Current Financial Reform Of The Un example essay topic

If the United Nations is to remain an effective force in the worlds political spectrum it must reform, and make itself more financially sound and become a more consolidated unit with each country being given equal representation and opportunity to have their opinions voiced and respected. When the UN was formed in the post war 40's its goal was to keep another war from occurring as well as make the world a better place to live. Problems and controversies have recently plagued the UN and the veto power held by certain countries are creating a situation where the smaller countries such as Canada, have little if any chance to voice their opinions against powers such as the USA and Russia. Only after all of the financial and representational barriers are taken down will the UN once again be able to function and work towards its goals. The UN must also make the Americans, whom are its biggest contributor, live up to its responsibilities. Only with the participation of the Americans can the UN ever hope to survive through the next millenium.

The issues of Financial Reform within the UN, dealing with the Americans, Peace-Keeping, and the Veto power are all inter-related. Veto countries abuse the powers they are given by refusing to pay, or contributing little to the UN and allowing the weaker countries to do the dirty work. Peace Keeping is, perhaps, The most important of the UNs duties. But without the funds and equipment of the veto countries Peace Keeping forces will become only a memory. The main problem facing the UN, despite the issues with Veto powers, Peace Keeping, and the Americans, is the organizations financial situation. It has been forced to begin a lengthy restructuring to make it more cost effective due to the lack of funds i is encountering. I. Making The UN More Cost Effective In a recent UN report entitled, Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform the UN officials began to address this problem.

The report outlined the course which will be taken in order to balance the budget. The current budget of the UN is 2.6 billion dollars. 1 This total may seem high, but it is very small when compared to the costs of other programs instituted around the world. The UNs budget is currently 1 billion dollars less than the budget of the Tokyo Fire Department, and $3.7 billion less than the cost of New York States University Program.

2 When compared to these you can really see just how little money the UN operates on. In fact the only reason that the UN is in financial trouble at all, is because several member states in the organization have not, as of yet, paid their compulsory dues. These bills are left unpaid for different reasons, ranging from simple poverty, as in the case of Somalia, or as a form of putting political pressure upon the UN, as in the case of the United States. Since the organization itself is completely reliant upon the money it receives from its members it is almost helpless in its hopes to move forward.

The only way of punishing members who do not pay is to kick them out of the organization and cut off the benefits they receive. The current financial reform of the UN is very complex. It will involve, for the most part, cuts in employees and an increased efficiency from its four departments. These departments being Peace and Security; Economic and Social Affairs; Development Co-operation; and Humanitarian Affairs. The 1998-1999 budget shows the introduction of many of the cuts and changes that are going to be made. During this time 1000 positions are going to be cut 3 with most of these jobs coming out of the Secretariat department.

4 The cuts in jobs have, in fact, been occurring since 1986 and have amounted in a reduction of staff from 12,000 to 90005, which translates into a 20% reduction in office and general staff, and 40% in upper management. 6 In addition to the cutting of jobs many pre-existing departments are also being consolidated to promote efficiency. The 3 currently existing Departments in Economical and Social Affairs are being integrated to form a new united Department. 7 This will allow the old departments to work more closely with each other and improve efficiency. The programs currently in place that work towards fighting crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism will combine to form a new, unified, department centered in Vienna, Austria, under the leadership of Senator Arlacchi, of Italy. 8 The Centre for Human Resources and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are also being consolidated and are being placed under the control of Mary Robinson who is currently the President of Ireland.

9 As well as these consolidations, the Secretariat arm of the UN will go from having twelve entities or sections to only having 5.10 When all of these different consolidations are completed significant savings are expected, and the efficiency of the Organization is also expected to rise, from the sharing of facilities and resources. In combination with the previous changes, the UN is also changing its personnel and administration rules to make the transitions as simple as possible. The complex system of rules which had often times hindered the UN Secretariat from completing its work are now being simplified so that the reforms being instituted will not be stopped from doing their jobs. This simplification of paperwork will also save the UN money in other ways.

Namely in the cost of paper itself. The amount of paper being used by the UN will decrease by 30% in 1997/98 as compared to the amount used in 1995.11 The leadership structure of the UN will also be overhauled as well, in order to provide accountability and help with the reforms that are occurring. It is hard to imagine that the leadership of the UN, as is, would have had the power to carry on with the necessary changes that they are undergoing. The Secretary-General simply does not have the power to institute them as it is right now. With the change in structure the Secretary-General will be given the necessary amount of power within the organization to continue on. A Deputy Secretary-General is being created whom will assist the Secretary-General.

