Beyond Mainstreaming? Past, Present and Future of UN Support for South-South and Triangular Cooperation

This special issue discusses, in-depth, the embedded conundrum of South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) whose frontiers are shifted from collaboration to contention within the United Nations (UN) development system and beyond. This introductory article provides the conceptual framework—the contentioncollaboration spectrum—that guides all the contributors and serves as the collective starting point for this project. The moving frontiers of SSTC reflect the shifting historic relationships between the global South and North as well as Southern partner countries. The framework enables the six articles of this special issue to investigate the paradoxical structure of contrasting dynamics of SSTC, which has always been exposed to historical transformations at multi-levels of analysis: global governance, regional engagements, middle power perspectives, and the UN development system and beyond.

United Nations (UN) development work has long followed the binary logic of “developed” countries providing funding so that UN entities support “developing” countries with their national development efforts. This rigid North–South template, however, is unfit for responding to current sustainability challenges that cut across borders and implicate both “developed” and “developing” member states. Against this backdrop, we suggest that the principle of universality promoted by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development holds untapped potential for rethinking how the UN development pillar operates. We first make the general case for universalizing UN development work, i.e., adapt UN support functions to enable engagement with all member states. We then examine the status quo of UN development work in more detail. Building on the strong North–South bias and the limited examples of UN engagement with “developed” countries we identify, we outline the contours of what a more universal future of UN development work could look like and discuss the political economy of our proposal. Overall, we argue that the principle of differentiated universality provides a helpful heuristic for rethinking the roles and functions of the UN development system in light of sustainable development concerns and persisting inter-state inequalities.

No longer are development agendas framed primarily by traditional aid structures: the post-2015 agenda will involve not just governments, but also the private sector, civil society and individuals. The High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda has coined the phrase of a “global partnership” in this respect.To prepare the ground for implementation of the new agenda, the member states of the United Nations (UN) will be called upon to agree the implications for the UN Development System. What does the post-2015 agenda mean for the UN Development System?The timing for this debate is right. With several reform processes of the UN Development System taking place simultaneously, there is strong momentum for change:- The post-2015 agenda that is to follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – linked with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be negotiated through an inter-governmental process – will bring about a new sense of purpose and direction within the UN Development System.- The follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio 20”) will see the creation of a High Level Political Forum (HLPF) to permanently anchor the debates at the political level.- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN is set to revise its functions and structures as part of a long-term reform process.However, these processes are currently segregated and not directly linked to each other. In order to result in a coherent overall outcome, it therefore seems necessary to provide a closer linkage under a uniting and coherent “vision” for the United Nations Development System. This vision should have three dimensions:- What: Using the HLPF, member states should translate the post-2015 agenda into a system-wide mandate for the UN Development System that details its purpose as a complement to other actors.- How: The post-2015 agenda is about the recognition that development challenges such as population growth, economic inequality, water shortages and volatile financial markets are increasingly interrelated and global. A set of reforms should therefore be undertaken in conjunction with the elaboration of the future mandate so that the UN Development System can fulfil its mandate supported by a cohesive institutional organisation.- Means: Finally, there is a need to initiate discussions about the future funding of the UN Development System in line with the broadened mandate and reformed structure. What the post-2015 agenda requires is a dramatic shift in perspective to go “beyond aid”.In order to build up the necessary support and momentum for substantial reforms of a funding structure “beyond aid”, stakeholders will need a clear understanding of the specific role that the UN Development System would be playing in the post-2015 agenda, and assurances that the UN Development System “House” is well prepared to deliver. A sequenced approach meets these concerns.

PurposeThe United Nations (UN) is globally acknowledged for its unique role as a convening platform to address humanitarian, peace, security and sustainable development challenges. However, it is not often associated with technological innovation. Blockchain technology, an innovation that emerged in the late 2000s, has generated animated discussions that are led, in the most part, by private sector institutions. A dearth of literature highlights the innovative blockchain projects supported by UN entities. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of blockchain innovations supported by UN entities and explore opportunities for future studies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used an exploratory case study approach with the purpose of providing a broad perspective of blockchain innovations undertaken by UN entities in the quest to meet sustainable and equitable development across the world.FindingsThis study found 25 blockchain projects by 13 UN entities in 19 countries. The geographical spread of the case studies revealed that two studies have global jurisdiction, five studies in Africa, three in Europe, four in Latin America and the Caribbean and 11 in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. Of the 19 countries, three had two projects each. Two countries had three projects and the rest had one project each. Of the 13 UN entities, three dominated with UNICEF (part of six projects), UNDP (part of 10 projects) and WFP (part of four projects). Finally, the 25 projects were divided among three categories of blockchain use cases, as defined by UN guidance documents. Five case studies focused on immutable record keeping, five on transfer of value and 15 on smart contracts.Originality/valueThis study offers a unique overview of blockchain efforts within UN entities. It provides a platform for future studies to reveal implicit assumptions, contrasting explanations and casual connections.

