Major UN Research Articles

Future of UNEP: Stockholm+50 and Beyond+

Environmental issue on to the global radar screen with the first UN Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE) hosted by the Swedish Government in Stockholm during 5–16 June 1972. The momentum generated by this historic meeting was attended by only two heads of Government of Sweden and India. It took place amid skepticism about the approach, the North-South divide and the idea that global problems need global solutions. It gave birth to a new UN environment entity – UNEP – that became the first major UN entity to be located in the African continent. The UN General Assembly driven global conferencing approach has stood the test of time as witnessed in subsequent summits at Rio de Janeiro (1992), Johannesburg (2002) and Rio+20 event (2012). Now the stage is set for the 50 years of the UNCHE. The first part took place in Nairobi during 3-4 March 2022. The second part will be held in Stockholm during 2-3 June 2022. The author has been privy as well as a participant in the making of UNEP from its inception and his life became intertwined with the life of UNEP. This article seeks to provide that firsthand account along with what went wrong and what lies ahead beyond Stockhom+50 event.

UK food policy: implications for nutritionists.

Implications of the 'changing world' for nutrition and nutritionists are considered, using the UK within a global context as an illustration. The first section summarises the slow recognition by policy makers of the significance of the changing world of food and nutrition. The second section 'Food system stress is now at a critical level' considers the present scale of global food system stress and the failure so far sufficiently to narrow the gap between evidence and policy change. The year 2021 was earmarked when three major UN conferences had the opportunity to chart food changes ahead. The third section 'Multi-criteria analysis helps frame 21st century nutrition science' proposes that multi-criteria analysis is an essential methodology for nutrition within this more complex policy world; nutrition studies can no long exclude social and environmental criteria. The penultimate section 'Nutrition science can reconnect its life science, social and environmental nutrition traditions to contribute to new paradigm formation' suggests that nutrition science can now recombine three traditions within its own history to address this complexity: social nutrition, environmental nutrition and life sciences. The final section 'Priorities ahead' concludes that this multi-criteria approach to nutrition offers new routes for science and policy influence. Five priorities are identified: (1) clarification of the features of a good food system; (2) new sustainable dietary guidelines which integrate different determinants of sustainability; (3) helping consumer engagement with change; (4) developing improved policy frameworks and (5) contributing to professional channels in these processes. In the UK, while the challenge of narrowing the gap between evidence, policy and change remains daunting, the risks of not attempting to improve the transition to an ecologically sound public health nutrition are even greater.

Babelic organisations and the interpreters of geopolitical knowledge production

This paper addresses how babelic organisations seek to organise interpretation to facilitate geopolitical knowledge production and its circulation. Language and its interpretation have been neglected by political geographers and political scientists in their extensive work on international organisations. Babelic organisations are ephemeral accomplishments, a temporary product of constant battles with dysfunctionality. Drawing upon detailed ‘inside’ research methods in three major babelic organisations-the UN, the EU and NATO, and focused on interpreters-the ‘hidden messengers’ of geopolitics- I demonstrate how interpretation is unable to escape the dysfunctional behaviours that routinely and intractably blight these organisations. Despite the stringent competitive recruitment of interpreters, their training, mentorship, and performance evaluation, all of which are designed to ensure the quality and accuracy of interpreting geopolitical knowledge, interpretation struggles in the face of disordering situations. These situations make geopolitical knowledge harder to identify, and its messages less easily definable. Responding to them is challenging in organisational terms. I expose how interpreters within these babelic organisations operate in spaces where the messy co-functioning of languages, words and their meanings exists alongside the collection of equally indistinct political qualities, things, and relations. Critically, language permeates politics and vice versa and interpreters are inevitably caught up in this relation.

