United Nations International Law

Top UN relief official warns humanitarian workers facing ‘increasingly complex’ situations.

2015-01-15T00:47:00.000-08:00

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos delivers lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations. Photo: Council on Foreign Relations/Melanie Einzig

14 January 2015 – During a lecture delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator described the increasingly complex environments in which humanitarian actors work, as they deal more and more with the consequences of crises whose roots lie in poor governance, political paralysis, underdevelopment, and rising levels of poverty and inequality.
“The challenges facing organizations working in the humanitarian field reflect the wider challenges facing the entire United Nations,” said Valerie Amos, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“How do we live up to the values in the UN Charter? How do we safeguard human rights, protect civilians and help secure a more peaceful and a more just world?”
She described some of the insights held by those working in the humanitarian field, notably the fact that breaking cycles of violence requires engagement of political actors with communities to find sustainable solutions to crises.
To fulfil that need, she called for a stronger and possibly “more interventionist” global architecture for dealing with the humanitarian consequences of conflict. States also needed to live up to their responsibility to protect civilians from harm and multilateral institutions had to be able to step in where they failed to do so.
The tools currently available to the international community were “extremely limited” despite the complexity of the challenges they face, she said, looking to international humanitarian law, which, although it provided means for tackling challenges arising from conflicts, lacked implementation and required stronger vision and commitment from governments, multilateral institutions and humanitarian agencies.
The result was not only continued danger for humanitarians trying to provide assistance around the world but the “manifest failure” of political leaders to protect their people, with humanitarian organizations forced to fill the “glaring gaps” left. Such situations increased the difficulties associated with separating humanitarian responses from political imperatives in places like Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza.
“We have a responsibility to be strong advocates for the people caught in the midst of conflict and many Governments don’t like what we say,” she said, noting that 155 aid workers had died, with 134 others kidnapped in the course of 251 attacks on aid workers in 2013. “We are constantly ‘under fire’ – both literally and figuratively.”
She also pointed to the financial pressures on humanitarian work as needs grow around the world. In 2015, 78 million people in 22 countries require urgent humanitarian assistance, in the form of shelter, health care, education and food, at a cost $16.4 billion.
“[That money] will help people to survive,” Ms. Amos said. “But what it will not do is help people to rebuild their lives, because without resolution to conflict, people will continue to flee brutality.”
Despite the dangers and pressures, she noted that humanitarian groups continue providing assistance around the world every day, and said she would continue pushing for better protection of civilians in conflict, whether calling on States to deliver on their duty to protect their citizens or highlighting governments and militaries the devastating impact that the use of explosive weapons has on people living in densely populated urban areas.
Solving the problems faced by humanitarian workers and finding the right approaches to resolving them would be a priority for consultations leading up to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, which she noted would be the first ever such conference.
“At that Summit, we will have a unique opportunity to reshape our approach to humanitarian aid and the way we do humanitarian business,” she said.

Donors pledge over $400 million for 2015 UN rapid humanitarian response fund.

2015-01-15T00:45:00.002-08:00

As the humanitarian needs in Iraq increased, funding for life-saving response has been critical to assist the vulnerable population. Since January 2014, CERF has allocated some US$11 million rapid response fund in support of emergency relief work in Iraq. Photo: UNICEF/Khuzaie