The Deputy will fill in for the Secretary-General in his absence, share his representational duties, and help him enforce changes that cut across administrative and sectoral boundaries. This will allow the Secretary-General to handle emergency situations with ease. 12 A Senior Management Group is being formed in order to promote greater co-operation between the various departments of the UN while these reforms are taking place 13. Executive committees of the sectoral groups, which were formed in January of 1997 will be strengthened to help.

They will also include all the departments, programmes, and funds of the United Nations. 14 Other, less drastic reforms are also being instituted to increase productivity and reduce costs inside the UN. Currently, the UN has 400 efficiency projects in place which are expected to be completed as of December 31, 1997.15 Many of these are not major ones, but this does show that the UN is serious about cutting costs. In order to assure that the necessary funds are available to run the programs many people rely on for simple survival, a revolving Credit Fund, which could reach up to $1 billion U.S., is being created consisting, solely of donations made to it by member states. 16 This will allow funds to be available whenever an emergency arises. The staff currently employed by the UN will undergo extensive retraining to increase their own personal productivity and efficiency, and prepare them for the changes which will occur in their jobs once the reforms take place.

A new Code of Conduct has been added to the Staff rules and regulations which are currently in place. 17 In addition to this, a review of the International Civil Service Commission is being taken in order to allow this organization to function more independently. The International Civil Service Commission is made up of a group of experts on salaries, allowances, compensation, and conditions of service, representing all the regions inside the UN. 18 As well as decreasing costs and increasing efficiency the cuts and consolidations will also allow the Secretariat to react to international emergencies quicker due mainly to the removal of the red tape which previously hindered reaction time. Repositioning food stocks, creating stand bye service packages, and creating a Global Supply Chain will also allow the UN to speed up its response time to emergency situations allowing for greater efficiency in the distribution. 19 With all of the above changes, the United Nations has shown that it is serious about financial reform within the programs that it runs and, in the process, has given itself a new lease on life.

But while these changes were necessary, other key changes will have to be made to areas such as peace keeping in order to remain financially stable. Peace keeping itself is currently feeling the proverbial pinch as it tries to carry out its daunting mandates with little, if any, financial help from the UN itself. II. Effects of Financial Problems on Peace Keeping The most noted function of the United Nations is, without a doubt, the peace keeping missions that help to promote, and create, world peace in countries that are currently at war. United Nations peacekeepers have seen extensive action in places such as Korea, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Somalia.

Despite the proud history of this renowned institution, it is currently suffering because of the lack of finances, not due to overspending or high costs but, like its counterparts in the Secretariat, because of the shortfall of funds created when member states fail to pay their UN dues. When you look at the statistics the Peace keeping is actually very cheap. The $1.4 billion in costs last year 20, may seem relatively high, but once you consider that this total would have amounted to only 1% of the American military budget and. 2% of world military spending 21 you can really see just how efficient these forces are. The United Nations itself does not have an actual army. It relies solely on troop and equipment contributions from member countries to make peace keeping a reality.

In return for the donations the UN makes a promise to the donating country, to fully reimburse them, in fiscal figures. This is where the peace keeping debt exists. The total amount currently owed is $1.6 billion, which is indebted to 78 different countries. 22 To make the problem worse, most of the countries that are still owed money are developing ones, who could use the money to help out their current financial problems. As of July 31 there were 23,861 UN troops in deployment 23 in areas such as Bosnia and Iraq. In total there are 16 missions underway, with the costs for these being only $1.3 billion.

24 I have included a map of all UN operations, both completed and uncompleted, so that you can see just exactly where the peace keepers are, or have been, deployed. Once again, the amount spent on world peace keeping is not a large amount. The cost for the average American to finance these missions, after you take into account the USA's 31% or $400 million assessed share in peace keeping, amounts to only the cost of six cans of soda. 25 World Military spending adds up to $778 billion or $134 for every human being on earth.

