equally. UNICEF brought aid to children on both sides of the civil war in Greece, for example, and brought food and medicine to children in the new country of Israel as well as to Palestinians who had been displaced.

The group's initial efforts were focused on Europe and Japan. Dr. Ludwik Rajchman, a Polish doctor and public health specialist on UNICEF's first executive board, was instrumental in hooking the group up with the Red Cross in the Scandinavian countries, and distributing from Copenhagen vaccine for tuberculosis. UNICEF organized mass tuberculosis vaccinations across the world, and by 1951 the group had vaccinated some 14 million children. Distribution of the vaccine was not simple, as it had to be kept cool and away from light, and relief workers had to travel into remote regions to reach children in the countryside. Other UNICEF projects were less glamorous but just as necessary. The group provided millions of pounds of cotton to European governments, to be made up into diapers and infant clothing. The group also provided shoes, or leather for shoes, for European children in the 1940s. Children without shoes could not attend school in cold weather, and when they went barefoot they risked tetanus and pneumonia. UNICEF distributed two million pairs of shoes and boots across Europe in the late 1940s.

Another important goal was to get milk to malnourished children after the war. Milk was difficult to transport and to keep fresh, so the group had to import dried milk, a new invention. The milk powder came mostly from the United States, Canada, and Australia. Between 1947 and 1951, UNICEF shipped 400 million pounds of milk powder to children in needy countries, reaching approximately seven million children.

While poorly nourished children needed milk, they also had other pressing dietary needs. In the immediate postwar years, millions of children suffered from rickets, a bone-softening disease caused by a lack of vitamin D. The disease was said to affect one-third of Polish children, and other countries too had epidemics of rickets. UNICEF combated rickets with donated cod liver oil, which mostly came from Canada, Norway, and New Zealand. UNICEF had shipped some 8.5 million pounds of cod liver oil, plus seven million shark liver oil capsules, by 1951.

A Broadened Mission in the 1950s

UNICEF's charter came up for review in the United Nations in 1950. The group had already been successful in helping children in Europe and Japan, and had begun to extend into Latin America and Asia. However, the U.S. delegate to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt, argued that the group was only meant to be temporary, to sustain children wracked by war, and at this point UNICEF's work could be taken over by other groups such as the World Health Organization. Roosevelt was eloquently countered by Ahmed Shah Bokhari, the delegate from Pakistan. Though Roosevelt was an esteemed figure and represented a powerful nation, Bokhari disagreed with her absolutely, and pleaded that the work of UNICEF was only beginning. Pictures of European child victims of war looked very like normal children in poor countries like Pakistan, Bokhari stated. UNICEF should not fold but continue its work with the needy children in the developing world. Roosevelt was reportedly shocked by Bokhari's presentation and felt very badly for having opposed his viewpoint. In the end, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously to extend UNICEF's charter for another three years. In 1953, when the issue of UNICEF's charter came up again, Roosevelt argued vociferously that the group be made permanent.

UNICEF derived its funding principally from U.N. member governments. It began fundraising on its own in 1951, with the sale of greeting cards. UNICEF director Maurice Pate was at first afraid that selling greeting cards might be too commercial for a non-profit group, and he put up his personal funds for the first run of UNICEF greeting cards, which featured a painting by a seven-year-old Czech girl. However, the group made $16,000 on its first printing of the cards, and this became a very popular fundraiser. In 1952 UNICEF asked the French painter Raoul Dufy to create a design for a UNICEF card. Dufy was the first of a series of world-renowned artists to donate designs to UNICEF. Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and many other notable artists contributed artwork to UNICEF to be made into greeting cards.

Helping Refugees in the 1960s-70s

Maurice Pate died suddenly in 1965. He was followed as executive director of UNICEF by Henry R. Labouisse, a New York lawyer who had helped set up the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II and headed relief work for UNRRA in the Middle East in the 1950s. Labouisse brought UNICEF's help to children who were caught in civil wars across the globe. In the Nigerian civil war, from 1967 to 1970, UNICEF brought food to millions of starving mothers and children. Because of the intense fighting, it was impossible to bring food into the breakaway southeastern province Biafra. Labouisse met with Nigeria's leader, General Yakubu Gowon, in 1968, and pleaded for UNICEF helicopters to be allowed to land food in Biafra during the evening hours. The general promised that the night flights would not be shot down, and UNICEF was able to deliver at least 12 tons of food to children on the Biafran side.