17 December 2014 – International donors have pledged $418.6 million for a United Nations fund aimed at enabling the speedy delivery of humanitarian aid into the epicentres of crisis zones around the world, falling short of a broader appeal made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Organization’s top relief official.
Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, had encouraged Member States to donate $450 million to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) ahead of the coming year as proliferating crises and sustained conflicts continue to push global humanitarian needs to unparalleled heights and place growing demands on the UN.
“Humanitarian assistance is one of the most important functions of the United Nations,” Mr. Ban told delegates gathered at UN Headquarters in New York today. “When natural disasters strike and conflict rages, it is our duty to do everything we can for the women, children and men caught up in crisis.”
2014 has been a particularly difficult year dominated by “very severe humanitarian emergencies,” the Secretary-General noted. In Syria and Iraq, millions were surviving on a “bare minimum” while hundreds of thousands of others lived in “harsh conditions” at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya – the largest of its kind in the world. Other crises in South Sudan and the Central African Republic as well as in the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak were pushing the humanitarian system to its limits, he explained.
“The depth and severity of humanitarian crises is rising, due to the effects of climate change, urbanization, population growth and competition for resources,” Mr. Ban continued. “When the Central Emergency Response Fund started in 2006, some 30 million people were in need of aid. Now that number is more than 100 million.”
CERF has grown to become one of the largest and most reliable sources of humanitarian funding available, according to its website. In particular, it makes money available “at the beginning of a crisis, when time is of the essence and it is critical that emergency relief operations get under way quickly.”
Since 2006, it has disbursed more than $3.6 billion to emergencies in 88 countries. In 2014, however, the majority of CERF funding went to assist with crises in South Sudan, Sudan and the Central African Republic. Another $280 million went towards funding rapid response projects, including efforts to provide shelter for displaced communities in Pakistan and to meet the urgent needs of families affected by floods in Bolivia, Burundi and the Solomon Islands.
At the same time, $170 million in allocations helped humanitarian responses in 22 of the world’s most neglected crises – from Chad to Yemen to Haiti. The largest amount for an underfunded emergency, $20 million, went to Somalia. Meanwhile, CERF funding also helped kick-start the emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
To that point, Valerie Amos underscored the impact of the response funding, noting that in “truly challenging times” with humanitarian needs reaching “unprecedented levels,” the UN and international community needed to ensure that CERF “continues to be effective and serves the needs of the most vulnerable.”
“The Central Emergency Response Fund is one of the most effective tools we have to help people face the immediate, devastating effects of natural disasters, armed conflict and chronic emergencies,” agreed Mr. Ban. “It is fast. It is reliable. It saves lives.”
In addition, although he pointed out that new disasters could not be predicted, Mr. Ban reminded Member States that millions of people would inevitably continue to need help into 2015.
“Now, more than ever, it is essential that every dollar spent on humanitarian aid is spent to maximum effect. The needs are huge. There are millions of lives at stake,” he said. “I urge you to dig deep, and to contribute generously to this proven life-saving fund. With your support, we will once again exceed our $450 million dollar target for the coming year.”

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support. Photo: UN News Centre

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23 June 2014 – In April 2009, Judy Cheng-Hopkins was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), which acts as the Secretariat of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the United Nations inter-governmental body that works to keep countries emerging from conflict from sliding back into violence.
Countries currently on the agenda of the PBC are Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and the Central African Republic, to each of which is devoted a “Country-Specific Configuration” of interested countries plus relevant regional and financial institutions and UN representatives.
The PBSO also manages the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) to support lasting peace, often funding immediate needs in countries emerging from conflict when sufficient resources are not available elsewhere.
Before joining the PBSO in New York, Ms. Cheng-Hopkins served the UN for some 30 years covering development and humanitarian work in Africa and Asia, 10 years of which were spent in the field in Africa, and served as the UN's Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees from February 2006 to August 2009.
The UN News Centre spoke to Ms. Cheng-Hopkins ahead of the 23 June 2014 anniversary of the first Peacebuilding Day and the first PBC annual session in New York. - See more at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/newsmakers.asp?NewsID=108#sthash.6NqGk5Mi.dpuf

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support. Photo: UN News Centre

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Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support. Photo: UN News Centre

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Burundi: UN Chief welcomes launch of electoral monitoring mission.

2015-01-15T00:42:00.002-08:00

The police in Bujumbura, Burundi, have increasingly broken up opposition party gatherings. Photo: IRIN/Desire Nimubona

3 January 2015 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the launch of the United Nations Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi, which officially started its work on 1 January 2015 as mandated by Security Council resolution 2137 (2014).
The UN Electoral Observation Mission (also known by its French acronym MENUB) is headed by the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Mr. Cassam Uteem of Mauritius.
MENUB is mandated to follow and report on the presidential, parliamentary and local elections in Burundi that are scheduled between May and September 2015.
In a note released by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General noted that "peaceful and credible elections are critical for the people of Burundi". Mr. Ban also said he hoped that all Burundians will seize this opportunity to establish peace and stability in their country.

