Subsidiary organs
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The United Nations network also includes subsidiary organs created by the General Assembly andautonomous specialized agencies. The subsidiary organs report to the General Assembly orECOSOC or both. Some of these organs are funded directly by the UN; others are financed by the voluntary contributions of governments or private citizens. In addition, ECOSOC has consultative relationships with NGOs operating in economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields. NGOs have played an increasingly important role in the work of the UN’s specialized agencies, especially in the areas of health, peacekeeping,refugee issues, and human rights.
Specialized agencies
The specialized agencies report annually to ECOSOC and often cooperate with each other and with various UN organs. However, they also have their own principles, goals, and rules, which at times may conflict with those of other UN organs and agencies. The specialized agencies are autonomous insofar as they control their own budgets and have their own boards of directors, who appoint agency heads independently of the General Assembly orsecretary-general. Major specialized agencies and related organs of the UN include theInternational Labour Organisation (ILO), theFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and theWorld Health Organization (WHO). Two of the most powerful specialized agencies, which also are the most independent with respect to UNdecision making, are theWorld Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF). The United Nations, along with its specialized agencies, is often referred to collectively as the United Nations system.
Cecelia M. LynchKaren MingstThe Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaGlobal conferences
Global conferences have a long history in multilateral diplomacy, extending back to the period afterWorld War I, when conferences ondisarmament and economic affairs wereconvened by theLeague of Nations. With the UN’s establishment afterWorld War II, the number and frequency of global conferences increased dramatically. The trickle of narrowly focused, functional meetings from the early 1950s became a torrent in the 1990s with a series of widely publicized gatherings attended by high-level representatives and several thousands of other participants.
Virtually all matters of international concern have been debated by UN global conferences, including the proliferation ofnuclear weapons, small-arms trafficking,racism, overpopulation, hunger,crime, access to safe drinking water, theenvironment, the role of women, andhuman rights. The format and frequency of the conferences have varied considerably over time. The increasing number of meetings has led to complaints of “conference fatigue” by some countries.
Global conferences have served a number of significant functions. Considered “town meetings of the world,” they provide an arena for discussion and for the exchange of information. The conferences take stock of existing knowledge and help to expand it through the policy analyses that they trigger. They also serve as incubators of ideas, raise eliteconsciousness, and may also identify emerging issues. For example, the dramatic acceleration in the growth of the world’s population in the second half of the 20th century was a challenge first identified by conferences organized by the UN in the 1950s and ’60s. Global conferences have nurtured public support for solutions to global issues. Thus,NGOs have played a key role in many of the UN global conferences. At some conferences, the NGOs have organized parallel conferences to discuss the major issues; at others, they have participated alongside government representatives, serving on national delegations and presenting position papers.
Global conferences have faced a number ofcriticisms. Some observers claim that they are inefficient and too large and unwieldy to set international agendas. Others argue that they have been captured by differentconstituencies, of the North or the South, depending on the issue. Still others contend that such conferences have become too politicized, with the result that unrelated issues are sometimes linked to serve political purposes. For example, the global conferences on racism in 1978 and 2001, according to these critics, were unduly politicized by declarations asserting a link between racism andZionism.
Jacques FomerandKaren MingstAdministration
Finances
The secretary-general must submit a biennial budget to the General Assembly for its approval. The Charter stipulates that the expenses of the organization shall be borne by members as apportioned by the General Assembly. The Committee on Contributions prepares a scale ofassessments for all members, based on the general economic level and capacity of each state, which is also submitted to the General Assembly for approval. TheUnited States is the largest contributor, though the proportion of its contributions has declined continually, from some two-fifths at the UN’s founding to one-fourth in 1975 and to about one-fifth in 2000. Other members make larger per capita contributions. The per capita contribution ofSan Marino, for example, is roughly four times that of the United States.
The U.S. contribution became a controversial issue during the 1990s, when the country refused to pay itsobligations in full and objected to the level of funding it was required to provide. In 1999 the U.S. Congress passed a UN reform bill, and after intense negotiations UN members agreed to reduce the U.S. share of the budget and to increase contributions from other states to make up the shortfall.
When the cost of the special programs, specialized agencies, and peacekeeping operations is added to the regular budget, the total annual cost of the United Nations system increases substantially. (Special programs are financed by voluntary contributions from UN members, and specialized agencies and peacekeeping operations have their own budgets.) Partly because of a rapid increase in the number of appeals to the UN for peacekeeping and other assistance after the end of theCold War and partly because of the failure of some member states to maketimely payments to the organization, the UN has suffered continual and severe financial crises.
Privileges and immunities
A generalConvention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, approved by the General Assembly in February 1946 and accepted by most of the members, asserts that the UN possesses juridical personality. The convention also provides for such matters asimmunity from legal process of the property and officials of the UN. An agreement between the UN and the United States, signed in June 1947, defines the privileges and immunities of the UN headquarters inNew York City.
Headquarters
The General Assembly decided during the second part of its first session inLondon to locate its permanent headquarters inNew York.John D. Rockefeller, Jr., donated land for a building site inManhattan. Temporary headquarters were established at Lake Success onLong Island,New York. The permanentSecretariat building was completed and occupied in 1951–52. The building providingaccommodations for the General Assembly and the councils was completed and occupied in 1952.
The UN flag, adopted in 1947, consists of the official emblem of the organization (a circularworld map, as seen from theNorth Pole, surrounded by a wreath of olive branches) in white centred on a light blue background. The Assembly designated October 24 as United Nations Day.
Cecelia M. LynchKaren MingstThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica