The United Nations System: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)

391 Pages·2005·1 MB·English

by  Chadwick Alger

THE
UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
A Reference Handbook
Other Titles in ABC-CLIO’s
CONTEMPORARY
WORLD ISSUES
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Racial Justice in America,David B. Mustard
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Books in the Contemporary World Issues series address vital
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and biodiversity. Written by professional writers, scholars, and
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written, up to date, and objective. They provide a good starting
point for research by high school and college students, scholars,
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overview of the subject, a detailed chronology, biographical
sketches, facts and data and/or documents and other primary-
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annotated lists of print and nonprint resources, and an index.
Readers of books in the Contemporary World Issues series
will find the information they need in order to have a better
understanding of the social, political, environmental, and
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THE
UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
A Reference Handbook
Chadwick F. Alger
CONTEMPORARY
WORLD ISSUES
Santa Barbara, California
Denver, Colorado
Oxford, England
Copyright 2006 by Chadwick F. Alger
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior
permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Alger, Chadwick F., 1924–
The United Nations system : a reference handbook / Chadwick F.
Alger.
p. cm. — (Contemporary world issues)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-85109-805-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-85109-806-2
(ebook) 1. United Nations--History. I. Title. II. Series.
JZ4986.A44 2005
341.23—dc22
2005025406
09 08 07 06 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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This book is printed on acid-free paper .
Manufactured in the United States of America.
For my wife, Elinor,
with deep respect for her devoted efforts
to develop social justice in local communities,
where seeds essential for global social justice
must be planted.

Contents
Preface, xiii
1 Background and History, 1
The UN System in Historical Perspective, 5
Emergence of New Tools for Peace Building, 9
Organization of the UN System, 15
Financing the UN System, 23
The Political Process in the UN System, 25
Conclusion, 26
Notes, 27
2 Problems, Controversies, and Solutions, 29
Varied Definitions of Global Values, 30
The Challenge of Global Complexity, 32
The Functions of Social Conflict, 33
The Need for Long-Term Peace Building, 33
The Need for a UN Standby Peacekeeping Force, 35
Are Changes in Security Council and General Assembly
Voting and Security Council Membership Needed?, 36
Alternative Modes for Financing the UN System, 39
Expanding Participation in Global Governance, 40
What Are Your Involvements and Responsibilities?, 45
References, 46
3 The Ambivalent Participation of the United States
in the UN System, 49
Historic Roots of U.S. Ambivalence, 49
Factors Contributing to U.S. Government
Unilateralism, 51
ix
x Contents
Public Opinion on the United Nations, 53
Public Knowledge about the United Nations, 57
Seven Factors Contributing to U.S. Government
Unilateralism, 59
Emerging Opportunities for Public Education and
Participation, 60
Conclusion, 63
References, 64
4 Chronology of the Emergence and Development
of the UN System, 67
Historic Roots of the UN System, 67
Principal Organizations of the United Nations, 72
Organizations Created by the General Assembly, 82
UN Specialized Agencies, 87
UN World Conferences, 106
Coordination of the UN System, 107
References, 109
5 Facts and Data, 113
Table of Contents, 114
League of Nations Covenant, 116
UN Charter, 126
Member States (191) of the United Nations with
Dates on which They Joined, 152
International Bill of Human Rights, 156
Monitoring Bodies for Core Human Rights Treaties, 196
UN Electoral Assistance, 197
Examples of Human Rights Activities of
Other UN Agencies, 200
UN Peacekeeping Operations, 209
UN Peacemaking and Peace-Building Missions, 214
International Criminal Tribunals, 215
UN System Counterterrorism Efforts, 217
Financing the UN System, 224
Secretaries-General of the United Nations, 230
Presidents of the UN General Assembly, 231
UN System Nobel Peace Prizes, 231
UN Conferences 1994–2004, 234
Former UN Trust Territories, 237
Remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories, 238