Tools for Regulating Women’s Rights

Acts that that guarantee the specific rights of women are various national regulations on conventions and instruments of international and European law. Several international legislative instruments - conventions involving obligations for acceding states, as well as political declarations of universal value - prohibit the gender-based exclusion from the exercise of all rights of any individual but especially of women. One such instrument is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the United Nations International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other conventions of this organization, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. However, there are several Conventions of the International Labour Organization in this area, or Action Plans approved at the last major UN conferences, especially those dedicated especially to the situation of women that took place in Beijing in September 1995. The current situation has shown that women are a product that imposes protection against discrimination of any kind. The status of women through the new regulations now opens a new perspective. There are currently regional instruments, in particular those of the Council of Europe - the European Convention on Human Rights - that prohibit discrimination based on sex.

The emergence and development of UN peacekeeping activities

The first two official UN missions to launch UN peacekeeping operations were the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization(Israel) and the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan.The UN’s peacekeeping activities, in its traditional sense, came at a time when confrontation between the parties to the Cold Warparalyzed the Security Council in 1956 during the Suez Crisis.In order to understand how peacekeeping has evolved from its inception to the present day, as well as to be able to assess howits effectiveness has grown, the author proposes to divide the history of peacekeeping missions into periods.In 1987, 5 peacekeeping operations were carried out, and in 1993 their number reached 19, in 1995 – 20. In 2019 – 14 peacekeepingmissions were carried out. However, not all peacekeeping operations are carried out only by the UN. Between 2004 and 2013,regional organizations and situational alliances were involved in stabilizing the conflict (as in the case of the CAR, Chad and Darfurmissions).Peacekeeping has become a unique example of global cooperation as a major UN body, such as the General Assembly, the SecurityCouncil, the Secretariat; and States, both those providing military and police contingents and those receiving missions.Throughout its history, there have been setbacks and victories, but peacekeeping has proved the necessity of its existence. It hasbecome a unique example of global cooperation as a major UN body, such as the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat;and States, both those providing military and police contingents and those receiving missions.Given all the shortcomings and problems that have arisen during peacekeeping missions for half a century, in 2000 the UN beganreforming the peacekeeping mechanism, which continues to this day.Since 1948, UN peacekeeping has evolved significantly and become much more effective, but there are still problems with thelegitimacy of UN missions, human rights violations and others.

Overlapping Agendas and Peacekeepers’ Ability to Protect

ABSTRACT This article scrutinizes the overlaps between three major UN policy agendas to explain how their interaction impacts the delivery of protection, particularly against conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Building on Pierre Bourdieu, it reconstructs the ‘field of international interventions’ and subsequently analyses the evolution of the protection mandate, highlighting the complementarities and contradictions between Children and Armed Conflict, Protection of Civilians and Women, Peace and Security. My findings suggest that while these agendas have reinforced each other during their establishment and institutionalization, the multiplication of administrative structures has also led to the compartmentalization of protection. The field’s competitive pressures, furthermore, push organizations to focus on their own mandates and subsume aspects of other agendas under them. Data from the Democratic Republic of Congo indicate that despite recognizing the need for gender-sensitive approaches, UN peacekeeping largely continues to understand protection against CRSV as part of its general protection efforts. Therefore, the militarized and gender-ignorant approach to protection prevails and specific measures to address sexual violence remain too headquarters-driven.

Being disabled persons in Spain: policies, stakeholders and services

El propósito de este trabajo es resumir el camino histórico de las políticas que llevaron España a desarrollar un sistema avanzado de protección y integración de personas con discapacidad en su sociedad. A través de análisis de las tres fundamentales leyes generales, nosotros argumentamos como es el marco legal español para discapacidad –arraigado en su Carta Constitucional- formuló a nivel nacional y local la mayor legislación supranacional de UN y EU en esta materia. Además, presentamos las principales partes implicadas que facilitan el acceso de personas con discapacidad a los servicios que el gobierno nacional y local proporcionan a los discapacitados. Finalmente, los puntos 4 y 5 ejemplifican respectivamentelas medidasconcretas de ayudasy beneficios para persona con discapacidad y las políticas para el deporte y la actividad física. Teóricamente, el resume muestra como el actual sistema legal español – y su sistema de servicios- concuerdan con el paradigma social de discapacidad compartido a nivel internacional y fundamenta el modelo de rehabilitación o médico en el cual los derechos y la integración de las personas con discapacidad que no eran enteramente reconocidos y ahora ya lo son.

