The United Kingdom
in the United Nations
Presented to Parliament
by the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
by Command of Her Majesty
September 2003
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PREFACE BY THE
FOREIGN SECRETARY
Though the United
Nations is rarely out of the news, too little is known about all
that it does, and of the United Kingdoms important
contribution to its work. With the UK assuming the Presidency of
the Security Council this month, and the new September
Parliamentary Session and the General Assembly later this month,
I decided earlier in the summer that there should be an annual
report to Parliament about "the United Kingdom in the United
Nations". This is the first edition because of this
it necessarily involves more background and history than
subsequent reports will need to include.
During my period as
Foreign Secretary, the work of the Security Council and of many
agencies has been dominated by the shock waves caused by the
worlds worst ever terrorist outrage on 11th September 2001.
Mostly there is agreement about what to do next; sometimes
as on Iraq earlier this year there is not. But always the
UN is relevant, key to the peaceful resolution of conflict. And I
have in this period been able to witness the inspired leadership
of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, and the high professionalism
of his staff.
Whilst so many have lost
their lives as victims of terrorism, many of us I think imagined
that the UN the worlds agency for peace might
at least not be targeted. That belief was, however, rudely
shattered on August 19th, when a huge bomb at the UN Headquarters
in Baghdad killed 22, injured over 100, and led to a scaling down
of all work by humanitarian agencies in Iraq. Amongst the victims
was Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-Generals Personal
Representative and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a most
distinguished international public servant, and one Briton, Fiona
Watson, serving as a political affairs officer, and known
personally to many members of the
Commons for her work as
a Researcher in the International Section of the Library. We
mourn the loss of Mr de Mello, Miss Watson and all those others
who perished on 19th August, and salute their
dedication and courage. Never has the UN been more needed.
Jack Straw
Secretary of State for Foreign
& Commonwealth Affairs - September 2003
I INTRODUCTION
- This command paper
describes the full range of the United Nations
activities and the United Kingdoms involvement in
them. It briefly surveys the UKs contribution to
the UN over the 58 years of the organisations
history. And it concludes by setting out a vision for UN
reform in the future (Part IV). The paper will
demonstrate three themes.
- Firstly, the United
Nations is an enormously varied and active organisation
across almost all fields of human endeavour: political,
economic, social, human rights, environmental, medical
and even meteorological. Secondly, the UK is and has
always been a very active member of the organisation.
With France, we are the only major power to have been a
member of both the League of Nations (the UNs
pre-war predecessor) and the United Nations throughout
the entire history of those two organisations. Thirdly,
the UN is a dynamic and constantly changing organisation,
which has adapted remarkably well to meet the changes in
the world since its foundations in 1945 and which needs
to continue to change if it is to remain healthy and
dynamic for the foreseeable future.
- The United Kingdom
played a critical role in the creation of the United
Nations. It was discussions between Winston Churchill and
Franklin Roosevelt aboard HMS Princeof Wales and USS
Augusta in August 1941 that produced the Atlantic
Charter, the first set of principles outlining a shape
for the post-war order. British, American and Soviet
representatives held the Dumbarton Oaks conversations
three years later, at which most of the core elements of
the United Nations organisation were agreed. And British
ministers and diplomats again occupied central positions
in the negotiations at the San Francisco Conference in
April 1945, at which the United Nations Charter was
signed. The United Nations that emerged accorded closely
with British desires for an
- organisation strong
and inclusive enough to provide order, yet flexible and
realistic in the face of existing power realities.
- The aims of the UN, as defined in 1945, include the
maintenance of international peace and security, a
reaffirmation of faith in fundamental human rights, the
establishment of conditions for justice and international
law and the promotion of economic and social development.
These aims sit well with UK priorities today
security, prosperity and a better quality of life
world-wide. Self-evidently, the delivery of these aims
requires a system of global governance, such as only the
UN provides. And today, as the pace of globalisation
increases, the UN is more relevant and necessary than
ever as a means of resolving the global challenges that
face humanity. Growing international communication and
inter-dependence, creating both opportunities and
frustrations, produce an ever more pressing need for an
international organisation that provides effective
institutions of global governance, encourages productive
exchanges between nations and seeks to ensure that the
benefits of globalisation are widely shared.
- The first meetings of the United Nations were held in
London, before its move to New York. The first session of
the General Assembly was held in Central Hall Westminster
on 10 January 1946. With British diplomat Gladwyn Jebb
(later Lord Gladwyn) acting as Secretary-General the
United Nations was duly inaugurated, and the first
General Assembly President and Secretary-General elected.
One week later the Security Council met for the first
time, in Church House, Westminster, with the Soviet
presence in Iran immediately on the agenda. In 1947 two
dedicated divisions were set up within the Foreign Office
to handle United Nations issues, covering political and
economic aspects respectively.
- The United Kingdom
has always been a major contributor to the United Nations
and its agencies. The British influence on the founding
of the United Nations Agencies was profound. As a
Permanent Member of the Security Council, the UK was
largely excluded from participation in peacekeeping
during the Cold War. But we made a major contribution to
the United Nations force in Cyprus, and as early as the
1960s British policymakers were calling for an expansion
in the quantity and scope of peacekeeping missions. This
took concrete shape after the Cold War, with the United
Kingdom playing a significant role in the evolution of a
peacekeeping doctrine in New York and deploying troops to
United Nations and UN-mandated missions in Africa, the
Balkans and elsewhere.
- The United Kingdom has been a key player in the
development of the United Nations human rights system.
British proposals for the language setting out the United
Nations purposes and principles were incorporated into
Article 1 of the Charter with little change. The United
Kingdom then played an important role in the drafting of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, voted for it
when it came before the General Assembly in December
1948, and continued to play a prominent role in putting
the rights set out in the Declaration into legal form.
The UK also played a significant role in the drafting of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. By 1991 the United Kingdom had ratified
all six major international human rights instruments.
British involvement in applying and developing an
international criminal justice system has spanned the
United Nations era from the British judges presiding over
the first international war crimes tribunal at Nuremberg
in 1946 to the leadership role adopted by the UK in the
establishment of the International Criminal Court in
2002.
- The United
Kingdoms commitment to the United Nations is
illustrated in its impressive record of membership of
United Nations bodies. The United Kingdom has been a
member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and of
the Commission on Sustainable Development for all of
their period of operation and of the Commission on Human
Rights for all but two years. In 2003 British
representatives sit on the governing bodies of, amongst
others, the United Nations Development Programme, the
United Nations Environment Programme, the World Food
Programme, the International Labour Organisation, the
World Health Organisation, the United Nations Population
Fund, the United Nations Childrens Fund and the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. In addition the United Nations Department of
Political Affairs, the United Nations Development
Programme, and the United Nations Institute for
Disarmament Research are all currently headed by Britons:
Sir Kieran Prendergast, Mark Malloch Brown and Patricia
Lewis. The UK pays about 5.5% of the UN Regular Budget,
and makes substantial voluntary contributions to
individual bodies and programmes, making a total
contribution to the UN of approximately £600 million in
2002.
- II INTERNATIONAL
PEACE AND SECURITY
- Article 1 of the
Charter puts the maintenance of international peace and
security at the heart of the Organisations work.
The Charter entrusts primary responsibility for this task
to the Security Council. Occupying a unique place in the
international order, the fifteen members of the Council
act on behalf of the whole international community. The
Council has the power to create binding obligations on
all members of the UN.
- As a permanent
member of the Council, the UK therefore has a particular
responsibility for international peace and security. The
Government is committed to playing an active part in
every aspect of the Councils work. Our contribution
draws on the unique strengths and experience which come
from our global diplomatic network and from our
membership of the European Union, the Commonwealth, the
G8, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and other
international bodies.
-
- Since the end of
the Cold War, the Security Council has dealt with an
increasing number of complex situations in many regions
of the world. It is active over the full spectrum of
dispute and crisis management. It aims to act to prevent
disputes spilling into conflict, through encouraging
peaceful resolution of disputes, or through specific
conflict prevention measures. Where conflicts and other
threats to international security are already a reality,
the Council may employ more coercive measures, such as
sanctions or even military intervention. In post-conflict
situations, the Council can set out the framework for
disarmament and reintegration of warring parties and for
international peacekeeping and civilian policing
operations. And in many countries emerging from conflict,
the Council harnesses the efforts of the UN and the
international community to help with the restoration of
government structures, civil administration and the rule
of law.
- A united
and effective Security Council
- The fact that the
Council is entrusted with its tasks by the wider UN
membership means that its credibility is enhanced by
acting in concert. The UKs Permanent Representative
has worked with his colleagues to ensure that wherever
possible consensus can be reached on an issue. A measure
of our success in this aim is that all but one of the
forty-one resolutions adopted by the Security Council
between January and July 2003 were agreed unanimously.
- The use, or threat,
of the veto is the exception rather than the rule. The
United Kingdom, for example, has not used its veto since
1989 and has not used it alone since 1972. The Government
believes that the veto should be used with restraint and
in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.
- One of the most
closely followed issues on the Councils agenda is
Iraq. The Council became seized of Iraq/Kuwait within
hours of Saddams invasion in 1990. It has been
regularly discussed throughout the subsequent 13 years.
