Suffering from a divided membership, the United Nations is at a crossroads, unable to assure human or national security. The UN has been criticized as irrelevant by its most--and least--powerful members alike because it can't reach consensus on how to respond to twenty-first-century challenges of global terrorism, endemic poverty, and crimes against humanity.

Secretary General Kofi Annan has proposed a package of sweeping reforms that would safeguard the rule of law, outlaw terrorism, protect the innocent from abusive governments, reduce poverty by half, safeguard human rights, and enlarge the Security Council. Intended to reinvigorate the institution and galvanize its members into action, his proposals are extensive and innovative, courageous and controversial.

This volume assembles the perspectives of current practitioners, leading academics, civil society representatives, and UN officials on transforming the secretary general's proposed reforms into action. Their assessments are frank and their views varied, but they do agree on one thing--the United Nations must be made more effective precisely because it is indispensable to the promotion of economic development and collective security in the twenty-first century.

Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation

Since the mid-1990s the United Nations and other multilateral organizations have been entrusted with exceptional authority for the administration of war-torn and strife-ridden territories. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, Kosovo, and East Timor these organizations have assumed responsibility for governance to a degree unprecedented in recent history. These initiatives represent some of the boldest experiments in the management and settlement of intra-state conflict ever attempted by third parties. This book is a study of recent experiences in the international administration of war-torn territories. It examines the nature of these operations - their mandates, structures, and powers - and distinguishes them from kindred historical and contemporary experiences of peacekeeping, trusteeship, and military occupation. It analyses and assesses the effectiveness of international administrations and discusses, in thematic fashion, the key operational and political challenges that arise in the context of these experiences. It also reflects on the policy implications of these experiences, recommending reforms or new approaches to the challenge posed by localized anarchy in a global context. It argues that, despite many of the problems arising from both the design and implementation of international administrations, international administration has generally made a positive contribution to the mitigation of conflict in the territories where they have been established. This major new work from a leading scholar provides a comprehensive treatment of recent attempts at international governance of war-torn territories, and will be essential reading for anyone interested in peace-keeping operations and international administration.

As the world confronts new and ongoing challenges of globalization, international terrorism and an array of other global issues, the United Nations and its key attribute-multilateral diplomacy-are more important now than ever before. With new and updated essays that detail the experiences of a diverse group of practitioners and scholars who work in the field of diplomacy, this new edition covers in even greater breadth and depth the quintessential characteristics of multilateral diplomacy as it is conducted within the United Nations framework. "Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations Today" provides valuable insights from a variety of perspectives on how diplomacy is practiced, making it essential reading for aspiring diplomats, international business leaders, and students of all levels. The contributors to this volume bring a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to the examination of five areas of multilateral diplomacy: UN diplomacy, crisis diplomacy, international economic diplomacy, UN summits and "citizen diplomats," and non-governmental diplomacy. A thorough revision: of the 24 chapters, eight are new to this edition, and all the others are updated. Includes a diverse range of contributors: veteran diplomats, respected scholars, non-governmental activists. Relevant, timely discussion topics related to the UN. An important supplemental text to any course on the UN, contemporary international relations, diplomacy, and international organizations.

Is there any hope for those who despair at the state of the world and the powerlessness of governments to find a way forward? Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century provides ambitious but reasonable proposals to give our globalized world the institutions of international governance necessary to address effectively the catastrophic risks facing humanity that are beyond national control. The solution, the authors suggest, is to extend to the international level the same principles of sensible governance that exist in well-governed national systems: rule of law, legislation in the common interest, an executive branch to implement such legislation, and courts to enforce it. The best protection is unified collective action, based on shared values and respect for diversity, to implement widely accepted international principles to advance universal human prosperity and well-being. This title is also available as Open Access.

Should states use military force for humanitarian purposes? Well known scholars and practitioners come together in this book to provide practical and theoretical answers to this burning question. Case studies include Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, and East Timor, as well as the recent US intervention in Afghanistan. The book demonstrates why humanitarian intervention continues to be a controversial issue not only for the United Nations, but also for Western states and humanitarian organisations.

Since the 1990s, regional organizations of the United Nations and international financial institutions have adopted a new dynamic of transnational integration, within the framework of the regionalization process of globalization. In place of the growth triangles of the 1970s, a strategy based on transnational economic corridors has changed the scale of regionalization.

