United Nations The Bureaucratic Experience
I. INTRODUCTION
It has become a commonplace to study that we live today on an interdependent planet, where the fates of individual people & societies are bound up with the fates of all humankind. Drug trafficking, terrorism, & pandemic diseases like AIDS increasingly transcend national boundaries. Global communications have become both pervasive & instantaneous. International capital & finance now recede at lightning speed according to the division criteria of multinational corporations and banks, neither loyal nor accountable to any single government. And global trade in the weapons of war, including weapons of mass destruction, continues unregulated & unabated in the post-cold war era.
Perhaps, most importantly, every society in the world is dependent upon a single global ecosystem, a system increasingly and alarmingly degraded by the steady depletion of the world’s ozone layer, & the possibly irreversible warming of the entire planetary biosphere. The well-known “tragedy of the commons,” where individually rational consumption and production decisions become collectively irrational, is fast becoming as applicable to the global commons at the dawn of the coming millennium as it was to the village commons at the dawn of the previous.
It was these predicaments that the growth of international institutions came in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its foundation was built in ancient times. International organizations are only one segment of the gigantic field of global politics. The peaceful settlement of disputes, development of international peace and security of every individual give birth to international political organizations to address the plight of the world.
The first attempt at a general political organization on a world basis was the League of Nations in 1920. It had a League of Assembly which was actually an annual conference of member-states concretising a more organized form of interstate diplomacy to cool down war passions.
This paper is now aimed at scrutinizing the UN Bureaucracy as a whole. It will ogle back into its resurgence & achievements during its 43 years of existence. It is also interested in delineating the structure of the bureaucracy & how it works. And at the end of this paper, the researcher wishes to declare out her opinions & recommendations on how it can improve its system, if there are any flaws, for a better advance to the coming millennium.
For a better understanding of the topic, the first part of the paper will deal with bureaucracy per se. Its nature – concepts, characteristics, & developments of bureaucratic organizations – will be thoroughly discussed before its integration with United Nations.
II. NATURE OF BUREAUCRACY
Bureaucracy is a system for administering large organizations intelligent a specific structure of authority and a clearly defined set of rules and regulations. It may be found in all large, formal organizations, such as government, corporations, churches, schools, prisons, & political parties. It is criticized for being plagued by red tape, indecisiveness & excessive paperwork. Its defenders occupy that it is necessary for the swift, smooth, & economical completion of large-scale tasks. (Lexicon Encyclopedia,)
Mr. Ralph Hummel wrote in his book, “The Bureaucratic Experience”, that through division of labor there would be an efficient accomplishment of large tasks. The coordination of labor is best accomplished by a persons supervisor, one who can integrate the separate tasks of each worker to allow for the completion of a finished product or service. In effect, the bureaucracy effectively encapsulates the individuals need for self-mastery by giving the task to the worker’s supervisor.
Bureaucracy is “a type of organization designed to effect large-scale administration tasks by systematically coordinating the work of many individuals.1
Max Weber, a German sociologist, was the first scholar to describe the characteristics of bureaucracy systematically. He was the first to analyze its role in an industrial society.
In his view, bureaucracy is the best and ideal get of organization. As an organization, it substitutes a rule of law for a rule based on the whims of those who happen to govern.
Weber used the notion of an ideal type to analyze the emergence of the bureaucratic form of organization. This identified the main features of a bureaucratic organization but it is not a prescription. ‘Ideal’ does not equate to ‘perfect’ nor it is a model for imitation or Weber’s preferred earn of organization. It is a type made up of characteristics or major ideas for recognizing complex arrangements of organizations like description rather than prescription. He indicated that his ideal type would not be found in real life as all characteristics will not be found in their entirety in any organization. He also recognized that the bureaucratic form was technically efficient, powerful, and ordered. It was also capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency.
He was concerned with bureaucratic excesses and advocated some means which the worst of them could be avoided e.g. separation of powers; short-terms of office; selection by lot & etc. However, he recognized the advantages of precision, continuity, discipline, reliability because it is technically efficient (remember that he was not advocating the system, simply describing it).
Over the years, bureaucracy has become the dominant form of organization in fresh societies. Yet many of these organizations were apparently organized by people with dinky knowledge and understanding of bureaucracy, as well as of its far-reaching implication in the lives. Very often, therefore, it is used in a negative manner. As such, it fails to produce the organizational results with adequate efficiency. People cannot be expected to wait on an organization which they are not familiar with.2
As Peter M. Blau states:
Colloquially, the term “bureaucracy” has become an epithet which refers to
inefficiency & red tape in government; but this was not the recent meaning,
and it is not the way the term will be used.3
Ralph P. Hummel would bewitch to compare it with a beast, as depicted in his essay:
The beast, bureaucracy, craves the essence of control and enslaves the
members of its organizational structure in an intrinsic web of deceit and
mastery.4
His portrait of bureaucracy shows the survival of a horrid and disfigured organization. The use of the control mechanism as tools of power by the bureaucracy, undermine its own desire for survival.
Since bureaucracy is always misunderstood & misinterpreted by many people, it will be kindly to know it’s real nature by discussing it thoroughly.
A. Basic Concepts of Bureaucracy
The concept of bureaucracy is constructed from a potpourri of ideas. Ralph Hummel’s conceptualization of bureaucracy is construed as:
…a shorthand for all modern organization, public and private, including
business and industrial corporations as well as public service agencies
according to the rationalized principles of modernity.5
There are a variety of perceptions about the term ‘bureaucracy’. One common current perception is the term of abuse which connotes inefficiency, red tape and rigidity. It also implies bottlenecks, buck-passing, laziness, empire building and exaggerated secrecy. Another connotation of the term is efficiency, order and rationality which is controlled e.g. in bureaucratic hands. A distinct meaning is a place where one works like in a public service.
A more sensible plan which is several thousands of years older was obtained from de Gournay, who probably took the conventional term bureau which means writing table & office. It was presumably added to a Greek word for rule in order to signify rule by officials.
Bureaucracy is “a specific form of social organization for administrative purposes”.6
Bureaucracy is reflected in certain specific forms of organizational behavior, hierarchy, subdivision, specialization, fixed ways of doing things, professionalization (M. Dimock, p. 227).
