United Nations: Perspectives on Reforms and International Organizations

Introduction The United Nations appears to be the most refined and efficacious incarnation of the idea of international organizations. Contextualized in the theoretical formulations provided by classical liberal and realist perspectives of IR, The United Nations has emerged out to be the optimum common ground for the two mutually competing theories. For the liberals, the materialization of the phenomenon of international organization seems to be the bare minimum requirement in paving the way for a peaceful world order, underpinned by the prospects for the elimination of war with a preference for democracy over aristocracy, free trade over autarky, and collective security over the balance of power system.

Realist Perspective of International Organizations In contrast to the liberals, for the realists, international organizations mark the maximum leverage in bringing about an order in the essentially anarchical international system characterized by the unavoidable ingredients of power politics like inviolable state sovereignty, balance of power and limited war. A significant aspect of the structure and functioning of the UN in the last more than seven decades has been the feeling amongst the member states that several, if not all, of the UN organs and processes have turned out to be archaic, dysfunctional and, therefore, no more in sync with the changing imperatives of the times and the dynamics of international politics.

Two Perspectives on the Nature, Type and Depth of Reforms in the UN Firstly, the member states do not agree on the nature and types of reforms in the organs like the Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Secretariat. i. While for countries like the United States, the overriding need for reforms is most in the organs like the ECOSOC and the Secretariat, mainly in terms of scaling down the scope and reach of the UN on the one hand, and minimizing the administrative and operational cost of the world body. ii. On the other, the most pressing demand of the developing countries has been the democratization of the UN on the one hand, and expansion in the scope and depth of the socio-economic developmental activities of the UN on the other.

Two Perspectives(contd.) Secondly, the protagonists of reforms in the UN focus themselves on the ideas of the scope and dimensions of the reforms: While certain countries like the developed ones stand for piece-meal reforms in the UN, the developing countries would like the reforms to encompass all the organs of the UN so as to recast the international body according to the needs of the twenty first century. The entire reforms process in the UN can be discussed under two heads: reforms of a political nature and the reforms in the socio-economic realm. The reforms under the first category encompass the reforms initiated, primarily in the structures and the workings of the Security Council. The General Assembly has also been brought within the ambit of the reform process of the UN.

Reforms of a Political Nature The process of the reforms began with the 1992 path-breaking report of the secretary general Boutros Boutros Ghali entitled An Agenda for Peace , in which he had mainly dealt with the peace keeping operations of the UN, to the underplaying, if not total neglect, of the reforms in the structures of the Security Council, ostensibly under the US pressure. In the wake of the latest round of parleys on the modalities for the expansion and streamlining of the functioning of the Security Council in 2007, numerous rounds of discussions have been undertaken. A slew of reform packages in the form of the proposals like G-4, etc., have also been evolved to democratize the structure of the Security Council and fine-tune its functioning by reforming the veto provisions so as to make it a true forum for the maintenance of international peace and security in the twenty-first century.

Reforms in the Socio-economic Realm The second category of reforms involve the organs and activities whose purpose is to bring about transformations in the socio-economic profile of the world by the extension of the basic needs of life to people across the world without any discrimination. Under the pressure of the US and other developed countries, who aim at cost cutting and sometimes undermining of the autonomous functioning of the UN, the reforms under this category have only been confined to organs like the ECOSOC and the Secretariat.

Structure of the UN Six Principal Organs- the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Secretariat. The two organs that form the nucleus of the UN are the General Assembly and the Security Council. The two may be compared to the legislative and the executive wings of a national government. Though the Security Council has markedly been accorded a superior position in terms of taking binding decisions, the dynamics of the Cold War for a fairly long period of time had rendered it very ineffective. Even in present times, the Security Council has not been able to act as a formidable apparatus for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Uniting for Peace Resolution, 1950 Thus, in the face of such ineffectiveness of the Security Council, sometimes the onus of responsibility to pronounce the opinion of the global humanity and persuade the parties to the dispute to maintain peace, falls on the General Assembly. The Uniting for Peace Resolution, 1950, passed to tide over the difficulties that arose due to the Big Power veto in the Security Council, is one such example, which enabled the General Assembly to deal with a situation which could not be resolved by the Security Council owing to the parochial-interest driven misuse of the veto power.