For most of that time the Council has been united
in condemning the invasion, in imposing sanctions, in
authorising the military action in 1991, in setting out
the terms of the subsequent cease-fire and in directing
the work of UNSCOM and later UNMOVIC. In November 2002
the Council was unanimous in adopting Security Council
Resolution (SCR)1441 which gave Iraq a final chance to
disarm. It was therefore all the more striking that the
Council was divided earlier this year, with some
permanent members threatening to use the veto, in the run
up to coalition military action. But the impression this
gave of a divided
- Council was
misleading, and the overwhelming majority of the
Councils work throughout that period was dealt with
in a united and consensual fashion.
- The existence of
the veto, however, clearly makes it important to ensure
that the five permanent members of the Council (the P5)
co-operate closely on all areas of Council business. The
UK has been keen to promote P5 co-ordination on a wide
variety of subjects. We have also encouraged the idea of
co-operation on the ground among P5 Embassies in third
countries (e.g. the Democratic Republic of Congo) where a
shared analysis of the problems can help to inform joint
decision making in New York.
- Security Council
resolutions are not the only means of action in the
Council. The Council regularly expresses its views
through statements made by the President of the Council
(these are agreed by consensus among the members). And it
also provides an important forum for public debate.
-
- The UK has
encouraged holding meetings in public more frequently,
and the use of open debates at which all members of the
United Nations can express their views. These debates
provide a valuable opportunity for the Council to hear
the concerns of other member states on subjects such as
the Middle East Peace Process. The Council has also made
use of imaginative measures to ensure involvement of
others. The use of the Arria formula where
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) may address the
Council has made its debates more relevant and informed.
- The UK has also
been in the lead in pioneering the use of Security
Council missions, enabling the Council to become a direct
actor in the countries and regions with which it deals.
The first such mission in recent times, to East Timor in
1999, gained the agreement of the Indonesian government
to the establishment of a UN mission and international
peacekeeping force. A number of missions to Africa and
other conflict-affected places have followed; some led by
the UK Permanent Representative.
- In addition, the UK
Permanent Representative holds regular briefing meetings
with a wide variety of groups within the UN membership.
These allow an exchange of views, and ensure that the
exercise of our responsibilities as a permanent member of
the Council is widely understood.
- The UK has particular responsibilities with regard to the
European Union. The Treaty on the European Union obliges
EU members of the Security Council to consult on their
positions in the Council and keep other members of the EU
informed. Arrangements to implement this obligation have
been agreed between the four EU member states currently
on the Security Council and include, for example,
meetings at the beginning of each month to identify areas
of Council business where the four countries working
together can have most impact. The Council members
provide regular briefings to the New York missions of the
other EU countries. Where the EU has agreed common
positions on subjects discussed in the Council as part of
its Common Foreign and Security Policy, we promote those
positions within the Council, without prejudice to our
responsibilities as a permanent member of the Council.
- Peaceful
resolution of disputes
- The UK is committed
to working through the UN and other bodies to prevent
violent conflict from emerging. Chapter VI of the UN
Charter gives the Security Council a particular
responsibility for putting forward proposals for the
peaceful resolution of disputes. But an important role is
also played by other parts of the UN system, not least
the Secretary-General and his Special Representatives who
can often play an important mediating role.
- Recent developments
in the Middle East Peace Process are a good example of
how the various parts of the UN can work in support of
one another, in combination with bilateral and
multilateral diplomacy, to promote peaceful settlement of
disputes. The UN Secretary-Generals representative
has worked together with the other members of the Quartet
(the EU, US and Russia) to draw up the "Road
Map" to peace. The Security Council has played a
supporting role, for example adopting resolutions in 2002
explicitly endorsing the two-state solution, Security
Council Resolution (SCR 1397), and calling for Israeli
military withdrawal from Palestinian cities (SCR 1435)
the latter based on a text sponsored by the UK and
the other European members of the Council.
- More broadly, conflict prevention activity is becoming an
increasingly important area of UN work. The UK has
supported this increased emphasis, which reflects the
priority given to conflict prevention work in our own
foreign policy goals as demonstrated by the activities of
the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)/Ministry
of Defence (MoD)/Department for International Development
(DFID) Africa and Global Conflict Prevention Pools. We
warmly welcomed the thrust of the
Secretary-Generals Report on Conflict Prevention,
published in 2001. We strongly endorse his call for the
international community to move from a culture of
reaction to a culture of prevention and supported the
adoption of the General Assembly Resolution on the
prevention of armed conflict in 2003. We also support the
linkage the Secretary-General makes between conflict
prevention, sustainable development and the attainment of
the Millennium Development Goals. We agree that the UN
will not always be the actor best placed to take the
lead. But where it is, the Security Council has a
particular responsibility. The UK believes it needs to
engage earlier in situations which may
- deteriorate into
armed conflict, and take appropriate preventive action.
- The UK has also
strongly supported giving increased attention to the
impact of conflict on women and their participation in
conflict prevention and resolution, including peace
negotiations as well as raising awareness of the positive
role that women can play in peace-building and
reconciliation. We strongly supported the adoption of SCR
1325 in October 2000 on Women, Peace and Security and are
committed to its effective implementation. This
recognised the gender dimensions of conflict, and made a
commitment to ensure that gender expertise is included in
all UN Peacekeeping missions. In a similar vein the UK
has been much involved in efforts to raise the profile of
children affected by armed conflict, including through
the adoption of Security Council resolutions in 2001 and
2003.
- International
Court of Justice (ICJ)
- While the Security
Council has a key role to play in the promotion of the
peaceful settlement of disputes, the UN Charter also
foresees that states should be able to submit their
disputes to the International Court of Justice. The ICJ
is the principal judicial organ of the UN and its Statute
is an integral part of the UN Charter.
- The Court consists
of 15 members, including one judge from the UK (Judge
Rosalyn Higgins DBE QC). Members of the Court are elected
for periods of nine years.
- The Court can be
invited to give advisory opinions, or to settle
contentious cases submitted to it by states. It also has
compulsory jurisdiction where a state has declared, under
Article 36 of the Statute, that it recognises the
jurisdiction of the Court in legal disputes as compulsory
in relation to other states accepting the same
obligation.
- The UK is alone
among the permanent members of the Security Council in
accepting the Courts compulsory jurisdiction. We
urge others to join us and to ensure that the Court has
adequate funding.
- Sanctions
- Where efforts at
peaceful resolution of disputes have failed, the Security
Council may decide to pursue more coercive measures.
Sanctions can provide a flexible and effective means of
enforcing Security Council decisions and the UK plays an
important role in the formulation, implementation and
enforcement of UN sanctions. The management of the
sanctions regimes is carried out by UN Sanctions
Committees, of which there are currently seven.
- The UK campaigns
for the more effective use of sophisticated, targeted
sanctions. This policy has resulted in notable successes.
There were difficult negotiations on consolidating
measures aimed at tackling the threat to international
peace and security posed by Al Qaida, but these
discussions culminated in the successful adoption of a
series of targeted measures (asset freeze, visa
restrictions, full scope arms embargo) in SCR 1390.
- After the conflict
in Iraq earlier this year, the reconstruction of
Iraq became an immediate priority. SCR 1483 co-sponsored
by the UK, US and Spain lifted trade sanctions and
enabled the provision of financial or economic assistance
to Iraq (revenues from oil exports and the transfer of
funds previously frozen under the sanctions regime will
go to the Development Fund for Iraq). An arms embargo
remains, as does an asset seizure on named individuals
and entities. A prohibition on trade in or transfer of
cultural or religious items believed to have been
illegally removed from Iraq has been imposed. The
resolution was wide-ranging and politically sensitive,
and it is a real achievement that it was adopted in such
a short timeframe. It was a demonstration of the
willingness of member states to work together. The
resolution was adopted with almost unanimous backing.
- Angola
(UNITA Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total
de Angola) had been subject to a specific and targeted
sanctions regime since 1997. The death of UNITAs
leader Jonas Savimbi in February 2002 and the ensuing
cease-fire in April 2002 allowed the Sanctions Committee
to revisit the restrictive measures against Angola
(UNITA). The sanctions against UNITA were broad: targeted
travel ban, asset freeze, arms embargo, mining embargo,
necessary closure of UNITA offices overseas, and
embargoes on the direct or indirect import of diamonds
without a valid Certificate of Origin. The sanctions
measures hindered UNITAs ability to participate
politically and peacefully in Angola and overseas as
there was no political forum within which they could
legally operate. The UK, working as co-sponsors with
France, lobbied for a change in the sanctions regime. The
travel ban was suspended for an initial ninety-day
period. This period of suspension was extended again for
a further ninety days, then lifted in November 2002. On 9
December 2002, SCR 1448 lifted all remaining measures to
allow UNITA full participation in the rebuilding of
Angola as a democratic society. Angola is now
experiencing fragile peace.
- The UK is committed
to appropriately targeted sanctions that are effectively
implemented and enforced. We continue to work closely
with partners to reform sanctions regimes, and in the
future we plan to use bilateral, EU and UN fora for
member states to consider UK-French proposals for a
permanent international sanctions monitoring mechanism.