Acknowledging Urbanization: A Survey of the Role of Cities in UN Frameworks

AbstractCities are playing an increasingly vital role in global sustainability. Yet there is still little systematic and international evidence on the recognition and formal role of cities in multilateral affairs. Where and how are cities acknowledged as part of global efforts? How do the United Nations frame this ‘urban’ contribution to major international processes and agendas? To offer some initial evidence‐based pointers to this set of problems, we present an analysis of explicit references to cities in major UN frameworks (n = 32) underpinning the current Agenda 2030 on sustainable development. We investigate how cities are cited to determine the role, key themes and contextual trends framing the engagement between United Nations and cities. Contra arguments for the uniqueness of the current ‘rise’ of mayors, our review demonstrates a weak rise in the recognition of cities over time in UN frameworks and shows historical continuity in this acknowledgement since the 1970s. Our review confirms that two prevailing themes determining this are those of ‘development’ and the ‘environment’ but other issues (like ‘infrastructure’ and ‘health’) are following closely behind. It also highlights acknowledgment of cities as ‘actors’ is on the rise since the 2000s and raises fundamental questions as to the status of cities internationally. We argue it becomes imperative to more systematically and strategically think of the role of cities in the UN system, but also flag that raises fundamental challenges for multilateral governance.

СПІВПРАЦЯ УКРАЇНИ ТА ООН НА СУЧАСНОМУ ЕТАПІ

The article is devoted to the United Nations Organization, which turns 75 this year. The article reveals the cooperation between Ukraine and the UN. Despite the ongoing aggression by the Russian Federation, Ukraine pays special attention to the UN's efforts to maintain international peace and security, considering participation in it as an important factor in its foreign policy. Ukraine is an active participant in the activities of the UN system in the field of human rights, a party to all major UN human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocols and the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Since March 2014, at the invitation of our state, the UN Monitoring Mission in the field of human rights has been operating in Ukraine, recording the human rights consequences of Russian aggression. Our country receives significant technical, advisory and financial assistance from UN specialized agencies, its funds and programs, in particular, in the areas of democratic governance, poverty alleviation, achieving the National Sustainable Development Goals, supporting public administration, combating HIV / AIDS and other serious diseases, environment. In connection with the above, it should be emphasized that Ukraine, as a founding member of the United Nations, does not stand aside, but actively cooperates with this respected international organization in all areas of its activities. Ukraine remains a supporter of strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of the UN and adapting to modern challenges in the world. Keywords: United Nations Organization, Ukraine, Security Council, human rights, peacekeeping.

Introduction

Introduction

Evolução histórica e política das principais conferências mundiais da onu sobre o clima e meio ambiente

This reflection aims to analyze the historical and political evolution of the major UN world conferences on climate and the environment. Aware that human action has compromised the future continuity of life on the planet, the United Nations has promoted the debate to rethink humankind’s relationship with nature, and with the idea of development and sustainability. The itinerary for this reflection begins with the Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, Eco-92, and goes on to consider Rio + 20, the Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, before finally coming to the Climate Conference (COP 21) held in Paris in December 2015, known as the Paris Agreement. It aims to evaluate the impasses, breakthroughs and historical and political perspectives of these documents aimed at preventing human “achievements” and “progress” from compromising life on Earth as a whole.

Joan Clos: Urbanization is a tool for development

Joan Clos is the Executive Director of the Nairobi-based United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). In this interview with Newton Kanhema for Africa Renewal, Dr. Clos talks about the effects of urbanization in Africa and the forthcoming Habitat III, a major UN conference on housing and sustainable urban development to be held in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016.

