A presentation at the Dept. of Political Science and
International Relations,
Covenant University, Ota Ogun State.
By
Oluseyi Soremekun
National Information Officer/ Officer-in-Charge
United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos
Email: soremekun@un.org
Tel.: 0803 402 2085
Web: www.lagos.sites.unicnetwork.org

• Special organisation of independent countries formed after the end of the
Second World War in 1945. Officially opened on 24 th of October 1945.
• Created to save succeeding generations from war, protect human rights, establish conditions for justice, help stabilize international relations, give peace a more secure foundation, help the less developed countries, promote social progress and better standards of life.
• The UN emblem shows the world held in the “olive branches of peace”.

• The UN represents the countries and peoples of the world but it is not a world government.
• The UN is a place where people from around the world can come and work together to make the world a better and safer place.
• The UN Headquarters is in
New York in the USA.
• The UN is guided by a set of rules called the UN Charter.

Organs of the UN
The UN Charter recognises the following as organs of the
UN :
• The General Assembly
• The Security Council
• The Economic and Social Council
• The Trusteeship Council
• The International Court of Justice
• The Secretariat

Understanding the UN system
• The United Nations System covers a wide variety of organizational units
(centres, agencies, organizations, commissions, pro-grammes, etc.) with different institutional and functional structures.
• The United Nations System consists of the United Nations , its subsidiary organs (including the separatelyadministered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary entities), the specialized agencies , and affiliated organizations.
• The organizations within the United
Nations system also vary considerably both in size and as regards their activities.
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Member organs of the United Nations reporting annually to the General Assembly and, as appropriate, through the Security
Council or the Economic and Social Council, include:
UN - United Nations Secretariat
UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund
UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development
UNDP - United Nations Development
Programme
UNEP - United Nations Environment
Programme
UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund
UNRWA - United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine
UNU - United Nations University
WFP - World Food Programme
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNCHS(Habitat) - United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements
OCHA - Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs
ITC - International Trade Centre

Understanding the UN system
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The specialized agencies, a term first used in the United Nations Charter which provides for international action to promote economic and social progress, re-port to the Economic and Social
Council.
These specialized agencies work in the economic, social, scientific and technical fields and possess their own legislative and executive bodies, their own secretariats and their own budgets.
These include:
ILO - International Labour Organization
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
UNESCO - United Nations Educational,
Scientific & Cultural Organization
ICAO - International Civil Aviation
Organization
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• WHO - World Health
Organization
WB - World Bank Group
IMF - International Monetary Fund
UPU - Universal Postal Union
ITU - International
Telecommunication Union
WMO - World Meteorological
Organization
IMO - International Maritime
Organization
WIPO - World Intellectual Property
Organization
IFAD - International Fund for
Agricultural Development
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial
Development Organization
WTO - World Tourism Organization

UN and Third World Development
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Noted for peace keeping
It does more than peacekeeping and being a forum for conflict resolution.
Over these seven decades, new challenges have emerged —
International terrorism; Child survival and development; Environmental protection; Human rights; Health and medical research;
Alleviation of poverty and economic development; Agricultural development and fisheries;
Education; Advancement of women;
Emergency and disaster relief; Air and sea travel; Peaceful uses of atomic energy; Workers’ rights; etc.
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UN and Third World Development
Promoting self-determination and independence
• Strengthening international law
• When the UN was established in
1945, 750 million people — almost a third of the world population — lived in Non-
Selfgoverning territories dependent on colonial Powers.
• Over 500 multilateral treaties — on human rights, terrorism, international crime, refugees, disarmament, commodities and the oceans — have been enacted through the efforts of the United Nations
• The UN played a role in bringing about independence in more than 80 countries that are now sovereign nations
• However, one of the most robust frameworks that addresses third world development to date is the
UN-led Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).

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Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

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The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.
They are also basic human rights the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security.
MDGs support national governments, local authorities and citizen organizations in their efforts to tackle poverty and inequality.
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• As at 2014
700 million people have been lifted from extreme poverty
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• More than 170 million people no longer suffer from hunger
17,000 children saved everyday
6.6 million lives saved by access and use of antiretroviral therapy for
HIV-infected people

Target: Halve extreme poverty rate between 1990 and 2015
Proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 a day
47%
22%
1980
Achieved
About 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990.
1990 2000 2010 2020

Target :Halve hunger rate between 1990 and 2015
The proportion of undernourished people decreased from 24% in 1990-1992 to
14% in 2011-2013.
• The hunger reduction target is within close reach but requires immediate additional efforts.

