Introduction

1981 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 393-393
Author(s):  
Kurt Waldheim ◽  
Mary Ellen Mulholland
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
National Development ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Member States ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
The United Nations

“By proclaiming 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons, the General Assembly of the United Nations aimed at focusing attention on the enjoyment by disabled persons of rights and opportunities in order to ensure their full participation and integration into society. The effort to find solutions to the problem of disabled persons should be an integral part of national development strategies. There is thus a need to secure the participation of all Member States, as well as relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations in the preparation and implementation of the programme of the International Year of Disabled Persons.”

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

1957 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Member States ◽  
United Nations Educational ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The United Nations

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held its ninth General Conference in New Delhi from November 5 to December 5, 1956. It was presided over by Mr. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Education (India).1 Of the 76 states which were members of UNESCO as of June 30, 1956, the Conference recognized as valid the credentials of 73 attending member states. In addition, the Conference was attended by delegates from associate members, and observers from non-member states, the UN and international and non-governmental organizations.

Human Security: Concept and Evolution in the United Nations

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Martin Wählisch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Human Security ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Status ◽  
The United Nations

In 1994, the Human Development Report of the un Development Programme (undp) drew for the first time global attention to the concept of ‘human security’, which has led to a series of debates in the United Nations.1 The report emphasized that without the promotion of ‘people-centered development’ none of the objectives of the global development agenda can be achieved, neither peace, human rights, environmental protection, reduced population growth, nor social integration. The idea of the human security concept is to approach security beyond a purely State-focused military angle, but also include humanitarian, political, economic and social perspectives. In 2001, un Secretary General Kofi Annan reemphasized in the Millennium Report that the ‘freedom from want’ and ‘freedom from fear’ embrace more than the absence of violent conflict, but encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfil his or her potential. In 2005, the World Summit Outcome Document called for defining the scope of human security in the General Assembly more precisely. In 2012, the un General Assembly finally adopted a common understanding of the human security notion. This article gives an overview of the evolution of the human security concept in the United Nations. It looks at its historical development, codification attempts and the recent debate in the General Assembly. The article highlights arguments of critics and advocates of the human security approach, who have been trying to identify linkages between security, development and the respect for human rights. The article describes the status of international practice, indicating the trend of gradual implementation of human security aspects in national, regional and international policy frameworks. The term ‘human security’ has eventually entered the active vocabulary of governmental officials, diplomats, military decision-makers, humanitarian and other non-governmental organizations, serving increasingly as a reference point for more comprehensive policy planning with regard to security and development challenges.

scholarly journals Proposals for the Negotiation Process on the United Nations Global Compact for Migration

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 682-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor Genina
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Migration ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Member States ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
High Level

On September 19th, 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted Resolution 71/1, the text of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (the “New York Declaration”). Resolution 71/1 is the outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, held at the UN headquarters. The New York Declaration reflects how UN member states have decided to address the challenge of large movements of people in two main legal categories: asylum seekers/refugees and migrants. Resolution 71/1 includes an annex titled “Towards a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” (the “global compact for migration” or “global compact”). This document is comprised of several thematic issues related to international migration that will be the basis of a globally negotiated agreement on how member states should respond to international migration at the national, regional, and international levels, as well as to issues related to international migration and development. The global compact for migration is intended to be adopted at a conference on international migration and development before the inauguration of the 73rd annual session of the UN General Assembly in September 2018. This paper addresses how UN member states should plan to address international migration in the future. It does not refer to refugees and asylum seekers: a global compact on refugees will be drafted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2018, and to be presented to the UN General Assembly for states' consideration during its 73rd annual session, which starts in September 2018.1 For those who have been involved in migration issues within the United Nations, the fact that member states have finally agreed to convene an international conference on international migration represents a major achievement. It is the result of an extended process that started decades ago and was made possible by a long chain of efforts by many state delegations and other stakeholders. The global compact for migration will not be the first outcome document dealing exclusively with international migration. A declaration2 adopted at a high-level meeting at the United Nations in October 2013, for example, paved the way for the 2018 conference. Nonetheless, the global compact represents a unique opportunity to address international migration comprehensively and humanely. This paper contributes to the discussion on the elements that should be included in the global compact for migration. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section analyzes the main elements of Annex II, “Towards a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” and the criteria that needs to be adopted in order to achieve a substantive outcome. In particular, participants in the negotiation process should aim to balance the concerns of states and the members of host societies, on one hand, with the needs and rights of migrants, on the other. The second section includes proposals to enrich the final global compact for migration and takes into account two documents written by two different actors within the UN system, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Migration, and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. In particular, the paper proposes that the global compact for migration: • sets forth principles that can inform the actions of governments in relation to international migration at all levels; • enunciates a clearer definition of state protection responsibilities in relation to migrants in crisis situations and so-called “mixed flows”3; affords a substantive role to civil society organizations, the private sector, and academic institutions in the global compact's follow-up and review process; • defines the institutional framework for the implementation and follow-up of the global compact within the United Nations, including through the work of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF); • establishes a mechanism to fund migration policies for states that lack enough resources to invest sufficiently in this task; and • builds a cooperation-oriented, peer-review mechanism to review migration policies. The paper has been conceived as an input for those who will take part in the negotiation of the global compact for migration, as well as those who will closely follow those negotiations. Thus, the paper assumes a level of knowledge on how international migration has been addressed within the United Nations during the last several years and of the complexities of these negotiation processes. The author took part in different UN negotiation processes on international migration from 2004 to 2013. The paper is primarily based on this experience.4

