CHAPTER 3: WHAT DOES THE UNITED NATIONS DO FOR DEVELOPMENT?

What does the United Nations do to promote development?

The UN is also active in efforts aimed at opening global markets to developing countries. Early on, the Secretary-General expressed support for a "development round" of trade negotiations, to remove the unfair subsidies given to producers in rich countries and to fully open markets to labour-intensive exports from poor countries - calling for measures to mobilize private investment in developing countries in a manner that respects the environment and is thus sustainable. During 2001-2002, these issues were addressed at three world conferences - the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (Doha, Qatar); the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, Mexico); and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa) - which laid the groundwork for negotiations on these issues.

However, until these efforts bear fruit and enable the world's struggling countries to lift themselves out of the pit of underdevelopment, the UN remains a major source of technical and financial assistance. For millions in poor countries, these programmes of assistance are the UN. The blue flag is respected because it is the symbol of people helping people build a just and sustainable world.

However, until these efforts bear fruit and enable the world’s struggling countries to lift themselves out of the pit of underdevelopment, the UN remains a major source of technical and financial assistance. For millions in poor countries, these programmes of assistance are the UN. The blue flag is respected because it is the symbol of people helping people build a just and sustainable world.

What can the UN do that others cannot?

• Its universality: all countries have a voice when major policy decisions are made.



• Its impartiality: the UN does not represent any national or commercial interest. It can therefore develop relations of trust with countries and their people to provide aid with no strings attached.



• Its global presence: the UN has the largest network of country offices for the delivery of development assistance.



• Its comprehensive mandate, spanning social, economic and emergency needs.



• Its commitment to all "the peoples of the United Nations".

What is the UN doing to protect the environment?

The UN helps bring about environmental treaties which, for example, helped to cut oil pollution from ships by 60 per cent during the 1980s; to curb cross-border pollution in North America and Europe; and to stop production in both industrialized and developing countries of many of the gases that destroy the ozone layer. Since the first UN conference on the environment in 1972, UN agencies and programmes have helped broker more than 300 international treaties and agreements relating to endangered species, marine pollution, ozone depletion, hazardous waste, biological diversity, climate change, desertification, fisheries, and industrial chemicals and pesticides.

* Agenda 21, negotiated at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (the "Earth Summit"), provides a comprehensive global blueprint for environmentally sound development, which has become the basis for many national plans and local initiatives. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa) provided an opportunity to identify areas where further efforts and action-oriented decisions were needed and to generate renewed political commitment.

* The UN Commission on Sustainable Development encourages the social and economic changes needed for "sustainable" development, which aims at providing real improvements in the quality of human life today while ensuring the preservation of resources for future generations. The Commission reviews how Agenda 21 and other Earth Summit agreements are being implemented at the international, regional and national levels. It also promotes dialogue and builds partnerships between governments and major groups involved in sustainable development. To help countries gather and report data for measuring progress, the Commission has developed a set of internationally accepted indicators of sustainable development, and encourages governments to establish national sustainable development bodies and goals.

* The UN Environment Programme helps countries to better manage the environment, monitors the health of the planet and builds consensus towards international treaties and programmes of action.

* UN-sponsored technical bodies take the pulse of the environment. The UNEP-WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a worldwide network of 2,500 of the world's leading scientists, assesses the state of knowledge on global climate change - its causes, impact and options for mitigating and adapting to it. Similar scientific and technical bodies also operate under international treaties dealing with the ozone layer. The Food and Agriculture Organization monitors global fish stocks, alerting countries to the risks of overfishing. The report of the UN-sponsored Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, based on the work of more than 1,300 leading scientists and issued in July 2005, examines the processes that support life on earth, such as the world's grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes, farmlands and oceans. It provides decision-makers with authoritative scientific knowledge concerning the impact of changes in the world's ecosystems on human livelihoods and the environment.

* The Global Environment Facility (GEF), a Fund administered by UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank, has allocated more than $4.5 billion and leveraged another $14.5 billion for actions to reduce the risk of climate change, conserve and use biodiversity sustainably, protect international waters and phase out ozone-depleting substances and persistent organic pollutants in 140 developing countries and economies in transition.

How is the UN fighting the AIDS epidemic?

The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which pools the expertise of 10 UN agencies and programmes, is the main advocate for global action. It leads and supports work to prevent the transmission of HIV, reduce the vulnerability of individuals and communities, provide care and support, and alleviate the impact of the epidemic. UNAIDS promotes research, mobilizes support from the private sector and encourages partnerships between governments and the pharmaceuticals industry. It also engages the efforts of major drug companies, which have agreed to make HIV/AIDS treatment and care more affordable in developing countries.

In June 2001, at a special session of the General Assembly on AIDS, world leaders made a commitment to ensure that resources for the global response to HIV/AIDS are substantial, sustained and geared towards achieving results. Along with a comprehensive "battle plan" against the disease, the Assembly supported the establishment of a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to finance an expanded response to the epidemic combining prevention, care, support and treatment. The Fund, which became operational in January 2002, received pledges of $3.4 billion from governments and private sources for the period 2001-2004. Its grants in some 130 countries went equally to the purchase of medicines, and to infrastructure, including education, training and other support costs. As of mid-2005, the Fund had received pledges of $2.7 billion towards its needs for 2005-2008.

Does the UN provide funding for abortion?

What is the UN doing to fight illicit drug trafficking?

• The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the main intergovernmental policy-making body dealing with all drug-related matters. It analyses the world drug abuse situation and develops proposals to strengthen international drug control.
• The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) strives to restrict the availability of drugs to medical and scientific purposes, prevent their diversion into illegal channels, and combat illicit trafficking.
• The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), based in Vienna, provides leadership in the global struggle against illicit drugs. It works to strengthen international action against drug production, trafficking and related crime, including money laundering. It supports crop monitoring and helps farmers switch from drug crops to alternative crops. In addition to providing accurate statistics, the Office helps to draft anti-drug legislation and to train judicial officials.

How does the UN handle emergency relief?

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. An Inter-Agency Standing Committee brings together UN humanitarian agencies and the major world relief organizations for a coordinated global response. UN humanitarian appeals in 2004 raised more than $2.2 billion to assist millions of people in 30 countries and regions worldwide. Virtually all UN humanitarian relief is funded by voluntary contributions.