26 When you consider the amounts of money put into war and destruction, how much money is really too much in stopping all of the destruction from occurring To make matters worse for the peace keepers, due to the impoverished fiscal situation of the UN, money has been taken out of the peace keeping budget just to cover the UNs regular expenses. 27 This further hinders the UNs ability to pay back the countries who have donated men and equipment to this noble cause. Without the funds that are required this important program will remain in jeopardy.. Veto Powers To truly understand the UNs financial crisis, you have to understand the way in which money is collected for the organization.

Member states are accessed a share of the budget based on their national incomes, and their overall ability to pay this bill. Pay rates for UN members range from the minimum of a. 01% or $106,508 donation, which is currently being contributed by 98 countries, to a 25% donation. 28 For this reason, most of the money comes out of industrialized countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan.

If you look at per capita donations you would see that the 4 Scandinavian countries as well as many developing countries rank near the top. The average American paid just $1.11 for the UN, while the average San Marini an paid over $4 for the services. In the graph on page 13 you will notice that 7 countries alone handle much of the UNs budget. The fact of the matter is that these 7 countries, who contribute 71% of the UNs working budget 29, are not truly contributing too much to the organization since they also receive the most financial benefits of the UN itself.

The UN invests 64% of its money into these countries and their businesses, adding $2.4 billion to their economies. 30 The financial state of the UN has a great deal to do with another issue plaguing the organization. This is the issue of veto powers. Currently 5 countries have veto powers; The United States, Great Britain, France, China, and Russia.

31 The veto power gives these countries the right to over rule any decision made by the other members of the general assembly, after a democratic vote. One has to wonder how and organization can ever succeed which allows 5 of its 185 members to have supreme power over the others, and ever expect to accomplish anything. The veto countries do provide much of the funding available to the UN, but in some cases, they dont even pay this. Countries such as the US refuse to pay their UN debts causing financial short comings like the one the UN is currently facing. The veto countries do not contribute all that many troops to the UN peace keeping missions either. In the graph which I have included on page 15, you will see just how small a proportion of the UN peace keeping force is from the veto countries.

In fact, of the 5 veto countries, only Russia ranked in the top ten in troop contributions. China ranked only 47th on the chart with a total troop contribution of only 43 men. 32 The veto countries can also derail decisions that have been made by the general council. At the last election for Secretary-General, then Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali was victorious over Kaf i Annan, but could not remain on as Secretary-General because of the fact that the Americans had been the lone country to vote against him, and being that they had the veto power, Boutros-Ghali was gone. This, I believe goes against everything that the UN stands for. The UN is supposed to be a forum by which every country is allowed to voice their opinions about world matters.

By allowing for veto powers they are giving the balance of power to 5 countries. This is not what the organization meant to be. During the cold war there was a need for the veto. At that time it allowed Russia the United States and their key allies to have equal say in the running of the UN. If one side of the conflict were allowed more power it may have led to a conflict between the two. Now that the cold war is over, the veto is being used as only as a mean by which to force the veto countries political views upon the smaller countries in the alliance, such as Canada.

There is also a financial need to get rid of the veto powers. The United States, as stands, has no practical reason to pay its debt. They cannot be kicked out of the UN since, if there was a motion to do this, they could just veto it anyway. With no reason to pay, the US has shown little interest in doing so. As long as there are veto powers in the UN, it will never be able to serve the purpose it was created for. Small countries will continue to be lost in the political shuffle as they are now.

IV. American Objections The United States is currently the country which owes the most money to the United Nations. It is also the one which receives the most benefits. Currently the United States owes $1.4 billion dollars, which translates into over half of the UNs $2.3 billion debt. 33 The total Contribution per year that the American government is asked to pay is $312,000,000 or about 25% of the UNs total budget. 34 This is a relatively small investment for the Americans once you take into account all of the benefits the Americans receive from the organization.

Of the $426 million in investments and spending the United Nations done last year, American companies received 49% or 229 million of it. 35 If you take that figure off of their total payment you will see that the Americans only paid $83 million in which they werent given back in direct business. The UN creates roughly 30,607 jobs in the New York area alone as well as yielding an estimated $1.2 billion in earnings and generating $3.2 billion in spending for the region. 36 This is a very significant total. When you see it from that angle it becomes apparent that the Americans receive much more from the UN than they put into it. While they refuse to pay their fair share of the costs of the UN the Americans still make sure that they hold a strong presence.