A similar situation occurred in 1970, when East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan, becoming Bangladesh. An estimated ten million refugees escaped to India during the fighting, and UNICEF found itself with the daunting task of bringing food and medicine to the displaced people living in camps. During the Biafran crisis, UNICEF developed a special liquid food for children who were too weak from malnourishment to feed themselves. This formula, called K-Mix-2, was extremely useful in India as well.

Meanwhile, the war in Vietnam intensified. UNICEF had been giving relief to children in the south of that country since 1954. North Vietnam, however, would not accept UNICEF's aid. Labouisse was able to broker an agreement in 1973 that let UNICEF into the north. UNICEF brought needed food and medicine, and also worked to rebuild schools and hospitals. Labouisse also visited the leaders of Kampuchea in 1979, and was able to get UNICEF aid to millions of displaced people in that country. Labouisse's negotiation skills were key in maintaining UNICEF's mission to bring aid to all sides of a conflict.

Labouisse's tenure at UNICEF ended in 1979, which the United Nations declared the International Year of the Child. The International Year of the Child put a focus on children in all parts of the world. The problems of children in war-torn areas were clear, but the International Year of the Child led to new programs for less obvious troubles, such as child prostitution and drug abuse. Hundreds of new organizations came into being that year, as children's problems were explored all across the globe. The prestige of UNICEF was very high at that time. Its income rose 25 percent in 1979, to $285 million from $211 million a year earlier.

"Silent Emergency" in the 1980s

After Labouisse retired, he was succeeded by James P. Grant. Grant had a new plan for UNICEF, wanting to make it more effective for more people. Grant thought that aid such as UNICEF provided was woefully inadequate given the severity of the problems of poor nations. He hoped to both make UNICEF's contributions more helpful, and to strengthen existing social structures within communities that used UNICEF's aid. Grant came up with the phrase "silent emergency" to describe the ongoing effects of poverty on children. By this he meant that children's lives were routinely threatened in ways that didn't merit bold headlines and front-page pictures. He focused UNICEF on four basic strategies to bolster child survival. These were child growth monitoring, so that parents and health workers could detect malnutrition in very young children; breastfeeding, which was markedly better for children than infant formulas; immunization against six common diseases; and oral rehydration, a simple practice that could reverse the often lethal effects of infant diarrhea.

In UNICEF's 1982 report, The State of the World's Children, Grant advocated a global focus on these basic steps to ensure children's health. Grant met with leaders all over the world to promote the new program. UNICEF's most marked success over the 1980s was the increase in child immunization rates. In many parts of the developing world where vaccination rates had been below 10 percent, rates increased to around 50 percent by the end of the 1980s, and were at 80 percent by the mid-1990s. Other aspects of the four basic strategies took longer to implement. Though bottle-fed babies had been shown to be many times more vulnerable to malnutrition and disease in poor communities, UNICEF had only partial success in promoting breastfeeding in the 1980s. In 1990, UNICEF, in partnership with the World Health Organization, relaunched its breastfeeding campaign. UNICEF began certifying hospitals as "baby-friendly" if they complied with certain guidelines that promoted breastfeeding. Some countries, such as Mexico, made fast gains with this new program. Mexico's infant mortality rate fell by one-third between 1990 and 1994.

The 1990s and Beyond

With its focus in the 1980s on key steps to child survival, UNICEF also developed new ways to track and measure children's health. In 1993 it began putting out a new annual report called The Progress of Nations. This was a compendium of statistics relating to child health, and it allowed for easy comparisons of countries with similar problems or similar incomes. Overall, the news was good. By 1995, UNICEF's State of the World's Children found that for 90 percent of the world's children, rates of disease and malnutrition were falling.

