INDIA’S INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO UNITE NATIONS

STUDY GUIDE

COMMITTEE: GENERAL ASSEMBLY PLENARY

AGENDA: REFORMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS || ALTERNATE

MEANS OF FINANCING THE UNITED NATIONS

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 REFORMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations has come a long way since its inception. It faced a lot of hardships to achieve the
position it has today. From starting out as League of Nations in the year 1920, completely failing in 1939
after efforts to maintain post war peace did not prove to be fruitful to what it stands as today; ​an
intergovernmental organization founded in 1945 that is tasked to maintain international peace and
security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation and be a centre for
harmonizing the actions of nations.

It comprises of six main organs:

1) General Assembly
2) Security Council
3) Secretariat
4) International Court of Justice
5) Economic and Social Council
6) Trusteeship Council

General Assembly: ​The only body in which all UN members are represented, the General Assembly
exercises deliberative, supervisory, financial, and elective functions relating to any matter within the
scope of the UN Charter. Its primary role, however, is to discuss issues and make recommendations,
though it has no power to enforce its resolutions or to compel state action. Other functions include
admitting new members; selecting members of the Economic and Social Council, the non permanent
members of the Security Council, and the Trusteeship Council; supervising the activities of the other UN
organs, from which the Assembly receives reports; and participating in the election of judges to the
International Court of Justice and the selection of the secretary-general.

Security Council: ​The UN Charter assigns to the Security Council primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council originally consisted of 11
members—five permanent and six nonpermanent—elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
From the beginning, non permanent members of the Security Council were elected to give representation
to certain regions or groups of states. An amendment to the UN Charter in 1965 increased the council’s
membership to 15, including the original five permanent members plus 10 non permanent members.
Security Council is made up of fifteen member states, consisting of five permanent members—China,
France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for
two-year terms by the General Assembly.

Secretariat: ​The Secretariat influences the work of the United Nations to a much greater degree than
indicated in the UN Charter. It is responsible for preparing numerous reports, studies, and investigations,
in addition to the major tasks of translating, interpreting, providing services for large numbers of
meetings, and other work. Under the Charter the staff is to be recruited mainly on the basis of merit,
though there has been a conscious effort to recruit individuals from different geographic regions. The UN
Secretariat is headed by the ​Secretary-General​, assisted by the ​Deputy Secretary-General and a staff of
international civil servants worldwide.

International Court of Justice: ​The International Court of Justice, commonly known as the World
Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, though the court’s origins predate the League
of Nations. The idea for the creation of an international court to arbitrate international disputes arose
during an international conference held at The Hague in 1899. The 15 judges of the court are elected by
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the General Assembly and the Security Council voting independently. No two judges may be nationals of
the same state, and the judges are to represent a cross section of the major legal systems of the world.
Judges serve nine-year terms and are eligible for reelection. The seat of the World Court is The Hague.

Economic and Social Council: ​Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) directs and coordinates the
economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural activities of the UN and its specialized agencies. Established
by the UN Charter, ECOSOC is empowered to recommend international action on economic and social
issues; promote universal respect for human rights; and work for global cooperation on health, education,
and cultural and related areas. ECOSOC conducts studies; formulates resolutions, recommendations, and
conventions for consideration by the General Assembly; and coordinates the activities of various UN
programs and specialized agencies. Most of ECOSOC’s work is performed in functional commissions on
topics such as human rights, narcotics, population, social development, statistics, the status of women,
and science and technology; the council also oversees regional commissions for Europe, Asia and the
Pacific, Western Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Trusteeship Council: ​The Trusteeship Council was designed to supervise the government of trust
territories and to lead them to self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council, which met
once each year, consisted of states administering trust territories, permanent members of the Security
Council that did not administer trust territories, and other UN members elected by the General Assembly.
Each member had one vote, and decisions were taken by a simple majority of those present.

Subsidiary Organs: ​The United Nations network also includes subsidiary organs created by the General
Assembly and autonomous specialized agencies. The subsidiary organs report to the General Assembly or
ECOSOC or both. Some of these organs are funded directly by the UN; others are financed by the
voluntary contributions of governments or private citizens. In addition, ECOSOC has consultative
relationships with NGOs operating in economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields.
NGOs have played an increasingly important role in the work of the UN’s specialized agencies,
especially in the areas of health, peacekeeping, refugee issues, and human rights.

Specialized Agencies: ​The specialized agencies report annually to ECOSOC and often cooperate with
each other and with various UN organs. However, they also have their own principles, goals, and rules,
which at times may conflict with those of other UN organs and agencies. The specialized agencies are
autonomous insofar as they control their own budgets and have their own boards of directors, who
appoint agency heads independently of the General Assembly or secretary-general. Major specialized
agencies and related organs of the UN include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Two of the most
powerful specialized agencies, which also are the most independent with respect to UN decision making,
are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The United Nations, along with its
specialized agencies, is often referred to collectively as the United Nations system.