The American diplomats actually lobbied for the cutting of 3000 jobs in order to save costs, 37 which wouldnt even of been a problem had their country lived up to its responsibilities. As is, the Americans are receiving most of the fiscal benefits of the UN without putting anything into it. The American government refuses to pay their debt for other varying reasons. Bob Dole, who recently ran for President of the United States, said that he would never allow American troops to come under UN control again and he blamed then Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for almost every problem that has ever occurred in the history of the UN. 38 Unfortunately he is not the only member of the US government who shares this view. American fears towards the UN are based mainly on myths and lies.

Many Americans hold the UN responsible for the killing of 18 American soldiers in Somalia in 1994.39 The interesting thing about that statement is that the soldiers themselves were under the leadership of American officials based in Florida at the time. If those men had of been under UN control they would never of been sent out on that particular mission. 40 There is also a controversy on whether American troops should be allowed to be sent into action under the UN at all. Michael New, an army specialist, is in the center of this controversy. He underwent a court martial because of his refusal to wear the UN logo on his uniform.

41 Under international law he is required to do so. The biggest opponents in the US to the United Nations however are the members of the many vigilante militias. Many of these groups are convinced that the United Nations is out to take over the United States, or make the US a communist country. They do not understand the workings of the UN and thus fear it. As a result they often print propaganda such as the article which I have included along with this project, which is an exert entitled The New American. The United States plays an integral role in the workings of the United Nations.

Admittedly, they provide the back bone for the entire organization. Because of the importance of the role it plays in world politics, the US has to take responsibility, and pay its debts. The UN cannot function without the Americans, which, in a manner of speaking, they are now. The lack of American funds has created a desperate state for an organization, which in the past, has bent over backwards to keep them happy. It is time for the Americans to step up and except their responsibilities as world leaders, and show the maturity that must come with responsibility. V. In Conclusion... The United Nations is making great strides towards making itself stronger and more unified as it prepare to enter the next millenium.

The UNs future is not completely certain though, as one cannot predict what will occur over the next few years in lieu of the reforms being made and the ever changing face of the worlds politics. By creating a new and more efficient structure from which to work, the United Nations has proven that it is serious about fixing its current fiscal dilemma. Measures are being taken to make sure that the transitions are smooth, both in the present, as well as in the future. The UN needs to make its transition to the leaner organization it hopes to be in the upcoming years as painless as possible in order to avoid a state of chaos which could potentially bring the organization to its knees. Only by becoming more fiscally sound can the United Nations ever hope to continue on into the next millenium as a strong, united group. The planned consolidations will make the United Nations much more efficient and save costs, and the new leadership structure will allow for a more diverse opinion to be heard and more concise and effective decisions to be made.

Veto powers must be eliminated, however, because they are outdated and have no place in our post cold war society. Equal representation of all countries, big or small, must become a priority of the Leaders of the United Nations. Only after everyone has the right to have their own unique views on the issues effecting our world today heard and respected will the harmony necessary to keep the United Nations alive exist. The removal of veto powers would also force the countries who are abusing their power, such as the United States, to pay the overwhelming amounts of money they owe the organization. The United Nations does a lot of good for the world.

The peace keepers have helped many countries end the armed conflicts which once threatened their very existence, and UN organizations such as UNICEF have done wonders in helping to feed and medicate the people in Third World Nations. I believe strongly that the United Nations will play an important role in the world as we head into the next millenium. By undergoing these painful, yet necessary consolidations and reforms, they have allowed the organization to strengthen itself. All of the worlds countries, including the ones currently with veto powers must work together to make sure that we do not lose this important commodity, for if we do, we will surely suffer the consequences down the road.

Bibliography

web Secretary-General Outlines Extensive, Far-Reaching United Nations Reform; July 16, 1997 web Prepared For A Changing World web Untitled web Facts About Peace-Keeping;
July 31, 1997 web The UN Financial Crisis web Setting The Record Straight: Some Facts About the UN;
July, 1997 web UN Bashers Spreading Lies and Myths;
Victor T. Le Vine; October, 1996 web UN Pawns;
The New American; Volume 11; Number 26; December 15, 1995 United Nations;
Microsoft Encarta 97; CD edition; Microsoft Corporation 1997 United Nations;
Microsoft Bookshelf 1996-97 Edition;
Microsoft Corporation 1996 345.