James Grant died in 1995, and he was succeeded by Carol Bellamy. Bellamy was a corporate lawyer, a former New York state senator, one-time president of the New York City city council, and the former director of the U.S. Peace Corps. Bellamy had a pragmatic focus, encouraging UNICEF outposts to increase their data collection so that the effects of aid programs could be better interpreted. Bellamy also cut costs and streamlined operations. As she came into UNICEF, many problems afflicting children seemed to be getting much better. Polio was close to being eradicated world-wide, due to UNICEF's long campaign to provide polio vaccine. By 2000, polio was still found only in sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia, and UNICEF believed the disease would be conquered by 2005. However, AIDS continued to claim lives and leave children orphaned, particularly in Africa, and the 1990s saw armed conflicts in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, the Congo, and other places, continuing to put children's lives in jeopardy even when great gains had been made in fighting hunger and disease. Bellamy's motto was "survival for what?," meaning that children had to have something worthwhile to grow up into. She also stressed the development of children as an entry point into the greater development of a society as a whole.

Principal Operating Units: Supply Division; Innocenti Research Centre.

Principal Competitors: Children's Defense Fund; Save the Children; Soros Foundation.

Related information about United Nations

An organization formed to maintain world peace and foster international co-operation, formally established on 24 October 1945 with 51 founder countries. Its permanent headquarters are in New York. The UN Charter, which was drafted during the war by the USA, UK, and USSR, remains virtually unaltered despite the growth in membership and activities. There are six ‘principal organs’. The General Assembly is the plenary body which controls much of the UN's work, supervises the subsidiary organs, sets priorities, and debates major issues of international affairs. The 15-member Security Council is dominated by the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK, and USA) who each have the power of veto over any resolutions; the remaining 10 are elected for 2-year periods. The primary role of the Council is to maintain international peace and security; its decisions, unlike those of the General Assembly, are binding on all other members. It is empowered to order mandatory sanctions, call for ceasefires, and establish peacekeeping forces (these forces were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988). The use of the veto has prevented it from intervening in a number of disputes, such as Vietnam. The Secretariat, under the secretary-general, employs some 25 000 (from 160 countries) worldwide. The staff are answerable only to the UN, not national governments, and are engaged in considerable diplomatic work. The secretary-general is often a significant person in international diplomacy and is able to take independent initiatives. The International Court of Justice consists of 15 judges appointed by the Council and the Assembly. As only states can bring issues before it, its jurisdiction depends on the consent of the states who are a party to a dispute. It also offers advisory opinions to various organs of the UN. The International Criminal Court (ICC), consisting of 18 judges elected by the States Parties, was inaugurated in 2003. The Economic and Social Council is elected by the General Assembly; it supervises the work of various committees, commissions, and expert bodies in the economic and social area, and co-ordinates the work of UN specialized agencies. The Trusteeship Council (suspended at the end of 1994) oversaw the transition of Trust Territories to self-government. The Human Rights Council was formed in 2006. Member countries are elected by a majority at the UN General Assembly and can be suspended if they commit violations.

In addition to the organs established under the Charter, there is a range of subsidiary agencies, many with their own constitutions and membership, and some pre-dating the UN. The main agencies are the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization, the International Atomic Energy Authority, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (‘World Bank’), the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Labour Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Universal Postal Union, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Meterological Organization, and the World Health Organization.

The UN had 191members in 2005. It is generally seen as a forum where states pursue their national interest, rather than as an institution of world government, but it is not without considerable impact. Jointly, with secretary-general Kofi Annan, it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.









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The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that aims at facilitating co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. It was founded in 1945 at the signing of the United Nations Charter by 51 countries, replacing the League of Nations founded in 1919.

The UN was founded after the end of World War II by the victorious allied powers with the hope that it would act to prevent and intervene in conflicts between nations and make future wars impossible or limited. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with veto power, are the five main victors of World War II or their successors: People's Republic of China (which replaced the Republic of China), France, Russia (which replaced the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, and the United States.

As of 2006, there exist 192 United Nations member states, including virtually all internationally recognized independent states. From its headquarters in New York City, the UN's member countries and specialized agencies give guidance and decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is divided into administrative bodies, including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most visible public figure, and the representative head, is the Secretary-General, currently Kofi Annan. Others see such "peace keepers" and "peace keeping" as euphemisms for war and domination of weak and poor countries by the wealthy and powerful nations of the world.