International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (293) ◽  
pp. 94-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Doswald-Beck ◽  
Sylvain Vité
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The United Nations

International humanitarian law is increasingly perceived as part of human rights law applicable in armed conflict. This trend can be traced back to the United Nations Human Rights Conference held in Tehran in 1968 which not only encouraged the development of humanitarian law itself, but also marked the beginning of a growing use by the United Nations of humanitarian law during its examination of the human rights situation in certain countries or during its thematic studies. The greater awareness of the relevance of humanitarian law to the protection of people in armed conflict, coupled with the increasing use of human rights law in international affairs, means that both these areas of law now have a much greater international profile and are regularly being used together in the work of both international and non-governmental organizations.

The Indian Nationalist Movement and the League of Nations: Prologue to the United Nations

1983 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Keenleyside
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Nations ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
British Commonwealth ◽  
The Impact

Prior to 1947, India, despite its dependence upon Great Britain, was represented in most of the bonafide international conferences and organizations that evolved especially during the inter-war years. For example, India participated in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Washington Conference on Naval Armaments of 1921, the London Naval Conference of 1930, the Disarmament Conference of 1932 and the annual inter-war conferences of the International Labour Organization. In addition, India was represented in two important international organizations of the inter-war period—the British Commonwealth, in whose deliberations it was included from 1917 onwards and the League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. For a variety of reasons; Indians involved in the independence movement disassociated themselves from and were critical of official Indian diplomacy conducted through the major international conferences and institutions of the world community and tended to attach greater importance to those non-governmental organizations in which the voice of nationalist India could be fully heard—that is to the deliberations of such bodies as the League Against Imperialism, 1927–1930, the Anti-War Congress of 1932, the World Peace Congress of 1936 and the International Peace Campaign Conference of 1938. Nevertheless, despite the nationalist antipathy for official Indian diplomacy, an examination of such governmental institutions as the League of Nations from the perspective of nationalist India is still important in order to understand some aspects of independent India's foreign policy and more specifically its approach to international organization. Further, even though Indian delegations to the League were unrepresentative, there were subtle ways in which they reflected national Indian opinions and exhibited specifically Indian traits, so that a study of the official Indian role is useful in drawing attention to what were to prove to be some of the earliest and most persisting elements of independent Indian diplomacy via such bodies as the United Nations. It is thus the purpose of this article first to explore nationalist Indian attitudes towards the League (especially the reasons for opposition to the organization), second to analyze the extent to which the official Indian role in the League reflected nationalist Indian concerns, and third to comment upon the impact of the League of Nations on independent India's foreign policy, especially its role in the United Nations.

Supra-Earth affairs

2011 ◽  
Vol 369 (1936) ◽  
pp. 693-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mazlan Othman
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Member States ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Near Earth Objects

The United Nations briefly considered the issue of extra-terrestrial intelligence at the 32nd session of the General Assembly in 1977. As a result, the Office of Outer Space Affairs was tasked to prepare a document on issues related to ‘messages to extra-terrestrial civilizations’, but this area has not been followed through in more recent times. This discussion paper describes the United Nations’ activities in the field of near-Earth objects in some detail, and suggests that this might be used as a model of how Member States could proceed with dealing with this issue in case the existence of extra-terrestrial life/intelligence is established.

Watching, Blaming, Silencing, Intervening: Exploring the Role of the Community in Preventing Domestic Violence in India

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreeparna Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
Family Welfare ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The United Nations

On a warm October day in 2005, I attended a state level conference on preventing violence against women in Mumbai. The speakers included state (Maharashtra) and national level administrative officials, representatives of the United Nations and the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA), social workers and members of several NGOs. One of the speakers, a high-ranking bureaucrat in the Ministry of Family Welfare, in a fiery speech condemning all forms of violence against women, urged service providers to follow a "zero tolerance policy." In other words, no form of violence against women should be tolerated. She recommended that women be urged to resist and leave their husbands if they are being subjected to physical violence. As is customary, everyone praised her commitment to women's causes. However a few of the members of non-governmental organizations were skeptical about her approach, and though careful not to voice their objections in public, privately criticized her approach for its impracticality and lack of understanding of poor women's needs.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-652
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Executive Board ◽  
United Nations Educational ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
Financial Regulations ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
The United Nations

The thirtieth session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization met at UNESCO House in Paris from May 26 to June 6, 1952. The board approved a provisional agenda for the seventh session of the UNESCO General Conference, which was scheduled to open on November 12, as well as proposals concerning the organization of its work. The board decided that the fourth meeting of representatives of national commissions should be held on November 8 and 10 and December 11, and approved the Director-General's proposals regarding the agenda for this meeting. Draft amendments to the rules of procedure of the General Conference, to the financial regulations, and to the directives concerning relations with international non-governmental organizations, necessitated by adoption of the system of biennial sessions of the General Conference, were approved.

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