Turning a Page in Drug Control and Public Health: Advancing HCV/HIV Prevention through Reform of Drug Law and Policy

ABSTRACT A major UN summit on the world drug problem in 2016 is an opportunity to rethink punitive drug policies that have not succeeded in stemming drug demand or supply and have undermined HIV and HCV responses in many countries. Experiences of some countries demonstrate that treating drug use and minor drug possession in the health rather than the law enforcement sector can dramatically improve access to HIV and HCV services. Alternatives to incarceration for minor drug infractions are particularly important in this regard. The voices of health professionals in national and international debates leading up to this important summit are crucial to making the case for public health-based and human rights-oriented drug policy reform.

Teaching about Islam in Africa

What are the major pillars of education today? The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century focused on this question in its report to the premier United Nations agency in education: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In its report, “Learning: The Treasure Within,” the commission stated that life-long education is based upon four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.1 But is learning about religion a steel bar in these pillars? Certainly, the High-Level Group (HLG) appointed by Kofi Annan, the African UN Secretary General (1997-2006), to undertake the major UN intercultural initiative – the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) – seemed to think so. The HLG report stressed the role of learning about religion as a key element of preparing future citizens for a world characterized by cultural diversity.What are the major pillars of education today? The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century focused on this question in its report to the premier United Nations agency in education: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In its report, “Learning: The Treasure Within,” the commission stated that life-long education is based upon four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.1 But is learning about religion a steel bar in these pillars? Certainly, the High-Level Group (HLG) appointed by Kofi Annan, the African UN Secretary General (1997-2006), to undertake the major UN intercultural initiative – the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) – seemed to think so. The HLG report stressed the role of learning about religion as a key element of preparing future citizens for a world characterized by cultural diversity.2 In his Cultural Forces in World Politics(1990), Ali Mazrui explored the seven functions of culture in society. Briefly put, these are culture as a worldview, a source of identity, stratification, communication, value systems, motivation, and as a means of production and modes of consumption. I apply this framework to my analysis of the seven functions of Islam in Africa and link them with the UNESCO and UNAOC reports to underline the need for modern well-educated Africans to learn about Islam in Africa. In his Cultural Forces in World Politics(1990), Ali Mazrui explored the seven functions of culture in society. Briefly put, these are culture as a worldview, a source of identity, stratification, communication, value systems, motivation, and as a means of production and modes of consumption. I apply this framework to my analysis of the seven functions of Islam in Africa and link them with the UNESCO and UNAOC reports to underline the need for modern well-educated Africans to learn about Islam in Africa.

Teaching about Islam in Africa

What are the major pillars of education today? The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century focused on this question in its report to the premier United Nations agency in education: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In its report, “Learning: The Treasure Within,” the commission stated that life-long education is based upon four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.1 But is learning about religion a steel bar in these pillars? Certainly, the High-Level Group (HLG) appointed by Kofi Annan, the African UN Secretary General (1997-2006), to undertake the major UN intercultural initiative – the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) – seemed to think so. The HLG report stressed the role of learning about religion as a key element of preparing future citizens for a world characterized by cultural diversity.What are the major pillars of education today? The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century focused on this question in its report to the premier United Nations agency in education: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In its report, “Learning: The Treasure Within,” the commission stated that life-long education is based upon four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.1 But is learning about religion a steel bar in these pillars? Certainly, the High-Level Group (HLG) appointed by Kofi Annan, the African UN Secretary General (1997-2006), to undertake the major UN intercultural initiative – the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) – seemed to think so. The HLG report stressed the role of learning about religion as a key element of preparing future citizens for a world characterized by cultural diversity.2 In his Cultural Forces in World Politics(1990), Ali Mazrui explored the seven functions of culture in society. Briefly put, these are culture as a worldview, a source of identity, stratification, communication, value systems, motivation, and as a means of production and modes of consumption. I apply this framework to my analysis of the seven functions of Islam in Africa and link them with the UNESCO and UNAOC reports to underline the need for modern well-educated Africans to learn about Islam in Africa. In his Cultural Forces in World Politics(1990), Ali Mazrui explored the seven functions of culture in society. Briefly put, these are culture as a worldview, a source of identity, stratification, communication, value systems, motivation, and as a means of production and modes of consumption. I apply this framework to my analysis of the seven functions of Islam in Africa and link them with the UNESCO and UNAOC reports to underline the need for modern well-educated Africans to learn about Islam in Africa.