What are the necessary reforms in the United Nations?

Security Council Reform: ​A very frequently discussed change to the UN structure is to change the
permanent membership of the ​UN Security Council​, which reflects the power structure of the world as it
was in 1945. There are several proposed plans, notably by the ​G4 nations​, by the ​Uniting for Consensus
group, and by former UN Secretary-General ​Kofi Annan​. Many third world countries like India and Japan
at that time, have now emerged as growing superpowers and deserve to be permanent members.

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UN Secretariat Transparency Reform: ​At another level, calls for reforming the UN demand to make
the UN administration (usually called the UN Secretariat or "the bureaucracy") more transparent, more
accountable, and more efficient, including direct election of the Secretary-General by the people as in a
presidential system​. UN Secretariat/administration reforms seldom gets much attention in the media,
though within the Organization they are seen as widely contentious issues. They run the bureaucracy of
the UN, responding to the decisions by the Member States in the Security Council and the General
Assembly.

Democracy Reform: ​Another frequent demand is that the UN become "more democratic", and a key
institution of a world democracy. This raises fundamental questions about the nature and role of the UN.
The UN is not a ​world government​, rather a forum for the world's sovereign states to debate issues and
determine collective courses of action. But the very fact that a lot of decision making power lies with the
five permanent members of the Security Council and their veto makes UN a simulation of monarchy and
partiality.

Financing Reform: ​"A tax on missiles, planes, tanks, and guns would provide the UN with its entire
budget, as well as pay for all peacekeeping efforts around the world, including the resettlement of
refugees and reparations to the victims of war."
The main problem with implementing such a radical tax would be finding acceptance. Although such a
system might find acceptance within some nations, particularly those (1) with a history of neutrality, (2)
without an active military (such as Costa Rica), or (3) with lower levels of military spending (such as
Japan​, which currently spends 1% of its GDP on defense), it would be unpopular among many consumers
of arms. Nations in this latter category range from the United States, which spends 4% of its ​GDP on
defense, to dictatorships who depend on arms to keep themselves in power. Other likely opponents would
be nations engaged in ongoing military conflicts, or others in a state of heightened military alert, such as
Israel​. Arms producers would also oppose it, because it would increase their costs and possibly reduce
their consumer base.

Human Rights Reform: ​The ​United Nations Commission on Human Rights came under fire during its
existence for the high-profile positions it gave to member states that did not guarantee the human rights of
their own citizens. Several nations known to have been guilty of gross violations of ​human rights became
members of the organization, such as ​Libya​, ​Cuba​, ​Sudan​, ​Algeria​, ​China​, ​Azerbaijan and ​Vietnam​.
Meanwhile, the United States was also angry when it was ejected from the Commission in 2002. While it
was re-elected, the election of human rights-abusing nations also caused frictions. It was partly because of
these problems that Kofi Annan in the ‘In Larger Freedom’ report suggested setting up a new Human
Rights Council as a subsidiary UN body. The UNHRC has itself been criticized for the repressive states
among its membership The UNHRC has also been accused of anti-Israel bias, a particular criticism being
its focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at each session.

Calls for diversity and democracy: ​Implementation of population-based UN voting also raises the
problems of diversity of interests and governments of the various nations. The nations in the UN contain
representative democracies as well as absolute dictatorships and many other types of government.
Allowing large powers to vote their population's interests ​en bloc raises the question of whether they
would really represent the interests and desires of their individual citizens and the world community.

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 ALTERNATE MEANS OF FINANCING THE UNITED NATIONS

How is the United Nations funded?

All 193 members of the United Nations are required to make payments to certain parts of the organization
as a condition of membership. The amount each member must pay, known as its assessed contribution,
varies widely and is determined by a complex formula that factors in its gross national income and
population.These mandatory contributions help fund the United Nations’ regular budget, which covers
administrative costs and a few programs, as well as peacekeeping operations. The United States pays 22
and 28 percent of these budgets, respectively. Assessed dues also finance other UN bodies, including the
International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Trade Organization.

Members may also make voluntary contributions. Many UN organizations, such as the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), and the World Food Program (WFP), rely entirely on discretionary funding.

What are the alternate means to fund the United Nations?

The UN has accumulated a wealth of experience over the past decade with system-wide development,
humanitarian and recovery pooled funds. This experience has highlighted that pooled funds can be
powerful mechanisms for better positioning the UN system to deliver the 2030 Agenda, as part of a
portfolio of financing instruments. Funding drives change and well-designed collective funding can drive
collective action and UN reforms. At the same time, they have potential drawbacks and could create new
inefficiencies if not done right. The strength and success of UN-pooled financing instruments will depend
on the capacity of the UN system at three levels: fund design and administration, fund operations and
fund implementation. To leverage the potential benefits and limit the potential drawbacks, upfront
investment in fund design will save time, increase the likelihood of capitalization, lower transaction costs
and increase impact.

The analysis presented in the previous section points to a number of features that pooled funding
mechanisms should present. These include:

1. Objectives that spell out the added value and complementary of the pooled financing instrument
vis-à-vis alternative financing solutions and link its financing strategy with the policy and programmatic
strategies;

2. A robust theory of change and result framework that capture the transformative impacts that a pooled
funding mechanism seeks to bring about and facilitate reporting arrangements, minimizing transaction
costs and leading to effective fund allocation for results.

3. Transparent risk and fund management systems that are IATI compliant and include streamlined
governance arrangements; and

4. A clear resource mobilization strategy that leverages and complements agency based mechanisms. To
increase the likelihood of capitalization and further reduce transaction costs, efforts should be made to
consolidate small pooled funds into fewer and larger UN funds at the global, regional and country levels.

In addition, there is a need to invest in the capacity of the UN system and partners to identify, access,
combine and sequence the right type of financing instruments to meet national priorities across the
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humanitarian development contiguum. This will require support to UN managers on different financing
options at the global, regional and country levels; the comparative advantages and drawbacks of these
options; when inter-agency pooled financing mechanisms are likely to be the most appropriate vehicles;
and how to deploy and access these mechanisms in the most effective manner. This could be part of the
2016 UNDAF guidance. Given the rapid evolution in pooled financing instruments and the increasing
range of fund modalities employed by the WB, EU and perhaps other development partners in the future,
the UN system’s coordination mechanisms should be strengthened to ensure that innovation, quality
assurance and communication around UN pooled financing mechanisms and financing-for-purpose is not
a once-off, but an ongoing process. Such that it would encourage the development of new business
solutions, especially in response to country-led demand, and also focus on improving the UNDG’s
capacity to strategically approach pooled funding.

An option would be to adjust the role and scope of relevant UNDG Working Groups as part of the UNDG
architecture review in the last quarter of 2016. It is also recognized that pooled funds represent only a
small component of the broader UNDS response required to bridge the SDGs financing gap. Accordingly,
UNDG Principals may consider conducting a more comprehensive analysis and review of the evolving
development financing landscape to identify complementary financing solutions for implementing the
SDGs in an integrated manner together with IFIs, private sector, key donors and other engaged
stakeholders.

SUGGESTED MODERATED CAUCUS TOPICS

1. Need for reforms in the UN.

2. Reforms in the Secretariat.
3. Need to keep a check on the internal biases in the UN.
4. Reforms in UNSC.
5. Reforms for an inclusive voting.
6. Alternate means of financing the UN.
7. Equal contributions by all member states.
8. Regulations required for the Funding of UN.
9. Need for Financial independency for the UN.
10. Use of Aid provided to the UN.

RESEARCH LINKS
1. https://www.un.org/reform
2. http://www.centerforunreform.org/
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20060812032920/http://www.reformtheun.org/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Progress_Organization
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928235233/http://www.fname.info/aisp/fr/index.php?option=co
m_content&task=view&id=6 &itemid=8
6. http://www.uniteddemocraticnations.org/
7. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/165568/indian-lead-un-change-management.html
8. https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sga1295.doc.htm
9. https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/67/226
10. https://www.globalpolicy.org/global-taxes/alternative-financing-for-the-un.html
11. https://betterworldcampaign.org/us-un-partnership/importance-of-funding-the-un/un-budget-proce
ss/
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 12. https://qz.com/1396994/where-does-the-un-get-its-money-a-simple-explanation-of-a-complex-sys
tem/
13. https://www.globalpolicy.org/un-finance/tables-and-charts-on-un-finance/the-financing-of-the-un-
programmes-funds-and-specialized-agencies.html
14. https://www.cfr.org/article/funding-united-nations-what-impact-do-us-contributions-have-un-agen
cies-and-programs
15. https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/foreign-policy/international-organizations/un/un-funding.
html
16. https://research.un.org/en/docs/uncharter/unreform
17. https://www.globalpolicy.org/un-reform/un-reform-initiatives.html
18. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/08/3-reforms-the-un-needs-as-it-turns-70/
19. https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/united-nations-security-council-reform
20. http://sdg.iisd.org/news/un-secretary-general-appoints-special-adviser-on-reforms/
21. http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/new-year-new-united-nations-structural-reforms-begi
n/
22. http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/september-2018-update-on-un-reform-processes/
23. https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/05/1011111
24. https://reform.un.org/content/development-reform
25. https://reform.un.org/news/united-nations-management-reform-why-reform

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