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The Security Council played its part in combating terrorism following the 11 September attacks on the United States. On 28 September, it adopted a wide-ranging resolution under the enforcement provisions of the UN Charter to prevent the financing of terrorism, criminalize the collection of funds for such purposes, and immediately freeze terrorist financial assets. It also established a Counter-Terrorism Committee to oversee implementation of its resolution.
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The UN does not have the capacity to impose peace by force. It is not a world government. It has no standing army, no military assets. It is not an international police force. The effectiveness of the UN depends on the political will of its Member States including China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA. These states decide when and how the UN takes action to end conflicts.
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Eighty per cent of the work of the UN system is devoted to helping developing countries build the capacity to help themselves. This includes promoting and protecting democracy and human rights; saving children from starvation and disease; providing relief assistance to refugees and disaster victims; countering global crime, drugs and disease; and assisting countries devastated by war and the long term threat of land mines.
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The UN supports democratization in an increasing number of countries that seek its help. By providing technical assistance in preparing and holding elections, the UN has helped nearly 80 nations to consolidate the democratic process. It organized the 1993 elections in Cambodia and has sent impartial observers to ensure free and fair elections in several countries - including Namibia, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique. The UN has also helped armed opposition movements transform themselves into political parties - for instance in El Salvador, Mozambique and Guatemala.
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In the past few years, the UN has enacted major reforms to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness. These have included appointing an Under-Secretary General for Internal Oversight Services, reducing operating expenses, cutting high-level posts and eliminating some 1,000 positions.
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An office of Internal Oversight, established in 1994, is pursuing its mandate of promoting more effective and efficient management, and eliminating waste, fraud and mismanagement. It includes a special UN investigative unit and a hotline.
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The regular budget of the UN is some $1.3 billion per year. It pays for UN activities, staff and basic infrastructure but not peacekeeping operations, which have a separate budget. To put in perspective the UN's expenditures - some $1.3 billion per year for the UN alone and about $12 billion for the entire UN system - compare them with expenditures by governments and by other bodies:
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The administrative budget of the 15-country European Community amounts to some 4.5 billion.
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The annual budget for the city of Zurich is $3.1 billion.
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Metropolitan Tokyo's Fire Department has a budget of $1.8 billion.
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The University of Minnesota has a budget of $1.9 billion.
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The United Nations and its Funds and Programmes UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and WFP have $6.1 billion a year to spend on economic and social development, which is used to assist countries in such areas as population policies, children, agriculture, food distribution, etc. This is the equivalent of 80 cents per human being. In 1994, the world's governments spent about $1.04 trillion in military expenditures the equivalent of $179 per human being.
The top eight contributors to the UN are the USA (25%); Japan (15.4%); Germany (9%); France (6.4%); the United Kingdom (5.3%); Italy (5.2%); Russia (4.5%); and Canada (3.1%). Collectively, they account for more than 73% of the regular UN budget.
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The UN and its agencies have improved the health of millions - immunizing the world's children, fighting malaria and parasitic disease, providing safe drinking water and protecting consumers' health. As a result, longevity and life expectancy have increased worldwide.
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53,589 people work in the entire UN system worldwide, which includes the Secretariat and 25 other organizations such as UNICEF, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Three times as many people work for McDonald's, while Disney World and Disneyland employ 50,000.
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At the end of 2001, nearly 47.5 per cent of UN posts in the professional category were held by nationals of developed countries, followed by those from developing countries (41.6 per cent) and countries in transition (10.9 per cent). Among all staff, 50.6 per cent were from developing countries, 43 per cent from developed countries, and 6.4 per cent from countries in transition - despite the fact that developing countries represent 149 of the UN's 191 Member States and 82 per cent of the world's population.
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In 2001, women filled 40.2 per cent of the core professional posts (up from 29.2 per cent in 1991). At the senior levels of the Secretariat, women held 32.7 per cent of the posts. The UN seeks to ensure equal opportunity for women, and the Secretary-General has appointed several eminent women to top UN posts including the Deputy Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund. There are now more women in senior positions than ever before.
This page draws heavily from the UN Department of Public Information and UN Website Section's document "Image and Reality about the UN" , as well as "UNA-Canada Fact Sheets" on the UNA-Canada website.
The situations and allegations surrounding the UN Oil-for-Food program has presented many challenges for UN supporters. For facts and talking points about this topic, visit the UNA-USA website at www.unausa.org.
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