UN Mission chief applauds joint operations against armed groups in eastern DR Congo

2015-01-15T00:41:00.002-08:00

Cobra Matata, leader of the Force de Résistance Patriotique de l’Ituri (FRPI), arrives handcuffed in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5 January 2015, after being arrested during a joint operation by UN troops and the Congolese army (FARDC). Photo: Radio Okapi

6 January 2015 – A joint operation by United Nations troops and the Congolese army (FARDC) took control of the main bases used by an armed group actively threatening security and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s long-troubled eastern region.
FARDC troops backed by attack helicopters and the Force Intervention Brigade of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) took control of bases used by the National Liberation Front, known by the French acronym FNL, in an area of restive South Kivu Province.
“The joint operation FARDC-MONUSCO against FNL is a strong signal for all armed groups, including the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda): the only way toward peace is through voluntary disarmament,” said MONUSCO chief, Martin Kobler.
His comments come as MONUSCO prepares to launch military operations against the FDLR, another armed group operating in eastern DRC, which missed a deadline for the unconditional surrender of its forces on 2 January.
They follow also a joint FARDC-MONUSCO attack against the rebel Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces in North Kivu and the arrest of Cobra Matata, leader of the Force de Résistance Patriotique de l’Ituri (FRPI) which took place over the weekend.
The FNL is a Burundian group that is deemed to pose an unacceptable threat to the security and stability in the eastern DRC and the joint offensive launched against the group was part of an operation initiated in late 2014 aiming to disarm armed groups operating in the Ruzizi plain and nearby areas.
The FNL’s neutralization is considered of paramount importance for MONUSCO and the FARDC to ensure civilian security in South Kivu.
“We are prepared to fight all armed groups and protect civilians,” said Major General Jean Baillaud, MONUSCO Force Commander ad interim. “This military success clearly shows FARDC and MONUSCO’s capacities to conduct joint actions and their common determination to neutralize all armed groups.”

Burundi: UN electoral mission prepared to help country in ‘decisive’ return to peace.

2015-01-15T00:40:00.001-08:00

Cassam Uteem (left), Special Envoy and Head of UN Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi (MENUB) and Issaka Souna, MENUB Deputy chief, in Bujumbura at official launch of Mission’s work. January 2015 Photo: UNDP/Aude Rossignol

12 January 2015 – The United Nations Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi, known by its French acronym MENUB, officially launched its activities today in the capital of Bujumbura as the country prepares for critical elections to be held later this year amid an atmosphere of reconciliation.
“Dialogue can open the way for compromise and help lead to solutions for even the most difficult of problems,” the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy and MENUB chief, Cassam Uteem, said earlier this morning at a ceremony marking the Mission’s launch.
The UN Security Council set the creation of MENUB in motion in February 2014 following the Burundi Government’s request for a UN-backed electoral observer mission before, during and after presidential, parliamentary and local polls, scheduled between May and September 2015.
“We would also encourage the Government to continue the dialogue begun in March 2013 and reassure all those who wish to take part in the electoral process that they will face no obstacles,” continued Mr. Uteem, as he called on all stakeholders to respect the outcome of the upcoming elections.
The UN official reminded those gathered – among which were former Government officials, representatives of institutions and members of civil society – that the election would affect all Burundians and called on the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to take “appropriate measures” to ensure the polls’ smooth running while also widening participation in the electoral process to all eligible people. In addition, he welcomed CENI’s organization of workshops aimed at monitoring voting registration and potential irregularities.
The Mission replaced the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB), which was set up in 2006 following a ceasefire between the Government and the last remaining rebel forces to support peace consolidation, democratic governance, disarmament and reform of the security sector.
Burundi was the first country, along with Sierra Leone, to be put on the agenda of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), which was also established in 2006, to ensure that countries once ravaged by war do not relapse into bloodshed.
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy acknowledged that the Mission was in Burundi to help ease the country towards a long-standing peace based on a legitimate democratic process, and he urged the international community to also remain committed to helping the Burundian people, so the country may “decisively turn towards peace and spend most of its resources on the only battle that needs to be fought – that of development and the eradication of poverty.”

Security Council reaffirms peacebuilding as key element of UN post-conflict assistance.