The term "United Nations" (which term appears in stanza 35 of Canto III of Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage) was decided by Franklin D. Its first formal use was in the January 1, 1942 Declaration by the United Nations, which committed the Allies to the principles of the Atlantic Charter and pledged them not to seek a separate peace with the Axis powers. Thereafter, the Allies used the term "United Nations Fighting Forces" to refer to their alliance.

The idea for the UN was elaborated in declarations signed at the wartime Allied conferences in Moscow, Cairo, and Tehran in 1943. From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in Washington, DC.

On April 25, 1945, the UN Conference on International Organizations began in San Francisco. The UN came into existence on October 24, 1945, after the Charter had been ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council ?

Membership

As of 2006 there are 192 United Nations member states, including virtually all internationally-recognized independent states. Among the notable absences are the Republic of China (Taiwan), whose seat on the Security Council was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1971; Holy See (administering authority of Vatican City), which has declined membership but is an observer state; the State of Palestine (who is an observer vis-a-vis the Palestinian National Authority); and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which claims Western Sahara. The most recent addition to the UN is Montenegro, admitted on June 28, 2006

Headquarters

The current United Nations headquarters building was constructed in New York City between 1949 and 1950 beside the East River.

It was designed by an international team of architects that included Le Corbusier (Switzerland), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), and representatives of numerous other nations. UN headquarters officially opened on 9 January 1951. While the principal headquarters of the UN are in New York, there are major agencies located in Geneva, The Hague, Vienna, Montreal, Copenhagen, Bonn, and elsewhere. For example, under agreements with their host countries the United Nations Postal Administration is allowed to issue postage stamps for local mailing. UN organizations also use their own telecommunications ITU prefix, 4U, and unofficially the New York, Geneva, and Vienna sites are considered separate entities for amateur radio purposes.

As the UN main building is aging, the UN is in the process of building a temporary headquarters designed by Fumihiko Maki on First Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets for use while the current building is being expanded.fact

The United Nations Office at Geneva is the United Nations European headquarters. Prior to 1949, the United Nations used a variety of venues in London and New York State.The Story of United Nations Headquarters
www.un.org, United Nations, Accessed September 20, 2006

Financing


The UN is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from member states. Under the scale of assessments adopted in 2000, other major contributors to the regular UN budget for 2001 are Japan (19.63%), Germany (9.82%), France (6.50%), the UK (5.57%), Italy (5.09%), Canada (2.57%), Spain (2.53%), and Brazil (2.39%).

Special UN programmes not included in the regular budget (such as UNICEF and UNDP) are financed by voluntary contributions from member governments. For example, the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board oversee the work of WHO.

When an issue is considered particularly important, the General Assembly may convene an international conference to focus global attention and build a consensus for consolidated action. Recent examples include:

  • The UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, led to the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development to advance the conclusions reached in Agenda 21, the final text of agreements negotiated by governments at UNCED;
  • The International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, Egypt, in September 1994, approved a programme of action to address the critical challenges and interrelationships between population and sustainable development over the next 20 years;
  • The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, in September 1995, sought to accelerate implementation of the historic agreements reached at the Third World Conference on Women;
  • The Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), convened in June 1996 in Istanbul, Turkey, considered the challenges of human settlement development and management in the 21st century.

International years and related


The UN declares and coordinates "International Year of the..." Using the symbolism of the UN, a specially designed logo for the year, and the infrastructure of the UN system to coordinate events worldwide, the various years have become catalysts to advancing key issues on a global scale.

  • UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
  • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
  • UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

Arms control and disarmament

The 1945 UN Charter envisaged a system of regulation that would ensure "the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources". The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided immediate impetus to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament. In fact, the first resolution of the first meeting of the General Assembly (24 January 1946) was entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and called upon the commission to make specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction".

The UN has established several forums to address multilateral disarmament issues. Items on the agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons, nuclear and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security.