- Military
Intervention
- In the case of more
severe threats to international peace and security, the
Security Council is able to authorise military
intervention to remove the threat. Such intervention is
relatively rare, and the suggestion of military action is
frequently contentious among the UN membership, except in
cases of clear aggression by one country against another,
such as the invasion of South Korea in 1950 and the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
- Following
NATOs intervention in Kosovo, the UK proposed some
guidelines for dealing with military intervention in the
face of massive and systematic violations of human
rights. We suggested that the development of a set of
pragmatic understandings on the action to be taken in
response to humanitarian crises would help the Security
Council to reach consensus when such crises occur, thus
ensuring effective and timely action by the international
community.
- Military
intervention where it happens is often only a first step.
It usually leads to a sustained international effort to
keep the peace and rebuild war-torn societies.
- Peacekeeping
and Policing
- The UK first
participated in a UN peacekeeping force in March 1964.
The mission was the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP), now in its fortieth year. Contributors
throughout, the UK currently provides 415 military
personnel to UNFICYP and we are considering the
deployment of UK civilian police to the mission.
- Since 1964, UK troops, military observers and civilian
police have served in eighteen UN missions, in Africa,
the Balkans, the Middle East and South East Asia. Most
early peacekeeping operations were in response to
inter-state conflict. In recent years, however, peace
keeping has more often addressed intra-state conflicts
where governments have been unable or unwilling to carry
out their normal peace-time functions. As well as
carrying out the "classic" or
"traditional" peacekeeping tasks of cease-fire
monitoring and provision of buffer zones between opposing
parties, UK personnel have been called upon to undertake
the full range of "complex" peacekeeping tasks.
These include the negotiation and implementation of peace
agreements, the promotion of respect for human rights,
the organisation and monitoring of elections,
disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, and reform
and capacity building of military, police and other
civilian institutions.
- In addition, the UK
has 1,267 personnel serving in Bosnia, 304 in Kosovo and
415 in Afghanistan, all UN authorised missions. There are
also three senior UK military officers serving in the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York.
- It is our
responsibility as a permanent member of the Security
Council to support the UN in its efforts to maintain
international peace and security. It is also in our
national interest to prevent and resolve conflict.
Conflict spreads and can quickly become "our
problem" as well as "their problem".
Resources are limited and over-stretched. We therefore
try to ensure that we target our resources on where we
can best add value and make a difference to the
effectiveness of UN peacekeeping.
- We have done this
in a number of different ways. In the Security Council we
have fought for clear, robust and realistic mandates for
peacekeeping missions. In the Fifth Committee, the UK has
worked to ensure that there is stricter budgetary control
and financial management of peacekeeping operations and
that missions are cost effective. In DPKO in New York and
in the field we have offered highly qualified candidates
to fill key positions, on the basis that the best
contribution we can make, given limited resources, is to
share expertise and best practice.
- The UK is currently
the fifth largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping
budget. Our share of the assessed budget is roughly 6.9%,
although this is likely to rise to around 7.4% in
financial year 2003/4. Our forecast expenditure on UN
peacekeeping, assessed and non-assessed contributions, in
this financial year, is around £191 million. This
expenditure is met from the peacekeeping element of the
joint FCO/DFID/MOD Conflict Prevention Pools, which also
meet the costs of non-UN peacekeeping (NATO, OSCE, and
EU) and conflict prevention and peace-building programme
activity. The total expenditure on peacekeeping in this
financial year under the Conflict Prevention Pools
(Africa and Global) is forecast at £380 million.
Current UK
Personnel Contribution to UN Missions
|
UK military in UN
Missions:
|
| Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 22
(7 HQ staff including Chief of Staff) |
| DRC (MONUC) 6 (all HQ
staff including Chief of Staff) |
| Ethiopia/Eritrea (UNMEE) 4
(all HQ staff including Force Comdr.) |
| Cyprus (UNFICYP) 415 (12
UNHQ; 23 UK HQ) |
| Georgia (UNOMIG) 7 (1 in
Sector HQ) |
Total 454
|
UK civilian police
in UN missions:
|
| Timor-Leste (UNMISET) 11 |
| Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 10 |
| Kosovo (UNMIK) 133 |
Total 154
|
| |
- Given our high
financial stake in UN peacekeeping and our determination
that UN peace operations should be more effective, the UK
is firmly committed to pushing forward the peacekeeping
reform process, initiated by the Brahimi Report on UN
Peace Operations of August 2000. With the endorsement of
the Prime Minister, we fully supported the package of
recommendations in the report, in particular: the
strengthening of mandates; improved co-operation and
co-ordination between UN agencies and departments; the
creation of an early warning information system; the
establishment of strategic deployment stocks at the UN
logistics base in Brindisi and the strengthening of DPKO
in New York. With the exception of the early warning
system, which was opposed by some members of the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), out of misplaced concern that
it could involve intelligence gathering, many of the
recommendations in the Brahimi Report have been
implemented.
- The UK, along with
other like-minded member states and UN DPKO, recognises
that, although much was achieved by the Brahimi Report,
much more remains to be done to improve UN peacekeeping.
Improvements in New York need to be translated into
improved operational effectiveness in the field.
- In the Special
Committee on Peacekeeping (C34) in March 2003 and in
other international fora, the UK has been promoting seven
key priorities for UN peace operations:
- Pre-deployment
training (in particular for senior mission personnel);
- Best practices and
the application of lessons learned;
- Rapid deployment
and logistics;
- Code of conduct;
- Civilian policing;
- Human resources
reform;
- Co-operation with
regional organisations, e.g. ECOWAS, to address conflict.
- These priorities
tie in with those outlined by the Under-Secretary General
for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, in his address to
the Fourth Committee in October 2002.
-
- In the last two
years we have worked closely with DPKO, and with Mr
Guehenno in particular, on how best the UK might assist
in enhancing the UNs peacekeeping and
peace-building capacity. In June 2003 Mr Guehenno visited
the UK. In addition to participating in round table
discussions on African peacekeeping and thematic
peacekeeping reform issues, Mr Guehenno took part in the
UN Reform Seminar hosted by Bill Rammell on 19 June 2003.
He also gave a speech at Chatham House on the future
challenges of UN peacekeeping and visited the Permanent
Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in Northwood, for a
demonstration on UK military planning and to see whether
UN peace operations might benefit from a similar standing
HQ arrangement.
- The UKs input
to the peacekeeping reform process is backed by the
Conflict Prevention Pools. The UN "Brahimi"
Programme Strategy under the Global Conflict Prevention
Pool (GCPP) funds activities to strengthen the capacity
of the UN to plan, manage and undertake peacekeeping and
peace-building operations. Projects developed by the UN
Strategy have included international "train the
trainer" courses for civilian police officers. Run
by Centrex (formerly the Bramshill Police Staff College)
in Accra, Gaborone, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Amman,
Budapest and Warsaw, the courses have been attended by
more than thirty existing or potential personnel
contributors to UN peace operations.
- The UN GCPP
Strategy has also funded a series of civil/military
peacekeeping exercises in Buenos Aires, Bangkok and
Dakar, with plans for a further exercise in Bangladesh
within this financial year. A number of seminars on, e.g.
the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict and the
Brahimi Report have been funded by the Strategy, as have
UK/India and UK/Pakistan peacekeeping bilaterals. A UK
peacekeeping website (www.peacekeeping.co.uk) is being
developed using GCPP funds and there are plans for an
Open University module on peacekeeping based on the
peacekeeping exercises. Under the Strategy the UK has
also funded the preparation of a UN handbook on
multi-dimensional operations and projects, designed to
raise awareness of issues affecting women when UN
operations are deployed. The GCPP Strategy will support
the development of a virtual resource centre from which
those at HQ and field level can draw information to
ensure that gender is mainstreamed into peace operations.
MOD experts have worked with DPKO to design a logistics
project for an improved warehouse management system at
the UN logistics base in Brindisi. Mr Guehenno commended
the UK for this assistance in his statement prior to the
C34 in March this year.
- A major initiative
under the UN Strategy has been the commissioning of four
comprehensive studies on the UN peace operations in
Sierra Leone, East Timor, Afghanistan and Kosovo ("A
Review of Peace Operations: A case for change",
http://ipi.sspp.kcl.ac.uk/peaceoperationsreview).
Undertaken by Kings College London (KCL) these
studies have proved to be a valuable tool in terms of
identifying next steps for improving UN peace operations.
UN DPKO has agreed to engage with UK officials to discuss
implementation of the recommendations. And DPKO has
invited the UK to contribute to a workshop which the
Training and Evaluation Service (TES) is organising in
South America in the near future.
- Post-conflict
assistance
- Peacekeeping is
just one part of the UNs contribution to rebuilding
societies recovering from conflict. Much of the wider
work is undertaken by the Funds, Programmes and
Specialised Agencies, which are described later in this
paper (Section III). The UNs involvement can vary
from a relatively small scale peace-building mission,
such as that in Guinea-Bissau (headed by a British UN
official), to the considerable assistance mission in
Afghanistan, or the full-scale Transitional
Administration which oversaw East Timors move to
independence.
