United Nations
Case Study
Political Consequences of Globalization International Cooperation and Development
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Quiz
Emblem of the United Nations
1. What do the olive branches in the UN emblem symbolize?
Suggested Answer: Peace
2. What message does the emblem seek to send by putting all the continents in the
UN emblem?
Suggested Answer: All the continents point to the same focus - the UN
3. What are six major organs which make up the United Nations?
Suggested Answer: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social
Council, International Court of Justice, Trusteeship Council, and the Secretariat.
4. Where is the Headquarters of the UN?
Suggested Answer: New York city
5. Is the United Nations a world government?
Suggested Answer: No, and it has never intended to be one. It is an organization
formed by independent countries, and it performs only duties that are agreed upon by
its member nations.
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Logo
Search logo of the organizations/funds on the left column
Organizations/Funds
Logo
UNICEF
United Nations Children’s Fund
UNHCR
The Office of he United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
WHO
World Health Organization
IMF
International Monetary Fund
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultureal Organization
IFAD
International Fund for Agricultural
Development
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
Students may like to get onto the homepages of these organizations/funds for more
information.
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Some Figures

The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries.

Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 191
countries.

The United Nations has 6 main organs. Five of them — the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and
the Secretariat — are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the
International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague in the Netherlands.

There are 15 Council members. Five of these — China, France, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States — are permanent members.

The Secretariat consists of departments and offices with a total staff of some
7,500. They are drawn from some 170 countries.

UN peacekeeping is a vital instrument for peace. In 2002 some 47,650 UN
military and civilian personnel, provided by 87 countries, are engaged in 15
operations around the world.
6. Which of the following approach is NOT used by the UN to promote peace?

When an international crisis occurs, the UN tries to reduce tension and facilitate
negotiations between countries in conflict.

It carries out preventive diplomacy in order to prevent conflicts from occurring.

It provides countries in need with election assistance and supports
democratization.

It promotes social and economic developments and works hard to eliminate the
roots of war, thus helping to maintain peace.

It serves as a centre of diplomacy and debates at which member nations are
persuaded to send troops to fight against aggression.
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7. Why can’t the UN enforce peace by military means on its own?
Suggested Answer: Because the UN is not a world government. It has no standing
troops. It relies on its member nations’ willingness to use force for peace. It
is up to them to decide whether, when and how the UN should take action to end
conflicts.
8. What actions can the Security Council take when members cannot find agreement
to end a conflict? (More than one option likely)

house arrest politcians who launch an agression and force them to give up
military actions.