2015-01-15T00:36:00.004-08:00

Wide view of the Security Council in session. UN Photo/Loey Felipe (file)

14 January 2015 – Peacebuilding is of “critical importance” as the foundation for sustainable peace and development in countries emerging from conflict, the United Nations Security Council declared today, unanimously adopting its latest measure reaffirming commitment to the practice.
In a statement presented by Heraldo Muñoz, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chile, which holds the body’s January presidency, the Council recognized peacebuilding’s role as an “important element” of the UN’s efforts in post-conflict nations and reaffirmed that sustainable peace and security requires “an integrated sustained approach based on coherence among political, security and developmental approaches.”
“The Security Council underscores that peacebuilding, in particular, institution building, the extension of State authority and the re-establishment of core public administration functions, requires sustained international and national attention, and financial and technical support in order to effectively build and sustain peace in countries emerging from conflict,” the statement declared.
“When we look at the life of a conflict, we need to think of extending that attention to the pre-stage and the post-stage”, said Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, as he introduced the Secretary-General’s latest report on peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict. The upcoming review of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) will take place at a time of complex threats to peace, security and development, including the relapse into conflict in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, as well as the Ebola outbreak.
He said he looked forward to the reviews of the Security Council and the Secretary-General, alongside the global study to assess progress in implementing resolution 1325 (2000) on women’s inclusion in post-conflict processes. Those reviews should be mutually reinforcing he stressed, adding that a solid commitment was needed from all sides for countries emerging from conflict.
“This could make the difference between peace or continuing conflict for millions of people around the world,” he stated. “This is an opportunity the United Natons and Member States should not miss.”
The PBC, an intergovernmental advisory body created in 2005 with a mandate to support peace efforts in countries emerging from conflict, plays a “unique role” in UN peacebuilding efforts, according to its website.
Principally, it is tasked with bringing together all of the relevant actors, including international donors and financial institutions, national governments, troop contributing countries; marshalling resources and advising on and proposing integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery and where appropriate, highlighting any gaps that threaten to undermine peace.
Addressing the Council members, Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, pointed to the vast swathe of crises afflicting nations around the globe as indicative of the need for “further sharpening the tools at the disposal of the United Nations with a view to preventing relapse into violent conflict.”
“The crises in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Libya, as well as the risks posed by the Ebola crisis, remind us that our response must be multifaceted, carefully sequenced and sustained over the long term,” Mr. de Aguiar Patriota told the Council Members.
“Attention and support to nationally-owned and inclusive political, socio-economic development and institution-building processes should be prioritized,” he added.
Nonetheless, he warned, peacebuilding is still being not granted “the sustained attention and commitment that is required by the international community to meet the complex and long-term challenges to sustainable peace.” In particular, he added, the implementation of peacebuilding was still being deprived of the critical financing mechanisms necessary for the fulfilment of its ambitions.
“Early investment in peacebuilding activities, including security sector and justice reform as well as socio-economic development, is a necessary complement to political and security focused mandates,” Mr. de Aguiar Patriota continued.
“The Commission will continue to support regional and national efforts aimed at catalysing greater international commitment to address this challenge.”

In Liberia, UN Ebola mission chief commends progress, warns against ‘complacency’

2015-01-15T00:34:00.001-08:00

Head of UNMEER Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (second right) meets in Monrovia with Special Representative for Liberia, Karin Landgren (second left), to discuss cooperation on Ebola between the two UN entities. Photo: UNMEER/Simon Ruf