Member states of the United Nations (UN) agree that its development system needs substantial reform given its fragmentation and outdated structures, as well as new demands from the 2030 Agenda. Yet, a recent two-year reform process yielded no substantial reform decisions. Why did member states fail to endorse the necessary reforms despite almost unanimous recognition of the need for change? This paper describes member states’ conflicting positions on reforming the UN and analyses their failure to delegate authority to the UN development system. North and South, donors and recipients, are locked in a struggle for power and control, maximising bilateral influence at the expense of the benefits of multilateral cooperation. The paper contributes to the pool of UN studies, adding a decidedly political perspective of the reform process. It is based on diplomatic statements, negotiation drafts and interviews with UN diplomats.

Various parts of the United Nations (UN) system have been part of the definition and implementation of technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC), South-South cooperation (SSC) and triangular cooperation (TrC) over the years since the Buenos Aires Plan of Action of 1978 (BAPA). This paper will take the view that there is a perception that South-South and triangular cooperation have not achieved their potential to be transformative because accompanying changes needed for the modalities have not been pursued fully and thus these development modalities seemingly remain largely cosmetic. To respond to this perception, the authors will review what was expected of the United Nations development systems (UNDS) from Bandung to Buenos Aires and what has been achieved since noting the constraints of lack of data and measurement.

Background: The alcohol industry builds engagement with United Nations (UN) organisations to enhance its corporate image and influence policy, supported by the UN’s endorsement of public-private partnerships (PPPs). However, the extent of the alcohol industry’s relationships with the UN remains unclear due to limited reporting. Methods: We searched the websites of 57 UN-affiliated entities and 18 transnational alcohol corporations (TNACs) for evidence of partnerships or relationships between the UN and the alcohol industry. We summarised the UN entities and TNACs involved in formal partnerships, membership of alliances or stakeholder networks, financial contributions, sponsorship of programmes or projects, sponsorship of events, event participation, and personal relationships with conflicts of interest. Results: We identified examples of all the above relationships between various UN entities and the world’s largest TNACs, including an alcohol industry donation towards the World Health Organization (WHO) Foundation, which was created to maximise private sector donations to WHO. The focus of these engagements aligned closely with the alcohol industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including drink-driving prevention, education, sustainability, and philanthropy. These activities frequently involved support for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and women, which are emerging markets for the TNACs. Sponsorship and participation in intergovernmental events allowed the TNACs privileged access to policy-makers. Limited disclosure by UN entities meant that our findings provided an incomplete picture of relationships with the alcohol industry. Conclusion: The UN’s wide-ranging relationships with the TNACs highlight the power of these large corporations in building political influence and the UN’s failure to acknowledge the alcohol industry’s conflicting interests with health. These relationships undermine WHO’s mandate to promote health, placing the integrity and impartiality of the UN system at risk. On top of adequate resources from member states and enhanced transparency measures, the UN requires effective safeguards against alcohol industry influence, in line with those for the tobacco industry.

Space activities in the United Nations system—Status and perspectives of inter-agency coordination of outer space activities

This chapter, based on a keynote presentation at the Moana: Water of Life conference at the University of Lincoln, UK, in August 2019, explores how individual people of faith, and faith actors, engage with the confluence of member states, UN entities, and civil society that make up the UN system, in order to address climate change and water, informally and formally. Interviews with faith-based organizations, UN entities, and UN ambassadors revealed lessons learned on the successes, challenges, and obstacles in engaging with the UN on climate action. Drawing from this research, the author revealed some “lessons learned” in order to respond to a key question: How can faith-based participants engage with the United Nations (UN) on climate action in smart, strategic ways in an era of climate emergency? The research aims to equip the readers with a sense of the urgency of climate action and an appreciation of their own agency and action and practical tools for using their faith in climate action with the UN.

On 22 May 2019, the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), in association with the University of South Africa (Unisa) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), co-hosted a dialogue titled “Appraising the Dynamics of South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation: Lessons beyond the BAPA+40 Conference”. The event reflected on the international development arena and global development agenda in the context of the United Nations (UN) Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 30 August to 12 September 1978, and the Second High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation (SSC) also held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 20 to 22 March 2019, otherwise known as BAPA+40. The dialogue built on research drawn from the participation of the IGD at BAPA+40 and its engagement in a number of side events in Buenos Aires. The event brought together wide-ranging participants including scholars, academics, diplomats, government representatives, media and civil society.