- Where the Security
Council establishes UN assistance missions, the UK plays
a key role in helping to determine their mandate. The
extent of UN involvement is tailored in each case to the
needs of the particular situation. In many instances, the
UK is heavily engaged in providing political, financial
and human resources support to the UN missions.
- International
Criminal Tribunals
- An important aspect
of many post-conflict situations and in conflict
prevention measures is the need to deal with past crimes.
As a strong proponent of international justice, the UK
has been
- actively engaged in the major bodies set
up over the last decade to try individuals accused
of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Our
over-arching aim is to see enshrined the principle of
individual criminal responsibility for such crimes. At
the same time, to enjoy a wide base of public support,
international justice must be delivered efficiently and
effectively, and the UK uses its influence as a major
budget contributor and a UN Security Council member to
work for this.
- Civil wars in the
1990s resulted in unimaginable suffering for millions of
innocent people amidst violent conflicts during which
every conceivable violation of human rights and
international law was perpetrated up to and including
genocide. Because of the lack of a permanent
international court to try individuals responsible for
these tragic events, two ad hoc International Criminal
Tribunals were set up by the UN Security Council to try
those involved in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia
and Rwanda (respectively ICTY and ICTR). The
International Criminal Court (ICC), which was established
in July 2002, was set up to try individuals responsible
for the most serious international crimes: war crimes,
crimes against humanity and genocide. So far 139 states
have signed and 91 have ratified the ICC statutes.
- International
Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY)
- The ICTY was
established in 1993 by the Security Council in response
to the serious violations of international humanitarian
law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia
since 1991, and as a response to the threat to
international peace and security those violations posed.
- ICTY (and ICTR, see
below) is funded by assessed contributions levied on UN
member states. The UK contributes $7.85 million (around
£5 million) to the current US$128.5 million budget.
British citizens are engaged at all levels of work in the
tribunal. The most prominent is Judge Richard May,
Presiding Judge in the Milosevic case; Geoffrey Nice QC
is leading for the Prosecution.
- International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
- The International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established by
the Security Council in 1994. The ICTR was established
for the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide
and other serious violations of international
humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda
between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994. It may also
deal with the prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible
for genocide and other such violations of international
law committed in the territory of neighbouring states
during the same period.
- The ICTR costs
around $106 million per year. The UK contribution for the
calendar year 2003 is around $5.8 million (approximately
£4.1 million).
- There are concerns,
some of which are shared by the British Government, about
the expense of the Tribunals (each has cost around $700
million to date), the time taken to prosecute cases and
the relatively low number of prosecutions at the ICTR.
There is also some concern that the geographical distance
from the area where the crimes took place makes this a
remote and unsatisfactory form of justice for the
victims. We are working for improvements but other
factors need to be balanced. The Tribunals are dealing
with cases of great complexity and broad scope. They have
generated important, and in some cases, ground breaking
case law. The trial of former President Milosevic at ICTY
is the first time that a former Head of State is being
tried for genocide. At ICTR, Jean Kambanda became the
first former Head of Government to be convicted of
genocide. The landmark ICTR judgment in the Akayesu case
broke new ground in defining rape in international law
and by holding that rape could constitute genocide. On 28
August, the Security Council adopted SCR 1503 which
splits the post of Chief Prosecutor for the Tribunals: a
proposal which the UK supports, since the Tribunals can
be expected to function more effectively if they each
have a dedicated Prosecutor.
- More recently, the
UN has experimented with mixed courts i.e.
bodies consisting of both domestic and international
judges and staff:
- Special
Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
- The Special Court
for Sierra Leone (SCSL) was set up under an agreement
between the Government of Sierra Leone and the UN signed
in January 2002. Its mandate is to prosecute
"persons who bear the greatest responsibility for
serious violations" of international humanitarian
law and domestic law committed in Sierra Leone since 30
November 1996. The first permanent officials of the Court
arrived in Freetown in July 2002.
- The UK has been
heavily involved in the Court so far. A British national,
Robin Vincent, is Registrar of the Court. We sit on the
Management Committee, which assists the Court by
providing advice and policy direction on all non-judicial
aspects of its operations, including questions of
efficiency, approving its budget and encouraging other
states to co-operate with and contribute to the Court.
- The Court relies on
voluntary contributions. The UK has committed £6.6
million (out of an overall budget of around £40 million)
over the three-year life span of the Court. This is a
percentage contribution of 16.5%. Funding is a source of
concern: the Court currently faces a shortfall of around
£14 million. We have undertaken an active lobbying
campaign, involving the Foreign Secretary, in support of
the UN Secretary-Generals call earlier this year
for additional funds.
- Khmer Rouge
Tribunal
- In June 2003, after
many years of negotiation, the UN and the Government of
Cambodia signed an agreement establishing
"Extraordinary Chambers" of the Cambodia Court
to try senior Khmer Rouge figures accused of
genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity between
April 1975 and January 1979 when almost one million
people (20% of the population) lost their lives. The
Cambodian National Assembly is expected to ratify the
Agreement this autumn. Despite international concerns as
to whether the provisions in the Agreement relating to
the structure and
- organisation of the
Chambers would fully ensure their credibility, it is
hoped that with the good will of all sides, these
operating issues can be resolved quickly and the Tribunal
can be established soon. The number of trials has not
been determined, but could be as many as ten to twelve.
The Chambers will consist of a mixture of international
and domestic judges.
- The cost of the
international component is currently estimated at US$
18.5 million and will be funded via voluntary
contributions. The UK will be making a contribution once
the budgetary requirements are clarified.
- New threats
New responses
- While the Security
Councils work remains dominated by conventional
armed conflicts between and within states, its attention
has become increasingly focussed on new challenges to
international peace and security. Following the events of
11th September 2001, the response to
international terrorism has been an urgent priority.
Proliferation issues too have risen close to the top of
the agenda.
- The Counter
Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established following the
events of 11th September by SCR 1373 under Chapter VII of
the UN Charter. SCR 1373 went beyond the scope of
existing international treaties on terrorism, imposing
uniform obligations on all states to suppress and prevent
financial and other support for terrorism. The
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) which is a
sub-committee of the Security Council, with the same
membership monitors implementation of the
resolution. States are required to report regularly to
the CTC on domestic measures taken to combat terrorism.
- The UK has played a
central role in the CTC since its establishment and for
the first 18 months until April 2003 Sir Jeremy
Greenstock, UK Permanent Representative to the UN,
chaired the Committee.
- Initial priorities
were to encourage all states to put in place legislation
covering all aspects of SCR 1373 (including becoming
party to the twelve existing international conventions
and protocols relating to terrorism) and preventing and
suppressing the financing of terrorism. Future stages of
the Committees work will consider states
executive machinery (e.g. police, customs, immigration)
covering all aspects of SCR 1373 and controls preventing
the access to weapons (including those of mass
destruction) by terrorists.
- The response
received has been positive with all 191 member states of
the UN having submitted at least one report and 148 two
or more. The Committee has started to review third-round
reports. In July 2001, the UK was only one of two
countries to have ratified all 12 existing
counter-terrorism conventions. Since then, that figure
has risen to 37 with a further 38 having ratified 10 or
11. The CTC has also established a dialogue with relevant
international and regional organisations to encourage
greater co-operation in the international effort to
combat terrorism.
- Even though no
longer in the Chair, the UK continues to be a major
contributor to the work of the CTC and is determined to
ensure that it maintains a continued high political
profile for counter-terrorism work. As the number of
countries engaging with the CTC has grown so has its
workload and it is imperative that the CTC should have
the tools to do the job.
- The Security
Council has yet to tackle proliferation questions in as
concerted a way as it has focussed on terrorism. However,
it has devoted attention to individual elements of this
agenda, and has taken action with regard to certain
countries of concern. The UK has encouraged the Council
to act to counter the threats of proliferation from both
conventional arms and weapons of mass destruction. In
addition, proliferation issues are dealt with by other
parts of the UN system, in particular bodies such as the
International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which oversee
obligations under the relevant non-proliferation
treaties. The General Assembly and Department of
Disarmament Affairs also deal with small arms and light
weapons (SALW) issues. The growing international concern
over the proliferation of Man Portable Air Defence
Systems (MANPADS) highlighted at the G8 Summit has led to
the UN also beginning to deal with the issue. It was de
facto agreed in July that UN members should report
MANPADS transfers as part of their UN Register of
Conventional Arms submissions.
- In relation to
conventional arms, the UK has been leading the
implementation of various aspects of the UN Programme of
Action (PoA) on SALW. The UK has given the United Nations
Development Programme £7.5 million over three years for
a global programme of weapons collection, stockpile
management, capacity building and destruction within the
context of disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and
community development. At the Biennial Meeting of states
to review the Programme held in July 2003 the UK chaired
a meeting of interested states to discuss an ongoing
initiative on strengthening export controls to tackle the
spread of SALW. The UK also spoke on mobilising resources
to combat small arms and hosted a meeting on donor
co-ordination where DFID launched their booklet
"Tackling Poverty by Reducing Armed Violence".