The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, volume 37 (Part II): 2012, with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, summarizes developments and trends in 2012 on key issues of multilateral consideration at the international and regional levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament in 2012.

This book examines the role of UNHCR in world politics since its founding 50 years ago, its relevance towards reaching solutions to global refugee problems, and its effectiveness as the international community's principal protection mechanism for persecuted populations who have been forced into exile. The author raises questions about the adequacy of the agency's mandate in contemporary world politics and the appropriate role of an intergovernmental agency in balancing the protection of individual and group rights against the sovereign prerogatives and interests of states. In addition to analyzing the difficulties of resolving past refugee crises, the author offers bold policy recommendations as to how to cope more effectively with future refugee problems.

This book, winner of an ASIL Certificate of Merit 2002, critically examines the right of humanitarian intervention, asserted most spectacularly by NATO during its 1999 air strikes over Kosovo. The UN Charter prohibits the unilateral use of force, but there have long been arguments that such a right might exist as an exception to this rule, or linked to the changing role of the Security Council. Through an analysis of these questions, the book puts NATO's action in Kosovo in its proper legal and historical perspective.

This book provides a legal analysis of the institutional mechanisms and processes which the UN employs to use force to maintain or restore peace. A main focus is the technique of delegation by the UN Security Council of its powers of enforcement under Chapter VII of the Charter to other UN organs (e.g. the UN Secretary-General in Somalia, and the War Crimes Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia), UN Member States (e.g. the coalition against Iraq), and regional and collective self-defence organizations (e.g. NATO in Bosnia). By examining the legal framework which governs the process of such a delegation of these Chapter VII powers; the practice relating to the exercise of these powers by each of the delegates concerned; and the policy issues relating to such delegations, the book makes a significant contribution to the content of the law pertaining to the use of force by the UN and provides guidance as to likely future developments in the legal framework governing collective action to maintain peace under the auspices of the UN.

The end of the Cold War and the response to Iraq's aggression created expectations that the United Nations would change from a marginal to a centre player in world affairs. These hopes were seemingly dashed in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia. Has the United Nations abdicated its moral duty as the custodian of our hopes for a better world? This book assesses how the UN may meet the challenges of a balance between the desirable and the possible.

Civil Affairs are core civilian components of United Nations peacekeeping operations, working at the local level in countries torn by conflict to support the development of social and civic conditions for durable peace. This Handbook is intended as practical guidance for Civil Affairs Officers on the ground, as well as an orientation for people preparing for - or otherwise interested in - civil affairs work. It includes key concepts, current practice, lessons learned and tips. It aims to familiarise users with the context for civil affairs work and UN Peacekeeping, it discusses the guiding principles, skills and attitudes required for civil affairs work, and it focuses on the implementation of the three core civil affairs roles.

This unique and intriguing study examines the UN's efforts to reinstate Haitian President Aristide, overthrown in a 1991 coup. An active participant in some of the dramatic events in Haiti, David Malone sheds new light on the roles and motivations of key actors, particularly the US; the Security Council authorized use of force; issues of power and influence at the UN; the links between the Haiti crisis and other contemporary international conflicts; and UN co-operation with the Organization of American States.

Now in paperback, this is the first extensive examination of the origins and development of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as a human rights treaty. It looks at the work of the United Nations Committee charged with monitoring States' compliance with their treaty obligations. Specific matters addressed by the study include the right to work, the right to join trade unions, and the rights to housing and food.

This is a revised edition of a two-volume survey United Nations Legal Order. It provides students and scholars with a text that appraises the contribution made by the United Nations to contemporary international law and the law-creating process. Among the topics addressed are how international law is made by UN institutions; what contemporary international law owes its existence to the United Nations; how and whether UN bodies have served as sources of international law; and whether UN-created law can be said to have worked as an effective regulator of state conduct. Covering a wide range of UN activity, this book represents a comprehensive guide to the role of the UN in providing viable legal rules to deal with international problems.