Human Rights at Work: The Need for Definitional Coherence in the Global Governance System

In describing the rights companies should respect, the UN Global Compact and the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights refer to the ILO's 1998 Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Company codes of conduct, and various certification, audit and reporting entities use language that is identical or similar to that found in the ILO Declaration. For years the International Labour Organization (ILO) was viewed as the authority on what certain human rights mean in the work context. This certainty was challenged in June 2012 when the Employers Group at the International Labour Conference (ILC) attacked the ILO's Committee of Experts (CEACR) for discussing the right to strike as part of its commentary on Convention No. 87, Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise. Underlying this criticism was the Employers' awareness that others were using the General Survey of the CEACR to comprehend the scope of certain human rights found in statements such as the UN Global Compact. The Employers identified 'the critical issue' as the fact that the CEACR's 'observations were being viewed by the outside world as a form of soft law labour standards jurisprudence.' This article will set out the 1998 ILO Declaration and will then discuss the two major UN pronouncements on human rights at work. It will review the standards used by other entities active in this space. This article will conclude that companies must accept that society has placed certain responsibilities on them to apply human rights in their sphere of control. It will also argue that for the post-World War II concept of universal human rights to remain valid and effective, there must be agreement on what specific rights mean in practice and that, in turn, requires acceptance of an international body's legitimacy in making these determinations.

Parliamentary decision making and foreign policy: Sweden's participation in international armed missions and the crucial role of the Riksdag

SUMMARYThe last 20 years have witnessed a marked increase in Swedish participation in major international UN-, EU- and/or NATO-led armed missions mandated according to Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This development reflects the new foreign and security priorities of Sweden in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Decisions on Swedish participation in such missions, however, cannot be taken without parliamentary approval. The Riksdag's role in Sweden's new foreign and security policy is thus crucial. Since the first bill on an international mission was submitted in 1993, the Parliament has gradually elaborated an informal internal working order for handling bills of this type, as well as the establishment of a system of signification for communicating approval or discontent with certain aspects of the bills, in conjunction with the Cabinet. This article is aimed at investigating the nature and content of the Parliament's contribution to the wider process of decision making on Swedish participation in international armed missions.

Environmental Sustainability and Ecological Complexity: Developing an Integrated Approach to Analyse the Environment and Landscape Potentials to Promote Sustainable Development

The notion of Sustainable Development has rapidly gained considerable attention since the lastdecades of the twentieth century. It has become a locus for global paradigm shift on environment and development issues particularly after Rio Conference in 1992. The comparative analysis of Agenda 21 and major UN documents, MDG, and RIO+20 as well as some major sources are made to provide a context for the assessment of landscape and environment importance for achieving sustainability. Study showed almost half of the Agenda 21 is devoted to the Environmental problems, landscape issues and protection of nature and natural resources. Landscape ecology and ecological complexity theories have been widely used in recent decades to analyze natural systems and artificial phenomena to predict the future behavior of systems; and to provide better solutions for balanced interactions of human and living organisms at larger scales. The paper investigated landscape ecology and complexity theory potentials for better understanding landscape system and its nature as an ever changing semi-living phenomenon, which plays a key role for the life of inhabitants of the planet. Using an integrated approach and analyses, this research is to develop the ecological dimensions of landscape as framework for the contribution of landscape ecology and ecological complexity towards achieving sustainable development. Analyses led the paper postulates the new dimensions: Transformation complexity and Accumulation complexity; and reveals Ecosystem complexity and Biocomplexity to expand the current dimensions of ecological complexity, with their effects on the landscape systems, environmental sustainability and hence sustainable development.

