World Bank

The United Nations has a provision for providing financial assistance and monetary relief for member states. These organizations are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Both the World Bank and the International Monetary fund were products of the Bretton Woods Agreement which took place in 1945, approximately around the time the United Nations was created. Initially the purpose of the Bretton Woods Agreement was to raise and distribute funds in order to reconstruct a post WWII war-torn Europe. There are some key differences between the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and it is important to be able to differentiate between the two. Though they are always grouped together, they each serve certain key purposes.

The World Bank is a financial institution that provides financial and technical assistance to developing nations for programs such as bridges, roads, school, etc. World Bank loans are ultimately meant to reduce poverty in these nations. The World Bank is broken up into two sub-institutions: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association. As previously mentioned, the primary reason for the World Bank at the time of its creation was to help rebuild a devastated Europe, therefore the first loan given out by the World Bank was $250 Million to France to help rebuild their country after WWII. Its duties and purposes have naturally grown over the years to incorporate many other needs.

Currently, the World Bank is directing most of its focus towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by lending mostly to “middle income nations” with fairly low interest rates. The World Bank recognizes five key factors as necessary additions for economic growth and the creation of a better business environment. These factors are to strengthen government/educate government officials, create infrastructure, develop financial systems, fight corruption, and finally to offer a forum for research, consulting, and training programs.

The purpose of the World Bank is to provide financial assistance; they do this in the form of loans and grants. Loans come in two types: investment loans and developmental policy loans. Investment loans are meant to support economic and social development projects and developmental policy loans provide quick disbursing finance to support countries’ policy and intuitional reforms. The World Bank will also issue grants to enable countries to enact development programs. Grants are typically used for debt relief, improving sanitation and water supply, combating HIV/AIDS, supporting civil society organizations, and help with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The International Monetary Fund is an institution that oversees the global financial system by following macroeconomic policies of its member countries in regards to topics such as exchange rates and the balance of payments. The International Monetary fund was created in order to stabilize foreign exchange rates and facilitates developments. Like the World Bank, it also offers financial and technical assistance to its members; however the International Monetary Fund is a lender of last resort. The International Monetary Fund’s main goals are to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment, sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. To be a member of the International Monetary Fund there are several terms that the member states adhere to such as membership fees and voting rights. The International Monetary Fund will also advise and make recommendations to member countries to improve their economies. During this economic climate, the International Monetary Fund is being called upon more and more for financial assistance.

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are financial institutions that transcend borders however; there are differences to be noted. World Bank is mostly associated with loans and grants while the International Monetary Fund is the epicenter of the global monetary system.

United States Ambassador to the United Nations

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the face of America at the United Nations General Assembly. The United States has a permanent position in the United Nations General Assembly; therefore this is an incredibly important role in international diplomacy.

Former United States Ambassadors to the United Nations have been prominent U.S. politicians and diplomats. Past United States Ambassadors to the United Nations include Henry Cabot Lodge, Adlai Stevenson, George H. W. Bush, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Madeleine Albright, and Bill Richardson. In the Clinton administration, the position of United States Ambassador to the United Nations was a cabinet level position; it is the same way under Obama’s administration as well; it was not a cabinet position under George W. Bush. The incumbent United States Ambassador to the United Nations under Obama’s administration is Susan Rice. Prior to being the United States Ambassador to the United Nations she was the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Adviser to President Clinton on national security, and the Foreign Policy Advisor to the presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, and Barack Obama.

In this position, Susan Rice will be one of the most well known faces in Obama’s administration to the outside world. As the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice will be a strong and forceful advocate of stronger action. She has been especially vocal about the crisis in Darfur, and it is on her agenda to stop the killings. This is an especially delicate position for Susan Rice, after the Bush administration left United States relations with the UN somewhat tense. Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton under the Bush administration did not offer a comment about Obama’s selection but did voice some concern that it was going to be a cabinet level position. According to John Bolton, it will overstate the importance the United Nations should have on United State foreign policy.