General Assembly: the Plenary Organ The idea of the General Assembly is to act as the plenary organ of the UN where all member states, irrespective of their size, population, socio-economic development, and military and financial prowess, are represented on an equal footing with the entitlement for one vote. The extent of its powers and functions, as described in Article 10 of the Charter, includes discussing, any question or any matter, within the scope of the present Charter (UN Charter Article 10). In addition to acting as a platform where all the issues can be debated, with participation from all the member-states of the UN, the General Assembly also happens to be the mother-organ for some major organs.

General Assembly:(contd.) The General Assembly is the mother-organ for other major organs like the ECOSOC and the Trusteeship Council in total, and the Security Council and the Secretariat in part, by electing the members of these bodies, along with the Secretary General. This position is further reinforced with the General Assembly receiving and considering the annual and special reports from these organs. Significantly, in the wake of the reforms initiated in the UN, the position of the General Assembly is proposed to be converted into that of General Assembly Parliamentary Forum, according to the proposals mooted in 2005.

The Security Council It is considered to be the most critical organ of the UN, created to function on a permanent basis to discharge its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. Designed to work in accordance with the doctrine of collective security, the structure of the Security Council is so provided as to reflect the real situation of world politics while providing a fair share of representation to all countries. However, the crux of the Security Council s functioning lies in the assumption of great power unity. As this has not been forthcoming, the Security Council has proved to be a dysfunctional organ of the UN, resulting into the decline in its stature and role.

Security Council in the Post-Cold War Scenario In the post-Cold War scenario, though the Security Council is trying to salvage its image of a deadwood, the success on this front is limited owing to the persistence of the Cold- War mindset amongst the big five on the one hand, and their failure to reform the Security Council to reflect the realities of the new millennium on the other.

The ECOSOC The creation of the ECOSOC underlined the realization amongst the founders of the UN that lasting peace and security in all parts of the world is not secured by only political and military stability but also includes high standards of living, full employment, and the conditions of economic and social progress and development. The ECOSOC is responsible for the creation of conditions of stability and well-being, which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations, by seeking solutions of international economic, social, health and other humanitarian problems. Besides, it is also responsible for promoting universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The ECOSOC (contd.) Functioning under the authority of, and responsible to, the General Assembly, the ECOSOC s fundamental duty is to coordinate the activities of various specialized agencies, engaged in numerous fields to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the masses in all parts of the world. The modus operandi of the ECOSOC lies in making or initiating studies, and reporting with respect to international economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matters and making recommendations to the General Assembly. In order to expand its reach, both spatially and sectorally, a number of commissions, known as regional and functional commissions, have been established under the authority of the ECOSOC.

Commissions Within the ECOSOC The most important of these commissions include Economic, Employment and Development Commission, Population Commission, Commission on Human Rights, and Commission of Status of Women; as well as the Economic Commission for Asia and Far East and Economic Commission for Latin America. In the end, the ECOSOC is also tasked with coordinating the activities of numerous specialized agencies and the Non-Governmental Organizations working in different fields of socio-economic development.

The Trusteeship Council, the ICJ and the Secretariat These three organs of the UN have either been not allowed to gain prominence by the member states or ceased to remain prominent due to the non-accomplishment of the tasks in hand, with the exception of the position of the Secretary General, who, despite remaining an irritant in the eyes of one super power or other during the Cold-War years, and to some extent even in the post-Cold-War years as well, has remained the conscience-keeper of the UN in the eyes of the common man.

Achievements of the UN Socio-economic issues pertaining to the vulnerable sections like children, women, the disabled, minorities, refugees and displaced persons as well as pathetic conditions poverty, hunger and diseases such as HIV, polio, etc., have attracted the attention of the UN to evolve a common and universally acceptable strategy to deal with the problems in hand. A landmark dimension in the socio-economic perspectives of the UN functioning have been added by the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September 2000, aimed at achieving time bound targets for reducing poverty, disease, hunger, literacy and gender discrimination, to be achieved by 2015.