In UN Reform: 75 Years of Challenge and Change, Stephen Browne, a United Nations (UN) veteran with many years of experience working in the UN development system and the founder of the Future United...

This paper critically assesses the role of the United Nations (UN) in mediating the war between Russia and Ukraine, focusing on the organization's problems and limits in sustaining international peace and security. The study is based on a detailed review of secondary sources, including UN papers, official reports, academic journals, and news items, using a normative legal research technique in conjunction with a qualitative descriptive approach. The main goal is to evaluate the roles and responsibilities of important UN entities, notably the Security Council and the Secretary-General, in their attempts to mediate the dispute in conformity with the UN Charter. The findings show that, despite various mediation efforts, such as those facilitated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and recommendations by the United Nations General Assembly, the effectiveness of these efforts has been significantly hampered by the realpolitik of the Security Council's permanent members and the broader dynamics of global politics. These constraints have hindered the UN's ability to act aggressively in ending the crisis. To improve the mediation process, the research suggests including neutral foreign parties such as China, Turkey, India, and South Africa, who may bring a more balanced approach to negotiation. It also emphasizes the need of closer collaboration with regional and global organisations, as well as a larger role for UN agencies like as the UNHCR, WHO, and OCHA in supporting long-term peace initiatives. These stages are critical for ensuring that diplomatic efforts are supplemented by strong humanitarian and development activities, eventually leading to a long-term settlement of the conflict.

In early 2013, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General has formulated a UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, which has already been taken up by the Security Council in the context of mandates for UN peacekeeping forces. The new policy aims at preventing UN support to state and non-state actors alike used for the commission of grave violations of international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law. This contribution argues that this policy can be seen as a faithful implementation of existing legal obligations of the UN, in particular in the light of the rules on complicity in the law of international responsibility. Its potential for innovation lies in its procedural mechanism which requires a balancing on the part of UN entities whether there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk of the receiving entities committing grave violations of the law. In this respect, the policy goes beyond what international law would require of the UN. A particular challenge, however, lies in the implementation of the policy, especially in highly volatile situations such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In such situations, a delicate balance needs to be struck between the requirement not to contribute to violations of international law and the need to implement the goals of the mission, which often requires cooperation with non-UN forces on the ground.

Recent scholarship on China at the United Nations (UN) considers whether there has been a discernible shift in power in China's favour. However, existing analyses predominantly focus on state actors and UN entities, whereas non‐state actors, such as non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), are largely neglected. This article examines the participation of Chinese NGOs in the UN, contributing to the analysis of China's evolving position in global politics. Through the contextualised examination of Chinese women's NGOs' engagement with the UN over the past three decades, the argument contends that there are different types of Chinese NGOs operating in hierarchical and shifting political settings. Despite the Chinese state's attempts to co‐opt NGOs to strengthen its multilateral power base, it is oversimplified to perceive the engagement of Chinese NGOs at the UN as merely serving the interests of the state. Instead, Chinese NGOs play multifaceted roles that are shaped by their relationship with the state, as they deploy different strategies to navigate political space both at the UN and domestically. Although the Chinese government continues to dominate state‐NGO relations, at the UN and elsewhere, there are a few instances where UN fora have provided Chinese NGOs with precarious but increased room for manoeuvre vis‐à‐vis the state.

United Nations (UN) personnel address a diverse range of political, social, and cultural crises throughout the world. Compared with other occupations routinely exposed to traumatic stress, there remains a paucity of research on mental health disorders and access to mental healthcare in this population. To fill this gap, personnel from UN agencies were surveyed for mental health disorders and mental healthcare utilization. UN personnel (N = 17 363) from 11 UN entities completed online measures of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma exposure, mental healthcare usage, and socio-demographic information. Exposure to one or more traumatic events was reported by 36.2% of survey responders. Additionally, 17.9% screened positive for GAD, 22.8% for MDD, and 19.9% for PTSD. Employing multivariable logistic regressions, low job satisfaction, younger age (<35 years of age), greater length of employment, and trauma exposure on or off-duty was significantly associated with all the three disorders. Among individuals screening positive for a mental health disorder, 2.05% sought mental health treatment within and 10.01% outside the UN in the past year. UN personnel appear to be at high risk for trauma exposure and screening positive for a mental health disorder, yet a small percentage screening positive for mental health disorders sought treatment. Despite the mental health gaps observed in this study, additional research is needed, as these data reflect a large sample of convenience and it cannot be determined if the findings are representative of the UN.