Moreover, bureaucracy is “that type of hierarchical organization which is designed rationally to coordinate the work of many individuals in pursuit of large-scale administrative tasks”.7
Speaking in the same language, Dalton E. McFarland says:
In bureaucratically organized systems, authentic authority, which binds
the various levels together, originates at the top and passes through the
organizations as managers delegate it downward.8
Hummel’s view of bureaucracy is that of the most powerful instrument developed for getting people to work together on large celebrated tasks. What underlies its triumph is its ability to amass & direct power. The need for self-preservation and control accounts the whole reasoning process of the bureaucratic system.
To summarize it all, it is best delineated in M. Albrows’ 7 view of bureaucracy:
1. Rational organization – or purpose. It is a mode of organizing which maximizes efficiency in administration. For example, one needs to select bureaucracy as a means of forming an organization to carry out their goals.
2. Organization inefficiency – or process. Over devotion to rules, precedents, group introversion, lack of initiative, procrastination, duplication of effort and departmentalization. Cannot learn from its errors.
3. Rule by officials - or power. Rule of oligarchy. Where does power lie in an organization?
4. Public Administration - or structure. Neutral concept of bureaucracy.
5. Administration by officials – or task. Compare this notion with rule vs. Admin.
6. Bureaucracy as the organization - or organization.
7. Bureaucracy as modern society - or microcosm of the state.
B. Characteristics of Bureaucracy
Weber’s characteristics of bureaucracy are:
q Based on rules and procedures – managers define and enforce rules by virtue of their position;
q Clear structure – authority and responsibility are clearly defined; hierarchy and clear chain of command; division of labor; selection on the basis of technical qualifications; career orientation
q Beliefs and Meanings - bureaucracy contains a number of concept systems:
1. Impartiality – individuals must believe that the organization has establish laws and policies that apply to all members so that they are willing to comply.
2. Generalisable – policies & laws are general but can deal with individual cases.
3. Equity – need assurance that those involved in administration are not arbitrarily or want only interpret roles.
4. Uniformity – no one is above this impersonal system.
5. Restrictive – policies and rules do not apply outside the organization.
6. Impersonal – it is the overall legal framework which is obeyed rather than specific individuals.
Although Weber studied mainly government institutions to extract the essential elements of his concept of bureaucracy, it appears that several of its principal characteristic could be found in any organization as long as they had the following features:
1. Large & complex organization as measured by the number of people it employed.
2. Majority of those employed were performing semi-skilled and unskilled works.
3. Relatively simple mass production technology is applied ; and
4. Relatively simple product is produce.9
According to Mr. Leveriza, by simplifying its complex organizational structures, efficiently, economy & greater reliability for its performance is expected to be attained by bureaucracy.
The following characteristics of an organization could be used for the analysis of a bureaucracy:
1. Positions & offices are clearly defined principle, all set & offices exist independently of the incumbent. The incumbent perform their rules during official hours according to contract and are personally free to do as they wish after such hours.
2. The hierarchical arrangement of authority, rights and obligations are specifically drawn. Levels of super-ordination and subordination and with their corresponding salaries and other privileges and responsibility are defined. Communication through channels or protocol and other procedures are highly regularized. Requirements are site up for some degree of coordination & integration above divergent individual views with regard to the pursuit of the social organization accepted goals & objectives.
3. The personnel are selected on the basis of technical or professional qualification. Personnel are chosen on the basis of competence through competitive examinations and are expected to perform accordingly.
4. There are defined rules governing official behavior. There are maximum standardization of action so as to minimize personal prejudice, interest, preference, & subservience, subordinates are uniformly protected from any possible unjustified treatment by their superior. Employees, as a whole, are bound to carry out their rules according & to maintain in-group feelings to protect their social organization from outsiders.
5. Security of tenure and the pursuit of a career with promotion in the hierarchy are assured. Promotion based on seniority & merit, though dead, occur periodically to maintain morale & competent performance. Tenure is secure as long as there is no gross misconduct in the performance of one’s rule in the office.
From his “ideal type”’ model of bureaucracy, Weber identified 2 preeminent characteristics in all formal organizations. These are: division of labor & centralization of authority.
In the 1930s, James D, Mooney and Alan C. Reiley, American social scientists, added coordination as the “modern principle”’ but only because they understood that without it, organization could not function rationally in the face of continuous specialization.
Moreover, as Mc farland says:
The characteristics of bureaucracy are present in all large organization
w/c fulfill vital function efficiently.10
On this matter, Robert Presthus adds;
They seek to determine the channels through which external social inputs
are evaluated and acted upon within an organization and frequently stress, with
considerable normative zeal, the need for greater organizational sensitivity
to non-institutional social variables.11
”’Ironically,”’ Presthus points out, much less attention has been paid to the most pervasive of all environment factors – “culture”.
As a social organization, bureaucracy has its strong & weak points.
Warren G. Bennis believes that bureaucracy, as described by Weber, must change significantly if it is to continue as a functional element of current society. He suggests that a unique construct of bureaucratic organization should be formed to meet the changed environmental conditions.
The “old-style” bureaucracy is eminently suitable for managing “the routine and predictable in human affairs.” As such, Scott and Mitchell believe that “there are six forces at work which are demanding that organizations modify both structure and climate to cope successfully with the realities of recent environment.”
These forces are:
1. An acceleration in change that requires posthaste organizational adaptation.
2. Increasing technological sophistication which leads to the acceleration of change.
3. Growing organizational complexity which is partially attributable to technology and partially a result of increasing organizational size.
4. Changing character of the workforce in which more highly educated, professionally oriented people are going into organizations.
5. A growing expectation of the “new” employee for greater freedom and discretion at work.
6. More disenchantment with musty authority, with emphasis based on a decline of command (superior-subordinate) authority and the rise of functional authority vested in expertise.
Identifying its weak point, Dale says:
But a bureaucracy has one major fault. It has difficulty in changing its ways,
except very slowly. And because it resists change, it does not attract
those who can conceive constructive changes and put them into effect.12
Others believe that there is a bureaucracy dysfunction. Observations And experiences in a bureaucratic organization have been accounted for the ff:
1. Goal displacement (Merton) – The punctilious adherence to rules and conformity to regulations can mean that the rules become ends or goals in themselves and prevent the organization from achieving its real goals. It can be manifested in situations where the bureaucratic, interests are defended ahead of those clients.
2. Sub-optimization (Selznick) – As the organization specializes with its division of labor, it runs the risk of establishing autonomous sub-units which may be pursuing goals (or, even, developing new goals) which are different from those of the organization as a whole.
3. Unintended results of rule rigidity (Gouldner) – Where rules are taken to define minimum acceptable performance or doing the least to catch by.