7 January 2015 – On his first tour of Ebola-stricken Liberia, the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) today outlined his vision to tackle the scourge in what he called a “3C approach” which he described as recognizing the vital roles of “countries, communities and coordination.”
Briefing journalists at Spryggs Airport in Monrovia, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed described his first impression of the situation on the ground as “mixed.” On the one hand, he begins his post with “a lot of optimism,” but on the other hand, he recognizes mounting challenges to end Ebola.
“We are not yet there. There is certainly still a lot to be done for Liberia to be claimed free [of Ebola],” he said, expressing concern that successes and optimism may provoke a “degree of complacency.”
During his visit, the new UNMEER head met with the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Minister of Health, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and the UN system which remains “quite active” on the ground. Joined by UN Special Envoy on Ebola David Nabarro, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed visited a treatment centre, as well as Grand Cape Mount, which has seen a recent flare-up of cases.
“My visit to the treatment centre has confirmed that we still have in certain places figures which for us are too high,” said Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, as he stressed the need to “stay alert” and keep up the same degree of mobilization from the Government and international community.
In the hard-hit West African region, some 8,220 have died from the Ebola outbreak, according to the latest figures from the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
Ebola response is and should be a “Government-driven battle” as it is “about their people, about the fate of their country,” UNMEER’s chief told reporters. Recognizing the role of countries is crucial as is supporting the grassroots efforts of stricken communities.
“If we do not tackle this at the community level, there will be no zero-Ebola achievement. The community leaders, religious leaders and the communities themselves must not only acknowledge the existence of Ebola but also the battle it will take to win that behavioural change against a very limited amount of time.”
He said that so far he has seen when he met survivors and leaders is that there is strong resolve there which must be “sustained and maintained.”
The last “C” of his “3C approach”, which he hopes to be leading, is coordination. “There are a lot of actors coming to this, many with very good intentions. But we are too many and sometimes when there are too many cooks in the kitchen it is very difficult to get the meal out. We have to coordinate ourselves, we have to organize better,” he stressed.
At the same time, he said a lot is also owed to the Liberians themselves, “their determination, their will and their strength.”
“The Liberians have made this their battle. The people I have met with are at the community level are leaders of the communities or religious leaders, imams, church leaders. All of them have extraordinary resolve.”
Welcoming Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed to his new post, Dr. Nabarro said that this is his sixth time in West Africa since starting work as UN System Coordinator on Ebola in August. Progress has been achieved by the people and Government of Liberia, communities, first responders, doctors, nurses and other health workers. And the people who have recovered from Ebola are “now the real Ambassadors.”
“The numbers do tell an important story. In the middle of September the epidemiology said that there were about 80 new cases per day of Ebola in this country. It fluctuated and perhaps some days were worse than others. But just at the moment the figure is certainly less than five per day and possibly lower,” Dr. Nabarro explained.
The next phase is to start to look at where the virus is, find the people who are not well and support them, trace their contacts and get a much deeper understanding of the outbreak.
“This next stage is pretty difficult because the only solution for all of us is [to ensure] that Ebola is not present in humans in this region, as quickly as possible. So we really have to work together to find everybody. And there are flare-ups occurring such as in Grand Cape Mount…so we have to stay super vigilant.”
Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who succeeds UNMEER’s inaugural chief, Anthony Banbury, is headed to Sierra Leone tomorrow and Guinea next week. Tomorrow morning UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the General Assembly on his recent West Africa trip.

2015 presents historic opportunity to improve people’s lives, says UN Assembly President.

2015-01-15T00:20:00.004-08:00

General Assembly President Sam Kutesa outlines his objectives for 2015. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

14 January 2015 – The next several months will present a historic opportunity to agree on an “inspiring” agenda that will directly improve the lives of people around the world, United Nations General Assembly President Sam Kutesa said today as he outlined his objectives for 2015.
“As we embark on the critical task of formulating an inclusive and transformative post-2015 development agenda, I call on Member States to approach the negotiations with a positive and constructive spirit,” Mr. Kutesa told the 193-Member Assembly this afternoon.
During his briefing, he looked back at the world body’s achievements during the last half of 2014, spotlighting, among others: the unprecedented international response to the Ebola crisis, and the historic establishment of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER); the endorsement of the outcome of the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; and completion of preparatory work for intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda.
Looking ahead, he said the success of the new development agenda will depend on Member States’ ability to match ambitions with adequate means of implementation, he added, emphasizing that it will be critical to ensure coherence between the elaboration of the post-2015 agenda and the preparatory process for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July.
On climate change, Mr. Kutesa said the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the landmark UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Lima, Peru, last month, laid the groundwork for a universal and meaningful agreement to be finalized in Paris in December this year.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, scheduled for Japan in March, is expected to result in a post-2015 framework dealing with that issue, with a view to enhancing preparedness and strengthening countermeasures to climate-related disasters.
The devastating Ebola epidemic is another issue of major concern for the General Assembly, Mr. Kutesa said. “Throughout the crisis, the efforts of national governments have been heroic, as have been those of humanitarian staff, nurses, doctors, burial workers and ordinary civilians.”
But, he added: “We must redouble our efforts and remain seized of the crisis as the most affected countries face the devastating, long-term implications of the epidemic.” It is equally important to foster cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations.
Peace and security, which the Assembly President said lies “at the very heart” of the UN’s mission, came under jeopardy in 2014 with the myriad conflicts worldwide serving as stark reminders of the need for peaceful settlement of disputes. To that end, the Arms Trade Treaty’s (ATT) coming into force on 24 December certainly contributed to arms control.
The brutal terrorist attacks carried out by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram; the murders of school children in Pakistan; and the heinous terrorist attacks in Paris, Nigeria and elsewhere have put in sharp focus the rising threat of terrorism and extremism, Mr. Kutesa said.
The UN must re-double its efforts to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms, he said, emphasizing that there is no justification for such attacks.
On the promotion of equal rights, Mr. Kutesa recalled that the current 69th session of the General Assembly marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Conference on Women. This would provide a good opportunity to give even greater focus to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the post-2015 agenda, he added.
Mr. Kutesa said he also looked forward to the unveiling of the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in March, as part of the International Decade for People of African Descent, launched by the Assembly last month.
Also this year, the United Nations will celebrate its 70th anniversary. It is therefore critical to consider reform and ways to strengthen the Organization so that is it better able to meet the world’s increasingly complex challenges. Security Council reform remains a priority. On revitalizing the General Assembly itself, Mr. Kutesa said that the recurring challenges in the completion of the work of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) should be addressed.