It really must be reiterated that during this time, the selection of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations is quite integral. The Bush administration left a slightly sour taste in their mouth with disregard for many recommendations. One of the most well known United States Ambassadors to the United Nations under the Bush administration was John Bolton and as mentioned in the quote above his views towards to United Nations are not very positive. In fact, John Bolton has been a staunch critic of the United Nations for a large part of his career. His exact words are: “There is no such thing as the United Nations, There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States.” Naturally, those views don’t go very far in an international body where countries are all considered equal. Therefore, selecting the United States Ambassador to the United Nations is a very important decision and it is important that the new representative is somebody who is willing to work with the United Nations to reach a general consensus instead of viewing America as the sole power. The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is a very critical role as it represents America to the international community. The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is essentially our ambassador to the world in many ways, therefore one cannot underestimate the value of this decision and the responsibility that Susan Rice has.

The United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization which “aims to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieving world peace.” The United Nations was founded in 1945 after WWII and it replaced the League of Nations. The purpose of the United Nations during its creation was to end wars between nations and give countries a forum for dialogue between each other. The United Nations currently boasts 192 member states, which includes nearly every recognized independent state in the world. The United Nations has its headquarters in New York City and the building is considered international territory. The United Nations is divided into five administrative bodies; The General Assembly which is the main deliberative body, the Security Council which decides certain resolutions for peace and security, The Economic and Social Council which aids in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development, the Secretariat which provides studies, information and facilities needed by the United Nations, and last but certainly not least is the International Court of Justice which serves as the primary judicial organ.

The United Nations was the successor to the League of Nations which was for the most part considered to be an incompetent organization and was not an effective governing body. In April of 1954, the United Nations Conference of International Organization began in San Francisco. 50 governments and many non governmental organizations such as Rotary International and Lions Clubs International all helped in drafting the Charter of the United Nations. In October of 1945 the United Nations became official after the Charter of the United Nations was ratified by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and by a majority of the 46 other member states. These countries in the United Nations Security Council were France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The first meeting of the General Assembly took place in Westminster Central Hall in London, the location has since moved to the United Nations building in New York City.

The United Nations has had considerable success in the social arena, fostering human rights, economic development, decolonization, health, education, assisting refugees, and ensuring fair trade. The United Nations is quite remarkable, as they were able to garner such support and confidence from the very beginning. While there have still been wars, threats on international security, genocides, and a slew of other problems one cannot dismiss the effect that the United Nations has had. There may always be problems, however they would be magnified and multiply if it weren’t for international bodies such as the United Nations and their ability to facilitate discussion and dialogue among member states.

United Nations

The United Nations is an organization that includes every government on earth. Each country in the United Nations is referred to as a member state and form the United Nations General Assembly. The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five man facets of the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly oversees the budget of the UN, appoints the non-permanent members of the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the UN, and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. The United Nations General Assembly meets under its president or secretary general in regular yearly sessions from September to December. Though those are the usual meeting times, they reconvene for special and emergency sessions. The United Nations General Assembly will vote on important world decisions such as recommendations on peace and security, election of members to organs, admission, suspension, and expulsion matters.

The General Assembly will vote n many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These resolutions are usually symbolic statements surrounding a world issue; they can range anywhere to the proliferation of arms to ending genocide. A major disadvantage to the United Nations General Assembly is the lack of a legal and binding contract. While the United Nations General Assembly is representative of the international community, they have no real authority in enforcing laws and resolutions. However, the United Nations General Assembly does have a great deal of power and the notion that they are an organization that cannot enforce anything is false and should be disregarded. Furthermore, the United Nations General Assembly have the authority to take final decisions in areas such as the budget, but resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly may also be constitutive or proof of international customary law and therefore binding on the member states.

Within the United Nations General Assembly, there are six main sub committees; The First Committee: Disarmament and International Security, The Second Committee: Economic and Financial, The Third Committee: Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian, The Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonization, The Fifth Committee: Administrative and Budgetary, and The Sixth Committee: Legal.

While there are regularly scheduled meetings for the United Nations General Assembly, they may convene for special sessions. For instance, they may meet at the request of the United Nations Security Council; another special session was for the Millennium Development Goals. There are also emergency special sessions that convene during times of urgency and will meet many times within the next one or two days regarding matters of international peace and security.