impose economic sanctions, declare trade embargo

call on the Court of International Justice to try persons accused of crimes against
humanity
 authorize specific member nations to use ‘every possible means’, including force,
to deal with the situation
Know a bit more
What are UN’s peace-keeping actions?
The UN’s peacekeeping mission is an international mission. The peacekeepers are
soldiers, policmen, election experts, human rights supervisors, civil affairs and
communications experts, etc. who come from many countries. Altogether, the
member states supply UN with military personnel and civil policemen for its
peacekeeping actions.
Troops taking part in UN’s peacekeeping actions usually carry light weapons, and
they must observe the principle of defence strictly. They can use their weapons
only when armed parties seek to stop them from carrying out their duties.
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9. Who is the current Secretary-General of UN?
What are the main duties of the Secretary-General of the UN? List any three.
(You may consult website
http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/pages/sg_office.html.)
Suggested Answers: (1) The Secretary-General is the chief administrative officer of
the UN and its symbol.
(2) The Secretary-General is a diplomat, an activist, a mediator, and an initiator.
(3) The Secretary-General carries out preventive diplomacy and take steps, either
openly or secretly, to prevent international disputes from happening or worsening.
(4) The Secretary-General conducts regular consultations with world leaders and
other people, attends meetings of UN organs and strives to improve international
conditions.
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Relationship between UN and Globalization
The Governance of Globalization
Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, in
his Millennium Report published in 2000,
referred to the impact of globalization on the
entire world and the part played by the
UN in the process. Inquire into
relationship between globalization and the UN
by visiting the following website:
http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/ch1.htm
1.
According to the Millennium Report, identify two problems globalization has
brought to the world,? (You may refer to para. 23 and 33-40 of html version of
the report or pp 11-12 of the pdf version of the report)
Suggested Answer:
Globalization has brought disparities. The benefits and opportunities of globalization
remain highly concentrated among a relatively small number of countries. Globalization
has facilitated the expansion of global markets, but labour standards, the environment,
human rights or poverty reduction have lagged behind. (para. 23)
Criminal networks have taken advantage of the most advanced technologies to traffic
around the world in drugs, arms, precious metals and stones — even people. (para.34)
The most recent upsurge in the global transmission of pathogens, above all HIV/AIDS,
has hit with a speed and scope made possible only by open borders and unprecedented
mobility. (para.35)
Globalization has worsened the problem of transborder pollution and affected global
climate change. (para.36)
Peoples and countries without access to the technology for the communication revolution
have remained separated from each other. (para.39)
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Activities
Students may carry out one of the following activities in groups.
Activity 1
In his Millennium Report, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan referred to problems
of concern. He described the world as a ‘global village’. Now, try to present Annan’s
concern in the form of cartoons.
Let us imagine, for a moment, that the world really is a “global village” — taking
seriously the metaphor that is often invoked to depict global interdependence. Say this
village has 1,000 individuals, with all the characteristics of today’s human race
distributed in exactly the same proportions. What would it look like? What would we
see as its main challenges?
Some 150 of the inhabitants live in an affluent area of the village, about 780 in poorer
districts. Another 70 or so live in a neighbourhood that is in transition. The average
income per person is $6,000 a year, and there are more middle income families than in
the past. But just 200 people dispose of 86 per cent of all the wealth, while nearly half
of the villagers are eking out an existence on less than $2 per day.
Men outnumber women by a small margin, but women make up a majority of those
who live in poverty. Adult literacy has been increasing. Still, some 220 villagers —
two thirds of them women — are illiterate. Of the 390 inhabitants under 20 years of
age, three fourths live in the poorer districts, and many are looking desperately for
jobs that do not exist. Fewer than 60 people own a computer and only 24 have access
to the Internet. More than half have never made or received a telephone call.
Life expectancy in the affluent district is nearly 78 years, in the poorer areas 64
years — and in the very poorest neighbourhoods a mere 52 years. Each marks an
improvement over previous generations, but why do the poorest lag so far behind?
Because in their neighbourhoods there is a far higher incidence of infectious diseases
and malnutrition, combined with an acute lack of access to safe water, sanitation,
health care, adequate housing, education and work.
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There is no predictable way to keep the peace in this village. Some districts are
relatively safe while others are wracked by organized violence. The village has
suffered a growing number of weather-related natural disasters in recent years,
including unexpected and severe storms, as well as sudden swings from floods to
droughts, while the average temperature is perceptibly warmer. More and more
evidence suggests that there is a connection between these two trends, and that
warming is related to the kind of fuel, and the quantities of it, that the people and
businesses are using. Carbon emissions, the major cause of warming, have quadrupled
in the last 50 years. The village’s water table is falling precipitously, and the
livelihood of one sixth of the inhabitants is threatened by soil degradation in the
surrounding countryside.
Source: http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/ch1.htm , para.52 - 56
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Activity 2
In 1999, Gallup International sponsored and conducted a Millennium Survey of
57,000 adults in 60 countries. Different opinions were expressed, some of them are as
follows:
What matters most in life
People everywhere valued good health and a happy family life more highly than
anything else. Where economic performance was poor, they also stressed jobs.
Where there was conflict, people expressed a strong desire to live without it.
Where corruption was endemic, people condemned it.
Human rights
Respondents showed widespread dissatisfaction with the level of respect for
human rights.
Discrimination by race and gender were commonly expressed concerns.
Environment
Two thirds of all the respondents said their government had done too little to
redress environmental problems in their country.
The United Nations
The survey showed that most people around the globe consider the protection of
human rights to be the most important task for the United Nations.
United Nations peacekeeping and the provision of humanitarian assistance were
also stressed.
Globally, less than half of those interviewed judged the performance of the United
Nations to be satisfactory, although a majority of the young were favourably
inclined.
Democracy
two thirds of all respondents observed that their country was not governed by the
will of the people.
Source: http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/ch1.htm , Box 1: Voices of the people:
the world’s largest ever public opinion poll survey
You intend to stage a large-scale demonstration at the time when Annan delivers his
Millennium Report. You want to voice the above views. Design banners and slogans
for this demonstration.
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Activity 3
The UN and its subsidiary organs have been working on many fronts to improve the
world’s well being. Visit the following website and select one or two issues to see
what contributions the UN and its subsidiary organs have made.
Global Issues on the UN Agenda
<http://www.un.org/partners/civil_society/agenda.htm>
Compile a group report using information from the website for delivery at the UN
General Assembly. The report may include the following:

important issues

UN organs working on these issue(s)

aims

a brief history

major areas of work