The Conference on Disarmament is a forum established by the international community for the negotiation of multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements. The US intends to pay peacekeeping assessments at these lower rates and has sought legislation from the U.S. Congress to allow payment at these rates and to make payments towards arrears.
The UN Peace-Keeping Forces received the 1988 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 2001, the UN and Secretary General Kofi Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."
The UN maintains a series of United Nations Medals awarded to military service members who enforce UN accords. The first such decoration issued was the United Nations Service Medal, awarded to UN forces who participated in the Korean War. The NATO Medal is designed on a similar concept and both are considered international decorations instead of military decorations. The Assembly regularly takes up human rights issues.

On 15 March 2006 the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights with the UN Human Rights Council . In particular, several of its member countries themselves had dubious human rights records, including states whose representatives had been elected to chair the commission.

There are now seven UN-linked human rights treaty bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The UN contributes to raising consciousness of the concept of human rights through its covenants and its attention to specific abuses through its General Assembly or Security Council resolutions or ICJ rulings.

Early 2006, an anti-torture panel at the United Nations recommended the closure of Guantanamo and criticized alleged U.S. use of secret prisons and suspected delivery of prisoners to foreign countries for questioning. Some Democrats and human rights groups argued that the CIA?s secret prison system did not allow monitoring for abuses and they hoped that it would be shut down. President Bush admits secret CIA prisons and says 14 top suspects are now moved to Guantanamo Bay facility.

Humanitarian assistance and international development

In conjunction with other organizations, such as the Red Cross, the UN provides food, drinking water, shelter and other humanitarian services to populaces suffering from famine, displaced by war, or afflicted by other disaster. Major humanitarian arms of the UN are the World Food Programme (which helps feed more than 100 million people a year in 80 countries), the High Commissioner for Refugees with projects in over 116 countries, as well as peacekeeping projects in over 24 countries. At times, UN relief workers have been subject to attacks (see Attacks on humanitarian workers).

The UN is also involved in supporting development, e.g. Organizations - like the WHO, UNAIDS, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - are leading institutions in the battle against diseases around the world, especially in poor countries. It has helped reduce infant and maternal mortality in 100 countries.

The UN annually publishes the Human Development Index (HDI), a comparative measure ranking countries by poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, and other factors.

The UN promotes human development through various agencies and departments:

  • World Health Organization (WHO) eliminated smallpox in 1977 and is close to eliminating polio.
  • World Bank / International Monetary Fund (IMF) Note: The World Bank and IMF were formed as separate entities from the UN through the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944. Here is the World Bank page clarifying the relationship between the two organizations.
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF)
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

On 9 March 2006, Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for those in the Horn of Africa threatened with starvation.ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?Page=2101

UN also had an agency called the World Food Council with the goal of coordinating national ministries of agriculture to help alleviate malnutrition and hunger. It was suspended in 1993.

Treaties and international law

The UN negotiates treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to avoid potential international disputes. France, where the Democratic Republic of Congo accused France of illegally detaining former heads of state accused of war crimes; United States, where Nicaragua accused the United States of illegally arming the Contras (this case led to the Iran-Contra affair).

  • In 1993, in response to "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslavia, the UN Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In 1994, in response to the Rwandan genocide, the council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The jurisprudence of these two courts established the current understanding of rape committed in furtherance of an armed conflict as a war crime.www.converge.org.nz/pma/arape.htm
  • In 1998 the General Assembly called a conference in Rome for the establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC), at which the "Rome Statute" was adopted. There is a "relationship agreement" between the ICC and the UN that governs how the two institutions regard each other legally.www.icc-cpi.int/asp/aspsecretariat.htmlwww.icc-cpi.int/pressrelease_details&id=47&l=en.html
  • The UN, in 2002, established the Special Court for Sierra Leone in response to the atrocities committed during that country's civil war.

There is also a SCIU (Serious Crimes Investigation Unit) for East Timor.