Ten years in the United Nations: Where does Switzerland stand?

AbstractPrior to its full membership in the United Nations, Switzerland was an active observer and even an active member of many specialized UN agencies. However, ten years ago, Swiss voters finally approved full UN membership and in 2002, behavioral data started to become available on Switzerland's involvement in the major UN assemblies. Switzerland was admitted to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) as a full member on September 10th, 2002 and was elected to the newly created UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2006. Switzerland wished to be an active partner in both of these assemblies. In this research note we describe, based on novel data collected on the UNGA and the UNHRC, how Switzerland positions itself in the “orchestra of nations.”

The Middle East Quartet and (In)effective Multilateralism

In 2002, what became known as the East came into being. A decade later, this article explores the performance of the and the EU's role in it. The conclusions are sobering, pointing to the fact that, while the EU has been the principal driver behind the Quartet, the latter has neither become a genuinely multilateral forum, nor has it been in pursuing the goal of a two-state solution in the East.In the past, mediation of the protracted Arab-Israeli conflict was exclusively unilateral in character, being dominated by the United States. With the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, the time seemed to be ripe for a substantial reshuffle of East mediation. In 2002, what became known as the Middle East Quartet came into being, constituted by the European Union (EU), Russia, the United Nations, and the United States. In principle, this new format reflected the exigencies of mediation in a new global and regional context. Over the course of the 1990s, the European Union had emerged as a principle donor to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and the nascent Palestinian Authority (PA). Russia not only remained a major power and UN Security Council (UNSC) permanent member, but also enjoyed historically close ties to the Arab world and, more recently, an organic bond to the large Russian community in Israel. The United Nations brought with it international legitimacy. Few doubted that the US continued to be a vital player, the only one with the clout to substantially alter the parties' negotiating stances.A decade has passed since the establishment of the Quartet, making an assessment of its workings a timely undertaking. In this context, this article explores the as a case of crystallizing focusing on two questions. First, can the be regarded as a case of effective multilateralism? Has it been genuinely multilateral? Has it been effective? Second, the came into being around the same time that the EU proclaimed, for the first time, the goal of effective multilateralism in its 2003 Security Strategy.1 This was no coincidence.2 In view of this, has the EU contributed to the as a case of multilateralism?THE MIDDLE EAST QUARTET AS A CASE OF CRYSTALLIZING MULTILATERALISMThe East emerged from a foreign ministers' meeting in Madrid in April 2002. Present at the gathering were US secretary of state Colin Powell, EU high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana, Spanish minister of foreign affairs Ana Palacio, UN secretary-general (UNSG) KofiAnnan, and Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergei Lavrov.3The birth of the reflected the exigencies of the early 21st century. At the time, the second Palestinian intifada was at its height, featuring widespread Israeli military incursions into the OPT and repeated Palestinian suicide bombings. The peace process was in tatters. Following the collapse of negotiations at Camp David II in the summer of 2000 and Taba in January 2001, successive attempts to break out of the cycle of violence and restore dialogue between the parties came to no avail. The 2000 Mitchell Report recommendations and the 2001 Tenet Plan remained on paper.4 Violence raged on the ground. In those tragic months between 2000-2001, the EU special representative for the East peace process, the special representative of the UNSG, and the Russian ambassador to Israel frequently met in Tel Aviv to seek ways to respond jointly to the unfolding crisis.5 Albeit reluctant at first, the US ambassador to Israel ultimately came around, not only to seeing the urgency of re-sparking a political process, but also in doing so with the support of America's international partners in the region. The establishment of the one year later - in April 2002 - was then almost accidental. In Madrid, Secretary of State Powell met with his EU, UN, and Russian counterparts, who had already been meeting regularly at lower levels for one year on the ground. …