The Security Council too has been active on SALW in a
regional context, adopting, for example, a Presidential
Statement in March 2003 on the problem of small arms
proliferation in West Africa as a factor fuelling
conflict in that region.
- Tackling the
proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) is one
of the UKs highest foreign policy priorities, and
we would like to see the UN playing a more consistent and
active role in this area. The history of ten years of
Security Council resolutions, sanctions, inspections, and
finally military action to deal with Iraqs
prohibited weapons programmes has been well documented
elsewhere. Whatever the differences of view within the
Security Council on the military action that was taken,
there was no disagreement at earlier stages about the
threat posed by WMD programmes. We wish to encourage a
more united approach to proliferators elsewhere in the
world, and greater agreement on the best way of tackling
threats from WMD.
- III ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
General Assembly
- The General
Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United
Nations. It is composed of representatives of all 191
member states, each of which has one vote. The work of
the United Nations derives largely from the decisions of
the General Assembly.
- The General
Assemblys regular session is held from September to
December each year. All discussion on economic and social
issues take place in the Second (Economic and Financial
Committee) and Third Committees (Social, Humanitarian and
Cultural Committee).
- Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC)
- Over 70% of the
human and financial resources of the UN are devoted to
sustainable development, including economic and social
development. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is
the principal body that co-ordinates the economic and
social work of the United Nations. ECOSOC reports to the
UN General Assembly.
- ECOSOC co-ordinates
the work of the Functional Commissions, Funds,
Programmes, and Specialised Agencies of the UN. It is
mandated to provide policy guidance to these bodies and
review the operational activities of the various bodies.
It also co-ordinates the humanitarian work of the UN.
- In practice, ECOSOC
consists of 54 member states (the UK is currently a
member) which meet at a four-week substantive session
each July, alternating between New York and Geneva. The
session includes a high-level segment, at which national
cabinet ministers and chiefs of international agencies
focus their attention on a selected theme of global
significance. In 2003 the high-level segment covered
"Promoting an integrated approach to rural
development in developing countries for poverty
eradication and sustainable development" and was
attended by DFID Minister Hilary Benn.
-
- In addition to the
substantive sessions, ECOSOC meets each April with
finance ministers heading key committees of the Bretton
Woods institutions the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund to focus on areas
where co-operation and policy guidance is necessary. The
UK encourages greater co-operation between the UN, the
International Financial Institutions and the World Trade
Organisation (WTO).
- The UK is an active
participant in ECOSOC, and would like to see the body
providing more effective co-ordination and policy advice.
The UK recently took part in a UN Working Group that
looked at how ECOSOC might be reformed. Some of the key
recommendations from this group, such as revamping ECOSOC
sessions to focus them on particular themes from UN
Conferences, will soon be implemented.
Sustainable
Development Development and poverty reduction
United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- The UN Development
Programme is the central UN vehicle for co-ordination of
the UN system in individual countries, through the UN
Development Assistance Framework process (UNDAF). It also
manages and finances provision of the UN Resident
Co-ordinator posts that UNDP operates in 166 countries,
working with these countries on their own solutions to
development challenges, and providing policy and
technical advice and other assistance for development.
- At the Millennium
Summit held in September 2000, 187 member states pledged
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half
by 2015. All the UN agencies are working within their
mandates towards achieving the MDGs. UNDP has the role of
advocate and scorekeeper of progress towards the
achievement of the MDGs. UNDP also has a key role in
helping achieve the related goals, on issues such as
access to sanitation and energy, agreed at the September
2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
- DFID is the largest
of nine donors to UNDPs Millennium Programme,
contributing £3.5 million over three years. The
programme supports the setting of strategies to achieve
each of the MDGs, the monitoring and reporting of
progress at both national and global level, and national
and global campaigning in their support.
- To focus more
closely on its strengths, UNDP has concentrated its
activities in six areas: democratic governance, poverty
reduction, crisis prevention and recovery,
energy/environment, Information Communications Technology
and HIV/AIDS.
- The UNDP Executive
Board includes representatives from 36 nations, on a
rotating basis, of which the UK is currently one. The UK
is the sixth largest donor to UNDPs regular
resources and the fifth largest overall in 2002 with a
total contribution of $135 million (£90 million). This
accounted for 7.3% of UNDPs total receipts of
$1,848 million.
- DFID has set out
the objectives for its partnership with UNDP in an
Institutional Strategy Paper (ISP). The ISP has ten
specific objectives, which outline the areas of UK
support. DFID currently supports Technical Co-operation
projects worth £2.1 million. The objectives include:
- Strengthening
leadership of the Millennium Development Goals (which
contributes to UNDPs larger MDG programme);
- Partnerships with
NGOs, Civil Society and the private sector;
- Improving programme
effectiveness;
- Staff development
programme for Deputy Resident Representatives.
- The UK is
supporting UNDPs programme of organisational
reforms. Among these is a new externally managed,
meritocratic, competence based assessment centre process
for Resident Co-ordinator posts.
-
- Since 2000, the UK
has also supported UNDPs capacity to provide an
effective response to conflicts and natural disasters,
through a package of assistance to the Bureau for Crisis
Prevention and Recovery (BCPR). DFID is entering the
third phase of support to BCPR (with an overall value of
£5.8 million).
- United
Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
- The UN
Childrens Funds mandate is to advocate
for the protection of childrens rights, to help
meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities
to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
recognises childrens special needs as inalienable
rights and guarantees those rights under law.
- UNICEF works in 158
countries. UNICEF is governed by a 36 member Executive
Board, of which the UK is a member. Unlike any other UN
agency, it has two funding sources: Government 65% and
Non-Government 35%. UNICEF receipts for 2002 were £589
million of which the UK provided £17 million in core
resources and £27 million in other resources, making the
UK the fourth largest donor.
- An Institutional
Strategy Paper (ISP) underpins the UKs
collaboration with UNICEF. Key among the objectives are
to:
- Support UNICEF
where it is well placed to contribute to the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (including the
rights of children to health, education, protection and
equality);
- Strengthen UNICEF
so that it can make a more effective contribution to the
international development effort;
- Strengthen
UNICEFs capacity to respond more effectively to
humanitarian crises, to meet the needs of children in
armed conflict situations, and to take forward its mines
awareness programme.
- In order to support
UK objectives, DFID is currently working to strengthen
UNICEFs institutional capacity in policy debates on
poverty reduction strategies and sector-wide plans at
country, regional and global level, as well as to
accelerate mine awareness programming and advocacy and
promote universal ratification and implementation of the
Ottawa Convention. The UK is also encouraging UNICEF to
better integrate humanitarian and development programming
more fully.
- DFID and UNICEF
work together in many developing countries. For example,
the UK is currently working in partnership with UNICEF
and the Government of Bangladesh to reduce the mortality
and morbidity caused by diarrhoea and other water borne
diseases by improving rural hygiene, sanitation and water
supply.
- Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
- The Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) is the lead agency for
food and agriculture, including forestry and fisheries,
within the UN system. It is a Specialised Agency,
governed by its 190 members and associates through a
biennial Conference, supported by a 49-member Council,
which draws in its turn on specialised sub-committees
dealing with such issues as finance, programmes,
agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food security.
- The
Organisations mandate is to collect and disseminate
information on food, agriculture and nutrition; to act as
a forum for discussion and negotiation and to set
commonly agreed standards. The mandate also extends to
provision of technical assistance to Governments.
- Based in Rome, FAO
is one of the largest UN Specialised Agencies. FAOs
total annual turnover is projected at some $645 million
in the 2002-03 biennium. The UK is the fifth largest
subscriber (£10.9 million in 2003) with a programme of
some £6.5 million annually over the next few years.
- FAO matters to
developing countries because of the core importance of
agricultural productivity to poverty alleviation and
economic growth, and because of their interests in food
insecurity; global and regional commons issues; access to
high-income export markets; the competitive advantage of
their agri-food industries (strongly influenced by food
standards); protection of rights to genetic resources;
information for decision-making; and various kinds of
technical assistance. The FAO is important to developed
countries because of their interests in food safety and
food standards; bio-safety for plants and animals, global
and regional commons issues and statistical information.
- DFID is the lead UK
Department for FAO, with support from the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Food
Standards Agency, the Forestry Commission and FCO. The UK
influences the FAO and its membership through active
participation in the Council and its sub-committees, and
through extra-budgetary funding we provide for
institutional strengthening. UK strategic priorities are
to:
- Ensure that the FAO
makes an appropriate and effective contribution to the
Millennium Development Goals relating to poverty, hunger
and environmental sustainability;
- Strengthen
FAOs relevance and its niche in the global
architecture by clarifying and promoting its role as a
source of international public goods;
- Encourage FAO to
play a full part in the UN reform agenda and to
strengthen its partnerships with other agencies;
- Improve the
governance of the FAO by reintroducing term limits for
the Director-Generals post at the November 2003
General Conference;
- Support management
reforms, with particular emphasis on staff, who are
FAOs chief asset, and the progressive overhaul of
systems for planning, budgeting, reporting and
evaluation, based on the principle of results-based
management.
