THE U.N. AT 50
Q: See UN as generally positive institution?
Compare to 5 years ago, 25 years ago, 50 years ago
Q: UN more or less influential after Cold War? Why?
I. General Assembly: Prin. of "sov. equality"
A. Membership more than tripled since 1945
B. More power for DC's and "micro-states"
II. Security Council: realist element
A. 5 permanent members (UK, Fr, China, SU, US)
B. 10 nonpermanent members (rotate every 2 years)
C. Big-power veto
Q: What are some of proposals on the table for changing the Security
Council to reflect the contemporary world?
-- U.S. 1995 proposal: Germany & Japan permanent members;
3 new non-permanent members (who??)
* Major hurdles: Any change in UN charter requires a 2/3
vote in the General Assembly & consent of all 5 permanent
S.C. members >> must have something for everyone.
III. Secretariat = administrative structure (New York)
A. Secretary-general: global diplomat, hands tied by states
Often convenes negotiations between warring parties
-- Peacemaking (not keeping)5-year term, usually stays for
2 terms.
Boutros-Gali says he won't seek 2nd term, so Africa wants to
keep the post another term. Nelson Mandela is most widely
respected leader in Africa, likely to back someone with a
strong human rights commitment.
IV. Specialized Agencies:
-- most of the UN's work, but invisible
A. WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, WMO, UNEP, FAO
--WHO & UNICEF wiped out smallpox, almost eradicated polio
worldwide
B. Have own budgets & secretariats
C. Conference diplomacy: Rio Earth Summit, Cairo, Beijing
-- Major participation by NGOs
Q: 1996? Habitat II in Istanbul (urban devt.)
V. Funding
A. 1993 budget approx. $2 billion
1. Less than 0.2% of world's military expenditures
($1 trillion)
B. Member sts. assessed by ability to pay
US = 25%; Big 5 contribute roughly 50% UN budget
C. Financial drain: member states far quicker to approve new
peacekeeping operations than to meet their financial commitments; UN
costs quintupled since 1992
D. U.S. owes $3.8 billion
-- Some talk that U.S. cd. lose its General Assembly vote
Q: Why can't it lose its Security Council vote?!!
*Show transparency (arrears)
VI. UN Peacekeeping missions **VIDEO clip
28 missions since 1945; more than half since 1988
Q: WHY such a huge increase? end of Cold War
A. Objectives
1. Creates norms against violence (Grotian)
2. Charter: Uphold intl. stability (realist)
3. In practice, often engage in humanitarian projects:
-- rebuild houses, run orphanages (post-intl'ist?)
B. Post-Cold war: uncharted territory
[Desert Storm (1991) -- not peacekeeping, but enforcement of UN
Resolution 678: "all nec. means"
-- only possible bec. USSR stood aside
1. El Salvador (1991): path-breaking in its human rights & election
monitoring role [in video]
-- More than a dozen countries since then have requested electoral
assistance
2. Cambodia (1993): UN adminstered during transition period
3. Haiti: peacekeepers sent to monitor human rts.
-- no clear threat to intl. peace & security;
humanitarian intervention w/o consent of parties
4. Yugoslavia: Key to UN's success has always been the readiness of
parties to cooperate >> no peace to keep
-- Dayton Peace Accord: 60,000 NATO troops take over from UN forces
Like Persian Gulf War, shows U.S. leadership
Q: Did UN fail? All decisions made by sov. sts.
5. Mozambique (1995): Apparent success story
While world's attn. fixed on Bosnia, U.N. brought 1st elections to
war-torn Mozambique in its history
C. Future of UN Peacekeeping
1. Traditional reliance on consent of parties may be eroded: siege
of Sarajevo; starvation in Somalia; Haiti
>> Ethics becoming part of IR?
2. More humanitarian intervention
3. Hostile regime in Russia could jeopardize post-Cold War consensus
(return to bipolar paralysis)
4. U.S. Republicans' Ntl. Defense Revitalizatn Act:
-- would unilaterally deduct cost of related mil. activities
(like flights over Iraq) from U.S. dues.
-- Jesse Helms holding up votes on START & Chemical W's.
treaties until Senate votes on NDRA (Clinton opposes)
** Big gap: UN respects state sovereignty; doesn't get
involved in intra-state conflicts (civil wars), wh. is where most
violent conflicts are.
EXs??: Chechnya, E. Timor, Guatemala, Afghanistan
UN caught between states & people.
UN Charter prohibits interference in internal affairs of states; yet
there may be universal human values that must be enforced by the
intl. community.
Q: In what respects has UN peacekeeping in the post-Cold War era differed from peacekeeping during the Cold War?
-- Give ex's to support generalizations; don't need sentences