I Support the United Nations -- You Should Too

The U.S., being, by far, the richest country on the planet, is the biggest financial contributor to the United Nations, paying about 22 percent of the annual $2 billion general budget. That does NOT, however, include money for peacekeeping, most international tribunals, or programs like the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and UNICEF, which are funded separately. Also, the United States pays one of the lowest contributions, per capita, of the rich nations on earth (in contrast to Germany, Japan, and Scandinavian countries, for instance).

Do you think the UN should be more effective? Do you want to be more involved directly in the UN and its issues? Do you want to learn more about what the UN really is and how, together, the people of the world can work together to solve our peoples' and planet's most pressing issues? Here are some web sites that can help:

• Find the UN Association nearest you, and JOIN. Visit the web site of the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA) for more information. These associations host roundtable discussions, interactive meetings, and even speakers from the UN system. If you don't have a UN Assocation in your area, consider starting one -- WFUNA can tell you how.

• Contribute your time and expertise as an online volunteer to help organizations serving the developing world, through the Online Volunteering service, a free resource managed by the UN Volunteers program, part of UNDP.

• For young people (and for those of adults who like things explained in small words and interactive exercises), the UN CyberSchoolBus is an excellent resource.

• The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) "promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the United Nations and its Charter." It was created in 1997 by a grant from Ted Turner. It engages in grantmaking, and inter-active public outreach activities.

• United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA works to ensure universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health. Reproductive health is recognized as a human right, part of the right to health. UNFPA is the world's largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programmes. The Fund has provided nearly $6 billion in assistance to developing countries. UNFPA works with governments and non-governmental organizations in over 140 countries, at their request, and with the support of the international community. All UNFPA-funded programmes promote women's equality.

• The UN AIDS is undertaking actions to combat the most serious humanitarian threat facing us now -- and it's not "terrorism." Visit the site and learn why this is YOUR fight, no matter who you are or where you live. Another good site for this issue is the UNIFEM Gender and HIV/AIDS Web Portal.

• Receive UN News by email. You will receive updates of UN news and alerts about upcoming events, including officially-released statements by the UN.

• UN Wire tracks stories from hundreds of news sources about the UN and the humanitarian and development issues of most concern to the UN. Not all of the stories are flattering - this is a good way to see what's being said by others about the UN.

• Diplomatic License is a fast-paced 30-minute CNN program focused on the activities of the United Nations. Host Richard Roth is a great interviewer -- and a rather funny guy. Find out when it's shown in your area and tune in every week. Again, not all of the stories are flattering.

• UN Dispatch
  A UN Blog

• ReliefWeb is another great avenue for learning about and contributing to addressing the most critical issues facing the world's most vulnerable people.

• While not a UN web site, OneWorld has affiliations with the UN, and is one of the best resources for getting more information about the most critical issues facing the world's most vulnerable people.

(New York, May 19 2005 3:00PM) Reminding a United States House of Representatives committee that the United Nations has undergone more reform under Secretary-General Kofi Annan than under any of his predecessors, his Chief of Staff today said the UN is under-funded and over-managed.

Mark Malloch Brown told the House Committee on International Relations, chaired by Rep. Henry Hyde, that the UN was operating 18 peacekeeping missions, with 67,000 uniformed personnel, on a budget of $4.5 billion that is less than 0.5 per cent of the world's military spending "and means a unit cost for peacekeeping that is a fraction of that spent by the US and UK in comparable operations."

"It's a bargain - but perhaps too much of one," he said.

Instead of threatening to cut contributions in response to failure, a long-term, sustainable solution would come about when the United States and fellow UN Member States "agree what they want to the UN to do, then fund it properly to allow the UN to do the task well."

Meanwhile, the UN's inter-governmental constraints on the Secretariat "often amount to micromanagement," Mr. Malloch Brown said.

As head of the UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) reporting to an Executive Board of Member States, Mr. Malloch Brown said, he had more autonomy and more accountability for results than had Mr. Annan, "who is mired in a web of Government committees and outdated rules that impede his freedom to manage."

At the heart of the UN reform agenda, he added, "is the organizing idea of how a Secretary-General can be given back the power to manage, while at the same time Governments recover the strategic tools to ensure accountability for results."

This information posted by J. Cravens. The personal opinions expressed on this page are solely the opinion of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.

return to my list of causes | return to /cravens/index page