Eight Formidable Goals (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; and (8) develop global partnership for development. The MDGs open a new vista in terms of providing the bare minimum needs of the people in all countries of the world. What is more reassuring, however, is the close monitoring and the stupendous efforts being made to realize these goals.

World Summit to Review the Progress in 2005 A World Summit was called at the UN Headquarters in New York on 14-16 September 2005, in order to review the progress made in the achievement of these goals. Further, the Millennium Development Goals - a report, presented in 2006, called for the renewed and concerted efforts for the countries mainly in Africa and certain others in Asia to realize the dreams of achieving a dignified life for all.

Children Children constitute the most vulnerable segment in society owing to their acute helplessness in self- sustaining themselves. Neglect of children would not only be a heinous crime against humanity but would also subvert the future of humanity. The issues confronting the rights of children range from pre-natal sex-determination and selective abortions to the problems of malnutrition, impoverishment, and improper physical and mental growth assuming alarming proportions in underdeveloped countries. From early adolescence, children are also subjected to the prohibited forms of child labour, servitude and rampant sexual abuse.

Children (contd.) The United Nations Children s Emergency Fund was created in 1946 which is now the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF). In 1959 the Declaration on the Rights of the Child was the first UN statement devoted exclusively to the rights of children, though this declaration served more as a moral, than a legally binding framework. As a result of this shortcoming the International Year of the Child in 1979 could, still, not provide the children the love and care they deserve. It took many years for the UN to knit together all the pronouncements in the form of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1989, setting international standards and measures intended to protect and promote the well being of children in society.

Vienna Convention on Childrens Rights Finally, a Convention on Children s Rights was adopted at Vienna in 1993, emphasizing upon the special care and assistance for children and a need to create an environment in society conducive to their healthy growth and development so that they are able to live securely and realize their full potential in life. In pursuance of the UN Convention, many, if not all, countries in the world have devised and implemented momentous child welfare schemes, programmes, policies and laws. However, despite these measures, the situation of children in many parts of the world continues to be grim.

Women The incorporation of women s perspectives and lives into human rights standards and practices is a recognition of the dismal failure of countries worldwide to accord women the human dignity and respect that they deserve simply as human beings. But initially the UN looked at women s issues from the general human rights perspectives. A new beginning, in this regard, was made with the holding of the First Women s Conference in 1975 in Mexico City, leading to the declaration of the UN Decade for Women from 1976 to 1985. Subsequently, world conferences were called at Copenhagen in 1980 and Nairobi in 1985 to evaluate the status of women and to formulate the strategies for women s advancements.

The UN Commission on the Status of Women Despite the international conferences on women issues the alarming global dimensions of targeted violence against women were not explicitly acknowledged by the international community till 1992 when in September the UN Commission on the Status of Women established a special working group. Based on the recommendations of this group the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in December 1993. Subsequently, in order to strengthen the institutional mechanism for the betterment of the conditions of the women, a number of bodies like the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, National Commission for Women and the State Commissions for Women were created in a number of countries.

The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 This conference adopted an agenda on the human rights of women, signaling the successful mainstreaming of women s rights as human rights. Most of the countries including India, being a prominent participant in this conference, pledged to abide by the platform for action on alleviating the conditions of women. The performance of the governments across the world, on their domestic fronts, however, betrays the pledges given at the international forum. The increasing incidents of violence and crime against women bear testimony to the stark reality of the wide gap between theory and practice.

Need of a Holistic Approach The definite way out is to adopt a holistic approach to the problem, leading to attitudinal change in policy and perspective which in turn should lead to legal reforms, remedial measures at the level of public policy and institutional arrangements along with a greater focus on socio-economic problems faced by women. In 2000, the adoption of the MDGs again brought the issues of women development to the forefront to not only ensure the basic minimum health protection for women in the developing countries but also to secure an equality of status and opportunities for women so that they can be empowered to lead from the front in the new millennium.