Edward C. Luck, President Emeritus, Senior Policy Advisor, United Nations Association of the United States of America

This book is important reading for anyone interested in the future of the UN. It contains hundreds of reform ideas, most of them sound, all of them stimulating. The diversity of views and subjects reflects the breadth of the UN's global agenda and the exemplary contributions Canadians have made to the world body. Many of Canada's UN experts are represented here; their work will remind us to look for inspiration and perspective when the going gets tough at Turtle Bay

Major-General (Ret'd) Lewis W. MacKenzie, First Commander; UN Forces, Sarajevo

The 50th Anniversary of the United Nations -- a wake or a cause for celebration? The euphoria following the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco in 1945 soon fell victim to a 45-year Cold War. Now, when the oppressed and destitute of the world need it more than ever, the UN finds itself handcuffed by potentially terminal systemic deficiencies. Tinkering won't do - major reforms are required and the plethora of relevant ideas and recommendations set forth in this book provide leaders, policy makers and interested observers with much food for thought.

Joe Sills, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, United Nations

This valuable collection of essays covers a broad range of UN activities. In addition to careful analysis, it offers many suggestions for strengthening the UN as it enters its second half-century.

Brian Urquhart, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Scholar-in-Residence, International Affairs Program, Ford Foundation

This "festschrift" for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations is really something to rejoice about -- a stimulating, readable and comprehensive set of comments on where the world organization is, how it got there and where it ought to be going. A breath of fresh air -- oxygen even -- for the UN on its 50th birthday.

Major-General Indarjit Rikhye, Founding President, international Peace Academy and former Military Advisor to UN Secretary-Generals Dag Hammarskjold and U Thant

The opportunity provided by the end of the Cold War to achieve the great objectives of the UN Charter must not be missed through failures in Somalia, Bosnia and Rwanda. The contributors to this book, with their thoughtful papers and recommendations for reform, encourage belief in the possibility of reinvigoration of the UN, so that the hopes placed in the organization in 1945 might after all be fulfilled.

Benjamin Rivlin, Director, Ralph Bunche Institute on the UN

This book presents an honest and sober reply to the mindless critics of the United Nations who have made multilateralism the whipping boy of their own short-sightedness. Mindful of the UN's shortcomings, this excellent collection of essays, based on careful analysis, points out clearly nevertheless the direction the organized world must take and the indispensable role the United Nations must play in shaping a just and peaceful future for humanity.

The argument of this book, that women are central to development, is presented, through the story of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) - and of its projects in the field. It is a story which describes the reality of development within the context of the development system itself.;The author, UNIFEM's founding Director, describes UNIFEM's beginnings: the search for structure, securing independent management, and riding the political and bureaucratic waves. Part II, "At work in the world", examines projects and activities that have been assisted world-wide, ranging from augmenting productivity at village level to analyzing the impact of the global market on women, and is a rare look at the longer-term effects of projects that have "come to an end".;This is the story of a campaign - based on fieldwork in three continents - which has aimed to remove the invisibility that has cloaked so much of women's work, to support and increase their economic productive capacity - and to establish women as "agents of change, not creatures of circumstance".

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations, reflecting the global commitment to 'never again' in the wake of the Holocaust. Seven decades on, The United Nations and Genocide examines how the UN has met, and failed to meet, the commitment to 'prevent and punish' the crime of genocide. It explores why the UN was unable to respond effectively to the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, the Balkans and Darfur, and considers new approaches recently adopted by the UN to address genocide. This volume asks the crucial question: can the UN protect peoples from genocide in the modern world?

The United Nations Charter establishes six "principal organs". Five of these are expressly authorized or permitted to deal with human rights. The single exception is the Security Council, but the Council has increasingly concerned itself with human rights inside sovereign states. This book recounts how this trend has developed in the Security Council, reluctantly at first, but since 1989 with some enthusiasm and responsibilty. Some Third World countries are uneasy at this development, fearing that the Security Council, dominated by a single super power, will interfere in the internal affairs of states without the agreement of the government concerned.

The International Law Reports is the only publication in the world wholly devoted to the regular and systematic reporting in English of decisions of international courts and arbitrators as well as judgments of national courts. Volume 161 reports on, amongst others, the 2014 Opinion 2/13 of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the Accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights, the 2008 Order and 2011 Judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation) and related cases before the European Court of Human Rights, and the 2014 judgment of European Court of Human Rights in Hassan v. United Kingdom.