4. Transfer of administrative power to experts (Blau) – as officials conspire to get around the rules and power transfers from leader to experts. Taking decisions and excluding workers through an oligarchic structure which suffocates democratic principles. Bureaucracy is the sworn enemy of the personal liberty; it is petty, narrow and not liberal.
5. (Crozier) – He studied how authority was actually exercised in large organizations. An example of this is the study that he made on maintenance men in a French tobacco factory. Through their unions, the workers controlled the repairs of the machines and could potentially disrupt or even halt the work of the factory. These were specialists or experts who controlled an “area of uncertainty” and upon whom management depended. This gave them immense power with management and they enjoyed great freedom and discretion.
6. Alienation (Marx and others) – People in bureaucracies fulfill merely segmental roles over which they have no control. In consequence, they have itsy-bitsy or no opportunity to exercise individual judgement with the result that employees feel separated from their work.
“In spite of some negative characteristics” Espiritu believes that “bureaucracy is still the only systematized method of carrying the vital tasks of institutions.”
C. Development of Bureaucratic Organizations
Egyptians, Hebrews, Medieval church, Renaissance Italy all displayed characteristics of bureaucracy with their professional officialdom or rule by officials. The bureaucrats formed a distinct class in France and later in Prussia. While French in origin, the term become associated with Prussian state in late 1880s and the writings of Hegel who saw the bureaucracy as a means of translating the specific interests of different groups in the community to the general interests of society. (Sharon Jones, 1996)
However, after the Industrial Revolution, it no longer was possible for amateurs to conduct the business of government: the need for regulation of the new technology, the growth of cities and order/planning meant that government was more complex and novel structures needed to be formed to serve them to do its work more efficiently. The growth of the public sector developed a need to treat people in the same contrivance which has lead to rules and procedures covering many particular cases.
The emergence of bureaucracy as a system of administration may also be seen as related to the growing complexity of society. Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist, saw societies in terms of the division of labor within them. In primitive societies, relatively little division of labor exists. As societies become more complex, their members no longer share the same experiences. A new basis of uniting individuals with the collectivity is required. A produce of social organization develops to coordinate and moderate their diverse activities.
Observance of the classical principles of organization produces bureaucracy. However, it requires certain conditions for its development.
As William G. Scott and Terence R. Mitchell say:
A civilization must reach a certain degree of maturity before bureaucracies
emerge to exert a significant influence on the life patterns of people in a
society. The institutions in society must be differentiated in terms of the
role they play. Differentiation takes place along functional lines; i.e. the
separation of the economic functions from the family. In this sense, the
family is no longer the locus of the production of goods and services.
Instead, such activities are centralized in specialized institutions.13
When Max Weber defined bureaucracy, he saw it as the most efficient form of organization arising out of the needs of an industrialized society for the effective administration of its large and complex organizations.
As Weber points out:
Experience tends universally to show that the purely bureaucratic
type of administrative organization – that is, the monocratic variety
point of view, capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency
and is in this sense formally the most rational known means of carrying
out imperative control over human beings. It is superior to any other form
in precision, in stability, in the stringency of its discipline, and in its
reliability. It thus makes possible a particularly high degree of calculability
of results for the heads of the organization and for those acting in relation
to it. It is finally superior both in intensive efficiency and in the scope of its
operations, and is formally marvelous of application to all kinds of
administrative tasks.14
The increasing complex organization can be simplified by breaking down its structure into manageable parts. Hence, as an alternative to the prevailing conditions, Weber caused the institutionalization of bureaucracy.
In advocating the bureaucracy, Weber again states:
The development of the modern form of the organization of corporate
groups in all fields is nothing less than identical with the development
and continued spread of bureaucratic administration. This is correct of church
and state, of armies, political parties, economic enterprises, organizations to
promote all kinds of causes, private associations, clubs and many
others. The development is, to take the most striking case, the most
crucial phenomenon of the fresh western residence….the whole pattern of
everyday life is cut to fit this framework.15
For bureaucratic administration is, other things being equal, always, from a formal, technical point of view, the most rational type. For the needs of mass administration today, it is completely valuable. The choice is only that between bureaucracy and dilettantism in the field of administration.
Weber’s view was supported by Socorro S. Espiritu, a Filipino sociologist, when she said:
Bureaucratic structures in institutions are not necessarily confined to
political organizations; they tend to manufacture wherever it is principal to
coordinate the activities of many people. Bureaucracy offers both an
efficient mechanism for reaching institutional goals and the effort of
allowing the mechanism to appear more important than the service it is
supposed to perform.16
In an article, S. N. Eisentadt discusses the conditions within a society which the framework for the development of bureaucratic organization applies.
As Scott and Mitchell argue:
The society as a whole must be in a position to supply the resources
for support of bureaucratic organizations. As such, society is expected
to underwrite bureaucratic activities. Theoretically, the bureaucracy has
to pursue socially acceptable goals.17
III. NATURE OF UN BUREAUCRACY
The United Nations is a unique international organization of 185 sovereign states. It was founded after the 2nd world war to absorb international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and promote social progress, better living standards and human rights. The member-states are bound together by the principles of the UN Charter, an international treaty that spells out their rights and duties as members of the international community.
The UN has become an organization of the world’s states working:
• to maintain international peace and security;
• to develop pleasurable relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal right and self-determination of peoples;
• to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining those common ends.18
The UN acts in accordance with the ff. principles:
• it is based on the sovereign equality of all its members;
• all members are to fulfill in good faith their charter obligations;
• they are to resolve their international disputes by tranquil means without endangering international peace and security, and justice;
• they are to refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state;
• they are to give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the charter, and shall not assists states against which the UN is taking preventive or enforcement action;
• the UN shall ensure that states which are not members act in accordance with these principles in so far as it is necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security;
• nothing in the charter is to authorize the UN to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.19
As an international organization and the central political organization of governments of the world today, the UN bureaucracy is a network consisting of the ff. six organs:
The General Assembly (GA)
The General Assembly, sometimes called the nearest thing to a world parliament, is the main deliberative body. All 185 member-states are represented in it, and each has one vote. Decisions on ordinary matters are taken by simple majority. Important questions require a 2/3 majority. The assembly’s decision, though not legally binding on member-states, represent the moral authority of the community of nations. Just as individuals in a democracy have equal voting rights, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, powerful or stale, all countries in the GA have the same rights and privileges, as well as the same duties and obligations.20
The Security Council (SC)
The Security Council has the essential function of maintaining international peace and security through the ff. means:
1. pacific settlement of international disputes and
2. the taking of enforcement action.
UN members conferred this responsibility on the SC to ensure prompt and effective action. The council consists of 15 permanent members of the UN and 10 non-permanent members, elected by the General Assembly based on their possible contribution to international peace and on equitable geographical distribution (5 from Afro-Asia, 2 from Latin America, 1 from Eastern Europe and 2 from Western Europe and other states) for a term of 2 years. The council acts as a tribunal for the final settlement of world-wide disputes submitted to it.21
Under the Charter, member-states are obligated to find and carry out the council’s decisions. Such decisions, unlike those of the General Assembly, are legally binding on states. The system of voting in the council gives added weight to the 5 permanent members: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. Any of these countries can block a proposal by casting a negative vote, even if the four other permanent and all non-permanent members vote in favor. This is called the “veto” power.
The effectiveness of the council depends on the willingness and ability of member-states to carry out, or provide resources for carrying out, its decisions.
If its decisions are not complied with, the council has several options. It may refer the matter to the International Court of Justice, asking it for an advisory understanding. It may utilize other means, such as imposing economic and other sanctions, should a country threaten or breach the peace or commit an act of aggression. It has established international tribunals to try persons accused of war crimes, as it has done in the cases of Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It may authorize the use of force, either by UN peacekeeping forces or by forces under the command of member-states. However, the employ of force is always a last resort, to be used only if all peaceful means of settling a dispute have been exhausted.
Ultimately, member-states are responsible for enforcing UN sanctions. When sanctions are imposed, the SC creates a committee to monitor violations of the sanctions. The committee informs states of violations of the sanctions by individuals or companies over which they have jurisdiction. Member-states are then expected to steal appropriate measures to ensure compliance.
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
It initates studies and reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matters. It has a total of 54 members: 14 from African Sates, 11 from Asia, 10 from Latin America, 13 from Western Europe and other States, and 6 from Eastern Europe. Eighteen members are elected by the GA each year to serve for three years. Although there are no permanent members of the council, in practice the “five powers” are always elected. Attempts are made to represent a variety of social, economic, cultural geographical interests.
The council operates under authority of the GA. Its items are wide but its powers are limited. It cannot make decisions which are binding on member-states but can only recommend to states, the GA, and to the specialized agencies. It also acts as an organ of assistance to the Security Council, and may make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. It may call international conferences on matters falling within its competence.
ECOSOC has 3 plenary committees (economic, social programme, and co-operation) together with several standing committees. Moreover, it is permitted to place up functional commissions (for social development, population, statistics, narcotic drugs and on the status of women), regional economic commissions and other bodies (for refugees, development programmes, etc.).22
The Secretariat
The Secretariat is composed of the Secretary General (as the chief administrative officer of the UN) and some 20,000 staff members (or international officials responsible only to the UN) recruited in accordance with rules on national quotas, thus ensuring international representation. It is the chief administrative organ of the UN.
The Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council emphasizes the duties of administering authority to promote self-government or independence, and to encourage respect for human rights. Membership in this council is equally divided between those who are UN members administering trust territories, and those which do not. They are given the power to receive and consider petitions from the inhabitants of said territories. Periodic visiting missions to trust territories are also undertaken. Between 1945 and 1982, the number of people living in dependent territories has been reduced from 750 million to 4 million.23 The UN, through this Council, has made its expressed goal to back pursue self-government of formerly colonized peoples. This is based on the conception that competitive imperialism is a case of war. It shares with the former League of Nations, the formal commitment to the self-determination of national peoples. “Sacred trust” is conferred on UN members controlling non-self governing territories and their responsibility in the promotion of the well-being of these inhabitants.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The International Court of Justice, as a permanent organ of the UN, has all UN members as automatic members. But recognition of the Court’s limited compulsory jurisdiction to hear cases and render judgments requires an act separate from joining the organization. Reservations or protections against the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ or the World Court have resulted in rare final judgments by the Court in contentious cases, or those involving disputes between or among states. It enjoys a dual role in the international system as both the constitutional court of the UN and the court of law among states. It has the authority to render advisory opinions upon forma request from official bodies of the UN. These opinions may lead to the strength and operating scope of the organization. However, such opinions are unenforceable and their effectiveness is determined by the voluntary willingness of member-states to comply. UN members’ obligation to utilize the Court is restricted by the Court’s maintain Statute. And since there is little obligation to use the Court, analysts agree that the decision to do such has been generally based on political rather than legal consideration.24
Attached to the principal organs are:
1. Commissions – like the high commission for Refugees and the Disarmament Commission.
2. Committees and Institutionalized Programs – like the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Peacekeeping and Observer Forces, and the Environment Program and Earth Watch.
3. Conferences – like the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
4. Boards
5. Specialized Agencies – linked to the UN through special agreements, the separate, autonomous agencies of the UN bureaucracy set standard and guidelines, help formulate policies and provide technical assistance and other forms of practical help in virtually all areas of economic and social endeavor:25
a. International Labor Organization (ILO) – formulates policies and programmes to improve working conditions and employment opportunities, and defines international labor standards as guidelines for governments;
b. Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) – works to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity and food security, and to better the conditions of rural populations;
c. UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – promotes education for all, cultural development, protection of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, press freedom and communication;
d. World Health Organization (WHO) – coordinates programmes aimed at solving health problems and the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health: it works in areas such as immunization, health education and the provision of essential drugs;
e. World Bank – provides loans and technical assistance to developing countries to reduce poverty and advance sustainable economic growth;
f. International Monetary Fund (IMF) – facilitates international monetary cooperation and financial stability, and provides a permanent forum for consultation, advice and assistance on financial issues;
g. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – sets international standards notable for the safety, security, efficiency and regularity of air transport, and serves as the medium for cooperation in all areas of civil aviation;
h. Universal Postal Union (UPU) – establishes international regulations for the organization and improvement of postal services, provides technical assistance and promotes cooperation in postal matters;
i. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – fosters international cooperation for the improvement and use of telecommunications of all kinds, coordinates usage of radio and TV frequencies, promotes safety measures and conducts research;
j. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – promotes scientific research on the atmosphere and on climate change, and facilitates the global exchange of meteorological data and information;
k. International Maritime Organization (IMO) – works to improve international shipping procedures, encourages the highest standards in marine safety, and seeks to prevent marine pollution from ships;
l. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – promotes international protection of intellectual property and fosters cooperation on copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and patents;
m. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – mobilizes financial resources for better food production and nutrition among the poor in developing countries;
n. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – an autonomous intergovernmental organization under the aegis of the UN, works for the safe and peaceful uses of atomic energy;
o. The UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO) – the major entity overseeing international trade, cooperate in assisting developing countries’ exports through the Geneva-based International Trade Center;
p. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Since each of these bodies has different objectives and capabilities, each relates differently to the sovereignty of the states concerned, and each ahs a different potential impact upon the international system. While big powers were able to use the UN in the pursuit of their superpower interest, the power of numbers of the Third World states has also been making itself felt. It has become a reality in the UN that small nations are able to act in concert to redress the imbalance between the rich powerful states and themselves to eliminate causes of underdevelopment, like colonialism and neo-colonialism. The UN has also shown itself capable of facilitating the passage of international accords which have the potential of (1) insuring peace and (2) ushering in a better distribution of the world’s health.
A. History
On June 12, 1941, the Inter-Allied Declaration was signed in London. It’s theme is “to work together, with other free people, both in war and in peace.” This was the first step towards the establishment of the United Nations. On August 14 of the same year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom proposed a set of principles for international collaboration in maintaining peace and security. The document, signed during a meeting on the ship HMS Prince of Wales, “somewhere at sea”, is known as the Atlantic Charter. And on January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 Allied nations fighting against the Axis Powers met in Washington D.C. to pledge their support for the Atlantic Charter by signing the “Declaration by the United Nations”. This document contained the first official use of the term “United Nations”, which was suggested by President Roosevelt.
In a declaration signed in Moscow on 30 October 1943, the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and China called for an early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security. That goal was reaffirmed at the meeting of the leaders of the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom at Teheran on December 1, 1943.
The first blueprint of the UN was prepared at a conference held at a mansion known as Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D. C. During 2 phases of meetings which ran from 21 September through 7 October 1944, the US, the UK, the USSR and China agreed on the aims, structure and functioning of a world organization.
On 11 February 1945, following meetings at Yalta, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin declared their resolve to establish “a general international organization to maintain peace and security”.
Delegates of 50 nations met in San Francisco on April 25, 1945 for the United Nations Conference on International Organization. The delegates drew up the 111-article Charter, which was adopted unanimously on 25 June 1945 in the San Francisco Opera House. The next day, they signed it in the Herbst Theatre auditorium of the Veterans War Memorial Building.
United Nations is created as its Charter is ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council and the majority of other signatories, and comes into force on October 24, 1945.
B. Characteristics
The UN bureaucracy is not, and was never intended to be, a world government. It is an organization of sovereign and independent states. A number of current features make it especially effective in promoting development:
1. Its universality – all countries have a voice when major policy decisions are made;
2. Its neutrality - it does not record any particular national or commercial interest, and can thus develop special relations of trust with countries and their people to provide aid with no strings attached;
3. Its global presence – it has the largest network of country offices for the delivery of assistance for development;
4. Its comprehensive mandate, spanning social, economic & emergency needs – it supports development, assists refugees, encourages democratization, delivers relief aid and promotes reconstruction;
As one delegate would put it
In the developing countries, the UN doesn’t mean frustration,
confrontation or condemnation. It means environmental sanitation,
agricultural production, telecommunications, the fight against illiteracy,
the sizable struggle against poverty, ignorance and disease.”
Ecuador’s delegate to the UN
Miguel A. Albornoz
1985
5. And Its commitment – to all the people of the United Nations.
C. Developments
Through the years, UN has made its presence felt in times of interstate conflicts, in natural disasters, in degradation and deprivation of human rights. They have been in an unending battle with the plights of the world and yet some developments or achievements are not recognized by many.
This section of the paper will try to unleash the development efforts of the UN bureaucracy through its membership of member-states and achievements.
C. 1 Member-States
There were 51 Modern member-states of the United Nations. At the end of the year 1945, there were at least 24 member-states joined the UN. The following year 4 of them were added to the list.
From 1947-1950, only six nations were admitted to the membership. But in Dec. 14, 1955, 12 member-states were encouraged in joining the world organization. As if there was a series of pattern, the number of membership declined from 1956-1958, accounting to 7 member-states only. At the third quarter of the year 1960, 17 were incorporated from the list of UN’s member-states.
There were at least no more than 10 nations that was interested in joining the United Nations from the year 1962-1991. The UN counted again when 1992 came in and brought 13 member-states. While 6 member-states made it for the year 1993. And with the admission of Palau, there are now 185 member-states of the United Nations. (See Annex A).
C. 2 Achievements
The United Nations was established in the aftermath of a devastating war to benefit stabilize international relations and give peace a more secure foundation.
Child survival and development. Environmental protection. Human rights. Health and medical research. Alleviation of poverty and economic development. Agricultural development and fisheries. Education. Family planning. Emergency and disaster relief. Air and sea travel. Peaceful uses of atomic energy. Labour and worker’s rights. The list goes on. Here in brief, is a sampling of what the United Nations have accomplished since 1945 when the world organization was founded.
1. Maintaining peace and security - By having developed a total of 42 peace-keeping forces and observer missions as of September 1996, the United Nations has been able to restore calm to allow the negotiating process to go forward while saving millions of people from becoming casualties of conflicts.
2. Making peace – Since 1945, the United Nations has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts. Fresh cases include an end to the Iran-Iraq war, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, and an end to the civil war in El Salvador. The United Nations has customary quiet diplomacy to avert imminent wars.
3. Promoting democracy - The United Nations has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and aesthetic elections, including those held in Cambodia, Namibia, El Salvador, Eritrea, Mozambique, Nicaragua and South Africa. It has provided electoral advice, assistance, and monitoring of results.
4. Promoting developments – The UN bureaucracy has devoted more attention and resource to the promotion of the development of human skills and potentials than any other external assistance effort. The system’s annual disbursements, including loans and grants, amount to more than $10 billion. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in close cooperation with over 170 member-states and other UN agencies, designs and implements projects for agriculture, industry, education, and the environment. It supports more than 5,000 projects with a budget of $1.3 billion. It is the largest multilateral source of grant development assistance. The World Bank, at the forefront in mobilizing support for developing countries world wide, has alone loaned $333 billion for development projects since 1946. In addition, UNICEF spends more than $800 million a year, primarily on immunization, health care, nutrition and basic education in 138 countries.26
5. Promoting human rights – Since adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the United Nations has helped achieve dozens of comprehensive agreements on political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. By investigating individual complaints of human rights abuses, the UN Human Rights Commission has focused world attention on cases of torture, disappearance, and arbitrary detention and has generated international pressure to be brought on governments to improve their human rights records.
6. Protecting the environment – The United Nations has played a important role in fashioning a global programme designed to protect the environment. The “Earth Summit”, The UN Conference on Environemnt and Development held in rio de Janeiro in 1992, resulted in treaties on biodiversity and climate change, and all countries adopted “Agenda 21″ – a blueprint to promote sustainable development or the concept of economic growth while protecting natural resources.
7. Preventing nuclear proliferation – The United Nations, through the International Atomic Energy Agency, has helped minimize the threat of a nuclear war by inspecting nuclear reactors in 90 countries to ensure that nuclear materials are not diverted for military purposes.
8. Promoting self-determination and independence – The United Nations has played a role in bringing about independence in countries that are now among its member-states.
9. Strengthening international law – Over 300 international treaties, on topics as varied as human rights conventions to agreements on the exercise of outer situation and seabed, have been enacted through the efforts of the United Nations.
10. Handing down judicial settlemetns of major international disputes – By giving judgments and advisory opinions, the International Court of Justice has helped choose international disputes involving territorial issues, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, the right of assylum, rights of passage and economic rights.
11. Ending apartheid in South Africa – By imposing measures ranging from an arms embargo to a convention against segragated sporting events, the United Nations was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid system, which the General Assembly called “a crime against humanity.” Elections were held in April 1994 in whuch all South Africans were allowed to participate on an equal basis, followed by the establishment of a majority government.
12. Providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict – More than 30 million refugees fleing war, famine or persecution have received aid from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 1951 in a continuing difficulty coordinated by the United Nations that often involves other agencies. There are more than 19 million refugees, mostly women and children, who are receiving food, shelter, medical aid, education and repatriation assistance.
13. Alleviating chronic hunger and rural poverty in developing countries - The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has developed a system of providing credit, often in very small amount, for the poorest and most marginalised groups that has benefited over 230 million people in nearly 100 developing countries.
14. Focusing on African development – Forthe United Nations, Africa continues to be the highest priority. In 1986, the United Nations convened a special session to drum up internaitonal sport for African economic recovery and development. The UN also has instituted a system – wide tax force to ensure that commitments made by the international community are honored and challenges met. The Africa Project Development Facility has helped entrepreneurs in 25 countries to derive financing for new enterprises. The facility has completed 135 project which represent investments of $200 million and the creation of the 13,000 new jobs. It is expected that this new enterprises will either earn or save some $131 million in foreign exchange annually.
15. Promoting women’s rights - A long term objective of the UN has been to improve the lives of women and to empower women to have greater control over their lives. Several conference during the UN – sponsored International Women Decade set an agenda for the advancement of women and women’s rights for the rest of the century. The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the International Research and Training Institute of Women (INSTRAW) have supported programs and projects to improve the quality of life for women in over 100 countries. They include credit and training, access to a recent food – production technologies and marketing opportunities, and other means of promoting women’s work.
16. Providing safe drinking water – UN agencies have worked to make safe drinking water available to 1.3 billion people in rural areas during ht elast decade.
17. Eradicating small pox – A 13-year effort by the World Health Organization resulted in complete eradication of small pox from the planet in 1980. The eradication has saved in estimated $1 billion a year in vaccination and monitoring, almost 3x the cost of eliminating the scourge itself. WHO also helped wipe out polio from the western hemisphere, with global eradication expected by the year 2000.
18. Pressing for universal immunation – Polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diptheria, and tuberculosis quiet kill more than 8 million of children each year. In 1974, only 5% of children in developing ocuntries were immunized against these diseases. Today, as a result of the effort of UNICEF and WHO, there is an 80% immunization rate, saving the lives of more than 3 million children each year.
19. Reducing child mortality rates – Through oral rehydration therapy, water and sanitation and other helath and nutrition measures undertaken by UN agencies, child mortality rates in developing countries have been halved since 1960, increasing the life expectancy from 37 to 67 years.
20. Fighting parasitic diseases – Efforts by UN agencies in North Africa to eliminate the dreaded screw worm, a parasite that feeds on human and animal flesh, prevented the spread of the parasite, which is carried by flies, to Egypt, to Tunisia, Sub-Saharan, Africa and Europe. A WHO program also has saved the lifes of 7 million of going blind from the river blindness and rescued many others from guinea worm and other tropical diseases.
21. Promoting investment in developing countries - The UN, through the efforts of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has served us a (match-maker) for North-South, South-South, and East-West investment, promoting enterpreneurship and self-reliance, industrial cooperation and technology transfer and cost-effective, ecologically-sensitive industry.
22. Orienting economic policy - Many UN agencies as emphsized the need to the account of human needs in determining economic adjustment and restructuring policies and programmes, including emasures to safeguard poor especially in areas of health and education, and (debt swaps for children).
23. Reducing the effects of the natural disasters – The World Meterological Organization (WMO) has spared million of people from the calamitous effects of both natural and manmade disaster. Its early warning system which utilizes thousands of surface monitors as well as satellites, has provided information for the dispersals of oil spills and has predicated long-term droughts. The system has allowed for the efficient distribution of food assist of drought regions, such as Southern africa in 1992.
24. Providing food to victims emergencies – Over 2 million tons of food are distributed each year by the World Food Programme (WFP). Nearly 3 million people facing acute food shortages in 36 countries benefited from this assistance in 1994.
25. Clearing land mines – The UN is leading an international effort to clear land mines from former battlefields in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Somalia that still kill and maim thousands of innocent people every year.
26. Protecting the ozone layer - The UN Environement Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have been instrumental in highlighting the injure cause to the earth ozone layer. As a result of a treaty, known as the “Montreal Protocol”, there has been a global effort to reduce chemical emmissions of substance that have caused the depletion of the ozone layer. The effort will spare millions of people from the increased risk of contracting cancer sue to additional exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
27. Curbing global warming – Through the Global Environment Facility, countries have contribute substantial resources to curb conditions that cause global warming. Increasing emissions from burning fossil fuel and changes in land use patterns have led to a build-act of gases in the atmosphere, which experts believe can lead to a warming of the earth’s temperature.
28. Preventing over-fishing – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) monitors marine fishery production and issues alerts to prevent damage due to over-fishing.
29. Limiting deforestation and promoting forestry development – FAO, UNDP and the World bank through a tropical forest action program, have formulated and carried out forestry action plans in 90 countries.
30. Cleaning up pollution – UNEP led a major danger to clean up the mediterranean sea. It encourage adversaries such as Syria and Israel, Turkey and Greece to work together to clean up beaches. As a result, more than 50% of the previously polluted beaches are now usable.
31. Protecting consumer’s health – To ensure the safety food sold in the market place, UN agencies have established standards for over 200 food commodities and safety limits for more than 3,000 food containers.
32. Reducing fertility rates – the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), through its family planning programmes, has enable people to make informed choices, and consequently, given families, and especially women, greater control over their lives. As a result, women in developing countries are having fewer children – from 6 births per women in the 1960s to 3.5 today. In the 1960s, only 10% of the world’s families were using effective methods of family palnning. The number now stands at 55%.
33. Fighting drug abuse – The UN International Control Program (UNDCP) has worked to reduce demand of elicit drugs, suppressed drug trafficking, and has helped farmers to reduce economic reliance on growing narcotic drugs by shifting farm production toward other dependable sources of income.
34. Improving global trade relations – The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has worked to obtain special preference for developing countries to export their products to developed countries. It has also negotiated international commodities agreements to ensure fair prices for developing countries. And through the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) which has now been supplanted by the WTO, the UN has supported trade liberalization that will increase economic development opportunities in developing countries.
35. Promoting economic reform – Together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the UN has helped many countries improve their economic management over training for government finance officials and provided financial assistance to countries experience temporary balance of payments of difficulties.
36. Promoting worker rights – The International Labor Organization (ILO) has worked in guarantee freedom of the right to association, the right to organize collective bargaining, the rights of indigenous entry by people’s, promote employment and equal renumeration and has sought to eliminate discrimination and child labor. And by safety standards, ILO has helped reduced the toll of work-related accidents.
37. Introducing improved agricultural techniques and reducing cost – With assistance from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) that has resulted in improved crops yields, Asian’s rice farmers and saved $12 million on pesticides and government over $150 million a year in pesticides subsidies.
38. Promoting stability and order in the world’s ocean – Through the 3 International conference, the 3rd lasting more than 9 years, the UN has spearheaded an international effort to promote a comprehensive a global agreement for the protection, preservation and peaceful development of the ocean. The UN convention on the Law of the Sea which came into force in 1994 lays down rules for the determination of the National Maritime Jurisdiction Naviagation on the High Seas rights and duties of coastal marine scientific research and preservation of living resources.
39. Improving air and seas travel – UN agencies have been responsible for the setting of safety standards for sea and air travel. The efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have contributed to making air travel the safest mode of transportation. To wit: in 1994, when the 9 million travelled, 590 were killed in aircraft accidents; in 1993, the number of deaths was 936 out of the 1.2 billion airline passengers. Over the last 2 decades, pollution from tankers has been reduced by as noteworthy as 60% thanks to the work of the Internationa Maritime Organization (IMO).
40. Protecting intellectual property – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides protection for our new inventions and maintains a register of yearly 3 million national trademarks. Through treatise, it also protects the works of artists, composers, and authors world-wide. WIPO’s work make it easier and less costly for individuals and enterprises to enforce their property rights. It also broaden the opportunity to distribute new ideas and products without relinquishing control over the property rights.
41. Promoting the free fling of information – To allow all people to fetch information that is free of censorship and culturally unbiased, UNESCO has provided help to develop and strengthen communication system, established news agencies and supported an independent press.
42. Improving global communication – The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has maintained and regulated international mail delivery. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has coordinated spend of the radio spectrum, promoted cooperation in assigning positions for stationary satellites, and establish international standards for communication, thereby ensuring unfettered flow of information around the globe.
43. Empowering the voiceless – UN – sponsored international years the conference have caused governments to organize the needs and contributions of the groups usually excluded from decisions – making, such as the aging, children, youth, homeless, indigenous and disabled people.
44. Establishing “children as a zone of peace” – From El Salvador to Lebanon, Sudan to former Yugoslavia, UNICEF pioneered the establishment “days of tranquility” and the opening of “corridors of peace” to the provide vaccines and other assitance desperately needed by the children caught in armed conflict.
45. Generating worldwide commitment in support of the needs of children – Through UNICEF’s efforts, the convention of the rights of child entered into force as the National law in 1990 and has become law in 166 countries by the end of Sept. 1994; following the 1990 World Summit of Children convened by the UNICEF, more than 150 governments have committed to reaching over 20 specific measurable goals to radically improve children’s needs by the year 2000.
46. Improving literacy for women - Programs aimed at promoting education and advancement for women helped raised the female’s literacy rates in developing countries from 36% in 1970 to 56% in 1990.
47. Safeguarding and preserving history, cultural, architectural sites – Ancient monuments in 81 countries including Greece, Egypt, Italy, Indonesia and Cambodia, have been protected through the efforts of UNESCO and international conventions have been adopt to sustain cultural properties.
48. Facilitating academic and cultural exchange – The UN through the UNESCO and the United Nation University (UNU), have encouraged and scientific cooperation, networking of institutions and promotions of cultural expressions, including those of minorities and indigenous people.
IV. ANALYSIS
“For five decades, the UN has sought to provide security in the broadest
sense of the word… We may not always recognize its efforts, and we may
sometimes even resent them. But we cannot do without it.”
Finland’s President Martii Ahtisaari at the UN
1995
Most people are familiar with the work of the United Nations in peacekeeping or in delivering humanitarian assistance to a far-off country. But the many ways in which the UN has a speak impact on all our lives, everywhere in the world, is not always so well known.
Day in, day out, the UN and its family of organizations work together and individually to protect human rights, promote the protection of the environment; help the advancement of women and the rights of children; fight epidemics, famine, poverty. Throughout the world, the UN and its agencies assist refugees and help improve telecommunication; divulge food encourage and protect consumers; combat disease and encourage expand food production; make loans to developing countries and wait on stabilize financial markets. UN agencies define the standards for safe and efficient transport by air and sea, work to ensure respect for intellectual property rights and coordinate allocation of radio frequencies. The UN’s work has a long-term impact on the quality of our lives.
The logic permeating in this analysis is that change is the only constant thing in this world. One must adapt to the changes created by time. It is also keen and alarming to note that a substantial number of people in the world are deprived and degraded. These are just some of the effects created by natural and man-made disasters and of global pressures.
The coming of the new millennium will surely bring forth many challenges. This is why some member-states agreed that Security Council should be reformed to consider some possible changes. They are amenable that the council’s membership no longer accurately reflects economic and political realities among the UN membership at large. In view of this, they have called for changes in the composition of the Council and for the changes in the way it carries out its responsibilities.
Economic and political crisis are not unusual to the dilemma of the bureaucracy. It has always been a major issue. And as such, the “UN is faced with a financial and constitutional crisis which must be solve if the organization is to continue as an effective instrument. The Charter cannot be ignored. Faith cannot be broken. Commitments must be made. Bills must be paid.” These were the words of Adlai E. Stevenson, a Us Representative to the UN.
The UN Bureaucracy knows its strong and weak points that’s why reforms are being made in order to adapt to the growing or fast change of the international community. In fact, the UN Secretary General has made reforms a priority. He has taken measure to reduce non-staff costs, improve coordination of the UN’s presence in the field and achieve new efficiencies through technological innovation. He has grouped the work of the UN into four main areas – peace and security, economic and social affairs, development operations and humanitarian affairs – and strengthened coordination within each region. Through new efficiencies, he intends to transfer necessary savings into the economic and social affairs area.
In the past five years, the UN has enacted stringent budget-cutting measures,
reduced departments and offices, sever high-level posts, curtailed travel,
frozen recruitment, reduced operating expenses, and eliminated some 1,000
positions. Downsizing is nothing unique at the UN: since 1986, the staff has been
reduced by 20% and high-level posts by 40%.
The UN is in financial crisis not because it spends too much, but because its membership dues – the mandatory contributions member-states make towards the regular budget – are not being paid in full and on time.
Of course, no state or private company could function under such conditions. Moreover, even as dues are withheld, member-states continue to ask more and more of the UN, vote for new programmes and decide on new peackeeping missions.
Leticia R. Constantino assessed the UN as world forum. She also believe that many of the agencies of the UN are “effective instruments for setting up global policies”. While American author James Lee Ray reckoned that the UN has survived because it has served the purposes of the majority of its members. He attributed the explosion of WWI to the absence of a universal peacekeeping organization at that time; while WWII supposedly broke out because the organization that existed (The League of Nations) was not supported.
If we would look closely on its objectives, programs and achievements it is very transparent that the bureaucracy’s main goal and function is the maintenance of peace and security between and among nations.
Most of the original conflicts have not between states, but within them. Accordingly, more than 2/3s of recent UN operations have addressed internal conflicts. This is in strong contrast to earlier years, when UN operations were almost always confined to conflicts between states. UN peace-keepers have increasingly been asked to assist peace efforts and alleviate suffering in civil wars and ethnic conflicts. Such conflicts are usually fought not by regular armies, but by irregular bands and militias. Civilians, especially women and children, are often the first victims of these conflicts. UN peace-keepers have thus been given mandates that go far beyond the traditional belief of peace-keeping. Their missions may embrace humanitarian assistance, the protection of civilians, the disarmament of combatants, the clearing of the mines from roads and fields, and assistance for reconstruction.
Peace-keeping has saved countless lives. It has proved invaluable in creating the conditions to resolve disputes peacefully through negotiations and in monitoring implementation of agreements between warring parties.
Conflicts will always arise between and within states for as long as there are people in the other side of the earth. The UN bureaucracy is confronted, stripped and exposed by a series of cultural conflicts. We must not lose peer of the fact that UN bureaucracy is a prolific form of organization hobble by different countries, cultures and eras. We must glance its dysfunctions making it not that efficient or effective in particular circumstances.
V. RECOMMENDATION
Issues such as the population explosion, the increasing gap between rich and poor, and threats to the environment can be addressed effectively only through a global, concerted response. By joint decision of its member-states, the UN holds conferences on major issues so that the world community can consult and take action.
UN Conferences provide a forum for discussion on a matter of global concern, head the international debate, forge an agreement on what should be done and stimulate action – collectively and in each country.
Being a part of the Model United Nations Conference – a simulation of the United Nations – sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, I have experienced the difficulties in trying to derive a resolution for the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee on issues that confronts my country assignment which is the Philippines. As a Filipino, I would insist on a recommendation that would favor and solve the country’s problems on such issues. Cultural and language barriers are hindrance in the expression of concerns and in winning the ears and hearts of the other people. They can manipulate the discussions and steal your ideas, modify and present it as their contain.
In order to control the bureaucracy’s conflicting nature, I would recommend Hummel’s actions in fulfilling its goal. The first of these is the development of horizontal cooperative arrangements such as team building and development. By incorporating a horizontal structure within the organization, information will be allowed to flow horizontally within the organization; giving the workers more control over the decision-making process. The second is to immerse the individual in organizational values as well as societal values. From this perspective, the cultural values of the organization can be integrated with the value structure inherent within the individual. The nurturing of the co-workers and unity among workers is seen as a method of reconciling the psychological damage of the bureaucracy upon the individual. Such actions give the individual a renewed sense of purpose and a sense of identity outside of the work environment.
In order to confront the language and thought controls of the bureaucracy, there is a need for an openness to reality. The organization needs to readily accept conditions as they are defined outside of the organization as well as within. And the final action is the reformation of community values. It is important for the organization to recognize the needs of society in providing services for its member-states. Only by doing this will the political clashes within and outside of the bureaucracy subside.
Diverting into another subject which is one of the many important goals of the bureaucracy, the peace-keeping operation. Peace-keeping operations are only part of the UN’s distinguished wider peace difficulty. The UN undertakes “preventive diplomacy” to stop conflicts before they erupt. As an impartial body, the UN can be very effective in easing tension and resolving problems,helping parties to settle their differences peacefully. The UN then must have full political backing, a clear and workable mandate, and the personnel, equipment and support needed to do the job.
With all these requirements, peace-keeping can be effective only if governments pay their peacekeeping dues in full and on time. Without assured funding, countries will be less and less willing to produce their personnel available.
There is no perfect organization as there is no perfect individual. As time pass by, the world is in need of an organization that can be flexible to its demands. We live in an age where the “rate of societal change” is more than lickety-split than ever before. Surely humanity is not best served in such a time with an organization that was designed a half century ago. There is no better contrivance of assuring the constituents of any organization than to adopt policies in accordance with the plights and issues threatening the economy, peace and security, health and sovereignty. Engaging people by making channels of participation will allow the bureaucracy to serve their clients or customers efficiently. After all, they know best what’s obliging for them. The UN should always make reform a priority,bearing in mind the goals set forth in the Charter, to give way to the adjustments that they may have to make. Only then will the UN avert another global catastrophe.
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