World Bank: despite ‘fragile’ global economy, low oil prices to spur recovery in developing countries.

2015-01-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

Gassing up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: the latest edition of Global Economic Prospects (GEP) says lower oil price is expected to persist through 2015 lowering inflation worldwide. Photo: World Bank/Nafise Motlaq

13 January 2015 – After an economically disappointing 2014, developing countries can expect an uptick in growth in the new year as soft oil prices, a stronger United States economy, and continued low global interest rates help fuel their recovery, according to a new flagship study issued by the World Bank Group.
The biannual Global Economic Prospects report, released today, projects a global economic expansion of 3 per cent for 2015, 3.3 per cent for 2016, and 3.2 per cent in 2017 – a boost following last year’s anaemic 2.6 per cent growth.
At the same time, the report adds, developing countries are expected to surge from last year’s 4.4 per cent growth to 4.8 per cent in 2015 and then strengthen to a more robust 5.4 per cent by 2017.
“In this uncertain economic environment, developing countries need to judiciously deploy their resources to support social programs with a laser-like focus on the poor and undertake structural reforms that invest in people,” explained World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in a news release marking the report’s launch.
“It’s also critical for countries to remove any unnecessary roadblocks for private sector investment,” Mr. Kim continued. “The private sector is by far the greatest source of jobs and that can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.”
Despite the positive developments, the report paints a largely mixed picture depicting both the growing momentum of economic activity in the United States and the United Kingdom amid healing labour markets and a stuttering recovery in the Eurozone and Japan.
In addition, a number of risks continue to overshadow the potential of full global recovery, particularly weak global trade, possible financial market volatility, the strain low oil prices will place on oil-producing countries, and the risk of prolonged stagnation or deflation in the Eurozone or Japan.
“Worryingly, the stalled recovery in some high-income economies and even some middle-income countries may be a symptom of deeper structural malaise,” cautioned Kaushik Basu, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “As population growth has slowed in many countries, the pool of younger workers is smaller, putting strains on productivity.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Basu added, there are “some silver linings behind the clouds.”
“The lower oil price, which is expected to persist through 2015, is lowering inflation worldwide and is likely to delay interest rate hikes in rich countries. This creates a window of opportunity for oil-importing countries, such as China and India,” he said, noting the World Bank’s expectations for India’s growth to rise to 7 per cent by 2016.
The developing world and large middle-income countries are, in fact, expected to benefit from lower oil prices. In Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey, the fall in oil prices will help lower inflation and reduce current account deficits. Meanwhile, exporting countries, such as Russia, can expect their economies to contract as a result, prompting opportunities for wide-scale structural reforms.
“Lower oil prices will lead to sizeable real income shifts from oil-exporting to oil-importing developing countries,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.
“For both exporters and importers, low oil prices present an opportunity to undertake reforms that can increase fiscal resources and help broader environmental objectives.”

2010-02-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

A cartel is a formal (explicit) agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers that agree to coordinate prices, marketing and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products. Cartel members may agree on such matters as price fixing, total industry output, market shares, allocation of customers, allocation of territories, bid rigging, establishment of common sales agencies, and the division of profits or combination of these. The aim of such collusion is to increase individual members' profits by reducing competition. Competition laws forbid cartels. Identifying and breaking up cartels is an important part of the competition policy in most countries, although proving the existence of a cartel is rarely easy, as firms are usually not so careless as to put agreements to collude on paper.^{Several economic studies and legal decisions of antitrust authorities have found that the median price increase achieved by cartels in the last 200 years is around 25%. Private international cartels (those with participants from two or more nations) had an average price increase of 28%, whereas domestic cartels averaged 18%. Fewer than 10% of all cartels in the sample failed to raise market prices.}

The term cartel came up for alliances of enterprises round about 1880 in Germany The name was imported into the Anglosphere during the 1930s. Before this, other, less precise terms were common to denominate cartels, for instance: association, combination, combine or pool.In the 1940s the name cartel got an Anti-German bias, being the economic system of the enemy. Cartels were the structure the American Anti-Trust-campaign struggled to ban globally.