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
- DFID is the lead UK
Department for UNESCO, since the UKs primary
interest in the organisation is its potential to
contribute to the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals. Other Government Departments including
Department for Culture Media and Sport, Department for
Education and Skills, Department of Health, Department
for Trade and Industry (DTI) and the FCO also have an
interest. The UKs current share of UNESCOs
assessed contributions is £12.4 million.
- UK priorities are
to see UNESCO:
- Give precedence to
achieving the Millennium Development Goals for education;
- Work to improve the
production of policy-relevant and internationally
comparable statistics on education in developing
countries and countries in transition;
- Ensure that all
programmes incorporate systems for monitoring and show
clear evidence of impact and assessment of outcomes;
- Participate more
fully in the wider UN reform agenda and build effective
partnerships with other agencies.
- The UK influences
UNESCO, a Specialised Agency, through the governing
bodies of which we are a member, but also increasingly
through our active role in the EU Group, the Geneva Group
of key donors, and ad hoc working groups.
- The UK has been a
member of the Executive Board since we rejoined UNESCO in
1997 after an absence of twelve years. Since 1997, with a
new senior management team at UNESCO, we have succeeded
in incorporating some of the UKs priorities (e.g.
eradication of poverty, Education for All, access for all
to information and communication technologies) into
UNESCOs medium term strategy. There is much more to
be done, however, in terms of focussing UNESCOs
activities more specifically on the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals.
- United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- The UN Population
Fund (UNFPA) was set up to promote population activities
within the UN, including strengthening capacity in family
planning and reproductive health, helping developing
countries formulate population policies suited to their
sustainable development needs and raising awareness
globally about demographic trends and challenges.
-
- The UN Population
Fund is the largest UN provider of sexual reproductive
health assistance to developing countries, championing
and supporting action to enable women to choose in
matters of reproduction, to go through pregnancy more
safely, and to prevent HIV/AIDS. The Fund also plays a
key role in assisting countries, including by
strengthening capacity in relation to population censuses
and surveys and health data collection systems. The UK
has a strong interest in UNFPA reproductive health
activities, especially those tackling the global HIV/AIDS
crisis. UNFPA is one of seven UN agencies that co-sponsor
the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS.
- The UKs
contributions to UNFPAs core budget are voluntary
and are currently £18 million per annum. The total UK
contribution amounts to about 9.4% of UNFPAs 2002
budget of about US$350 million. The UKs
relationship with UNFPA is covered by an Institutional
Strategy Paper (ISP) "Working in Partnership with
UNFPA" which was developed in close consultation
with UNFPA and a range of stakeholders. Our overall
objective in working with UNFPA is that it should play an
effective role in supporting reproductive health and
rights at country level within the context of national
poverty reduction strategies.
- In 1994, UNFPA was
Secretariat to the landmark International Conference on
Population and Development, which put the right to
reproductive health at the centre of population and
development issues. This conference agreed International
Development Targets (IDTs), which then became Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), for reducing maternal and child
mortality and for attaining universal access to
reproductive health by 2015. UNFPA has been an effective
and outspoken champion for reproductive health and
rights, but has been the victim of attacks and
unsubstantiated allegations from religious conservative
groups who take a different view on these issues.
- Commission
for Social Development (CSocD)
- A number of
Government departments, including the FCO and Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP), have an interest in the
Commission for Social Development (CSocD), particularly
its work on employment, social security and international
labour standards. The UK Governments priority for
CSocD is to promote employment in the context of
integrated social and economic policies. In doing so, we
encourage the adoption of effective national employment
policies as key to development and combating poverty.
- In promoting the issue of employment at CSocD, we have
sought to highlight the importance of the internationally
agreed core labour standards and the 1998 International
Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration of Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work which is based on those
standards. They cover freedom of association and the
right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced
and child labour and the ending of discrimination in
employment.
- The UK has also
taken an active role in CSocD discussions on a number of
issues that have subsequently taken on greater
international significance, such as the follow-up to the
World Summit on Social Development. More recently we
participated fully and actively in discussions on the
issues of older persons, which led to the Madrid
International Plan and the Berlin Regional Plan on
Ageing.
- United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
- The mandate of the
UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is to support
innovative activities in UN development work benefiting
women and to serve as a catalyst to ensure the
involvement of women in mainstream development
activities. Its current work programme focuses on
strengthening womens economic capacities and
rights; bringing a gender perspective into governance and
leadership; and promoting womens human rights and
the elimination of violence. It reports to the UNDP
Executive Board.
- The UK is currently
UNIFEMs largest donor, contributing £3 million a
year in core funding. UK objectives in supporting UNIFEM
are to help it:
- Consolidate and
build its strategic role in building gender mainstreaming
capacity in UN, in the context of reform;
- Continue
streamlining its portfolio to focus on key areas of
innovation, suitable for mainstream implementation;
- To introduce new
impact assessment and lesson learning systems.
- A recent DFID
review of UNIFEM performance showed it was making good
progress in all of these areas, but needed to further
strengthen its strategic engagement at the field level.
UNIFEM has enthusiastically embraced the UN reform
agenda, and is making rapid progress in key areas such as
results-based management.
- A new institutional
partnership is to be developed with UNIFEM by the end of
2004. This is expected to focus on supporting UNIFEM in
strengthening its strategic contribution to the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and
helping it build its operational and strategic
partnerships. The partnership will also focus on helping
it improve its effectiveness by strengthening its
results-based management framework and associated lesson
learning and knowledge sharing systems and the adoption
of a rights based approach to programming.
- UNIFEM is currently
enjoying a high profile in UN due to its work on women,
peace and security, and involvement in the groundbreaking
SCR 1325. UNIFEM recently completed a major study of the
impact of conflict on women (with UK funding) as Volume 1
of "Progress of the Worlds Women" as a
follow up to this resolution.
- Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW)
- The Commission on
the Status of Women was established as a Functional
Commission of the Economic and Social Council to prepare
recommendations on promoting womens rights in
political, economic, civil, social and educational
fields. Following the 1995 Fourth World Conference on
Women (Beijing Conference), the UN General
Assembly (UNGA) mandated CSW to oversee follow-up to the
Beijing Platform for Action.
- The UK, led by the
Women and Equality Unit (WEU) of the Department of Trade
and Industry, actively participates and contributes
(through the EU) to the annual session of the CSW.
Voluntary UK funding is provided to support the work of
the UN Secretariat to prepare for the annual session.
- At the 2003
session, CSW considered two main themes:
- Participation and
access of women to the media and information and
communication technology;
- Womens human
rights and elimination of all forms of violence against
women and girls.
- CSW membership
facilitates the UKs efforts to promote the
advancement of women and gender equality within the
international community, as well as ensuring that UK
experience and interests are taken into account in
shaping the international gender equality agenda. The
UKs priorities for the body include co-ordinating
the implementation and monitoring of the Beijing Platform
for Action and the outcome document of the UN General
Assemblys 23rd Special Session on "Women,
Peace and Development".
- The UK has been at
the forefront of work on gender mainstreaming within the
UN system. In 2003, the UK ran a resolution at CSW on
mainstreaming a gender perspective into all
policies and programmes in the UN system. The UK
resolution offers specific direction to CSW and the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on an effective
gender mainstreaming strategy across the UN system.
- UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- The United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the
principal organ of the UN General Assembly in the area of
trade and development. UNCTAD discharges its mandate via
a mix of policy analysis, arranging consensus building
(primarily through inter-Governmental meetings) and
technical assistance.
- Despite its name,
UNCTAD is a standing body and meets in Ministerial
session once every four years (on average). The last
Ministerial, UNCTAD X, which took place in Bangkok in
February 2000, was widely considered to be a success.
UNCTAD XI will take place in June 2004 in Sao Paolo.
- Both the DTI and
DFID take an interest in UNCTAD. External donors,
including the UK, fund many of the technical assistance
projects undertaken by UNCTAD. Since 1998, the UK has
committed over £10 million to fund (or part-fund) ten
separate projects with UNCTAD, including work on
preparing developing countries for globalisation, helping
developing countries accede to the WTO and building
developing countries capacity in the areas of
competition policy, services and trade and the
environment.
- UK priorities for
UNCTAD focus on what UNCTAD can do to enable developing
countries to benefit from international trade, both
through the provision of analysis of international trade
policy issues and through the provision of trade-related
technical assistance and capacity building.
- The Governing Body
of UNCTAD is the Trade and Development Board, which
comprises the membership of the organisation. The UK
plays a full role in discussions in the Trade and
Development Board and, during the recent Mid Term Review
of UNCTAD X, the UK chaired a stock-taking exercise on
the implementation of the commitments and work programme
agreed to in the Bangkok Plan of Action agreed at UNCTAD
X.
- International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- The International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) finances
agricultural development projects, primarily for food
production, in developing countries. It is a Specialised
Agency of the UN, based in Rome. A Governing Council
appoints an 18-member Executive Board. Membership of the
Fund is a unique partnership between OECD, OPEC and
developing countries.
- IFADs mission
is to enable the rural poor to combat poverty and hunger.
Its core business is making loans to national governments
for projects focussed on micro-level solutions. IFAD
reaches 34 million rural households (169 million people).