The United Nations General Assembly is truly a stunning body of people and we owe them a great deal for being able to change the world. While there many always be problems in the world, the United Nations General Assembly has been able to thwart certain issues from coming into play and it has also offered a forum for world leaders to discuss matters at hand and attempt to resolve any problems they may have.

United Nations

The United Nations Security Council is one of the main organizations in the United Nations and their main duty is to maintain international peace and security. The exact responsibilities and power of the United Nations Security Council has been outlined in the United Nations Charter. The United Nations Security Council has authority in matters of establishing peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action.

The United Nations Security Council consists of five permanent members; these are China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and United States. As a member of the United Nations Security Council, these countries have the power to veto any resolution. The five members of the United Nations Security Council were countries that emerged victorious after WWII. Furthermore, the members of the United Nations Security Council are also the only members that have been recognized for their possession of nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, although this is not a prerequisite or condition. There are also rotating positions in the United Nations Security Council. There are ten non permanent members in the United Nations Security Council and they are chosen based on various regions of the world. At some point or another, almost every United Nations member county is a member of a regional grouping.

The ten non permanent members serve two year terms and half are replaced each year in annual elections. Each region votes for its own representatives and the United Nations General Assembly will approve the selections. From January 1st, 2008 to December 31st 2009 are Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya, and Vietnam. The other five members started on January 1st, 2009 and will end their term on December 31st, 2010; these countries are Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and Uganda. The president of the Security Council has to set the agenda, preside at its meetings and oversee any crisis. The president of the Security Council also has to authority to issue both presidential statements and notes, which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue. The Presidency rotates monthly in alphabetical order of the Security Council member nations. One of the most important powers of the United Nations Security Council is the power they have over decisions. According to the United Nations Charter, Security Council decisions on all substantive matters require the affirmative votes of nine out of fifteen members. A negative vote or veto by a permanent member prevents the adoption of a proposal even if it has already received the nine affirmative votes. Their veto power is for lack of a better term, a perk of being a member of the Security Council. Being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council gives you a great deal of influence in international proceedings therefore there have been many bids from countries to become permanent members. There has been discussion of increasing the number of permanent members. The countries who have made the strongest bids as of now are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan. This situation is still being discussed.

The United Nations Security Council is a very powerful body and must be respected as their decisions will have a significant influence in the world.

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that was put forth by the United Nations. All 192 United Nation member states, and a minimum of 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by 2015. The Millennium Development goals include “reducing extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.” The United Nations General Assembly convened for a special session to discuss the Millennium Development Goals in 2001.

The Millennium Development Goals were put forth after the United Nations recognized the need to help developing nations more aggressively. The Millennium Development Goals aim to prompt development by improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The Millennium Development Goals were a result of prior international development targets and were officially established at the Millennium Summit in 2000, where all world leaders present adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
There are 8 main chapters to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals which are: “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development.”

Progress towards these Millennium Development Goals has been somewhat uneven; some countries have achieved many of the goals while others may not achieve any. Some countries that have come very far in this quest are China and India. China has cut its poverty population from 452 million to 278 million. India has clear internal and external factors of population and economic development. However, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are the most in need of change but they are also the furthest from it.

There have also been certain steps taken by the international community to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals put forth by the United Nations. In efforts to accelerate this process, in June of 2005 G-8 Finance Ministers met in London to reach an agreement to provide enough funds to the United Nations organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, and the African Development Bank to cancel and additional $40-55 billion debt owed by members of the HIPC. With funding from the G-8 countries, the World Bank, the IMF, and the ADB each endorsed the Gleaneagles plan and implemented the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative to effectuate the debt cancellations. With that move, many countries are one step closer to achieving some Millennium Development Goals.

While the progress of achieving the Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations has been uneven and many countries have ways to go the creation of this document is extremely important. Organizations such as the United Nations are in a position to motivate other countries to make some changes and make efforts to better themselves. The United Nations has developed specific goals covering a large range of issues as it is truly a magnificent stepping stone that all countries should aspire to.