Notable United Nations figures

Many famous humanitarians and celebrities have been involved with the United Nations including: Audrey Hepburn, Eleanor Roosevelt, Danny Kaye, Jay-Z, Peter Ustinov, Bono, Jeffrey Sachs, Clint Borgen, Angelina Jolie, Mother Teresa, Shakira, and Nicole Kidman for UNIFEM. There have also been numerous calls for the UN's Security Council's membership to be increased to be able to reflect the current geo-political state (i.e increasing members from Africa, South America and Asia) In 2004 and 2005, allegations of mismanagement and corruption regarding the Oil-for-Food Programme for Iraq under Saddam Hussein led to renewed calls for reform.

An official reform programme was initiated by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan shortly after starting his first term on 1 January 1997. and imposing an international tariff on arms manufacturers worldwide.

In September 2005, the UN convened a World Summit that brought together the heads of most member states, in a plenary session of the General Assembly's 60th session.

The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000, commits the states to:

  1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
  2. Achieve universal primary education;
  3. Promote gender equality and empower women;
  4. Reduce child mortality;
  5. Improve maternal health;
  6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
  7. Ensure environmental sustainability;
  8. Develop a global partnership for development.

Successes and failures in security issues

A large share of UN expenditures addresses the core UN mission of peace and security. Such statistics cite:

?a 40% drop in violent conflict

?an 80% drop in the most deadly conflicts

?an 80% drop in genocide and politicide

The Report, published by Oxford University Press, argued that the single most compelling explanation for these changes is found in the unprecedented upsurge of international activism, spearheaded by the UN, which took place in the wake of the Cold War.

The Report singles out several specific investments that have paid off: p. For nearly a decade, Israel defied resolutions calling for the dismantling of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Even when actions are mandated by the 15-member Security Council, the Secretariat is rarely given the full resources needed to carry out the mandates.

Other serious security failures include:

  • Failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the killings of nearly a million people, due to the refusal of the security council members to approve any necessary military action.www.hrw.org/community/bookreviews/melvern.htm
  • Failure by MONUC (UNSC Resolution 1291) to effectively intervene during the Second Congo War, which claimed nearly five million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 1998-2002 (with fighting reportedly continuing), and in carrying out and distributing humanitarian aid.
  • Failure to intervene in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, despite the fact that the UN designated Srebrenica a "safe haven" for refugees and assigned 600 Dutch peacekeepers to protect it.
  • Failure to successfully deliver food to starving people in Somalia; This abuse has become widespread and ongoing despite many revelations and probes by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42088news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4262743.stm A 2005 internal UN investigation found that sexual exploitation and abuse has been reported in at least five countries where UN peacekeepers have been deployed, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, and Liberia; Examples include the Iranian nuclear program and the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Typically but not always this division includes the United States on one side with China and/or Russia on the other.

    Human Rights oversight

    Inclusion on the old United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) of nations, such as Sudan and Libya, whose leaderships have demonstrably abysmal records on human rightswww.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=sudan www.hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=libya, and also Libya's chairmanship of this Commission, has been in the past an issue. These countries, however, argued that Western countries, accusing them of colonialist aggression and brutality, had no right to argue about membership of the Commission.

    However on March 15, 2006 the General Assembly passed a resolution creating a new body - the United Nations Human Rights Council ? While some governments with poor records were elected, such as China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan, the worst rights violators did not make it onto the new Council:

    ? States shunned by rights groups: Syria, North Korea, Belarus, and Burma

    ? States which had been members of the Commission: Zimbabwe, Sudan, Nepal, and Libya

    ? States which ran but did not receive enough votes: Iran, Venezuela, Thailand, Iraq, and Kyrgyzstan

    Due to the changes in membership, changes in membership between the Commission and the Council, the number of states deemed "Not Free" by Freedom House was more than halved.

    "Successful UN Human Rights Council Elections Demonstrate UN Members are Taking Reform Effort Seriously." In 1994 the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was established by a ruling of the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog. A reform program
    has been proposed, but has not yet approved by the General
    Assembly.