Women make up 40% of the target group.
- The Funds
operations are financed by replenishment, investment
income and loan reflows. In the recently completed Sixth
Replenishment the UK pledged $30 million (around 7 per
cent of the OECD share) out of a total of some $520
million, plus $10 million towards a new multi-donor
innovation fund. Annual commitments by the Fund are
currently some $450 million ($420 million as loans; $30
million as technical assistance grants). More than 80% of
lending is on highly concessional terms, with Africa as
the principal beneficiary. IFAD has a comparatively small
project portfolio and its loans typically range from
$4-12 million. Most involve co-financing with other
donors.
- DFID is the lead UK
Department for IFAD. The UK influences the Fund and its
membership through active participation in the Governing
Council and Executive Board and in ad hoc working groups
and committees. UK strategic priorities are to:
- Encourage the
introduction of a Performance-Based Allocation System for
IFADs lending programme;
- Sharpen and
reinforce IFADs role as an innovator in relation to
rural poverty and its capacity to learn lessons and share
these with partners who can replicate and scale up
successful new approaches;
- Help IFAD and the
membership devise cost-effective ways of enlarging the
Funds involvement in country-driven policy
discussion and implementation.
- Work to ensure that the forthcoming Independent External
Evaluation of IFAD is both comprehensive and
authoritative.
Statistical
Commission
- The Statistical
Commissions primary aims are to promote the
development of national statistics and the improvement of
their comparability; co-ordinate the statistical work of
Specialised Agencies and promote the improvement of
statistics and statistical methods more generally. The UK
has been a continuous member since its creation and is
represented by the Office for National Statistics.
- The Statistical
Commission provides leadership and co-ordination for
official statistics at a global level. It promotes the UN
Fundamental Principles of Statistics and provides a forum
for discussing longer-term issues.
- The United Kingdom
occupies a central position in providing technical
assistance in the field of statistics. The Statistical
Commission provides a forum for influencing professional
colleagues across the world on development issues where
quality statistics are vital for effective poverty
monitoring and poverty reduction strategies.
- During the last
four years of membership the UK has played a key role in
developing a range of statistical indicators. DFID has
provided technical advice and financial support for work
underpinning the choice of indicators to monitor progress
towards the Millennium Development Goals.
- Commission on Population and
Development (CPD)
- The UK was
consistently a member of the Commission on Population and
Development (CPD) between 1947 and 2001. Although the UK
does not currently have a seat on the CPD, DFID is
considering whether to run in the 2004 election for the
term 2005-2008.
- A notable success
of UK observers and other donors involved in the 2003
Commission meeting was to avert a full blown
International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD+10), proposed for 2004. Such a chapter-by-chapter
review of the 1994 ICPD Programme of Action would have
provided conservative states with another significant
opportunity to seek to roll back internationally agreed
language on sexual and reproductive health and rights,
which the UK wishes to avoid.
Sustainable
Development Environment and Development
Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD)
- The Commission on
Sustainable Development (CSD) was established following
the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) the Rio "Earth
Summit". In 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg reviewed progress made
over the previous decade.
- WSSD reiterated
CSDs role as a high level forum on sustainable
development. It is tasked to:
- Review progress and
elaborate policy guidance and options for future
activities to achieve sustainable development,
predominantly follow up at the international, regional
and national levels of WSSDs Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation (JPOI), and Agenda 21.
- Act as a focal
point for action-orientated multi-stakeholder
partnerships for sustainable development.
- The UK has been a
member of CSD since 1994 and has been elected for a
further term until 2006. Given the wide-ranging nature of
sustainable development, a number of UK Government
Departments have an interest in CSD, with the DEFRA in
the lead.
-
- Heads of State and
Government at WSSD agreed that a step change in CSD
delivery is needed. In future CSD will organise itself
into two-year action-orientated implementation cycles and
a seven-cycle work programme of thematic clusters. The
prioritisation of water, sanitation and human settlements
as the thematic cluster for the 2004-5 cycle has
underlined the importance of sustainable development for
poverty eradication.
- The CSD work
programme also covers actions in developed countries, for
example sustainable patterns of consumption and
production; renewable energy and energy efficiency;
managing and protecting our own natural resources and the
positive and negative social, economic and environmental
impacts of the developed worlds consumption of
global natural resources. There is particular emphasis on
oceans and fisheries, biodiversity, forests and illegal
logging, chemicals use and management.
- The achievement of
sustainable development is a major challenge for the
international community, and will be a test of the
capacity of the UN to deliver on behalf of the global
collective, in the face of entrenched national interests.
Much rides on the follow up to WSSD.
- The CSD must remain
focussed on implementation through reviewing progress,
identifying barriers and offering solutions. There should
be an emphasis on integrating the economic, social and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development, in a
balanced way in both developed and developing countries.
- CSD will need to
work with bodies such as UNEP, UNDP and the international
financial institutions, backed up by continuing
high-level commitment through the UN General Assembly and
ECOSOC. HMG will continue work in a number of UN fora and
processes to improve inter-agency co-ordination on WSSD
follow-up, particularly encouraging joint working between
UNEP and UNDP, as well as promoting integrated and
coherent follow-up to WSSD, the Monterrey Financing for
Development Conference and the Millennium Summit.
- United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP)
- The United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) was established to promote
international co-operation in the field of the
environment, to provide policy guidance for the direction
and co-ordination of UN environment programmes, and to
keep the world environmental situation under review.
- The 1997 Nairobi
Declaration emphasised that UNEP should continue to be
the leading global environmental authority that
sets the global environmental agenda, that promotes the
coherent implementation of the environmental dimensions
of sustainable development within the United Nations
system and that serves as an authoritative advocate for
the global environment. UNEP is also, with UNDP and
the World Bank, one of three implementing agencies of the
Global Environment Facility (GEF).
- The UK is one of
the 58 current members of the UNEP Governing Council
(GC). The UK participates in the Governing Council and
has a Permanent Mission to UNEP based in Nairobi. DEFRA
lead on policy for HMG.
- UNEP derives
funding from the Environment Fund; UN Regular Budget and
Trust Funds associated with specific activities. The UK
seems likely to be the single largest Environment Fund
contributor for 2003 giving £4.2 million, which
represents approximately 10% of the budget. The UK
contributed a further $10.59 million to Trust Funds in
2002, most of which funded the implementation of the
Montreal Protocol.
- UNEP alone cannot
achieve the environmental outcomes and goals set out in
the WSSD Plan of Implementation and Agenda 21. This
requires global consensus and action at all levels:
global, regional, national and local. It is important
that UN agencies and programmes integrate environmental
issues into their activities. UNEP, UNDP, CSD and the
international financial institutions will need to work
closely together for effective implementation.
- In 2002 UNEP played
an important role in setting the agenda for environmental
aspects of WSSD. The UKs future priorities for UNEP
include:
- To broaden the base
of financial contributions to the Environment Fund and
enhance the predictability, stability and flexibility of
funding as a requirement for a strengthened institutional
structure;
- To establish
universal membership for the Governing Council/Global
Ministerial Environmental Forum;
- To focus UNEP on
its core normative environmental functions and promoting
the environmental dimension of sustainable development
within the UN system, with a strong emphasis on
implementing WSSD outcomes;
- Work on chemicals,
bio-diversity and sustainable consumption and production
(SCP), regional sea agreements and land-based sources of
marine pollution;
- Continued emphasis
on UNEPs co-ordination with other elements of the
UN structure to mainstream the environmental dimension of
sustainable development.
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT)
- UN-HABITAT based in
Nairobi, formerly known as United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements, is the lead UN agency for
co-ordinating activities in the field of human
settlements. It is the focal point for the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda, the plan of action adopted at the
Habitat II Conference in Istanbul in 1996. Its activities
contribute to the overall objective of the UN system to
reduce poverty, ensure the provision of adequate shelter
and promote sustainable development within the context
and the challenges of a rapidly urbanising world. The
UN-HABITAT budget for 2002 is US$150 million. In 2002 the
UK contributed £2.1 million, including a core
contribution of £1 million.
- Over the past 4
years, the UK has helped the agency undertake a
fundamental rethink in respect of its role and its focus
within the United Nations system. As a result of these
efforts, the UK helped spearhead a revitalisation of the
agency, culminating in the December 2001 decision of the
UN General Assembly to upgrade the organisation to full
UN programme status. The decision to focus on key issues
such as secure tenure and urban governance
has been instrumental in boosting the confidence of
member states and the donor community alike in
UN-HABITAT.
- The UK plays a
leading role on the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT. The
UK role has focussed on implementing the objectives in
DFIDs UN-HABITAT Institutional Strategy Paper.
These include:
- Supporting the
revitalisation of UN-HABITAT to ensure that management
practice and organisation is continually improved,
finances are better managed and monitored, and confidence
in the activities of the Programme is restored;
- Supporting specific
efforts to provide a strategic focus on development
issues, in particular the elimination of urban poverty,
in the activities of the Centre;
- Supporting measures
to reinforce UN-HABITATs attempts to establish
itself as a centre of excellence in the development and
sharing of effective policies for sustainable human
settlements and urban poverty reduction;
- Helping to develop
effective indicators for monitoring the implementation of
the Habitat Agenda and supporting efforts to turn the
broad-based International Development Targets in the
Habitat Global Plan of Action into agreed priorities and
measurable targets for sustainable urban development and
urban poverty reduction.
