UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT

Did you know that...

• Since 1945, there have been 43 United Nations peacekeeping operations. There are currently 15 under way. Some 1,500 United Nations peacekeepers have died in the performance of their duties since 1945.

• For every dollar that all governments spent on military activities in 1995, less than half a cent went to United Nations peacekeeping.

• Eighty per cent of the work of the United Nations system is devoted to helping developing countries build the capacity to help themselves.

• Today, some 1.5 billion people live in absolute poverty, and 13 to 18 million people -- mostly children -- die from the consequences of poverty and hunger each year.

• The Centre for Human Rights operates a 24-hour fax "hotline," put at the disposal of victims of human rights violations, their relatives and non-governmental organizations, to allow them to contact the Centre. The number is (41-22) 917 0092.

• Through technical assistance in preparing and holding elections, the United Nations has helped 70 nations to consolidate their democratic process.

From big words to small fish

Jon Bjornsson and Thor Jonsson are fishermen based in Keflavik, Iceland.
"For us, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has really meant the difference between economic survival and unemployment. It used to be that vessels would come from all parts of the world to fish around here. With this small ship that Jon and I operate, we could not compete against these huge fishing armadas. But the Convention clearly states now that these waters are for our and other Icelanders' exclusive use."

The United Nations encourages the progressive development of international law and its codification. Specially important has been the Convention on the Law of the Sea, which entered into force in 1994, after decades of work by the United Nations. Among other things, the Convention stipulates that coastal States have sovereign rights in a 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone over natural resources and certain economic activities.

Wheelchairs for less

Kumar Singh owns a small workshop producing prosthetic devices (artificial limbs) in Bombay, India.

"When I was a child, I used to get so frustrated that my uncle, who had lost a leg in a car accident, could never come with us for any celebration or family outing. He could not afford to buy an artificial leg, since he did not have any income And of course, he could not get any job because he could not go anywhere! I decided to make cheap devices to help people with such disabilities. Here I am, thirty years later, producing these very affordable prostheses. The technology is really simple. Now, I would like to expand and make reasonably-priced wheelchairs. But I don't know where to start."

Poverty prevents many people with disabilities from acquiring the assistive devices which would enable them to be mobile and contribute to their economic and social well-being. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, one of the five regional economic commissions of the United Nations, has launched a project on regional cooperation for the local production of low-cost, high-quality and culturally appropriate assistive devices (such as artificial limbs, braces and wheelchairs). This project includes the preparation of a manuscript containing information on, inter alia, devices produced in the region's developing countries, production processes, and contact addresses of production sites.

Safety on the roads and in your homes

Running errands in Milan with an eight-year-old like Alberto can be nerve-racking. He has, once again wandered off. Mrs. Rossetti finally finds him as he is trying to unscrew a gas-bottle.
"What do you think you are doing?" she yells. "Can't you see, Mummy", the child replies with an air of innocence. "I'm checking whether this bottle has any leaks!". "You'll drive me completely crazy one of these days", says the mother desperately. "Leave these gas-bottles alone. They're dangerous!"

Playing with a gas-bottle is dangerous, and Mrs. Rossetti is perfectly right to be angry with her son. But what she doesn't know is that there are strict safety measures for the transport of dangerous goods. Be it a gas-bottle, a cardboard box with bottles of acid, a box of dynamite or a barrel of oil, all these containers are manufactured according to very strict norms established by the United Nations and adapted to Europe by the Economic Commission for Europe. For the past half century, the Economic Commission for Europe and the other regional commissions of the United Nations have been involved in setting such norms, discreetly and efficiently. Through their work on transport, environment, energy, industry and trade, they have affected many aspects of every day live in their regions.

All human rights for all

A. M. and D. B. were observers with the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), a joint United Nations/Organization of American States mission set up to monitor and promote respect for human rights in that country, implement an education and civic information programme and help solve problems such as those relating to medical assistance to victims of abuses. They tell of one encounter.

"Jesula was a gentle and meek woman in her late 20s (although she looked easily 10 years older). She was one of the few casualties of the morning of 23 November 1995, when Cité-Soleil exploded in violence after the accidental shooting of a schoolgirl by a police agent. Out shopping in the market, she received gunshot blasts in both legs. MICIVIH Observers first came across her that same morning at the General Hospital, a pathetic figure on a bed crying out in agony. Several days and visits from MICIVIH doctors later, her condition was much improved. On the day of her release, we helped her back to her one-room shack in Cité-Soleil. Fears that she would have no one to take care of her quickly evaporated as women and children materialized out of the winding alleys to take her belongings, find her a chair, fuss over her and discuss her needs. We were moved by this expression of solidarity and left hopeful that she would be looked after."

One of the first major achievements of the United Nations was the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The United Nations strives to combat human rights violations through public discussion and investigation of patterns of violations and the confidential consideration of complaints from individuals and organizations. Under the leadership of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Centre for Human Rights assists the organs of the United Nations in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Centre provides advisory services and technical assistance to Member States at their request.

I can vote! Matthew Lunga lives in Swakopmund, a town on the Atlantic coast in Namibia. He recalls the day in November 1989 when, at age 45, he cast his first vote.

"I got up before dawn and walked down to the polling station, thinking that I would be the first one in line. But to my surprise, there were dozens and dozens of people already lined up. It took hours before I could put my ballot in the box. It was getting so hot under the sun, I thought the woman behind me, who was carrying a baby in her arms, would faint. But she just kept on smiling. I asked her: Are you all right?" She smiled again and she replied: "I can vote!"

Some 900 civilians from 124 nationalities were assembled in 1989 to observe the elections conducted by the Namibian authorities to form the Constituent Assembly that led the country to independence. Since then, the United Nations has monitored, at the request of Governments, elections in Nicaragua and Haiti, Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique, as well as a referendum in Eritrea. While these missions have received international attention, most electoral assistance is provided in far more modest conditions -- using one or two consultants for a number of weeks. It can include coordination of international observers, support for national election observers or -- in most cases -- the provision of technical assistance.

The Secretariat of the United Nations in brief...

The United Nations Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of 50 countries assembled in San Francisco, and the United Nations officially came into being on 24 October of the same year. Its purposes are:

• To maintain peace and security;
• To develop friendly relations among nations;
• To cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Secretariat -- an international staff working at the United Nations Headquarters in NewYork, and all over the world -- carries the day-to-day work of the Organization. Its duties are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering peace-keeping operations to mediating international disputes or surveying social and economic trends and problems.

United Nations
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel.: (1-212) 963-1234
Website:http://www.un.org

© United Nations 1998 / Information Technology Section, DPI