    Oil-for-Food scandal


    The Oil-for-Food Programme was established by the UN in 1996 to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs of ordinary Iraqi citizens who were affected by international economic sanctions, without allowing the Iraqi government to rebuild its military in the wake of the first Gulf War. the former director, Benon Sevan of Cyprus, first was suspended, then resigned from the UN, as an interim progress report of a UN-sponsored investigation led by Paul Volcker concluded that Sevan had accepted bribes from the Iraqi regime, and recommended that his UN immunity be lifted to allow for a criminal investigation.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4131602.stm

    Under UN auspices, over $65 billion USD worth of Iraqi oil was sold on the world market. Officially, about $46 billion was used for humanitarian needs, and additional revenue paid for Gulf War reparations through a Compensation Fund, UN administrative and operational costs for the Programme (2.2%), and the weapons inspection programme (0.8%).

    Also implicated in the scandal is Kofi Annan's son Kojo Annan, alleged to have illegally procured UN Oil-for-Food contracts on behalf of the Swiss company Cotecna. India's foreign minister, Natwar Singh, was removed from office because of his role in the scandal.

    The Australian government set up an inquiry known as the Cole Inquiry in November 2005 to investigate whether the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) breached any laws with its contracts with Iraq during the Oil-for-Food Programme. The Prime Minister (John Howard), Deputy Prime Minister (Mark Vaile), and Foreign Minister of Australia (Alexander Downer) have denied knowing about such bribes as they were called to the inquiry to give an account under oath about what they knew of AWB. Hiring and firing practices, working hours and environment, holiday time, pension plans, health insurance, life insurance, salaries, expatriation benefits and general conditions of employment are governed by UN rules and regulations. For instance, a person who is otherwise eligible for employment in Switzerland may not be employed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) unless he or she is a citizen of an ILO member state.

    Smokers

    The World Health Organization, an agency of the UN, has banned all recruitment of cigarette smokers as of 1 December 2005, in order to promote the principle of a tobacco-free work environment. There is a smoking ban within the UN headquarters, but some member nations allow smoking in their UN embassies.

    Same-sex marriages

    Despite their independence in matters of personnel policy, UN agencies voluntarily apply the laws of member states regarding same-sex marriages, allowing decisions about the status of employees in a same-sex partnership to be based on nationality. Model UN has students simulate (usually) a body in the UN system, like the Economic and Social Council, the Economic and Finance Committee of the General Assembly, or the Executive Committee of UNICEF, to help them develop skills in debate and diplomacy.

    The perception of the UN as a large, world-encompassing government organization has prompted many ideas about world government and world democracy. The UN is also often the subject of conspiracy theories.

    References

    See also


    • 2005 World Summit on the Millennium Development Goals and Reform of the United Nations
    • Independent Inquiry Committee: investigated the corruption and fraud in the UN Oil-for-Food Programme.
    • International Relations
    • List of ambassadors to the United Nations
    • Model United Nations
    • Oil-for-Food programme
    • United Nations Association
    • United Nations General Assembly
    • United Nations International School
    • United Nations Mandated University for Peace
    • United Nations member states
    • United Nations Postal Administration
    • United Nations Secretary General
    • United Nations System
    • United Nations University
    • UNIS-UN
    • Boy Scouts of the United Nations

    Further reading



    • An Insider's Guide to the UN, Linda Fasulo, Yale University Press (November 1, 2003), hardcover, 272 pages, ISBN 0-300-10155-4
    • United Nations: The First Fifty Years, Stanley Mesler, Atlantic Monthly Press (March 1, 1997), hardcover, 416 pages, ISBN 0-87113-656-2
    • United Nations, Divided World: The UN's Roles in International Relations edited by Adam Roberts and Benedict Kingsbury, Oxford University Press; 2nd edition (January 1 1994), hardcover, 589 pages, ISBN 0-19-827926-4
    • A Guide to Delegate Preparation: A Model United Nations Handbook, edited by Scott A. Time Magazine XLV.19 May 7, 1945: 25-28.

Chronology

  • Key Dates:
  • 1946: Organization is established by the United Nations.
  • 1953: Organization is given a permanent charter.
  • 1979: International Year of the Child.
  • 1982: UNICEF begins new focus on four basic child health measures: health monitoring, breastfeeding, immunization, and hydration.
  • 2000: UNICEF predicts that childhood polio will be completely eradicated by the year 2005.

Additional topics

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