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
- As a result of
continuing pressure for a legally binding Convention on
forests, the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) was established
to promote the implementation of the Forest Principles,
the Intergovernmental Panel and the Intergovernmental
Forum on Forests which emerged from the 1992 UN
Conference on the Environment and Development. The UNFF
aims to strengthen political commitment to sustainable
forest management through Ministerial engagement, liaison
with international and regional organisations, and the
promotion of international policy.
- The work of the
UNFF is supported by the Collaborative Partnership on
Forests (CPF) which facilitates co-operation and
co-ordination amongst the key international institutions
involved in forests, promotes adoption of the principles
of sustainable forest management, and supports
implementation. The CPF is chaired by the Food and
Agriculture Organisation and is made up of the major
international organisations and bodies involved in
forests.
- The work programme
adopted in 2001 provides a framework for assessing
progress towards implementation of forestry commitments,
for highlighting best practice and for identifying
challenges to the achievement of sustainable forest
management. The UK believes that the priority for the
UNFF should be implementation of forestry commitments,
and that this would be best supported by focussing on
national forest programmes, monitoring, assessment,
reporting and financing. The UK wants to make the UNFF a
more effective body and the primary focus for sustainable
forest management within the UN system.
Health
World Health Organisation (WHO)
- WHO is the main
global health organisation and, as such, is key both to
advancing the normative, standard-setting health agenda
and in promoting health in the context of development.
WHO has its Headquarters in Geneva, with six Regional
Offices and country offices in some member states. The
Department of Health is the lead Government Department
for WHO, while DFID also works closely with WHO and makes
a major contribution. WHO is a UN Specialised Agency.
- The UKs
assessed contribution for the 2004-5 biennium will be
around $51.1 million: around 5.45% of the WHO regular
budget. In 2003 the UKs total extra-budgetary
contributions were about £39 million, or about 8.6% of
WHOs total annual budget.
- The Department of
Health recognises that WHO is particularly important in
setting global norms and standards and leading the global
response to health issues. WHO is key in leading global
efforts on monitoring and surveillance of communicable
disease, preparedness for incidents of biological,
chemical or radiological release and vaccination and
immunisation programmes.
- DFID has set out
its priorities for WHO in an Institutional Strategy Paper
(ISP) which sets out how DFID will work with WHO to
achieve the DFID White Paper objectives and the MDGs that
are related to health and poverty. These priorities
include strengthening the international and country
presence of WHO, introducing a better alignment of human
and financial resources with strategic objectives and
programming, and ensuring WHO fully embraces the MDGs and
poverty reduction.
- The World Health
Assembly (WHA), held in May each year, is the supreme
decision-making body. The Executive Board (the governing
body), comprises members qualified in the field of health
designated by elected member states. The UK is currently
a member of the Executive Board.
- A recent WHO
success was the adoption of the Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC) in May 2003. When the treaty comes
into effect it will require Parties to undertake a total
ban or severe restrictions on advertising and marketing,
tough new rules on labelling, tougher action on smuggling
and measures against passive smoking. This is regarded as
a decisive benefit for securing domestic objectives for
reducing tobacco consumption. The recent outbreak of SARS
demonstrated the vital importance of WHO and
international co-operation on health, as well as the
potential effects of health incidents on economies.
- Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
- By the mid-1990s,
it became clear that the relentless spread of HIV, and
the epidemics devastating impact on all aspects of
human lives, and social and economic development, were
creating an emergency that would require a greatly
expanded United Nations effort. No single United Nations
organisation can provide the co-ordinated assistance
needed to address the many factors driving the HIV
epidemic or help countries deal with the impact of
HIV/AIDS.
-
- To address these
challenges, the United Nations drew the relevant bodies
together in a co-sponsored programme, the Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The Joint
Programme acts as the main advocate for world-wide action
against HIV/AIDS and aims to lead, strengthen and support
an expanded response to the epidemic. It has four goals:
- To prevent the
spread of HIV;
- To provide care and
support for those infected and affected by the disease;
- To reduce the
vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS;
- To alleviate the
socio-economic and human impact of the epidemic.
- With an annual
budget of $250 million for the next biennium and a staff
of 139 professionals, UNAIDS is a modest-sized programme
with a substantial impact. The UNAIDS Secretariat
operates as a catalyst and co-ordinator of action on
AIDS, rather than as a direct funding or implementing
agency. The UK core contribution is £3 million per
annum. Total UK contributions are about 10.2% of the
total budget.
- UNAIDS aims to
bring together the unique expertise, resources, and
networks of influence that each of the composite
organisations offers. Working together through UNAIDS,
the co-sponsors expand their outreach through strategic
alliances with other UN agencies, national governments,
corporations, media, religious organisations, community
groups, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, and
other NGOs. UNAIDS has been notably successful in this
work.
- Human Rights
- The United Nations
is the single most important body for promoting human
rights worldwide. The Universal Declaration on Human
Rights of 1948 provided the first globally accepted list
of inalienable human rights. Since then, the United
Nations has provided the framework for the international
community to develop a sophisticated system of protection
for human rights, based on legally binding treaties. The
UK is a party to the six core human rights treaties. We
take our obligations under them extremely seriously,
including the obligation to provide regular reports to
the bodies which monitor states compliance with the
treaties.
- The UK is playing
an active part in drawing up new human rights standards.
The UK was one of the first countries to sign the
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture,
which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002 and
provides for international monitoring of places of
detention. The UK is an active participant in the work of
a UN Ad Hoc Committee which is considering proposals for
an International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights and Dignity of People with Disabilities.
- The UN
Secretary-Generals paper on UN reform
"Strengthening the United Nations" re-asserted
the sentiment in the UN Declaration on Human Rights, that
human rights were central to all activities of the UN and
its partners. The UK continues to pay particular regard
to this in its relationships with the organisations of
the UN.
- United
Nations Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
- The UK attaches
great importance to the work of the UN Commission on
Human Rights (CHR), which is the main UN forum for
discussion of human rights issues. The CHRs remit
includes developing international human rights standards
and addressing serious violations of human rights around
the world. Its 53 member countries meet for six weeks in
Geneva each spring. CHR resolutions establish UN Special
Procedures (e.g. special rapporteurs, special
representatives and working groups) and encourage the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) to focus on particular issues in the course of
their work. The UK has been a member for all but two
years since the CHRs inception in 1946.
- Each year the EU
tables a number of resolutions, for example on thematic
issues such as the death penalty, as well as on the human
rights situations in individual countries such as North
Korea, Burma and Zimbabwe. Thematic resolutions at CHR
play an important role in helping define and develop
international human rights standards. Resolutions on
individual countries can help constrain the extent of
abuses, give encouragement to human rights defenders
working in those countries and sometimes act as a
stimulus for wider change.
- The United Kingdom
is committed to helping improve the output of the UN
human rights system. At present, the debate is polarised,
politicised and often out of touch with the realities of
the human rights situation in many countries. Too many
members of the Commission on Human Rights themselves have
bad human rights records or fail to co-operate fully with
the UN human rights mechanisms. The UK works to promote a
constructive dialogue at CHR, while reinforcing the key
principles that states have obligations to promote the
human rights of their citizens, and that it is part of
CHRs responsibility to call the worst offenders to
account.
- The UK has sympathy
with those who argue that the UN should impose criteria
for CHR membership, but such reform is unlikely to be
agreed in the foreseeable future. And criteria would need
to distinguish between those paying lip service to human
rights by ratifying the main conventions, and those who
are serious about implementing their obligations. We urge
countries to use the spotlight of CHR membership as an
opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the UN
human rights system by ratifying the key Conventions and
co-operating with the CHRs mechanisms. Meanwhile,
we will continue to work to ensure the CHR continues to
address country-specific issues where the situation on
the ground merits it. We believe that a CHR which
concentrates solely on thematic issues without
highlighting transgressors would be failing to fulfil its
original mandate.
- Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Under the
leadership of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) supports the special procedures of the Commission
on Human Rights and other appropriate UN bodies. It
monitors human rights in field offices and provides
technical assistance at the requests of governments in a
number of countries. The Office assists the development
of national human rights institutions and supports their
participation at international fora. It supports UN
treaty monitoring bodies the committees that
monitor the implementation of the six core UN human
rights treaties. OHCHR is also responsible for fully
integrating human rights in the work of the UN.
- The UK has a strong
partnership with OHCHR through an Institutional Strategy
Paper (ISP). The UK is the second largest donor to the
OHCHR in terms of voluntary contributions. From
2000-2002, the UK contributed nearly £8 million. The
major objectives of our support are:
- To enhance the
capacity of the OHCHR in order to support the development
and management of its field programmes and operations;
- To mainstream all
human rights across the work of the UN system;
- To integrate
economic, social and cultural rights into the UNs
work;
- To provide human
rights information to other implementing agencies.