Private vs public cartel

A distinction is sometimes drawn between public and private cartels, though there is no evidence that Public Cartels are less harmful to the general good, and being Government backed they are much more effective and hence potentially harmful. In the case of public cartels, the government may establish and enforce the rules relating to prices, output and other such matters. Export cartels and shipping conferences are examples of public cartels, as well as labor unions. In many countries, depression cartels have been permitted in industries deemed to be requiring price and production stability and/or to permit rationalization of industry structure and excess capacity. In Japan for example, such arrangements have been permitted in the steel, aluminum smelting, ship building and various chemical industries. Public cartels were also permitted in the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s and continued to exist for some time after World War II in industries such as coal mining and oil production. Cartels have also played an extensive role in the German economy during the inter-war period. Internationalcommodity agreements covering products such as coffee, sugar, tin and more recently oil (OPEC) are examples of international cartels with publicly entailed agreements between different national governments. Crisis cartels have also been organized by governments for various industries or products in different countries in order to fix prices and ration production and distribution in periods of acute shortages.

In contrast, private cartels entail an agreement on terms and conditions from which the members derive mutual advantage but that are not known or likely to be detected by outside parties. Private cartels in most jurisdictions are viewed as being illegal and in violation of antitrust laws.

The international Law(Organs of UN)

2010-01-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

Trusteeship

Status
The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994, with the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory, on 1 October 1994. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required -- by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.
Background
In setting up an International Trusteeship System, the Charter established the Trusteeship Council as one of the main organs of the United Nations and assigned to it the task of supervising the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System. Major goals of the System were to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of Trust Territories and their progressive development towards self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council is made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council --China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States. The aims of the Trusteeship System have been fulfilled to such an extent that all Trust Territories have attained self-government or independence, either as separate States or by joining neighboring independent countries.
Functions and powers
Under the Charter, the Trusteeship Council is authorized to examine and discuss reports from the Administering Authority on the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the peoples of Trust Territories and, in consultation with the Administering Authority, to examine petitions from and undertake periodic and other special missions to Trust Territories.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat — an international staff working in duty stations around the world — carries out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term.
The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems to preparing studies on human rights and sustainable development. Secretariat staff also inform the world's communications media about the work of the United Nations; organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official languages.
As of 30 June 2009, the Secretariat had some 40,000 staff members around the world1.
As international civil servants, staff members and the Secretary-General answer to the United Nations alone for their activities, and take an oath not to seek or receive instructions from any Government or outside authority. Under the Charter, each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and to refrain from seeking to influence them improperly in the discharge of their duties.
The United Nations, while headquartered in New York, maintains a significant presence in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Geneva, Nairobi, Santiago and Vienna, and has offices all over the world.

How United Nation Came Into existence

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The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations" of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.
States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, and the Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now United Nations specialized agencies.
In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began work in 1902.
The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the First World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States and by a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

The UN system is often referred to as a "family" of organizations. The charter of the UN, signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945, defined six main organs of the new world body, each with specific tasks and functions. However, because it was impossible to foresee all the demands that might be made on the organization, provision was made for extending its capacities as the need arose. Thus, three of the main organs are specifically empowered to establish "such subsidiary organs" as may be considered necessary for the performance of their functions. In addition, Article 57 of the charter provides that the various specialized agencies established by intergovernmental agreement and having international responsibilities in economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields "shall be brought into relationship" with the UN. Since the signing of the charter, the UN has established numerous subsidiary organs and has entered into relationship with various independent organizations. Reproduced opposite is a chart showing the various organs and bodies within the UN system.
For assistance in interpreting the chart, a brief survey of the UN's main organs, the different categories of subsidiary organs, and the related agencies is given below. A detailed description of the functioning of each of the main organs and an account of the work of selected subsidiary organs are contained in later chapters of the first section of this volume. The structure and work of the UN specialized and technical agencies are described in the second section.