When multinational corporations cause mass harms to lives, livelihoods, and the environment in developing countries, it is nearly impossible for victims to find a court that can and will issue an enforceable judgment. In this work, Professor Maya Steinitz presents a detailed rationale for the creation of an International Court of Civil Justice (ICCJ) to hear such transnational mass tort cases. The world's legal systems were not designed to solve these kinds of complex transnational disputes, and the absence of mechanisms to ensure coordination means that victims try, but fail, to find justice in country after country, court after court. The Case for an International Court of Civil Justice explains how an ICCJ would provide victims with access to justice and corporate defendants with a non-corrupt forum and an end to the cost and uncertainty of unending litigation - more efficiently resolving the most complicated types of civil litigation.

After three decades of remarkable progress, improvements in the welfare of children and other vulnerable groups in many parts of the world began to falter in the 1980s. This study draws on UNICEF work and experience of recent years to illustrate the extent of the current crisis and point to ways to alleviate the effects caused by economic adjustment. Volume 1 developed a strategy for protecting vulnerable populations during adjustment. The strategy, "Adjustment with a Human Face", combines the promotion of economic growth, protection of the vulnerable, and macro-economic adjustment. This volume, volume 2, examines in closer detail the experiences of the ten countries used as the basis for this strategy. The successes of governments in protecting vulnerable groups in South Korea, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Peru are appraised and contrasted with the failures in Brazil, Ghana, Jamaica, and the Philippines. Sri Lanka and Chile are also considered. The book should be of interest to students of welfare and economic development, and officials and politicians who face the problems of adjustment.

The Conflict over the Conflict chronicles one of the most divisive and toxic issues on today's college and university campuses: Israel/Palestine. Some pro-Palestinian students call supporters of Israel's right to exist racist, and disrupt their events. Some pro-Israel students label pro-Palestinian students terrorists, and the Jews among them traitors. Lawsuits are filed. Legislation is proposed. Faculty members are blacklisted and receive death threats. Academic freedom is compromised and the entire academic enterprise is threatened. How did we get here and what can be done? In this passionate book, Kenneth S. Stern examines attempts from each side to censor the other at a time when some say students, rather than being challenged to wrestle with difficult issues and ideas, are being quarantined from them. He uniquely frames the examination: our ability to think rationally is inhibited when our identity is fiercely connected to an issue of perceived social justice or injustice, and our proclivity to see in-groups and out-groups - us versus them - is obvious. According to Stern, the campus is the best place to mine this conflict and our intense views about it to help future generations do what they are supposed to do: think. The Conflict over the Conflict shows how this is possible.

Natural resource extraction, once promoted by international lenders and governing elites as a promising development strategy, is beginning to hit a wall. After decades of landscape gutting and community resistance, mine developers and their allies are facing new challenges. The outcomes of the anti-mining pushback have varied, as increasing payments, episodic repression, and international pressures have deflected some opposition. But operational space has been narrowing in the extractive sector, as evidenced by the growing adoption of mining bans, moratoria, suspensions, and standoffs. This book tells the story of how that happened. In Breaking Ground, Rose J. Spalding examines mining conflict in new extraction zones and reactivated territories-places where "mining as destiny" is a contested idea. Spalding's innovative approach to the mining story traces the construction of mine-friendly rules in up-and-coming mining zones, as late-comers gear up to compete with mining giants. Spalding also excavates the tale of mining containment in countries that have turned away from the extraction model. By challenging deterministic assumptions about the "commodities consensus" in Latin America, Breaking Ground expands the analysis of resource governance to include divergent trajectories, tracing movement not just toward but also away from extractivism. Spalding explores how people living in targeted communities frame their concerns about the impacts of mining and organize to protect local voice and the environment. Then she unpacks the emerging array of policy responses, including those that encompass national level mining rejection. Breaking Ground takes up a timeless set of questions about the interconnection between politics and the environment, now re-examined with a fresh set of eyes.

This is the United Nations definitive report on the state of the world economy, providing global and regional economic outlook for 2020 and 2021. Produced by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the five United Nations regional commissions, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with contributions from the UN World Tourism Organization and other intergovernmental agencies