All developing regions have achieved or are close to achieving gender parity in primary education
The primary school enrolment ratio increased from 86 girls for 100 boys in 1990 to 97 girls in 2012 for developing regions.
Photo: Virgina Hooper

Target: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for
HIV/AIDS for all those who need it.
• Access to antiretroviral therapy
(ART) for HIV-infected people has been increasing dramatically, with a total of 9.5 million people in developing regions receiving treatment in 2012.
• ART has saved 6.6 million lives since 1995. Expanding its coverage can save many more.

Target : Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
In the past decade, 3.3 million deaths were averted due to malaria interventions. More than
700 million bed nets were delivered in sub-Saharan Africa.
Between 1995 and 2012, the cumulative total of tuberculosis patients treated successfully was 56 million, saving 22 million lives.
Photo: UNICEF/Olivier Asselin

Target: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
• In 2012, 89% of the world’s population had access to an improved water source, up from
76% in 1990.
• Over 2.3 billion people gained access to an improved source of drinking water between 1990 and 2012.
Photo: World Bank/Allison Kwesell
Achieved in 2010

• Official development assistance (ODA) stood at
$134.8 billion in 2013, the highest level recorded .
• 17 out of 28 Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) countries recorded an increase in their allocation to
ODA.

• Chronic undernutrition among young children declined, but one in four children around the world show signs of stunted growth — having inadequate height for their age.
• However, it is unacceptable that
162 million young children are still suffering from chronic undernutrition.

Target: By 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
• The number of children out of school decline by almost half since 2000, but still 58 million children were out of school, half of which are from conflictaffected areas.
• More than one in four children in developing regions entering primary school is likely to drop out..
Photo; UNICEF/Ose

Target: Reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds between
1990 and 2015.
• Child mortality fell by 50%, from
90 deaths per 1,000 live births in
1990 to 48 in 2012. Still 6.6 million children under age five died in 2012.
• Preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria, remain the main causes of under-five deaths.
Photo; UN Photo/Mark Garten

Target :Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015.
• Maternal mortality ratio declined by
45% since 1990, but still 300,000 women died from cause related to pregnancy and child birth in in 2013.
• In 2012, 40 million births in developing regions were not attended by skilled health personnel.
Photo; UNICEF/Khemka

Target: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
• Over a quarter of the world’s population (almost 2 million ) has gained access to an improved sanitation facility since
1990.
• Yet 2.5 billion do not use an improved sanitation facility and
1 billion people still resort to open defecation.

MDG Progress Chart - NIGERIA
Likely
Will Target be Met?
Supportive Policy Environment
Strong
Potentially
Good/Fair
Unlikely
Weak
MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme poverty and Hunger
Target 1A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty.
Target 1C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Target 2: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
MDG 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Target 3: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005 and to all levels of education no later than 2015.
Meeting
Target
Policy
Environment

MDG Progress Chart - NIGERIA
MDG 4: Reduce Child mortality
Target 4: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health
Target 5: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and
2015, the maternal mortality ratio.
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases
Target 6A: Have halted, by 2015, and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Target 6C: Have halted, by 2015, and begun to reverse, the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

MDG Progress Chart - NIGERIA
MDG 7: Ensure Environmental sustainability
Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Target 7B: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Target 7C: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
MDG 8: Develop A Global Partnership For Development
Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems
Target 8F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

• Post-2015 development agenda is hinged on SDGs
• The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a new, universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame their agendas and political policies over the next 15 years.
• The SDGs follow, and expand on, the millennium development goals (MDGs), which were agreed by governments in 2000, and are due to expire at the end of this year.

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1) End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3) Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
4) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7) Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
9) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation
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10) Reduce inequality within and among countries
11) Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12) Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (taking note of agreements made by the UNFCCC forum)
14) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15) Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
16) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

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Provides food to 90 million people in 80 countries
Vaccinates 58 per cent of the world’s children, saving 3 million lives a year
Assists over 38.7 million refugees and people fleeing war, famine or persecution
Works with 193 countries to combat climate change and make development sustainable
UN Keeps peace with 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations on 4 continents
Fights poverty, helping improve the health and well-being of 420 million rural poor
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Protects and promotes human rights on site and through some
80 treaties/declarations
Mobilizes USD 22 billion in humanitarian aid to help people affected by emergencies
Uses diplomacy to prevent conflict: assists some 60 countries a year with their elections
Promotes maternal health, saving the lives of 30 million women a year

THANK YOU

A presentation at the Dept. of Political Science and
International Relations,
Covenant University, Ota Ogun State.
By
Oluseyi Soremekun
National Information Officer/ Officer-in-Charge
United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos
Email: soremekun@un.org
Tel.: 0803 402 2085
Web: www.lagos.sites.unicnetwork.org